Writing advice or tips?

by Banned 57 replies
75
I really want to get into article marketing but whenever I pick a niche I always have a problem when I try to write my article. I am a Native English speaker but this cant be that hard. If anyone can give me some helpful advice you would be doing me a huge favor. I am signed up for soo many affiliate networks but have not made a dime yet.
#main internet marketing discussion forum #advice #advice. blogging #articles #tips #writing
  • I would concentrate on building a list with article marketing and sell the products through the list.

    Just write in a conversational tone and provide useful content for your audience. Don't over think it.

    Benjamin Ehinger
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    • Banned
      Thanks, I have always been interested in list building/email marketing but do not know where to start.
  • The more you write, it is more likely that you will become better and it will become easier.
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    • practice, practice, practice...it takes time to get to a point to where it all makes sense right out of the gate.

      Keeping a journal would help--also--when I was in school, I'd practice writing by taking an article in the paper or online, and rewrite it, trying to keep the info the same, but totally change the tone of the words.

      Play with it, it's like anything else, the more you do it, the better you get.
  • If you've got the English right (grammar, vocabulary, spelling, punctuation, etc...), then there is only one thing left: Just do it!

    It's probably not the solution you were expecting, but that's really it. What might help is this: making a general layout of the article.

    Let's say you are to write a 1,000 word article about weight-loss. There are several angles from which you can tackle that.

    You could:
    • Write about 5 tips - around 200 words each
    • Talk about 1 aspect only, but break it down in parts (For example, Aspect: Diet. Parts: Fats, Calories, Health, Fasting, Diet 1, Diet 2 etc etc)
    • Write an FAQ - an article answering frequently asked questions
    • Get into mistakes that people should avoid (Don'ts instead of dos)

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    • Hmm. If you're a good writer you won't have any problem at all. Just have your pattern first, let say the first paragraph will be the introduction of a certain topic and the second will be the main idea where you are going to discuss it then just write it like you are talking with the readers. Be more on information and tips, that's what the readers most like. Create a catchy, but relevant title. Read it once you're done.

      Just be confident enough to type all those words on your mind. Don't forget to include a research.
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    • .........This is simply" writing tips made easy". nice one, Vimal Gobin!.
  • Hi,

    I use the old preacher's method.

    If you are shooting for a 450 to 1,000 word article it works every time.

    Here is the back story.

    It seems someone asked the preacher how he was able to come up with a new sermon every week. "Simple." He said.

    "First I tell them what I'm going to tell them."

    "Then I tell them."

    "Then I tell them what I told them."

    Of course you probably recognize this "Method" as the need for 1. An Introduction. 2. A body. And 3. A conclusion. However, when you break it down to the "Preacher's" method it's fun. At least for me.

    Just remember, in the introduction you want to grab their interest. (give them a reason to continue reading.) In the body you want to inform/educate or entertain or all three. Finally, in the conclusion you want to move your reader to action.

    Try it, you might like it.

    George Wright
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  • Banned
    It's possible that a few of the comments in this post might help you: http://www.warriorforum.com/main-int...ml#post3188316

    Without knowing exactly what you've done, it's hard to say, but even this post might help: http://www.warriorforum.com/main-int...ml#post5035794

    The observations in this post were made with reference to one specific affiliate network, but the principles uderlying them relate to "affiliate sales in general", if this helps: http://www.warriorforum.com/main-int...ml#post7110523
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  • Your quality of English (or the length of your writing) need not be a problem. There are easier ways of doing it.

    I just sent you a PM
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    • one strategy that I learned from my past client when it comes to article writing is you have to translate the keyword into dutch and look for articles in dutch language with that keyword, when you can find an article in dutch language, translate the whole article using google translator. There are some grammars that needs to be fixed but don't worry it is just minimal...
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  • Stop thinking so hard. Just write. Your articles don't need to be perfect. They just need to provide value to the reader. Articles that convert well include "how to", "top _ reasons why", "5 ways to do" etc. Your keyword would of course be in all of them. For example, if you are promoting a weight loss product you can write about the "Top 5 reasons you are still fat".

    Or something like that. Make sure your titles grab peoples attention as that is the first thing they will see. Then just write! Look to see if the website you are promoting has a blog. If it does use the blog to help you come up with content to promote the actual products. You probably won't like the first few articles you write. But post them anyways. Eventually your writing will get better and you will be fine. You just have to do it, that's all there is to it.
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  • Shouldn't be any problem for you if you are good in writing. If you have problem on what to write at your desk. You may try to record it in your voice recorder when you are on the street, shopping, waiting for public transport, etc. if you don't know what topic to write, go to Google Adwords to look for keywords
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    • Try working with mind maps. They are great! You can use them to turn your disorganized thoughts into streams of running words. It's a lot easier to put together an article if you know ahead of time what you are going to be writing about.
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  • Banned
    Thanks for the great tips. I am going to try to set a goal by writing 2 to 3 articles each day for now.
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    • How about thinking quality over quantity?

      How about making a goal of writing a piece that is of excellent quality and engaging to the reader? One that stands out with some personality in it whether it be in story form, using analogies to get your point across, or a conversational piece, no matter how long it takes.

      Terra
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    • Banned
      I can't manage more than one per day, myself, of the quality needed to make money from them.

      I write no more than three articles, per niche, per month, and that's plenty to be a full-time article marketer (I have 8 different niches). Article marketing isn't about how many articles you have: it's about who reads them.
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  • Do a Google search for "article templates" and you'll be
    surprised at the helpful information you'll find. Once you
    have a template in hand then writing articles become a lot
    easier. After you've used these templates then they'll
    finally rub off on you so that you don't have to refer
    to them directly anymore.

    As was mentioned about the preacher above, I have
    to also preach almost every week and it's not always
    easy to come with a new sermon. But the simple
    idea that I need an introduction to draw in my
    audience a couple points to make and an appeal
    (call to action) at the end helps the process.

    Each point I make is usually illustrated with a
    story so I have many "sermon illustration" books
    as resources.

    When you have to do a lot of writing you need the
    tools of the trade and you also need a framework
    on which to build each writing piece.

    Practically all the cover stories in TIME magazine
    follow the same broad structure. The writers start
    with a story, illustrate some facts and close with
    the same story they started the piece. You can
    check this out for yourself--never fails.

    -Ray Edwards
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  • If you're going to call yourself a writer, then always be a writer. Always strive to put out your best work because someone will notice when you don't. The word I've put in bold above should have an apostrophe. I know you know that. And that's my point.

    But, but... it's just a forum post. Doesn't matter. EVERYTHING you publish needs to be as good as you can get it, everything. That's how you develop as a writer. There are people who will notice the littlest mistakes and won't take you seriously. Good luck.
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  • Banned
    That is true. Quality is way better than quantity for sure.
  • Hi,

    Here is something else I do. Turn off spell/grammar check.

    Write your entire article (remember, tell em, tell em, tell em) without the distraction of the wavy little red lines popping up as you are writing.

    It takes no more than a minute or two to turn spell check back on and correct all the errors.

    If your goal is to write more than one article in one setting, leave the spell check off for the entire set of articles. Correct them all at the same time.

    What I am saying is while you are writing wear your writers cap. While you are editing put on your editor's cap. Don't try to be a writer and editor at the same time. It interrupts the flow IMHO.

    George Wright
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  • Just a question.

    How do those of you who write two and three articles a day re-purpose and market those articles? Not saying I am doing it the only right way or even the right way but it takes me as long as three days to write and market one article .. sometimes longer actually.
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    • It can take my writers several days to research and produce one article. The ROI, however, is huge because these articles are marketed widely to online/offline syndicated partners. It really does not take very many articles at all to drive torrential floods of highly targeted traffic when they are leveraged effectively. For any given viable niche, there are thousands - or perhaps even hundreds of thousands of potential publisher outlets.
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  • I've found that when I am stuck and having a writers block, I'll visit the same article marketing sites and read about 10 random articles. Even if they aren't related to your niche, you will get some ideas about style, formatting, and tone.

    Good luck!
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  • Find a format that works for you and stick to it. Once you memorize a simple format it will be much easier for you to pump out articles. Personally, I don't think article marketing should be your main concern right now. I think it would be better for you to focus on building a email list.

    Good luck!
  • Charles Schultz: “Only amateurs get writer's block. Professionals can't afford it.”

    A little bit trite, but true anyway.

    My method is to write bullet points of what I'd like the article to be about, so effectively an outline.

    I then record myself just talking about each bullet point until I have around 10 minutes overall of audio.

    I then send that audio to a transcription service (I use scribie.com) and in a couple of days I get a word document with everything that i've said.

    I edit the crap out of it until it says exactly what I want it to say.

    Depending on how fast you talk you should get about 140 words of text per minute of audio so use that as a rough rule of thumb depending on how long you want the article to be.

    I hope that is useful!
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  • One thought: narrow down from "several affiliate programs" to just one or two. Then, you can focus your writing efforts more fully on these ones and hope you start achieving success!
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  • Just write simple words and be simple. Don't think it as like as jargon and you are on.
  • Just research your niche hard and learn as much information as possible about your niche. Then create content based on the pure information that you know in your head about the subject.

    Then go to EzineArticles and buy their "articles template" pack. It'll give you more inspiration to create and re-write articles without making your head explode.
  • Well, you can approach this from different angles.

    First off, you have to determine a tone. Are you coming from the perspective of a salesman, or are you providing information that could lead to a potential sale?

    If you're a salesman, you want to butter up your product without bashing the reader over the head by sounding like a salesman.

    If you're providing information, it's important to make the object of sale sound important, vital, or critical to the advancement of the person purchasing said product.

    Diction is also very important. Who's your audience? You can apply a wide variety of high tidy important sounding words, but they need to be something that will resonate with your audience and make them feel safe, comfortable, or in need (or all three). Your words can become the sales pitch without actually saying "buy this."

    The next part would be content. More than likely, in any case, the meatier the content, the better. Providing something sweet and succulent for the reader to chew as they're skimming through an article will keep their attention at allow for a higher retention rate.

    Even if you do not have a whole lot of smarty farty research, knowledge, or input, it is still possible to sound like you do.

    And that my friends, is the beauty of writing.
  • Just learn to do good keyword research to find "buying keyword," that is, terms that relate to a reader solving a problem, and write articles that help them solve it. The info you provide helps to pre-sell products or services in line with that problem and solution.
  • Yes - you are certainly not alone in finding writing (especially ongoing writing) challenging.

    Here are a few tips we use as we develop written content every day

    1. Start with a question...nothing makes writing easier than focusing our mind on a question. You get asked questions many times each day and come up with a verbal answer no problem...your brain is trained to think this way, so come up with a compelling question and let your words flow as if you were answering in conversation

    2. Be interested in what you write about. Some will argue this isn't necessary and it is not - but it's sure a lot easier to write about what you like than something you have no interest in

    3. Look for writing triggers given to you by those in your marketplace - "spy" on them in discussion forums, read their comments on blogs, watch what they say in product reviews (ex on Amazon) and let this trigger ideas for your

    4 Write about something - giving your opinion. I mix up our content with some being based on personal experience, some based on research and some based purely on my own opinion about news or some other piece of content...pretend you are Howard Stern or Anderson Cooper (I know, two quite divergent examples...) and let the world know your opinion.

    Jeff
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  • Are you talking about the UK newspapers ? Only 3 newspapers in the UK have a circulation over 1 million and I would be very surprised if anyone but a master copywriter could get over 10,000 leads from a published article in any of them as it's not a targeted niche.
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    • Banned
      "What" isn't a targeted niche? (Sometimes newspapers have pretty targeted supplements ).

      The two in which I've managed articles so far were the Mirror and the Daily Mail. I think they both have circulations over a million (I suspect the Mail might even be twice that). I haven't ever managed over 10,000 leads, though.

      (The "Sun" is the highest circulation, probably, I'd guess? Not really "my traffic demographics" at all, though :p ).

      I've had "near misses" with the Telegraph and the Express, but I think their circulations are well under a million. I keep trying. Thousands of opt-ins are certainly not to be sneezed at.

      Magazines can also be pretty good: far smaller circulations but much better targeting (not to mention much easier acceptance!) if you can find the right one. But many people and businesses are doing that every day of the week, of course (much more commonly "merchants" than "affiliates"). The "Writers & Artists Yearbook" (2013 version already published) is a great resource.

      This type of article marketing's been around for longer than the internet. Doing it with a website and an opt-in is only a modernised version of a very old marketing technique, but it can be very successful. I just wish I could do them regularly.

      Plenty of advice here, Kevin, if you want to read more (I learned a lot from it): Turn Words Into Traffic

      I wouldn't think it's necessarily a job for a copywriter? Nobody's going to publish something that reads like a sales article, surely (unless you pay for "advertorial" or something)? Better suited to article writers, really?
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  • You are averaging more than 40,000 subscribers per day now ?

    I can't even find the words to reply to that !

    Seriously.
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    • Article Syndication is a scalar marketing model, and also quite a simple, centuries-old marketing concept. Rather than focusing on the short-term vision of getting subscribers who often come and go, understand that partnering with networks (ie targeted online/offline publishers, trade associations, business/social groups, etc) is a long-term business-building strategy. Once established and nurtured, these outlets can consistently generate laser-targeted leads for many years. Seriously.
  • I have two pointers for you:

    1. There are no good writer anywhere, the only good writer is the one that goes back to his work a second time.

    2. You are chasing too many things at the same time with your limited resource and that will only make you unproductive.. Pick it one step at a time..
  • If i said i was an expert writer i would be lying. So take my advice with a pinch of salt.

    The biggest tip i would give you is to write as you would speak. There is something about writing in a conversational tone that makes people warm to you and trust what you are saying.

    The only site i have ever read about writing/copywriting is copyblogger.com. It's a decent site/blog. Lots of good articles and advice on writing. Hope that helps.

    - Andy
  • You need to start with an outline and sub-topics then start expanding on each sub-topic from there.
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    • You simply need to practice and hopefully you will get better. It is just a known fact that some people are just not cut out for writing and that's okay. We all can't be good at everything, right?
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  • Concentrate on the detail and content rather than quality of writing, if it something really important I would outsource to a ghost writer, it can be well worthwhile and not as expensive as you would think, you then just supply the content and they do the magic!
  • focus on the content rather than quality of writing, just talk as you speak and would tell someone about it.

    Also if it is a big important piece outsource it, ghost writers aren't that expensive but could work some magic if you can give them enough content to work with, this could really pay off.
  • Save the real good stuff for your websites but as far as the process goes try to hand pick sub-topics related to pages on your site. Getting down the process of writing and driving traffic with your articles is tough at first but it gets a lot easier the more you do it.

    It's one of those things in life where practice makes perfect. And if you're somewhat new to article marketing, look at this process as a learning experience. You don't have to be cranking out magnificent pieces of writing right away.

    So, write an article that gives the reader everything they want (this is where you'll make your money with AdSense, affiliate links, etc) and publish that article on your site. After you've done this, write articles about related topics and sub-topics that link back to your "money" article. The way you'll drive traffic and make money is by showing the reader that you know what you're talking about and that they can find the solutions to their problems by clicking through to your site.

    You've got to tease the reader just a bit to get them to click through but you don't want to direct them to a page on your site littered with advertisements and offers. You'll naturally find the right balance with practice. This is how I've made money via article marketing, anyhow. I simply show the reader I can offer them more than they already know and that I'm well aware of helpful solutions to their problems.

    The key is to research your topics thoroughly so you sound like you're an expert on whatever topic you're writing about and can back up your expertise with information recall.
  • The harder and more dedicated to your work then the easier the work will become, its hard to give tips on writing, simply everyone has a different idea of how to write, some people perfer shorter sentences some longer.

    You should focus on being more efficient at YOUR style of writing and on what makes it unique, people like uniqueness and professionalism, good luck.
  • Gotta pick a niche you are passionate about, that way the words will just come naturally to you!
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    • EzineArticles.com has a great set of tutorials. They can walk you though how to write articles from the very beginning. And they're all free.

      Mary
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    Writing advice or tips?

    I really want to get into article marketing but whenever I pick a niche I always have a problem when I try to write my article. I am a Native English speaker but this cant be that hard. If anyone can give me some helpful advice you would be doing me a huge favor. I am signed up for soo many affiliate networks but have not made a dime yet.