Writing and submitting articles is an important part of building a successful online business. There's probably no better way to position yourself as an expert and get more traffic to your website. Think you don't have time to write articles for your business? Many professional article writers limit themselves to 15 minutes an article.
Can you find 15 minutes a day to spend on an easy marketing strategy that's practically guaranteed to work? I thought so. Remember, when you write an online article, you're not setting out to create a literary masterpiece. You just want to communicate your ideas to your audience. You can write a great article in 15 minutes by remembering these points: Write about a topic you know well. Know what you want to say about your topic. Have an opinion or some important information to share. Your online audience has a short attention span. They want to find out what you have to tell them and get on to the next thing as quickly as possible. Keep your article short and to the point. 500 - 750 words is usually most effective Don't use big words. Keep it simple.
A quick, easy way to write an article is to list a few, or several, main points that you want to tell your reader about your topic. You don't need to include everything you've ever thought of, just some of your favorite or best ideas. A short article might have only three points, a longer one could have twelve or more. To make these points stand out for your reader you can create a numbered list, a bulleted list, or just type your main ideas in bold. Now write a short paragraph about each point, explaining your idea. Always put your most important information first. Most online readers have short attention spans and they'll only read the first part of your article or the beginning of your paragraph. Write in your own words. My favorite writers, on the web and off, write just the way they talk. I love to hear the author's unique voice come through their written words.
It makes the article interesting and it helps me connect with the writer. Trying to copy someone else's writing style only wastes your time and energy, and it won't be appreciated by your reader. When you're done, go back to the beginning of the article and write your introduction - just two or three sentences. You'll want to grab the reader's attention here. Tell them what you're going to tell them, and tell them why it's important. Make sure you include what the article is about and why it matters to them. Make it immediate. Your reader wants information they can use right now, not in two months or even in a week.
Lastly, go to the end of your article and write your conclusion. An easy way to do this is to tell your reader what you told them or to simply rephrase your introduction. Make it short and snappy. Never introduce a new idea in the conclusion. Just wrap up the ideas you've already shared with them. Here's another secret to effective article marketing: There's a time and place for quickie articles, but you'll need to balance them out with longer, more detailed pieces. Once you've written a few short articles, it's time to expand your repertoire and include some lengthier pieces. Yes, you can express your ideas and tell your reader what you want them to know in 15 minutes, but you'll also want to write some in-depth articles your readers will keep coming back to and tell their friends about.
This takes a little longer than just a few minutes. Follow the same steps listed above, but spend more time filling in the details. Add some quotes from industry experts; do a little extra research to make it more informative. After writing any article, I like to leave it alone for a few days and then reread it before I send it out. This is when I pick up any typos I missed or realize that I didn't express my idea as clearly as I wanted to. I spend a few extra minutes tidying it before I submit it. Most publishers won't accept articles with grammar or spelling errors. If you're not confident about your editing skills, send it to a professional proofreader before you begin submitting it. There you have it! A great article in (almost) 15 minutes
