Frequently when I am communicating with other webmasters and I bring up the subject of writing articles, I often get a response like "I'd rather have a root canal, I just can't write", or "my spelling is horrible and my grammar is not much better". In my view, the first excuse is just a matter of attitude. The latter excuse falls on deaf ears because the major word processing programs have good spelling and grammar checking capabilities.
We're not talking about something that would qualify for the Pulitzer Prize in literature, just articles dealing with a topic that may be of interest to a group of people that also may happen to have an interest in your particular business proposition or activity.
While not as dramatic as the college professor's dilemma of "publish or perish", many Internet marketers have found that the publicity and traffic that articles can bring to their websites is second only in importance to actually making sales.
When writing articles, start out by clearly defining what you want to write about. Focus on the topic and the general message that you want to communicate. Sometimes you will start with a title and expand from there and other times the title will be the last thing you develop.
Organize your material (be it knowledge, thoughts, or opinions) into a logical sequence or order. Don't try for the finished product in the first draft. Just let your mind, and words, flow and get some stuff down on paper. This may occur in a single session or, for longer articles, it may be done in several rough draft sessions perhaps broken into logical sections of what will eventually become your finished article.
Once you've completed the rough stuff, it's time to make your corrections, smooth out the rough edges, and perhaps do a little juggling in terms of organization. Run your text through the spelling/grammar checking tool of your word processor and make the appropriate adjustments/corrections.
Now that the body of text that you have created is "technically clean" from a spelling/grammar standpoint and you have satisfied yourself with the organization, its time to do the final styling or polishing to ensure readability (that may or may not be a word, but I'll claim poetic license and go ahead and use it). Read your article aloud to yourself and get a feel for the cadence or rhythm. The readability of the entire article can be influenced by changing the order of words and/or exchanging one like-meaning word for another. The final goal is to invite readership.
Many entrepreneurs and professionals use their articles as a key component in launching successful careers earning very substantial incomes. Remember, with regard to writing articles, you're better than you think you are...it's all about attitude.
All of these articles may be freely reprinted in any e-zine, newsletter, newspaper, magazine, website, etc. as long as my name and bio remain intact. |
