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How To Write An SEO-Friendly Article

By Steve Shaw in Featured

Once you’ve done the keyword research for your website, you can then use those keywords strategically in your article submission campaign. By creating keyword focused articles, you’ll get much better results from your article marketing efforts by helping search engines to associate your website with particular keyword terms.

This article gives some quick article marketing tips on how to appropriately use your keywords in your article submissions:

1 – The Headline:

The purpose of your headline is to indicate the topic of your article.

Try to place the keyword phrase that you’re targeting at the beginning of your headline. This takes some thought – the goal is to create a headline that would capture the attention of your potential reader, but that also prominently displays the keyword phrase. The title also has to be grammatically correct and contain correct spelling.

The best SEO-friendly titles just look like a great title – no one should be able to tell that you have specifically crafted it with your keywords in mind.

Please note: In addition to the keywords you researched for your website, it’s a good idea to also do keyword research for the topics of your articles. The phrases associated with your article topics will naturally be longer, say 3-8 words long. They are more specific than the keywords that are associated with your website, but that makes them perfectly suited for article topics.

The main difference between these two types of keywords is that the ones you use in your title and article body are what you’d like the article to rank for, and the keywords you use in your resource box are the ones you’d like your website to rank for.

2 – The Article:

The topic of the article is determined by the title.

Try to repeat your keyword phrase in the first 5 sentences or so of the article, in a natural sounding way of course.

Then, just write naturally about your topic. Since the keyword phrase is closely related to the topic of your article, then variations of the phrase should appear naturally in your article. Don’t try to force it too much, and by all means don’t pepper your article with the keyword phrase.

The most important part about the article is that it is easy for a reader to understand and that it provides helpful information. So, focus on writing a well-written article that teaches your reader something. After carefully placing your keyword phrase in the 5 lines, don’t worry too much about how many times the keyword phrase appears in the article. It will show up every once in a while as you naturally write about your topic.

Also, it’s okay for the phrase to appear in different forms, for example, ‘race cars,’ ‘racing cars,’ ‘race car gear’, etc.

3 – The Resource Box:

The resource box is where you can tell a little about yourself and your business and where you can encourage the reader to click the link leading back to your website. This is also a great spot to put one of the keyword phrases that you’d like your website to rank highly for.

Many directories will allow you to create an anchor text link in your resource box. With an anchor text link, you can use your keyword phrase to form the link that leads back to your website. This helps search engines to associate that phrase with the topic of your website and can influence the search engine ranking for your site for that phrase.

Be sure not to use the same phrase each time though – you should have a list of keyword phrases for your website, and you can alternate those in your resource boxes. If you use the same phrase as anchor text each time, it can look suspicious to search engines, which could have negative SEO consequences for your website.

Let’s recap the main things to remember when creating an SEO friendly article:

=> Do your keyword research, and find phrases to target in your articles as well as phrases that you’d like your website to rank for.

=> Write naturally. The phrases that appear in your article should not be conspicuous or awkward sounding. They should just be a natural part of a helpful article.

=> Be sure to use proper spelling and grammar. This is necessary for the article to be published and also for readers to be able to understand what the article is saying.

After doing this a few times, writing an SEO-friendly article will be like second nature. You’ll become very skilled at creating content that’s useful to your readers, while at the same time crafting an article that will attract the attention of search engines.

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Steve Shaw has helped thousands of business owners worldwide build traffic, leads and sales to their websites, and he wants to help you do the same – grab his free report giving you a blueprint for attracting sustainable, dirt-cheap, long-term, targeted traffic to any website…including yours! Go now to http://www.submityourarticle.com/report – some people have used the same information to boost their traffic by up to 600%!

5 Reasons Why You Need to Use Rel=Author on Your Content

By Jill Whalen in Featured

Have you heard of Google’s Authorship program yet? Whether you’ve heard of it or not, you’ve likely seen its fruits in the search results. You know those listings that have a photo of the author next to them? Most likely they get that extra cool stuff because they’re using Rel=Author correctly and Google has accepted them to participate. Unfortunately, it’s been a bit hit-or-miss as to whether your content gets accepted or not. I saw mine accepted for a day or two many months ago, and then *poof!* it was gone. I reviewed their new guidelines recently, however, made a few changes, and sure enough, within a week or so, my content started showing up… yay!

While you may or may not get your content into the program, the only way to know is to try, and persistence is definitely a key.

If you’re thinking it’s just not worth the trouble, here are 5 reasons why it’s super important:

Endless Articles Ideas: What Everyone Wants to Read

By Rick Quatraro in Featured

Have freezer eye? You know, you stare at the computer long enough hoping to figure out which article ideas to write about only to have your eyes freeze. You ask yourself, “What do visitors want to read? What do I like writing about? What have I already written? What pertains to my website or blog? What will help sales? What will help people sign up for my newsletter?” And the main question most people ask, “What am I an expert on so I feel confident enough to write about?”, so on and so on.

Well, you don’t necessarily have to be an expert on anything for your article ideas. Yeah, that’s right.

Instead of feeling like an expert why not take a journalistic approach. Are journalists experts when they report on an event or when they conduct an interview? No, most likely not or someone would be interviewing them, right? But in many cases they have discovered a problem and are looking for a solution. It just so happens that the solution is found somewhere else.

How do you find the problems? How do you find the solutions? Well, here’s how I do it.

I. Questions People Ask Online

1. Search Engines

Plug in different questions into Google and other search engines. I would use at least 2 for each search. Play with word combinations.

- For example, there is a big market for my site’s theme on how to make dessert cupcakes. I admit cupcakes are not something I make a lot, so by no means am I an expert on cupcakes, but I have good content about the market and different niches on some of my pages. I found that many people were asking “how to deliver cupcakes” in Yahoo questions and in blogs. So after much playing with word combinations I found that, “how to transport cupcakes” wasn’t quite as competitive as, “how to deliver cupcakes”. In this case I created a written interview for another webmaster that has a website for cake and cupcake decorating. I took her answers and wrote up an article and plugged in backlinks to both our sites.

2. Your Site’s Statistics Dashboard.

What are the long tail searches people are typing in the search engines to find your site? For me many people ask “how to” questions looking for solutions: “how to send chocolate covered strawberries in mail”, “how to package chocolate covered apples for delivery”, “how to make colored chocolate lollipops”, “how to make filled chocolate candies”, etc. This is a great source of knowledge about both your current visitors and potential visitors.

3. Google Adword Tool.

Find the exact number of monthly searches for different questions. Again play with different word combinations and you will get back a big list. This is one of the best free tools for keyword and phrase searches. Type “Google adword tool” into a search engine to find it, if you haven’t ever used it.

4. Blogs and Discussion Boards.

Practically any market or niche market will have these and they provide a wealth of insight. Search for them and you will find them.

5. Q & A Page from your site. If you already have done the work why do more?

II. Solutions

There are a few ways to find the solutions.

1) You, the expert. This is the easiest way obviously.

2) Research the answer. Search for it online or in books at the library.

3) Ask an expert. Someone will help you. Think about someone you know or just go ask someone. Send the question to someone’s website, see if they answer. Offer to give them credit in your article. Or offer to conduct a written interview that you email them like I did and give them backlinks to their site or credit if they don’t have a site.

Solutions to problems are what people look for online. This is one of the primary reasons people use the internet to begin with. And the value of a well written article or page on your site with the solutions to these problems is immense. First, do the research to see which word combinations to use which have the best possible chance of being found.

Only write about 2-3 questions per article, preferably if they are related so the search engines will be more clear about the theme of the article. Break the article into clear and concise paragraphs to make it easy to read and understand.

Would you agree that people are always looking for solutions to problems online? You probably do.

Just think of all the questions you had about creating a website, writing an article, what information to put on your site and all the everyday questions you ask regarding your health, diet, financial questions, parenting, pet care, house repair, car repair, cooking, delivery, entertainment systems, household product reviews, vacation planning, etc. Everything on the internet starts with a question. Every potential visitor to your site has questions that need answers. Find the questions and provide the answers in your articles and I promise you will never run out of article ideas.

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Rick is founder of Deluxe-Sweets-and-Candy-Gifts.com a site dedicated to dessert and candy making ideas as an option for economical, edible gifts. Along the way he discovered how article marketing attracts backlinks and increases both short-term and long-term traffic to his site. His only regret is he stopped article writing a while back and should have stuck with it. http://www.deluxe-sweets-and-candy-gifts.com/article-writing.html

10 Steps to a Successful Article

By Terri Seymour in Featured

If you are an online business owner and are not yet active in article marketing, you need to get started as soon as possible.

Why write articles?

Article writing and marketing is one of the most powerful ways to boost your traffic and sales. Articles will build your reputation and credibility. Articles will allow you to make more contacts and establish more connections. Articles will improve your ranking and bring you more traffic. Articles will improve your online presence. Article marketing is free!

Writing an article is not as hard as most people think. You are not writing a dissertation but a simple and informative article.

Below are ten steps to help you write a more successful article.

Step 1: The Title

Be sure you choose a title that will grab people’s attention and catch their interest. Most people will decide to read an article or not just by the title. Be specific in what your article is about.

For example: How to Grow Vegetables vs. 5 Ways to Healthier More Delicious Vegetables

Which article would you read? I know I would read the second one.

Step 2: Topic of Interest

Be sure to choose topics that people will want to know about. Do some research to see what questions people are asking. Visit forums, groups, social sites and see what needs to be addressed. See what the buzz is about and write your article accordingly.

Step 3: Easy to Understand

There is no need to write a college dissertation. Use short, easy to understand sentences. Use 5th grade level words to be sure everyone who reads your article will understand what you are talking about.

Step 4: Easy to Read

Going along with the short easy to understand sentences, keep your paragraphs short but informative. Leave plenty of white space so reading your article is not hard on the eyes.

Step 5: Relevant Keywords

Research keywords when writing your article. Try to use some of the most popular search phrases that deal with your article subject. A good program to use is Google’s keyword search tool. But once you find the relevant keywords be sure not to overstuff your article with them. If you use them too many times your article will be too repetitive and will not do well in the search engines.

Step 6: Writing

When writing your article, write it as if you were explaining it to a friend. Don’t make it sound like a seminar or lecture. Add personal experiences when possible so your readers can identify with you and feel a bond and/or connection. Let your personality shine through and write from your heart!

Step 7: Lists

If you are including any kind of list in your article, be sure to write it in a bulleted or numbered list style. This will attract the reader’s eye and increase the chances of it being read through.

Step 8: Article Body

The first paragraph should be an introduction to what type of information your article will contain. Use it as a lead-in to the main body of the article. When writing the main body, be sure your writing flows from point to point and doesn’t jump around aimlessly. The last paragraph should sum up what the article meant and what points were made.

Step 9: Proofread

This step cannot be stressed enough. Read over your article several times to be sure all spelling, punctuation and grammar is correct. Things can be missed in just one or two goings over so do it several times to be sure.

Step 10: Resource Box

Your resource box is very important so you want it to be effective in getting people to click on your link and take you up on whatever you offer. Don’t try to sell anything in your resource box. Offer something free if possible.

For example:

John Doe is an expert in the SEO field. He can help you get your site to the top of the search engines. Click here to get his free step by step report.

Article writing is not as intimidating as it sounds. You do not need to know big fancy words. You do not have to be a scholar and you do not have to be a professional author to write a quality article with helpful information.

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Don’t be one of the 95% of people who fail at their online business. Terri Seymour can help you make money online. Find out how to increase your traffic and sales with her popular “How to Build Your Online Business” ebook for FREE at: ==> http://www.SeymourProducts.com

3 Things Your SEO Articles Should Be Doing For You – A SPN Exclusive Article

By Nicole Beckett in Featured

If you’re like me, you probably spend a big part of your time searching for things online and being amazed at some of the SEO articles that pop up. And, if you’re like me, you probably wonder how these “authors” expect you to take their poorly-spun, uninteresting, fluffy “article” seriously!

Remember, writing SEO articles isn’t about “churning out” as many as possible, as quickly as you can. After all, bad SEO articles do serious damage to your credibility – and, ultimately, your bottom line.

Instead, you need to look at SEO articles as a tool that helps you build a brand, helps you market your business, and helps you set yourself apart from the competition. When used correctly, SEO articles actually do a lot of work FOR you.

If you’re writing SEO articles properly (or paying someone to write them for you), the finished product should be doing these 3 things for you:

1. Establishing You as an Expert

When people get to the end of your SEO articles, they should say “wow!” They should be chomping at the bit to visit your website to see what other kind of gems you have to offer, or to learn more about your products and services. They should see you as a “somebody”, instead of like all the “wannabes” out there who just want to make a quick buck off them.

Remember, people look for all kinds of reasons NOT to spend their hard-earned money. But by writing SEO articles that show off your knowledge and expertise, you’re giving people the push they need to crack open their wallets and buy what they need – from you.

2. Getting Syndicated

Writing SEO articles isn’t about using the article directories to get traffic and links. Instead, use the article directories as a platform to get your articles syndicated (or “republished”) on other websites.

Did you know that’s what the article directories were originally created for? Internet marketers have turned the article directories into “link machines”, but each one of them was actually created in order to be a resource for webmasters who needed free content to publish on their own sites.

When you get an article syndicated, it is republished on websites that have targeted traffic. As an added benefit, you’re getting a much higher-quality backlink than you will ever get on the article directories. After all, on the article directories, your SEO articles are going on their own individual page that has PR0. Sure, the directory’s home page might have a much higher PR, but your articles aren’t being published on the home page, are they?

But when your articles are syndicated, they’re winding up on other websites and blogs that have a higher PR. In fact, one great SEO article can fetch you dozens of high-quality links just through syndication! But if you’re publishing low-quality (or even so-so) articles, don’t expect anyone to republish them on their own site.

With a little bit of searching, you can actively look for places to syndicate your articles (like on blogs in your niche, or simply by striking up relationships with other site owners in your niche and syndicating each other’s content). Or, you can simply publish great SEO articles, use things like Twitter and Facebook to get the word out about them, and wait for people to pick them up on their own.

Typically, I do the latter – simply because I’m too busy with clients’ work to actively syndicate my own stuff! Luckily, though, I see SEO articles that I published more than a year ago showing up on new websites and blogs every day! I’m not doing a thing to promote those articles, but they’re still making their way to targeted traffic and fetching me new links. Now that’s what I call working FOR you!

3. Selling Your Products

If you’re writing SEO articles that are chock full of information and interesting to read, they do the selling for you. In fact, many marketers refer to article marketing as a way to “pre-sell”, because good articles offer readers answers and solutions, without any strings attached.

How is that possible?

By showing people that you’re an expert, you’re convincing people that you’re the one they should do business with. You don’t need a bunch of big bold sales copy or a thousand red exclamation points to convince them. Your knowledge alone will do it.

It sounds painfully obvious, but great SEO articles are meant to be informative. Giving readers answers and solutions in a well-written, compelling SEO article is a great way to get people to trust you – and ultimately buy from you.

Unfortunately, that’s something that many marketers have lost sight of. Instead of building up credibility with informative articles, they think they can get a “quick sale” from a sub-par article. It just doesn’t work that way!

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A former award-winning journalist, Nicole Beckett now focuses on SEO content writing. As the owner of Premier Content Source, Nicole knows how to create compelling content that generates results!

What Is No-Hype Copywriting? A Guide to Excellence Without Excess

By Marcia Yudkin in Featured

Whether you’re a business owner or nonprofit head who wants to promote your offerings with dignity or a copywriter troubled by the prevalence of exaggerated, over-the-top writing on the Web, you’re wondering whether it’s possible for marketing copy to nail the sale without a carnival-barker tone, without overheated language and without stretching of the truth.

The answer is yes.

When people talk critically about hype, or say they don’t want to use it, they are referring to techniques like these:

* An emotional pitch that tries to rev up the reader into a buying frenzy by appealing to greed, envy, scarcity, laziness or hatred.

* Strong, hard-to-believe claims without proof, such as “With a Flick of Your Pen, Get Tens of Thousands of Dollars From the Government, Tomorrow” or “You’ll Never Have to Pay the Asking Price For Groceries Again” or “Publish a Book Even if You Don’t Even Know How to Write Your Own Name”.

* Typography that’s heavy with bold colors, exclamation points, capital letters and underlining, making for a fast-talking pace and a breathless tone.

* Puffing up of the value of what’s being sold way beyond what’s reasonable.

* Vague references to “secrets”.

* Lots of fluffy, non-descriptive adjectives, such as “amazing,” “awesome” or “killer”.

* Outright or subtle lying.

If that style of writing turns your stomach or would make you ashamed to use it, do reject it. There are plenty of honest, effective copywriting techniques left over with which to stock up your promotional toolbox. Here are five no-hype techniques that perk up your marketing while keeping you out of the gutter.

1. Story Telling

A true tale with dramatic happenings attracts and holds a reader’s attention and can illustrate a general point vividly. For example, I might describe receiving tubs full of envelopes at the Back Bay post office in Boston and opening them with my husband on the floor of our apartment. Each envelope contained either a $2 check or two $1 bills, which we stacked in piles that got so high that they tipped over. (This happened in the early 1990s.)

Anecdotes with this kind of specific detail brings reality to life for readers, more so than an abstract summary like “It’s fun to make money” or ungrounded promises like “Your neighbors will gossip that you must have won the lottery.” A story can be about you, about someone who experienced what you’re selling or even about a historical figure.

2. Before and After

For greater impact, writing teachers have always advised, “Show, don’t tell.” Hardly anything convinces more than using words or pictures (or both) to show the situation prior to the application of the service or product you’re selling, then the situation afterwards. In using photos, realize that you may also need verbal description, because without commentary, the uneducated eye may not see the dramatic differences that a professional notices immediately.

3. Creative Touches

Whereas hypesters use outlandish and inflammatory metaphors, you can spice up your presentation with the same techniques, but used sparingly and gracefully as an aid to the imagination and understanding rather than as extreme promises. For instance, an executive coach pitched his services for corporate leaders as helping them “navigate the seas of change”: “organizations need leaders who know how to survive stormy seas and avoid hidden reefs and icebergs.” The design also accentuated the nautical theme with images of compasses, and the overall tone was restrained and professional.

4. Skillful Use of Language

Did you notice the wordplay above in “techniques that perk up your marketing while keeping you out of the gutter”? The words “perk” and “keep” contain the same pair of consonants, but in reverse order, which pleases the reader’s ear.

Another guideline: Never use an abstract expression when you can instead create an image in the reader’s mind. Reach especially for language that gives readers something to hear, see or touch in their mind. For instance, my bio doesn’t say I was published often in magazines but rather, “her bylines in national magazines on journalistic and opinion pieces began piling up.” Such concrete wording imparts vigor and energy to your marketing.

Orchestrating phrases the way expert speechwriters do (as in “of the people, by the people, for the people”) is one more way to give your presentation balance and finesse.

5. Proof

This element can set you most decisively apart from those relying on hype. Provide evidence that what you are selling does what it promises to do, and more. Your evidence might consist of client testimonials, third-party endorsements, media coverage, scientific research results, credentials, case studies, client surveys, referral statistics, descriptive details that only someone immersed in your work would have and why-it-works explanations. All of these persuade to the extent that they are firmly and frankly grounded in reality.

To avoid hype, be truthful and vivid. You’ll thereby keep the reader awake, connect with the reader’s imagination, quash skepticism and arouse the reader’s desire to buy.

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Veteran copywriter and marketing consultant Marcia Yudkin is the author of Persuading on Paper, Meatier Marketing Copy and 13 other books. Besides writing for selected clients and mentoring marketing departments in copywriting skills, she runs a one-on-one mentoring program that trains copywriters and marketing consultants. In 10 weeks, participants learn no-hype marketing writing skills and business savvy. For more information, go to http://www.yudkin.com/become.htm

SEO Article Writing: What Can Tom Hanks Teach You About Link Building?

By Steve Shaw in Featured

If you are totally confused as to what people are talking about when they talk about building links and doing article marketing, and if you are a fan of the movie “Cast Away” with Tom Hanks, then I’ve got a beginner-friendly article that just may drive things home with you.

As a new website owner you know that a brand new website is awfully lonely. Your website sits by itself on the world wide web like a gorgeous but deserted island sits in the middle of the huge ocean.

You’re sort of like Tom Hanks in the movie “Cast Away” when he was stranded on that deserted island.

When you first launch your website, likewise, no one knows that it’s there. You post information and you think you might as well be talking to yourself. You start to go stir crazy after a while because you want someone to interact with, kind of like Tom Hanks did in that movie.

Remember how that volley ball he found became his closest confidant? Let’s not let it get that far…

New website owners can learn a lot about building a successful website by the way Tom Hanks handled his isolation problem in the movie “Cast Away”.

You Can’t Survive Without Links

I supposed Tom could have lived on that island all by himself indefinitely, but the thought of it was torture to him. He said to himself: “I can’t live like this–I need to get in touch with civilization.”

In the same way, you say about your website, “I want people to find out about my website–I can’t just sit here twiddling my thumbs waiting for a random person to accidentally come by. I need to take action…”

Tom’s Raft Is Like Your Links

What did Tom do to solve his problem? He built a raft. His plan was to build a raft and then use the raft to put him in touch with civilization.

For Tom, his very survival was riding on the success of that raft. If the raft wouldn’t float or if it was not sturdy enough to withstand the waves of the sea, then he would either die out in the ocean or be permanently stranded on his little island.

The links that you build when you submit articles are like the raft that Tom built. How is that?

1 - The raft was a means of traveling from one point to another.

Similarly, a link is a means of traveling from one spot on the internet to another. If you click on any link, it will take you from the page that you are looking at to another location on the internet.

When you create links to your website, you are creating a means of transporting visitors to your website. Without this method of transport, your website will remain unknown and isolated.

2 - The raft positioned Tom so that he would be noticed by others.

Tom built his raft and set out on the high seas. For a long time there was no one in sight, but eventually his raft floated beside a huge cargo ship that noticed him and pulled him out of the water.

Likewise, the links that you build when you submit articles put your website in a position of being noticed by Google and the other search engines. Search engines evaluate your links to determine what your site is about, what words it should rank for, and where to place your site in their rankings.

Then, the search engines bring your website to the attention of people who are searching for the type of information that you have at your site.

Google is the huge cargo ship.

The cargo ship united Tom with his family and friends. Google unites your website with the people who you want to become your customers.

Getting Connected Takes Time…

Tom floated around on the raft for a long time before his raft was noticed by the cargo ship.

In the same way, you start building links by submitting articles, and even after you build links to your site, you will also “float around” waiting for Google to notice the links that you have created. It can take somewhere from three to six months for Google to calculate the new links that you build and adjust your website’s ranking.

During that time of waiting, like Tom, you just need to be patient.

I hope this unconventional link building illustration has been helpful to you in understanding what links are and why it’s important that you build them for your website.

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Steve Shaw is a content syndication specialist. Do you own a blog? Need content? Join thousands of other blogs and get free high-quality, niche-focused, human-reviewed content from quality authors sent on auto-pilot – and it’s all 100% free! Go to www.autoblogit.com for more information.

21 Tips for Defeating Writer’s Block

By Trey Pennewell in Featured

One of the most difficult aspects of article writing and marketing, once you have been doing it for a longer period of time, is how to come up with fresh topics to write about. It is even more difficult to put your finger on ideas that are hot and related to your topic.

Here are some suggestions to help you get those creative juices flowing again.

* Visit forums related to your niche. Spend 30 minutes a day in forums related to your niche. Write down common questions or inquiries and use those to craft articles.

* Visit the Q&A sites like Yahoo Answers. If one person has asked the question, chances are there are many more who have it but are afraid to ask. Answer the most common questions you see with a new article.

* Check the news. Being on top of the industry news will help you be able to write related articles as the news events take place. This can also be a great way to grab expanded exposure. By piggy backing off the hot topic you can grab way more readers then you would with a normal topic. And not just the big news stations either. Some of the smaller more local stations may have topics not covered by the larger ones and can be a potential goldmine for ideas.

* Set up a Google alert for your topic. This way you’ll be emailed how ever frequently you choose, with up to date blogs and posts and new stories related to your topic that you can get and gain ideas from.

* Spend 30 minutes brainstorming. Do not allow yourself to focus on anything but your topic. This will get easier the more times you do it. It can be difficult the first few times to get your mind to actually produce something, but once you’ve done it a few times your mind will know you mean business and will help you populate ideas quite quickly.

* Use Google’s wonder wheel for ideas. Instead of using it to get keywords, use it to help you get some ideas as to what to write about.

* Create a mind map about your topic. And then each and every sub-topic that you come up with, until you have multiple mini mind maps and plenty of ideas to source article topics from.

* If you’re really stuck, check out the competition. Seeing what they are writing about may give you ideas of what to write about.

* Re-purpose old articles. But, not by rewriting them. Instead approach the same topic from another angle. If your topic was say 5 tips to succeed in article writing, a new approach would be 5 things to avoid in article writing, or 5 tips to improve, or a better way to do it. Just using the same general idea, and giving it life in a new way can be the perfect method to get unstuck.

* Check out the bookstore or the library. The ones that have real books. Look at some of the ones related to your niche and see if you can’t gain some writing ideas from them.

* Go to e-book sites as well. Do the same thing as you did with Amazon and the library. Look for titles in your niche, and use those to help you get new creative ideas to write about.

* Use seasonal events to your advantage. Instead of just writing about autism, write about how to help autistic children cope with Christmas, or other such seasonal event related topics.

* Carry a notebook with you. Ever feel like you’ve got the perfect idea but are not at home and able to write the article right away. Carry around a notebook so that when the idea strikes you can jot it down before you forget it again.

* Get away from the computer for a bit. Real life and real life situations may give you ideas you never would have come up with by simply sitting in front of your monitor. Use real life experiences and events to create ideas and creativity for your articles.

* Talk to industry leaders. Just a quick Q and A with someone in the industry may prompt ideas you would have never thought of otherwise.

* Read. By reading what others have wrote on the topic you may be able to come up with ideas of your own, or a new twist on an old idea. The best writers and the most avid of readers.

* Along the same lines as reading, read articles in some of your favorite authority blogs and websites. One of my favorite blogs is Mashable.com. They may bring to mind a thought or idea you may not have thought of otherwise.

* Join a mastermind group. Being able to float ideas around with others and discuss your topic can help breathe new life into a topic you found going stale. And, it is a great way to set up potential cross promotions with others in your niche for the future.

* Use your imagination. Put yourself into the mind of your target audience, and figure out questions and topics that may be important to them and write about them. Just a little bit of imagination and role playing can lead to many new ideas.

* Watch movies or television shows related to your niche. They may cover topics or ideas you may not have previously covered or thought about.

* Think about your own personal experiences. There may be things within them that you can revisit and create topics about, with a good solid base of reality to make for a more interesting and informative article.

Hopefully these ideas will help you come up with and create your own ideas and topics to write about. Ideas are limitless, you just need to develop the skills to mine the topics and ideas out of the things around you. The more you write and the more you strive to generate ideas, the more ideas you’ll eventually come up with.

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To make your article marketing more profitable, get your copy of, “Article Marketing Secrets: Turning Words Into Dollars”: thephantomwriters.com/ebooks/article-marketing-seo.html. If you are looking to increase your writing speed consider, “How To Write Articles Fast In 20 Minutes or Less Without Sacrificing Quality”: thephantomwriters.com/article-writing-guide/. Subscribe to our twice-weekly general marketing tips here: thephantomwriters.com/karmaonline

How to Create an Outline For Your Article

By Shailesh in Featured

We’ve done it through junior high, it expanded through high school, then in college it became chapters. No matter how many times a person has done it, writing articles has proven to be a task many have continuously avoided. Now at a time when writing articles could help your job or work, facing the job at hand can be still faced difficulty.

While there are a great number of people who do not have the same attitude in article writing as others, there are still those who would rather walk in piping hot coals than do some article writing. What sets other people apart from others towards article writing is that they are prepared and have some methods and procedures in writing articles.

One of the methods you can use to prepare yourself when tasked to write an article is creating an outline first. Creating an outline for all your articles will make you better prepared. You have an idea of what to do first and make a plan for your succeeding steps. Being prepared makes the job easier and faster. Being organized will allow for disorientation to be shunned away.

An outline can act as the design or blueprint for your article. This will guide you in creating the introduction, body, and conclusion of your article. Here in point, you can write down some of the ideas and sentences that you feel will look good in your article. This could be some of the focal point that could help make your article creative, interesting, and appealing to a reader.

A carefully planned and fully prepared project would guarantee and ensure a problem and worry free procedure that can virtually go without any hassles. Creating an outline for all your articles will get you ready and breeze through writing an article in no time at all. Here I will provide you with some tips and guidelines in how to create an outline.

Do a couple of brainstorming sessions and jot down your brilliant ideas, first. Think of some ways to attract the interest of your reader. Designate a time frame where you can write down all the ideas that you can use for your articles. By this time you should have done your research and information searching. Review and reread your ideas and notes, gain mastery and sufficient familiarity with your topic so that writing later own would be easy for you.

The next step is to discover your sub topic and sub titles. As you would provide a first sentence for your article, one that would immediately grab the attention of your reader, you would need some additional ones as well for your sub topics. To be concise, you would need to get all the facts that will support and go against your point.

These are the frames or skeleton of your article, now its time to add the flesh and the meat of your article. You will need to connect all your paragraphs and sub topics. This will form the body of your article. While the introduction will usher in the ideas of your paragraph, you will need a conclusion. The conclusion will wrap up your points and drive in what you are saying in your article.

The outline for your article would also require you to write a draft first. This may take more than one attempt, but remember that it is called a draft for a reason. Your outline shall be perfected as each draft is written and this draft is meant for your eyes only so there’s no reason to get frustrated. As you go on, you will clearly see the bigger picture and write an article that will perfectly suit what is demanded of it.

Reread and reread what you have written down. Always refer to your outline so that you won’t drift away from what you had first written down. Its not hard to be caught in the moment and get lost in your writing frenzy. Your outline will help you keep on track. All those hours spent in outlining your article will not go to waste. This will serve as your guide in writing articles. Trust and rely on your outline because this will prove to be a very helpful tool when writing articles.

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Shailesh enjoys providing useful information for people.Free Web Directory

14 Tips to Improve Your Article Writing and Article Marketing

By Trey Pennewell in Featured

Everything online requires content, and articles are just one form of content. Learning how to write articles and create content should be a focal point for anyone looking to start a business or even a hobby online, after all like the saying goes, content is king.

Here are some tips to help you write better articles:

1. Write with an end goal in mind. Different types of articles work for different reasons. If you are looking for syndication and publication on authority websites, you’re not going to want short, full of fluff 300 word articles. Instead, you’ll want to go with long informative 800-1000 word articles that actually deliver quality information on your topic, in a format that works well for ezine and authority publishers.

2. Do your research beforehand. The better you know the topic, the easier it will be to write for it. Simply by knowing your topic, you can drastically cut down on the time it takes to create informative articles your readers will enjoy. Attempt to comprehend your topic, before you sit down to write.

3. Just write. The more you write, the better you will get at it. And not just on your topic. Challenge yourself. Write on anything and everything, and your overall writing skills will improve, not to mention your typing speed. Both things will help you reduce writing time in the long end.

4. Write with the reader in mind. Instead of writing for your own purpose, think about it from the readers perspective. What is the reason they are reading your article? Are you addressing their needs and concerns? If you can get into the mind of your reader and what they are seeking from you and your writing, you’ll be better equipped to write an article they will appreciate.

5. If you are writing for back links, keywords matter. If you are writing for readers, forget about them. Keywords only help you get found in the search engines. If you are preparing high quality articles for syndication, you’ll get the readers from the sites you are published to. That’s not to say you want to go completely off topic, simply that keywords aren’t vital, and if you are writing on topic anyways, the search engines will figure out where you belong in their search results. As Google recommends, create your content for your reader, to improve your chances of ranking well in Google. In my articles, I have found that to be true.

6. Learn to craft captivating titles. Titles are one of the most important parts of the article marketing and writing battle. It doesn’t matter how informative or well written your article is, if the title doesn’t make readers open the article. Spend some time on your title. Actually focus on making it reader friendly and interesting. Your bottom line will thank you for this.

7. Write with passion. If you are bored to tears by your topic, chances are your writing is going to reflect your boredom, be dry and present less than glamorous prose. If you are in love with your topic, it will shine through your words and come across to the reader. This is one reason many suggest when you are just getting started to go with a passion. It is much simpler to write about something that you get emotional about, than to write about something you have no emotional investment in.

8. Don’t proof read and spell check as your write. Stopping and changing your mind frame from creation to editing can interrupt your flow of thought. Instead focus on getting the thoughts and ideas down, and then go back and do the spelling and grammar checks. You’ll find your mind thinks and writes that much quicker by using this method.

9. Focus on quality. There will forever be the debate over quality and quantity. Few take into consideration that quality will naturally breed quantity, through syndication and other methods. If you are consistently providing high quality articles, publishers will love utilizing your content and do so on a regular basis. And the more publishers that take notice of your work, the more targeted traffic you will be getting. Much more targeted traffic then that coming from article directories and other such places.

10. Turn off your word count tool. Stop checking the word count and simply write until the idea has been fully explained to the reader. If that takes 300 words so be it. If it takes 1000, then let it. Stopping the flow of ideas simply to stay in line with a word count is a sure fire way to leave your articles lacking that finished feel.

11. Read. Yes, read. The more you read and the more you expand your horizons, the better your writing will be. Simply taking in the written word, exploring and understanding other writing methods and formations will help you in your own writing. It can also help you increase your vocabulary and find styles that really reach out and grab readers by the eyeballs.

12. Check out what the competition is doing, and do it better. If your competition is providing lackluster articles, that barely wet your taste for the subject, go above and beyond, and your readers will notice. By knowing what kind of content you are trying to compete with, you can improve your own skills and marketing mindset.

13. Use the language of your target audience. If you are writing for highly educated people, your writing should reflect that. If you are writing for mass appeal, stick to relatively lower level writing, think grade 8 levels. If a grade 8 student could read and interpret what you are saying, you have succeeded. If they cannot, you may want to revise your writing style and language.

14. Understand that writing is a skill. And as such, needs to be constantly worked upon. Malcolm Gladwell stated in “Outliers” it takes 10,000 hours to master something. Master writing by continually working on it and the improvement of your skills. And by the time you reach 10,000 hours of work, you’ll have mastered the skill and no longer need others tips and technique to make your writing vibrant and a success.

Hopefully these tips will help you master article writing and marketing. In the end, all that matters is that you actually do it. No amount of tips or tricks are going to help you if you don’t just get started and get that writing underway. Begin writing and over time your skills and abilities will improve, and your writing will reflect your growing knowledge and skills. Writing starts the same way for everyone, with a blank page waiting to be filled. Get started filling yours today.

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To make your article marketing more profitable, get your copy of, “Article Marketing Secrets: Turning Words Into Dollars”: http://thephantomwriters.com/ebooks/article-marketing-seo.html. If you are looking to increase your writing speed consider, “How To Write Articles Fast In 20 Minutes or Less Without Sacrificing Quality”: http://thephantomwriters.com/article-writing-guide/. For general marketing tips, subscribe to our twice-weekly: http://thephantomwriters.com/karmaonline

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