As a business owner, do you find yourself needing to write
more and more? You've probably heard that you should be
writing articles to promote your business (and it is a
great, no cost way to showcase your expertise), but may be
leery of starting. Here are 7 tips to get you writing
effective articles.
1. Select a good topic.
There's no sense writing an article if no one wants to read
it. Before you launch into an article, think about your
target market and what their wants and needs are - what
keeps them awake at 3am? If you're not sure, go hang out in
some forums and see what they are discussing.
If you are writing for an audience larger than your target
market, I recommend you visit some article directories
(such as www.ezinearticles.com) to see what the most read
topics are.
2. Choose your title wisely.
Once you've written a good, strong article, don't ruin it
by giving it a weak title. The title is your headline -
this is the first thing people will read and, in this day
of instant decision making, could easily turn people away
if they are not hooked.
If your article includes a list, include that number in the
title so people know what to expect. For example, this
article is titled "7 Tips to Writing Great Articles Which
Showcase Your Expertise" and you know what you're getting.
3. Think bite-size.
Online readers have very little patience for long
paragraphs, so break your article down into various
sections. Notice how this article is broken down into small
paragraphs with subheadings. It's easier for your readers
to digest -- especially if they are reading it online.
4. Write for your audience, not for yourself.
If you want people to read your article, write it in a way
that is easy for your readers to understand - don't use
acronyms without explaining them, keep the techno jargon
out unless you are writing for an audience that understands
it and keep the vocabulary simple. There's no sense writing
an article if no one is going to understand it.
5. Read, review and then read again.
You MUST proofread your work. Do it once, go do something
else and then do it again. If possible, ask someone else to
read it for you - he will undoubtedly pick up things that
you miss.
6. Tell them who you are.
You want your readers to know who you are and how to reach
you. Include a call-to-action resource box at the end so
potential clients and other e-zine publishers know how to
get in touch with you. You want them to visit your website
to learn more about you and what you do.
7. Get it out there.
Now that you've done all the work to write a great article,
parcel it into pieces, proofread it and write a compelling
resource box, you need to get your article out there. I
recommend www.ezinearticles.com yet again as well as
www.submityourarticle.com as great article directories to
submit your article to. If you prefer to build
relationships with e-zine publishers personally, then I
highly recommend Charlie Page's Directory of Ezines at
www.directoryofezines.com for a wealth of information on
e-zine publishers.
So what are you waiting for? Get writing!
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For the past 5 years, Sandra Martini has been showing
self-employed business owners how to get more clients
consistently by implementing processes and systems to put
their marketing on autopilot. Visit Sandra at
http://www.SandraMartini.com for details, compelling client
testimonials and her free audio series "5 Simple and Easy
Steps to Put Your Marketing on Autopilot".
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