If you're using article marketing to drive traffic to your
website, learning some basic editing skills will save your
life when it comes to creating articles that readers will
enjoy reading and publishers will want to publish. This
article will show you 7 essential editing steps every
article marketer should know.
Tip #1: Put your article away for a few days and then look
at it with fresh eyes.
This is what I always tell folks, and from my own
experience I know that giving my brain a rest and
completely wiping the article from my mind helps me spot
errors that I glanced right over just a few days prior.
Ideally, you would write a first draft, put it aside for a
few days, edit, then put aside your final draft for few
days, then re-read it before you submit your article.
Tip #2: Print your article on paper.
There is something about holding a piece of writing in your
hands and reading it *away* from the computer that helps
with the editing process. I will usually print out whatever
writing piece I'm working on the night before, and then the
next morning I'll sit at the kitchen table with a red pen
close at hand. I'll make my changes, then go to the
computer to change the article there.
Tip #3: Read your article out loud.
This is one of the most useful techniques I use. It's
amazing the subtle phrasing awkwardness or grammar mistakes
you can notice just by reading your article out loud.
Tip #4: Weed out what is not absolutely necessary.
Every word, sentence, and paragraph must *earn* a spot in
your article. A long article is nothing to brag about if it
is longer than it needs to be. The ultimate goal is to
craft an article that conveys exactly the information you
want to get across in as few words as possible.
Tip #5: Use vocabulary that is easily digestible.
Did you know that most newspapers are purposely written on
a 2nd grade level? Journalists are not trying to insult the
intelligence of their readers; they just want to make their
articles as easy to read as possible. Follow in the
footsteps of the pros-- chop out all fancy words, niche
jargon and pretentious phrasing. Write in a way that is
approachable and easy to understand.
Tip #6: Customize your writing to fit the medium of article
marketing.
Sometimes I'll run into folks who complain that the word
count limit of most article directories is too short. You
see, they have a 10 page essay that has won awards, and
they feel like chopping any bit of it will compromise the
integrity of the piece. I always try to remind folks that
their writing must be appropriate for the medium. Article
marketing publishers are not looking for 10 page essays,
and readers won't read all that anyway!
So, if you have some pre-made content, like a book or some
essays that you've written that you know are of excellent
quality, know that you will need to alter that content to
suit article marketing. Most directories have a word count
limit of around 400-1500 words, so re-work your content to
fit within those boundaries.
Tip #7: Create two articles out of one if necessary.
Word count is a big deal when you're doing article
submissions, so you need to be sure that your article fits
within the publisher's word count limitations. For optimum
results, try keeping your article within 700-800 words.
Yes, there is an ideal word count range! Quality articles
that are 700-800 words have the best chance of getting
picked up for publication.
If you're aiming for the word count sweet spot, you may
need to change your 'Top 10' list article into two 'Top 5'
list articles, or re-work your 1500 word article into two
750 word articles. If you do this I would advise that you
make each article a stand alone article and not "Part 1"
and "Part 2". Each article should be complete in itself
because a reader will not necessarily read both articles,
and articles written in parts are not as attractive to
ezine editors.
I hope these tips were helpful to you! These are editing
tips that the pros use that a writer of any skill level can
use too.
Remember, anyone can pick up your free reprint article for
publication. This means your article may appear on websites
over which you have no control, potentially for years to
come, so it's well worth ensuring the quality of your
article by doing careful editing *before* you submit your
article!
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Looking for more article marketing tips to help you submit
quality articles to build links and market your website?
Sharon Sarmiento is an article marketing expert who enjoys
teaching website owners how to write and submit articles
for maximum traffic. She'll guide you step-by-step through
the article writing and submission process at the popular
blog, Creative Article Marketing =>
http://www.creativearticlemarketing.com
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