Thirty-Two Tips In Writing Articles For The WWW (Updated)

Article Title: Thirty-Two Tips in Writing Articles for the WWW (Updated)
Author: Craig Lock (Eagle Productions NZ)
Category/Subject: Internet Marketing, writing, writing articles
Other Articles are available at: http://www.selfgrowth.com/articles.htmln(Personal growth, self help, writing, internet marketing, words of inspiration and money management)

Publishing Guidelines:
We hope that the following article (formatted to 65 characters, nmay be informative and helpful to your e-zine readers, or on your web site. If it helps others "out there" in any way, then we're happy. This article (as with all my articles) may be freely published, electronically or in print.

"We share what we know, so that we all may grow."nn *
Thirty-Two Tips in Writing Articles for the WWW

"Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man nto use the Internet and he won't bother you for months...or nperhaps even years! (Sorry men... however, I presume thisnprinciple also applies to our women-folk!)."

Articles are an incredible source of traffic and free advertising for your online business, as they create LINKS (which are a vital criteria for the major search engines in their rankings of your web-site). Writing articles can provide you with enormous amount ofnexposure on the Web (sounds "rude, that). You are branding yourself on a shoestring budget - it hasn't cost you a cent, but a little time and effort.

People want quality content for their ezines and their webnsites; however, the competition for content is fierce. EverynWeb site owner wants content and hundreds of writers wantntheir content visible on the Web. It's FREE promotionnthrough your signature file at the end of your article*.

If you can write an article about nyour business, you can increase your links in 24 hours!
As the internet adress in your resource box at the end of your articles gets picked up by the main search engine spiders, like Google and Yahoo.

Writing a free content article is simple and follows a similar professional approach as an article for a standard, paying market. Here are some pointers in writing articles for the www:

Firstly,

1. Offer Something of Value, a Real Benefit to people. Articles that give good helpful information or explain how to accomplish something are usually best, and will be read most often.

2. Try to get into the publishers mind. See things from their point of view -nwhy should they publish your article? In what way will it benefit their readers?

3. Accept that writing for the web is different to writingnfor the off-line world. People tend to skim and scan (notenalliteration) when reading online. They read quicklynscrolling down the page.

4. Identify your target audience.

5. Give your article a catchy title that will grab attentionnand make people want to read.

6. Keep your title reasonably short. Put some thought andneffort into your heading - again to get your reader'snimmediate attention.

7. Be professional and take your article writing seriously.
Write about something you know professionally. Don't benoverly casual in your writing (ie. don't write exactly asnyou speak)

8. Keep your paragraphs short.

9. Be Clear and Concise. Get to the point quickly (enough waffle with maple syrup, Craig!).

10. Target your article to your audience with "focusedninformation".

11. Be brief, if you are a "waffler", like this writer.
People want immediate information online and havenlimited time usually - it's the "instant coffee, sorryngeneration.

12. Write briefly and concisely (redundant words, meaningnthe same thing, Craig!) Try to keep your article under 1,500nwords. Most paying markets usually only accept between 500nand 2,000 words... and with a bit of luck they may eve

"pick up" your great article. Try to be concise in you
wording. Brevity is the hall-mark of good writing...or sonsay many of the teachers of writing!

13.. Use the OCCASIONAL exclamation mark (!) to get you
readers attention. Forget the ALL CAPITAL LETTERS andnexclamation points!!!

14. Be credible (big word, eh?) at all times.I try to writenmy articles in a "conversational style with dashes of mynfunny humour".

15.. Use HUMOUR. People like to have a bit of fun with thenoccasional laugh, whilst being informed on a seriousnsubject. At least I believe so!

16. Write from "your heart", so that you come across as anREAL person. Just write what comes naturally with
INTEGRITY...and BE YOURSELF.

17. Be totally honest in your writing and don't "borrow" toonmuch from others content. It's so easy to "steal" on the wwwn- so do your own work and if you "borrow ideas or material,
ACKNOWLEDGE. "Incidentally, I have borrowed some ideas innthis article from some good writers and well-known internetnmarketers - thanks a lot, David, Michael, John, Meredith,
Joe, Edward, Ken and Mark).

18. Be humble.and don't talk down to your readers.

19. Use bullets (not live, please, oops er sorry, bad taste)nin your articles - it makes the points easy to follow.

20.. Don't forget your byline ...or your "business card".
Make sure that you resource box at the end of the articlenprovides enough information to identify yourself and providencontact information. It's FREE advertising.

21. Offer a free report with your article - this is an easynway to collect a list of adresses for marketing you
product(s). An instant target market.

22. Check all the links in your article before submitting it.

23. Offer your articles by autoresponder

24. Conclude with a strong message. Your final point (andnparagraph) should be a message that summarises your articlenor gets your reader to take further action, like "GETnSTARTED" (as I've done in this article).

25. Pay attention to feedback you get for your articles.
Getting constructive feedback about your articles ncan help you to write better through encouragement. A very powerful motivator to write more articles..

26. Finally, make sure your layout is good (not one of mynstrong points!), as this greatly enhances your prospects ofngetting published Use plenty of white spaces, as this makes your piece more easily read.

27. Proof-read. Double check your articles for errors: spelling, grammar and punctuation.
Use a spell-check. Go over your articlencarefully and be an editor yourself.

28. Make sure your article flows properly.

29. Re-read and re-read, until you get it "just right."

30. Keep a file of articles you've written or ones that lie nunfinished. You may have many new ideas since then.
Set aside time to work on them. You may even put them in the form of nan ebook, as my "techno-friend", Stefan has done. nnand finally...and most importantly

31. Remember the "kiss" principle: Write simply and keep your meaning (message) clear (As Ernest Hemingway advised). Never use a big word, when a dimunitive will do (get it)!

Self discipline is the key to writing success. n "Aim for perfection, but settle for excellence" in your article writing...nthen just "give it a full go with all you've got".nnand finally (and most importantly)

32. Don't treat writing articles for the www. as a loborious and necessary chore of internet marketing, but some FUN in your writing (as I have done in this article)

SUMMARY:

The internet is such an amazing medium for communication and
SHARING information. I've just submitted this article andnit's been published almost instaneously (big word!) in a fewnplaces. So YOU TOO can write articles on your chosen subjectnin your internet marketing efforts, as the more articles you write and submit, the more you will find web sites LINKING to yours (as many of the major search engines use the number of links as a factor in placing your web site in their rankings).

It's a "numbers game":
MORE TRAFFIC = INCREASED SALES ("the more you tell, the more you sell")

Share YOUR unique knowledge and skills to help others "outnthere in cyberspace."

Writers and internet marketers - Grab this moment in historynwell. "Carpe diem" (seize the moment!).

Why not start writing articles for the www in your uniquenarea of interest, knowledge and or expertise?

YOU CAN DO IT by writing articles for the www ...nand so and "by giving, you receive" (far more).

"Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it.
Boldness has genius, power and magic in it."n - Johan Wolfgang Von Goethe (German philosopher)

Happy writing in 2007 and beyond

Craig Lock (Eagle Productions NZ)

P.S:
We hope that these tips help in your article writing.
In my opinion it's the best internet marketing strategy.Tonyour internet marketing dreams in 2007...and beyond.

As the ancient Chinese philosopher said so well, "A jou
ey nof a thousand miles starts with a ... broken fan belt and a flat ntyre"... er sorry... a single step.

About the author:
Craig's mission is to encourage people to believe in themselves andnhelp inspire people around the world to achieve their goals and dreams in life.nhttp://www.craiglockbooks.comn
THIS ARTICLE MAY BE FREELY PUBLISHEDn nn