WRITING ARTICLES - 10 Top Tips to help your turn words into profit!
Angela Sherman, professional copywriter from Content Creation, highlights the key things to remember when writing articles…..
Writing articles is one of the most powerful parts of your marketing toolkit. A good article can last long into the future, help you drive more traffic to your website and send clients to your door. They’re easy to write, they’re low cost and they set you up as an expert in your field. Plus, by offering good value in your articles, you build trust and credibility.
1. CHOOSE YOUR TOPIC. Your article might convey news about something to do with your business. Or you might write a useful ‘top tips’ article offering the reader a solution to a problem. Alternatively, focus on a topical issue, a recurring problem for your readership or a perennial question in your reader’s mind. Include interesting insights or helpful solutions. Pick up on things your clients say, observe the things people do - and then address common myths or misconceptions.
2. USE YOUR ARTICLE IN PRINT AND ON THE WEB. Whatever your topic, make the most of your article. Print it, upload it to your website, use it on your blog, send it to online publishers, include it with your proposals, use it as a handout, use it in a newsletter, email it to your clients and contacts, submit it to a magazine, post it on an ‘articles’ website (see Top Tip 10), send it to your alliance partners for inclusion in their own newsletters…..there are all sorts of ways to make an article your best marketing friend!
3. RESEARCH WHAT PEOPLE ARE LOOKING FOR - AND WHAT THEY REALLY WANT. In business people often want to read something useful and practical - something that speaks their language. By writing articles like this, you become their trusted advisor. Scour the trade press, search engines, relevant blogs, forums and newsgroups, etc. On the web, what ‘keywords’ will people use to search for the topic in your article? Make sure you include these words in your article. Do your research.
4. BRAINSTORM IDEAS AROUND YOUR TOPIC. If you’re not sure where to start, try this: Use an egg-timer or other time-limiting device. Write down words related to your topic - just words. Keep writing - don’t stop. Then expand each word or idea with other single words or phrases and then explain those words with additional ideas or phrases - and so on. All ideas are good! Now decide what your key issue / argument is and put your thoughts into some kind of numerical order.
5. CREATE A TITLE OR HEADING. Your title is CRITICAL both for humans and search engines. The title gets your article read by both. If writing for the web, include an appropriate search engine keyword in your title. Example: if you’re an image consultant, the title “10 easy ways to look great and win your next promotion” is good for human beings, but the title “Corporate attire for men - 10 easy ways to look great and win your next promotion” is much better for search engines, because it is more specific and would be picked up by people using the keywords “corporate attire for men.”
6. DRAFT YOUR INTRODUCTION. Why this topic? Why now? Tell your reader what you’re going to tell them and highlight the key insight you’ll explore. Perhaps start with an anecdote. Imagine you’re talking to a friend - that will set a good conversational tone. Add your name and position between the heading and the introduction, e.g. “Jo Smith of ABC Co. Ltd explains….”
7. WRITE YOUR BODY TEXT AND BREAK IT UP WITH SUBHEADINGS. Take the points you’ve brainstormed, develop them and take the reader step-by-step through your article. Keep it punchy. Add keywords, as appropriate. Perhaps use a quote from the relevant person, perhaps one of your peers or a client or an acknowledged expert in your field. If you’re writing for the web, link to a specific page of your website to help generate traffic. The content of your article must be interesting enough for someone to click on the link - so make sure you use a good keyword as the link text. If you’re sending your article for someone else to publish, check how many words they need. Leave the reader wanting more. If you’ve written a long article, could you break it up into a series of shorter ones? That would be ideal for a blog or for a magazine.
8. MAKE IT READABLE. Use more “you” words than “we” or “I”. Vary the pace by varying paragraph lengths and sentence lengths. Use one idea / subject per paragraph. Read it aloud to check that it flows.
9. CONCLUSION / SUMMARY. Tell them what you’ve told them and leave your key point or key question in their minds. Include a ‘call to action’, i.e. tell people what to do next. This encourages people to contact you and shows them why it’s worthwhile. Add your credentials and contact details at the end. If your article is for the web, include a link to a specific page on your website and always include “http://” if you’re mentioning your actual URL. Alternatively, use your best keyword as a link. Once you’ve written your article, sleep on it. Then cut down the number of words and get someone else to read it!
10. CONSIDER POSTING YOUR ARTICLE ON FREE ‘ARTICLES WEBSITES’. Write a useful article and post it on an articles website. These are essentially directories of articles on all sorts of topics. Articles posted on these sites will show up in general search results for your topic, as long as you’ve included the appropriate keywords. Link the article to a specific page or your website or blog - or to a separate sales page if you’re promoting a specific product. Then send your article to just a few articles websites initially (see below) - and measure the results! Browse some of the following sites* and see who else is writing in your field and how they structure and link their articles:
www.ezinearticles.com   www.articledashboard.com   www.articlecity.com   www.buzzle.com   www.ideamarketers.com
*Content Creation and the MK Advertiser does not endorse any of these websites and is not responsible for any of the content on any of these sites.
If you’d like some help creating powerful articles to drive traffic to your website and clients to your door, contact Angela Sherman at Content Creation on 01908 582 231 or visit her website to find out more.
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