(Part 1)
There are many benefits in getting your name exposed by writing articles for the internet. It is one of the best free promotion methods you can use to grow your business. This is a step-by-step lesson on how to write your own promotional articles, and what to do with them once they’ve been written.
The article should be targeted to your particular niche customer. It will promote your website or free course, so it must be written with that him/her in mind. Write something useful, and don’t blatantly sell anything.
*Create An Outline*
Before you can write an article, you have to know what you are going to write about, right? Well, an outline forces you to organize your thoughts, so they flow better. You should include these elements when preparing an outline:
+ Headline + Get their attention!
+ Grabber + (first paragraph) Make them want to read on.
+ Main points and sub-points +
+ Conclusion/Close + Wrap it up, and make it short.
+ Sig File + To promote YOU!
A sample outline (which I used to write this article) can be found at this link:
http://www.kenleonardjr.com/articles/outline.html
*Time To Write*
Once you have an outline to work with, it is time to write your first draft. The best way to get the draft “on paper” is to sit down and write. Don’t be concerned with length, grammar or spelling. Just follow your outline, and don’t stop until you have reached the end. Write as if you are speaking to your target customer.
*Put It Away*
Once the draft is finished, put it away. Don’t look at it for a couple of days. This will allow you to look at it with “fresh eyes” when you begin to edit.
*First Rewrite*
Now it’s time to read over your draft, and start making corrections. You may read a sentence, and decide on a better way to phrase it. Watch for bad grammar, but realize that you want to write in a casual manner. Don’t use any slang or regional expressions. Foreign readers may not understand exactly what you mean. Again, write as you would speak to a friend. Avoid using big words, or passages that sound like you are reading a college term-paper. Pass along your tips in easy to read, easy to understand sentences. The shorter the better, while still getting your point across to the readers.
Scratch out words and sentences that the article really doesn’t need. Replace them with something better (and shorter), or don’t replace them at all. Organize the paragraphs so that the entire article “flows” nicely.
*Let’s Get Typing*
Wait another day before typing your hand-written draft. This will give you a better perspective to edit the piece. The key here is to condense. Remove more words than you add. At this point, you shouldn’t be adding words unless they’re absolutely necessary.
If you really can’t type, you may find this link useful:
http://www.kenleonardjr.com/articles/Learntotype.html
You can’t become an internet writer if you can’t type. Don’t take all day to type a one page article. You’ve got other work to do, you know?
*Final Rewrite*
Now that the article is typed and edited, it is time to rewrite again. Your main goal here is to make the final copy shorter than it is now. The key to writing effective web articles is to keep them as short and condensed as possible. A person’s attention span while reading on the web is much shorter than if they were reading from a book or a magazine. Don’t waste the reader’s time. Give them what they want in a quick and pleasant way. Cut out anything that is not absolutely necessary. Would you rather read an article of 1200 words, or get the same idea from one only 700 words? Shorter is better.
In Parts Two and Three, you’ll learn how to format your article for publication on websites and in email newsletters (ezines). Then I’ll show you who to contact and where to submit your articles for maximum exposure.
(Part Two)
*Formatting Your Article For The Web/Email*
Once you’ve finished the editing, you want to make your article as easy to read as possible. Formatting an article does this, putting it in a standard form that is accepted by online publishers.
You’ll need to use a full featured “text editor” to do this. I recommend UltraEdit32, a useful and inexpensive tool that I use daily.
*Other Text Editor Options*
Here is a list of other text editors that will work well for creating and formatting your articles for internet publication. If you’re short on cash, grab a free one. Otherwise, the money you’ll spend on a copy of UltraEdit will be the best $35US you have ever spent.
By the way, MS Word, MS Wordpad, and MS NotePad are not recommended for creating and formatting your articles. Try one of these, or go for UltraEdit.
Boxer Software Text Editor http://www.boxersoftware.com/
EditPad Lite http://www.editpadpro.com/editpadlite.html *FREE*
NoteTab Lite http://www.notetab.com/ntl.htm *FREE*
EditPlus Text Editor http://www.editplus.com/
NotePad Plus http://www.mypeecee.org/rogsoft/ *FREE*
*Using UltraEdit*
You will learn how to use this text editor quickly. Don’t worry about all of the different features, just follow these instructions to format your articles like a pro. Later, you can learn all of the other functions from the help menu.
When you start UltraEdit, a new, blank document appears. Set the font to your preference for online viewing (I use Courier New). A 10 point font size will work fine for your articles. Use the Change Font button at the top to do this (two ‘A’s with a double-point arrow below them).
Make sure that you have your office set up so you can type with proper posture. This will help reduce fatigue. A copy holder, attached to your monitor, would be great.
*Saving the article*
After you type the title at the top of the page, it’s a good time to save the new file you’ve created to a folder of your choosing. Choose FileSave As… and enter the name of the file. Now choose the folder to save the file to and click Save.
To save your work as you go, now that you’ve created the file, just hit Ctrl+S. Do this after every few paragraphs. Can you imagine, typing for two hours (and not saving your work), then your PC crashes and you lose everything? Ouch!
Save your work often.
As you type, be aware of the format you need to use to have your article look (physically) like other author’s articles. The standard for ezine publication is 65 characters per line. The bottom status bar of UltraEdit shows the character number as you type it. You’ll see when you are approaching 65, then hit the Enter key. You are now typing on the next line.
I start the first line with a space, then use 64 more characters (equals 65/char per line). Every new line will automatically start with a space. This moves the text away from the edge of the document a little bit.
Use short sentences and paragraphs whenever possible. This makes the article easier to read for the busy internet surfer. When ending a paragraph, double-space (at least) before the next one. I prefer triple-spaced for web and email copy. More white space makes it easier to read on a computer monitor.
When the entire article is typed, it’s time to double-check the formatting, and to do a spell check.
To Spell Check, highlight the whole article (EditSelect All or Ctrl+A). Now hit EditSpell Check (or Ctrl+K) and the Spell Checker appears. Check to see if you are offered a better option to spell that word as each word comes up in the text box. If you’ve already spelled it right, hit Ignore (Alt+I). If you goofed, and the correct spelling is in the Change To list, hit Change (Alt+C). Do this process until the Spell Check Complete box appears. Click OK.
To check your formatting, or to reformat an article, use the Reformat Text tool. To set the tool to format as you would like, go to FormatParagraph FormattingParagraph Setup Formatting . When the Reformatting Options box appears, click to fill the button next to Specify Margin, and enter “1” (no quotes) in the blank to the right. In the space after Right Margin, enter “64” (no quotes). Under Alignment, click to fill the button next to Left. Click OK.
To reformat, highlight the paragraph or entire article, and go to FormatReformat Paragraph (or use Ctrl+T). Your article now looks perfect, in an instant.
Make sure that after spell checking and reformatting, you save the changes (Ctrl+S) that were made.
*The Resource Box*
Also known as Sig File, your signature is the chance to promote YOU! You can include a short author bio (including your name is a must) and a teaser for your product or service. Include a link to the website you are promoting, or an email link, if you are giving away a free course or ebook.
*Have Your Work Proofed*
Have someone read and critique the article. The best way to do this is to hire a professional editor. You may not have the cash for that yet, so a friend or relative will do. Take their advice, and use your good judgement, to make a final edit. Cut out anything that is not absolutely necessary. Polish it to a brilliant shine. This gem has YOUR name on it.
Next week in Part Three, you will learn who to contact, and where (and how) to submit your original article to many websites and ezines. I hope you have finished your rough draft and editing of your piece. After reading today’s lesson, you’ll be ready to type and format your article like a pro. Have it finished by next week, and you can follow along with that lesson, and have your article submitted to many places in a couple of hours. Then you can start on your next masterpiece.
(Part Three)
*Submitting Your Article*
It’s done. You’ve written your first article. Now what do I do?, you ask. Well, it’s time to announce your article to the online world.
*For Use In Ezines*
Subscribe to newsletters related to your niche. See if your work would fit into their style and format. Send an email to the publisher of each related ezine and ask if they would review your article for possible publication in their ezine. Personalize the email (publisher’s name, ezine name) and write in a conversational tone. Be friendly, you are contacting a busy person. Kindly request that they consider your article. Publishers get a lot of email. They delete anything that even smells like spam. Don’t just send one email, with 20 names in the To: or CC: field. Don’t send the article as an attachment. Paste it into the body of the email. And don’t send ten articles at once. Treat them as you would have others treat you.
*Free Content Sites*
Many online publishers simply cannot (or will not) write articles for their own publications. They are constantly in need of good, fresh, informative articles. Free content websites exist to serve these publishers. Submitting your article to a high traffic content site can mean a ton of free exposure. No emails are sent to these sites. They provide online forms to allow you to submit your article. You just cut and paste.
Here are a few good ones to get you started:
Idea Marketers http://www.ideamarketers.com/
Marketing-Seek http://www.marketing-seek.com/index.shtml
Ezine Articles http://www.ezinearticles.com/
Making Profit http://www.makingprofit.com/mp/
Article Master/Opportunity Update http://www.opportunityupdate.com/articles/
Ultimate Profits’ Success and Money Library http://www.ultimateprofits.com/index_2.htm
CFC (Click For Content) Article Bank http://clickforcontent.com/cgi-bin/epro/print.pl
*Article Announcement Lists/Groups*
These groups are moderated discussion email lists. You can post articles to a group, and every member of the list gets a copy. You also get copies of all articles that other members submit. You must join the list to participate.
Here are a couple of popular free content email groups:
Article Announce (Yahoo Groups) http://groups.yahoo.com/group/article_announce/
Free-Content (Yahoo Groups) http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Free-Content/
As an added bonus, some content sites offer announcement emails to their users, too. Submit to the site, and you automatically get included in the announcement email list.
*Follow The Rules*
Be aware that all ezine publishers have a certain standard for accepting article submissions. If you don’t follow the guidelines, the submission will get deleted. Content sites will not approve your submission if it doesn’t meet their rules. Moderated email groups have even less tolerance to article submitters not following their guidelines. Make sure that you get it right the first time. If you can’t find their guidelines, ask for them.
*After You’ve Submitted Your Article*
Here’s what you can expect from all of the work that you put into writing and submitting your article.
When an ezine publisher runs your piece in front of 30,000 readers, chances are that you will get some clicks on your resource box link. Maybe quite a few. They could be potential buyers, or new subscribers to your free newsletter. And they were free.
Your articles on free content sites are permanent parts of each one. They can generate leads for you 24/7, even while you are sleeping. Write an article once, and it works for you over and over again. It is free to submit to these sites.
Announcement groups/lists are great for the busy online publisher. And for you, too. Your article is sent directly to the inboxes of hundreds of publishers that need good content. They didn’t have to go anywhere to find your article. It came to them. This is free, too.
Promoting your website can include many marketing techniques, but some of the best free promotional tools you’ll ever have are the articles you write. People get to know your name, and you build your online credibility at the same time.
What a deal.
Go write an article.
How do YOU get results online with little or no business experience? Get Ken Leonard Jr.’s new mini-course, “7 Ways To Beat The Competition”, a smart first step for YOUR small business. End your frustration, get going in the right direction! 7waystobeattherest@kljonline.com http://www.kenleonardjr.com/
