Use the checklist below to make sure your article will get published and make you a household name on the Internet.
1. Does the title grab you and include a benefit?
2. The opening. Does it grab your attention? How? Is it clear? You need a hook in your short 1-3 sentence introduction. A shocking fact, drama.
3. Avoid starting sentences with “This is, there is, She is/was. Avoid passive construction such as have, is was, seems, appears. Replace”Judy is a book coach” with Book coach, Judy Cullins, digs her client’s buried treasure (their words) up to make their books salable gems. Aim for 2-4% passives. Use strong, action verbs instead.
4. Punch up those sentences. Instead of “people who are assertive are willing to stand up for themselves,” say, “Assertive people stand up for themselves.
5. Reduce general words. Replace them with specifics that are much more interesting to the reader. Instead of “saves you time,” use “saves you 10 hours a week, so you can finally take that vacation to that Caribbean island.
6. Shorten all sentences for Online reading.. Did you know that 15-17 words per sentence is standard? Over that number the sentence is “difficult?” We write differently for Online because we are busy people who want information fast!
7. Use the present or past tense instead of “would have” and other forms. These verb forms help clarity and give punch to the article.
8. Show, don’t tell. Instead of saying this book helps you to a healthy life, say After you read my book, you will have “leap out of bed energy.”
9. Reduce the use of adjectives and adverbs. Avoid all -ly adverbs. Make your nouns and verbs describe.Use the senses of sight, sound, emotions, touch.
10. Let go of excess words to make your writing more crisp, easier to read. Test this by starting most of your sentences with the subject followed by the action verb.
11. Discuss only one point per article to help you write focused, compelling copy for the rest. heck out the article’s thesis.What question does your article answer?
Remember, for opt-in ezine publishers to take your article and spread the good word about you, you need to submit a quality, well-edited article that will wow them..
Judy Cullins, 20-year Book and Internet Marketing Coach works with small business people who want to make a difference in people’s lives, build their credibility and clients, and make a consistent life-long income. Author of 10 eBooks including “Write your eBook Fast,” “How to Market your Business on the Internet,” and “Create your Web Site With Marketing Pizzazz,” she offers free help through her 2 monthly ezines, The Book Coach Says…and Business Tip of the Month at http://www.bookcoaching.com/opt-in.shtml and over 145 free articles. Email her at Judy@bookcoaching.com.
