7 Steps to Writing Great Articles

As a business owner, do you find yourself needing to write more and more? You’ve probably heard that you should be writing articles to promote your business (and it is a great, no cost way to promote!), but may be leery of starting. Here are 7 tips to get you writing effective articles.

1. Select a good topic.
There’s no sense writing an article if no one wants to read it. Before you launch into an article, think about your target market and what their wants and needs are. If you’re not sure, go hang out in some forums and see what they are discussing.

If you are writing for an audience larger than your target market, I recommend you visit some article directories (such as http://www.ezinearticles.com) to see what the most read topics are.

2. Choose your title wisely.
Once you’ve written a good, strong article, don’t ruin it by giving it a weak title. The title is your headline – this is the first thing people will read and, in this day of instant decision making, could easily turn people away if they are not hooked.

3. Think bite-size.
Online readers have very little patience for long paragraphs, so break your article down into various sections. Notice how this article is broken down into small paragraphs with subheadings. It’s easier for your reader to digest.

4. Write for your audience, not for yourself.
If you want people to read your article, write it in a way that is easy for your readers to understand – don’t use acronyms without explaining them, keep the techno jargon out unless you are writing for an audience that understands it and keep the vocabulary simple. There’s no sense writing an article if no one is going to understand it.

5. Read, review and then read again.
You MUST proofread your work. Do it once, go do something else and then do it again. If possible, ask someone else to read it for you – he will undoubtedly pick up things that you miss.

6. Tell them who you are.
You want your readers to know who you are and how to reach you. Include a great resource box at the end so potential clients and other e-zine publishers know how to get in touch with you. You want them to visit your website to learn more about you and what you do.

7. Get it out there.
Now that you’ve done all the work to write a great article, parcel it into pieces, proofread it and write a compelling resource box, you need to get your article out there. I recommend Ezine Articles (www.ezinearticles.com) yet again as well as Submit Your Article (www.submityourarticle.com) as great article directories to submit your article to. If you prefer to build relationships with e-zine publishers personally, then I highly recommend Charlie Page’s Director of Ezines at http://www.directoryofezines.com for a wealth of information on e-zine publishers.

So what are you waiting for? Get writing!

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A Strategic Marketing & Profitability Mentor, Sandra Martini (www.SandraMartini.com), creator of Escalator Marketing™, shows creative heart-based entrepreneurs how to build sustainable businesses without losing their integrity or their minds. You can catch up with Sandra on her blog at www.FromTheDeskOfSandraMartini.com or Twitter at www.Twitter.com/SandraMartini

© 2002-2010 Sandra P. Martini. All Rights Reserved

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