Article Writing - Positive Author Questions To Ask Yourself

Article writing can be such an intimate act as you're always sharing a piece of yourself with the world. It's so easy for your mind to derail as you wander from paragraph to paragraph that I wanted to give you a list of positive questions you can ask yourself to keep your mind upbeat and focused on the task at hand.

(Read the list of questions slowly and do your best to internalize the questions so that your mind can respond with answers that are real for you...)

Ask Yourself:

How come I am always able to get into a state of "flow" so easily?

Why is it that my writing always communicates exactly what I wanted to say?

What can I share with others that will really add value to their life or business?

How can I crank out a top notch article in half the time it would take anyone else?

Why do my readers love me?

How come I always get so much positive feedback after I've written a new article?

What am I thankful for as I'm writing today?

Isn't it awesome that I've been so blessed to have the education or experience that allows me to write with confidence?

Who's life will change for the better because of my articles?

How come I can always live in the moment? Why is it always been easy for me to live in the "now" rather than worrying about the past or the future?

What was it like the last time I entered a perfect state of being able to write at my best?

Why is it that I always feel like I'm truly living my life's purpose when I'm writing?

How can I challenge my readers to make positive changes in their life?

Why is it that I'm paid so well to write articles? How come I make so much money and get so much free traffic from my articles every time I write them?

Why is it that writing articles comes so easily for me?

How can I crank up the volume to enhance the impact my articles can have?

"No question asked, goes unanswered." ? Chris Knight

About The Author:

Christopher M. Knight invites you to submit your best articles for massive exposure to the high-traffic <a target="_new" href="http://EzineArticles.com/">EzineArticles.com</a> directory. When you submit your articles to EzineArticles.com, your articles will be picked up by ezine publishers who will reprint your articles with your content and links in tact giving you traffic surges to help you increase your sales. To submit your article, setup a membership account today: <a target="_new" href="http://EzineArticles.com/submit/">http://EzineArticles.com/submit/</a>

Why You Need an Article-Marketing Strategy before Posting a Single Article Online I

Part 1 of a 2-part series
To read Part 2
http://www.promotewitharticles.com/strategy102.html

First, Define your Bulls Eye

If you're going to write and post articles on the Internet, be unambiguous about what you expect them to accomplish. Don't start writing just yet. Think beyond the mechanics of writing an article or deciding where to post it.

It's one thing to spin out an article or two. It's quite another to incorporate them into a strategy that builds your website traffic, reputation, and business. All your marketing methods should work together - online and off.

Your Strategy Clarifies:

- Who you're trying to reach

- How to find them

- What you want them to do next (does your website support that aim?)

- Your primary goal and message

- How articles (with particular titles and keywords) mesh with your other marketing

Article marketing is nothing more than a way to get information (not advertising) broadly distributed on the Internet. It can't compensate for a muddled or dull message. And it won't build your site traffic unless it connects to readers in an interesting way.

Write Articles that Trumpet a Unique Business Message

A frequent business error is treating each customer- attracting activity as though it stands alone. Yet each method works better when echoing a common message that links to the others.

To quote Roy Williams, the Wizard of Ads, http://www.wizardofads.com "It's hard to tell a powerful story badly. But it's easy to tell a weak story well. I've never seen a business fail because they were "reaching the wrong people." But I've seen thousands fail because they were saying the wrong thing... It's amazing how many people become the "right people" when you're saying the right thing. Believe it or not, it's advertising third, customer delight second, strategy always first."

Maximize your Customer-Attracting Methods

Last year I wrote an ebook showing how to make the business website and Yellow Page ad work together to bring new customers. It made the point that each promotional method has its own strengths, and reaches different groups http://www.yellowpagesage.com/smarts.html By them working together, each approach does a more persuasive job.

As an example, the directory ad should display a website address. A recent study found that over 60% of people surveyed only call Yellow Page ads that show a website (even if they don't intend to visit it). Besides, the website lets the business provide information that won't fit within the dimensions of an ad.

A single approach can't cover all your bases. The same applies to article marketing.

Article Marketing Strengths

- Ability to deliver an interesting "sample" of your expertise

- Long enough to be informative (600-800 words)

- Reaches and speaks to tightly focused interest groups

- Quickly delivers the message throughout the Internet

- Long shelf life - some websites keep articles posted for years

- Builds on the keywords that your website uses

- Incoming-links from websites that post your articles

Plan More than One Article at a Time

You can't develop much momentum with one article. That's like shooting a gun with a single bullet, or a PPC (pay-per- click) campaign for just one term. The odds of hitting your mark aren't too good. Several articles written to reinforce each other generate more mileage. As you get more articles out there, people start paying attention, and you can target more keywords. Repeated publications develop a personality that readers recognize.

Plan a number of titles in advance, with a theme building from one to the next. Keep each one tightly focused, but related to the others. In that way, you develop the in-depth "voice" of an expert. And your information won't lapse into ho-hum generalities. Write first-rate articles when you rely on the extensive free resources http://www.promotewitharticles.com at Article Marketing Academy.

Try writing some in a series (like, Part 1 of 3 parts) to build anticipation for future segments. Also, your message won't be confined to the 600 to 800 word article limit. Since each article in the series resides on your website, readers needn't wait to read them all (giving them an incentive to visit your site). Later, the whole series can be offered as a special report or ebook (once related material is added).

Write with your keywords in mind. Maintain your primary message, with a different twist for parallel niches. Go to the extra effort to say something new. That's easy when you provide stories, examples, case studies from your own experience. As you dish out practical assistance in your articles, readers will be eagerly watching for your next ones.

? Lynella Grant, 2005

Part 2 includes posting articles, writing to please the search engines, and ways to re-use articles. Part 2 of 2, http://www.promotewitharticles.com/strategy102.html

--Dr. Lynella Grant <a target="_new" href="http://www.promotewitharticles.com">http://www.promotewitharticles.com</a> - Article Marketing Academy - Promote yourself, business, website, or book with articles posted online. Author, Yellow Page Smarts, <a target="_new" href="http://www.yellowpagesage.com/smarts.html">http://www.yellowpagesage.com/smarts.html</a> (719) 395-9450

How to Use Articles to Generate Free Traffic to Your Website

Writing articles that are available for reprint is an excellent way to generate traffic to your website. Webmasters,ezine publishers, and bloggers are always looking for quality content. This is an excellent way to get free exposure for your website. Here are some tips to help you write your article.

Make sure your article is between 200 and 1000 words. Most of the people that surf the Internet on a regular basis have extremely short attention spans and will usually start to go to sleep if your article is longer than 1000 words.

Make sure your article does not sound like a sales page. Webmasters and ezine publishers can tell the difference between an article and a sales letter dressed up to look like an article. Most publishers will not use such material in their publication. Save the selling for your resource box.

Format your article to between 60 and 65 characters per line. This makes things easier for the ezine publisher that is going to publish your article. If you have an html version of your article, mention that in the email that you send to the publisher.

Make sure that you proofread your article before it is submitted. Most publishers operate on a very tight schedule and simply do not have the time to rewrite an article that is full of grammatical mistakes. They will simply discard your article without a second thought. Don't rely on spell check to catch everything either. It's best to save the article and look at it the next day with a fresh set of eyes. It may also be helpful to print the article out. Sometimes it is easier to catch mistakes when we see the article on paper rather than on the computer.

Finally make sure that your article grabs the reader's attention. When dealing with an online audience, you have to grab the reader's attention right away. Action in the first sentence is a must. Don't take too long to get to the point, either. It only takes a second for your reader to click away from a website.

Article writing is one good way to get traffic to your website.

It's a good way to get yourself established as an "expert" or to break into your niche market. There are millions of things to write about, so you should not have a problem finding article ideas.

DeAnna Spencer is the publisher of Prospecting and Presents. Subscribers get one free ad per week and they get treated to original content in each issue. Subscribe today by visiting <a target="_new" href="http://www.pnewsletter.com/subscribe.html">http://www.pnewsletter.com/subscribe.html</a>

Are You Submitting Your Articles?

Last month, I began promoting Jason Potash's &quot;Article Announcer.&quot; I always take time to research new products on the market. I don't believe in &quot;magic bullets.&quot; There is a principle taught in physics, chemistry, biology and even Algebra 101. Nature seeks dynamic balance, equilibrium. If you add something to the left side of the = sign, the right side moves to balance it.

I anticipated a reaction to the introduction of this new software. I was right. I chose to submit last month's article, &quot;Penury Perpetuates Poverty&quot; the &quot;hard way,&quot; one by one to various submission sites on the Internet. Out of about 80 submissions, I discovered about 25% have temporarily (I hope) ceased accepting new authors/articles. Some submission pages came up with a 404 Error upon clicking the &quot;submit&quot; button.

One came up with the following: &quot;We&#769;re being plagued by so many automated submissions, duplicate article submissions, etc. that we spend too much time in selecting the real articles that matter. For this reason we are temporary not accepting new submissions until we have implemented some security measures to block bad submissions. We hope you understand. Please come back in about 1 month to submit your articles.&quot;

Some have extremely obtuse instructions. Some simply don't work. Some are very specialized. Some are email submissions only (which opens the door to being spam'd). Some of these bounced. One may have had his ISP overloaded, shut down, and later began accepting articles again.

Right now I'm checking each site if my article was accepted. I know it is &quot;loading the dice&quot; when I access Google, Yahoo, MSN and search on [&quot;Robert Leggett&quot; Penury]. I was getting over 600 listings and dominated the first few pages of these search engines. I'm even listed on sites where I never submitted.

Of course just after doing my first &quot;submission run&quot; I periodically checked Google. Wow! Exposure just kept growing! Then, one day, I got no listing at all on Google. Yahoo still liked me a little. The following day I was baaaaaack. I need to research why Google didn't like me that one day. Now my search engine hits have settled down to a more realistic number.

Shortly after going to press, I continued checking latest submission and submitted my next article, &quot;Discover your Creativity.&quot; I am &quot;paying my dues.&quot; I must know how this all works. It is new to me. Once I see everything has settled down and a more stable balance has been achieved, I will seriously consider purchasing Jason Potash's &quot;Article Announcer&quot; - if it saves me time. Always intelligently automate whenever possible!

&quot;Doing it the hard way&quot; I have discovered my articles must have strong headlines. They must contain words search engine spiders like. They must have valuable content. Don't take my word on this. Check out a lot of &quot;Submission Guidelines&quot; at different directories. Through necessity, I must become a better writer.

This exercise was time intensive. I have profited more not taking a &quot;magic bullet&quot; approach. Other benefits include &quot;sharpening up&quot; our webZine &quot;Cyberspace Marketeer,&quot; offering greater content and more user-friendly design. I have just added a new page which includes 37 user-friendly Article Submission Directories.

Recently I received the following [edited] message from one of these Directories: &quot;You can now save your default RESOURCE BOX and up to 2 additional RESOURCE BOXES for your default author and alternate author accounts - SAVING YOU THE TIME from having to copy and paste it each time you send in a new article. :-). Think of the additional time you can save with this new feature? Perhaps you might want to head to the gym earlier or better yet, send in another article now that you can do it in less time! :) *hint hint*&quot;

They want you! Write and rewrite your articles you plan to submit. Research different submission sites. If you publish your own eZine or webZine, some sites accept these listings, too. Some sites also accept News Releases. Get a feel for these submission sites. Work with them. When you eventually decide to put much of this on automatic, you will have a much better overview of the process.

You have permission to publish this article in its entirety, electronically or in print, free of charge, as long as Robert Leggett's byline is included. A courtesy copy of your publication would be appreciated.

Copyright 2005 - by Robert Leggett - All rights reserved

Robert Leggett serves individuals and business owners globally. He helps them grow their business and enrich their lifestyles.

You have permission to publish this article in its entirety, electronically or in print, free of charge, as long as Robert Leggett's byline is included. A courtesy copy of your publication would be appreciated.

Copyright 2005 - by Robert Leggett - All rights reserved

Article Archives: <a target="_new" href="http://www.CyberspaceMarketeer.com">http://www.CyberspaceMarketeer.com</a>

Products & Services: <a target="_new" href="http://www.EarnYourLiving.com">http://www.EarnYourLiving.com</a>

Blog: <a target="_new" href="http://cyberspacemarketeer.blogspot.com">http://cyberspacemarketeer.blogspot.com</a>

Want to Put Your Names on My Article?

There's a new sort of ghost stalking the digital landscape.

They let several people pay them for the right to put their names as authors to some articles and, maybe, other types of written work that they write. This differs from the traditional way that ghost writers work. Instead of writing pieces to order or supplying pre-written pieces for a fee to one client who buys the right to replace the ghost's name with their own as author, the new arrangements involve the ghost being paid by several people for naming rights to the same article or other written piece. The ghost, in every occurence that I'm aware of, disclosed to all their potential clients exactly what they are doing - though, naturally, they may not tell each client exactly who else has the same rights to the pieces) that they are paying for.

Usually 20 or more people can buy the rights to any one article or package. My concern is for the effect of more than one person using the article with their own name on it as the sole author. Imagine that 3 "authors" circulate one of these articles through their mailing lists, remembering that many people who promote their services and products through their own web sites may have lists with several thousand subscribers, and one or more people subscribe to more than one of these lists.

The impression on anyone who gets 2 or more copies of the same article with different people claiming to be the author will, inevitably, be very negative. They make be concerned enough to contact one or more authors to ensure that the piece is not being plaigarised. I can't see the authors then having any choice but to all admit that they bought the right to put their own name on someone else's work. I don't think that would be an enjoyable experience for any of those concerned. That would not happen in the traditional model of buying, signing and distributing an article that was ghost-written.

There are plenty of opportunities to approach individual authors directly or through sites like eLance.com to get a well written piece that you can put your own name to in the traditionally accepted manner.

My other suggestion is to try to write an article yourself. It's not hard and you might find that you like writing when you actually give it a go. I know that methods of doing business are constantly evolving and new paths are being pushed through the electronic landscape. I just think that this path will not lead to a happy outcome for anyone.

John Williams writes and sells electronic books. He had 8 published when this article was written, with 2 more near completion. Anyone that wants to find out how easy it is to write and publish their own ebook or article for on-line distribution should visit <A href=" a target="_new" href="http://www.ezyebook.com/"http://www.ezyebook.com//a"> John's web site</A>

Article Marketing: The Five Indisputable Rules of Author Bio Creation

Hey! Who's that I see, typing feverishly as brilliant ideas flow from furious typing fingers to the article submission box? Is that YOU??

Well, aren't you the dickens! You found out about article marketing, and that is exciting and inspiring indeed. Now let me ask you a question, dear Article Writing Friend:

<B>Do you know what you're trying to achieve by writing web articles?

Why, of course you do! Silly question, yes? You want people read your article, decide you're cool, witty, interesting, brilliant, etc.- because you are. Then you want them to visit your website.

Now, how will you get them to visit your website? You're already managed to divert their attention to what you have to say in that dazzling style that's you and you alone. But how will you get them to go all the way down, down, down to the bottom of that article, and click your URL?

1. You will stop thinking of your article bio as your resume.

A potential web client or customer does not care to see your list of credentials at the end of an article. As they read your article, they may love what they see, but you're still a stranger. They just want to be entertained, informed, or gratified in some way. It's all about THEM, not YOU. They just want to know who out there can help them. So if you start trumpeting about your vast successes, you'll get them to react, but not in the way that you want. Their reaction will be to CLICK AWAY. So for your business's sake, don't laundry-list your accomplishments in your author bio.

2. You will start thinking of your author bio as the gateway to prosperity.

Where does your fortune grow? It grows right in the website that is the home base for what you sell. How are people going to get there? By reading your articles, becoming interested in what you can offer them, and then letting you shuttle them there via your website URL. How will you shuttle them? Tell them what to do! Call the reader to action: Visit http://wordfeeder.com for more information. They're reading that bio box as fast as a finger-snap. If you don't want to lose the customer, tell them what to do and do it quickly.

3. You WILL NOT include more than one URL on your article bio.

Ever hear of Bio Boxing? Probably not, because I just made it up. Bio Boxing is what happens when two URLs fight for attention in your bio box. If you read two URLs in one author's bio box, what do you do? Look at one. Look at the other. It's a fifty-fifty shot at finding the answer you need. So you take a deep breath, pick and click. Ohhh!! You crapped out. That website was not even remotely close to what you hoped to find. What do you do now? Get up, get a glass of iced tea, and forget about this whole incident. In article boxing, nobody wins the fight. So don't include more than one URL in your bio box.

4. You will write one bio for each article category that you write to.

If you haven't noticed, article websites are ingeniously laid out by industry. In one article, you can be a religious muse, and lead your readers to a spiritual website. You would classify this article in the spiritual section, of course. In another article, you can write to the foodie crowd and lure people to your site where you sell chocolate chip cookies. Note that each of these articles requires its own uniquely-written bio box and corresponding URL link. I'll say it another way: don't mix and match your article categories in your bio box!

5. You will start thinking about your bio as FREE advertising.

You've bought ad space before, right? Okay, suppose you sell keyboard cleaners, and one day Staples.com comes by and offers you free ad space on their site. In this space, would you also include a link to that other website where you sell donut holes?? Of course you would not! Likewise, use each bio box as your FREE ADVERTISING for ONE website that attracts ONE AUDIENCE that you just spoke to in your article. Consider the world's biggest corporations; Old Navy, for example. Old Navy is owned by the Gap. Do you EVER hear a reference to Old Navy in Gap ads, or vice-versa? No, NEVER!

One of the biggest rules in advertising is to not distract or confuse the customer. Remember the points mentioned above, as a way to ensure that the elusive article reader won't slip right through your nimble typing fingers. Make each article work for you. Target your audience throughout the cohesive package of the article submission form, from beginning to end.

Remember that in each article, you will write to ONE audience within ONE category, and the goal is ONE click destination. Pay special attention to the largely ignored author bio, as this is the spot that either makes you or breaks you. Use that author bio box to your advantage while you still have the chance!

Copyright 2005 Dina Giolitto. All rights reserved.

Find out how crisp, targeted copywriting can make a world of difference for your business. Dina Giolitto is a Copywriting Consultant with ten years of experience. Visit <a target="_new" href="http://Wordfeeder.com">http://Wordfeeder.com</a> for free tips on branding, copywriting, article marketing, and more.

An Affable Article

It doesn't really matter who you are; you definitely know something or know something differently. It is our particular sense of logic and humour that make us interesting.

Interesting and informative articles are in big demand. Article directories meet this demand by amassing them in one location.

Who can do this or what qualifications are needed to submit articles?

Providing that the content is &quot;clean&quot;, anyone can submit, and the only qualification needed is that your article is interesting and informative, or close to it.

How to, why to, why not to, how not to, or anything in between, should be okay. If it is easy to read and worth reading, then it should be perfect.

Would you read it? If your answer is YES, then it is probable that others would want to read it.

From gardening snippets of wisdom, aliens to alligators, strawberry soup to strangulated hernias, people to pigs (transformations may also be interesting), simple to sublime, technical to basic, your perspective may be anywhere from useful to universal.

Does your English or language of choice (think global), need to be grammatically perfect?

The short answer is NO. Specific directories have specific guidelines or terms, but the webmaster/editors of these directories usually have &quot;worldly wisdom&quot;, understand that your first article may not circumvent the globe and also understand that with time and some experience, others might. These people don't want to edit everything (too time-consuming), so some effort on your behalf is always a good and rewarding goal.

Benefits to individual contributors or writers:

Exposure.

This exposure is limitless and articles can be submitted to thousands of directories and any site that will accept them. All articles include a resource box. This is a few lines of information about the writer and can include a web address.

This address or u.r.l. is the key.

When the various search engines index the directory, the hyperlink to the writers chosen site is noted. This alone improves link popularity. Incoming links from major sites (as many directories are), will improve your chances of getting search engine traffic.

For example only; if two sites, using the same keywords and similar content are in competition (normal ), the one with links from high quality sites will be favoured.

So you get traffic to your site because of search engines and the possibility or probability of someone reading the article, by simply clicking your link.

Double whammy shortened; search engine traffic via linking popularity and your name or associated site/program presented for perusal. Sites lacking content go to directories to find content. This is &quot;VIRAL MARKETING&quot; at its' best! That is around the clock, around the year, exposure. Such exposure can theoretically last forever, where the info. is good, amusing or of interest to people on this planet.

Brilliant! So how much will it cost? It's FREE.

So what should I do?

Find or create a site to link to. Get a free one if necessary ( search engine, then, &quot;free hosting&quot;).

That's great, but I'm a nobody!

I go to college or I'm an unmarried mother, a pensioner, a prisoner, a priest, or indeed, all five in combination.

That is great! That means that you do know something or know something differently!

Tell us (the world) about it.

Tell your grand parents that someone wants to know!

Tell your grand children that someone wants to know about your experience!

Enhance your resume/Curriculum Vitae.

Bring free traffic to your site.

Develop a new skill. Before the advent of the INTERNET, it wasn't easy or nearly impossible to get &quot;published&quot;. All excuses are rapidly dwindling. Indeed, they are gone!

Maximise work already done ( you may already have a wealth of articles on you P.C.; just paste them into relevant category of directories and you can use your favourite search engine to find them).

You may have the stories within a diary or in your head. Unleash your experience and discoveries.

Within a local context (family, friends, work), your experience may be ignored, but the world is a different setting. Exploit it; it was never easier, and benefit from being a contributor to the INTERNET, and the people that it is meant to serve.

Benefits to the directories.

They amass volumes of information.

They get traffic because of this. Their respective content is favoured by search engines.

Summary.

Articles favour the writers and directories that support them.

Articles contribute to the free end of the INFORMATION SUPERHIGHWAY.

Articles are VIRAL (marketing speak).

Articles compliment sites that don't have time or don't have experience within a specific field.

ACTION.

NOW. You may forget tomorrow, what you know today so put it somewhere that it will be remembered.

NOTE; If you absolutely need to mention your mother-in-law, then you should mention her affectionately for you'll never know where she could read about it.

About The Author

Seamus Dolly is the webmaster of <a href="http://www.CountControl.com" target="_new">http://www.CountControl.com</a>. His background is in engineering and analogue electronics and his studies include A+, iNet+ and Server+.