Tell the world about YOU!

You have a new website, or a new business, or both – or your site isn’t getting the kind of traffic you want and need. How are you going to tell the world about what you have to offer and where to find it?

If you have deep pockets, you can start buying ads in newsletters and ezines and hope somebody reads them. If you have even deeper pockets, you can have press releases sent out in major markets all over the country, even around the world. (Actually, those are not deep pockets – they’re more like mine shafts!) OR...

You can write articles for other people to publish in their ezines and newsletters. Who, me? Write? Right. It isn’t that difficult, assuming you have an average command of the English language. Or, more correctly, the American language, which is quite similar yet substantially different from English. George Bernard Shaw said, "England and America are two countries divided by a common language." But, enough of that.

The Internet is awash in "gurus", the vast majority of them self-appointed. I make no such claim. I am a practical writer and editor who believes the primary goal of this kind of writing is clear, concise communication. On that basis, I offer some advice and tips:

1. Write about what you know. If you’re Joe or Jane, an office worker whose hobby is gardening, don’t write about search engine optimization. Your goal is to publicize your new gardening website or ezine (or both). Write about gardening, and let someone else handle the SEO.
2. Write a "conversation". By that, I mean write as though you were speaking to another person, one-to-one. You’re not writing for some literary journal, but for folks pretty much like yourself. "Talk" to a friend, and avoid expressions like "some of you", which is impersonal and puts distance between you and your reader. Bad idea. Instead say "some people", or something similar. Keep it conversational.
3. Facts count. If you’re not sure about something, find out before including it in your article. Otherwise, you’ll become known as unreliable, which can be fatal in business.
4. Grammar counts. Let me guess: you hated English class and just barely passed. Well, if achieving your goals is important to you, make the effort. Here’s a free site that can answer more grammar questions than you can likely ask: http://www.grammarnow.com.
5. Be concise. If you want people to read your articles, give them something of value and make them easy to read.
6. Numbers count. The more your articles get published, the more you will be thought of as an expert, and the more people will visit your website or subscribe to your ezine..

Once you’ve written an article, how do you market it to publishers who might want to use it? Well, you can:

1. Search for ezines and newsletters covering your topic and email the individual publishers, offering your article. I used to do that – time consuming and frustrating. OR
2. Do what I do – use OpportunityUpdate.com and have them do it for you (No, I am not an affiliate, but we are friends.) Here’s what they do:
1. Promote your article to hundreds of publishers
2. Send it directly to all their registered publishers
3. Give you the advantage of great positions with Google and Yahoo, and others (but they’re the monsters)
4. List your article in their "Authors We Recommend" section
5. List your article in their search directory
6. Your article gets a full search engine optimized Web page, including your website (in your Author’s Resource Box).
7. Promote your article for a full year – or more
8. Submit your article to 40+ search engines and directories

Is it free? Of course not – would you do all that for free? But, I guarantee you this: it’s dirt cheap and much less than it would cost you to do it yourself! So what good is writing if nobody reads it? You want results, right? Go with the pros.

How to get rejected by article directories.

Article writing is one of the best ways to increase your traffic and get more sales. You've heard it a million times so you decide to finally just do it. You write an article and submit it to the article directories, eagerly anticipating the flow of traffic. Instead you receive the dreaded rejection letter.

What did you do wrong?

1. Did you proof-read your article before you submitted it?

Popular article directory sites receive hundreds of submissions each day. It's much easier for the owner to click "decline" than to edit your typo-filled or unformatted article. Before submitting, proof the article and proof it again. If grammar and spelling make you sweat, then hire a Copywriter or ask a friend to help you before you click that submit button.

2. Is it an Advertisement or an Article?

Article directory sites are looking for informative, useful content, not press releases or ads. If your submission reads like an ad, it will not be accepted. And, think about it -- even if was approved on a fluke, do you think that website owners will be clamoring to publish your 500 word advertisement? Not a chance.

3. Did you read the Submission Guidelines?

Each article directory has a different culture. Glance through the Submission Guidelines before setting up an account to make sure your article will be welcome before you submit it. If an article directory is based around a niche like gardening, then please resist the urge to submit your Mesothelioma articles. There are plenty of article directories that want your articles. It’s not an effective use of your time to submit unwanted articles to a niche site.

4. Is your article PG-rated?

Don't submit sex-related articles, profanity, or general nastiness. Article directories are businesses and, therefore, exist to make money. This means they generally receive income through affiliate sales or advertising. So, if your article includes sex or contains words stronger than "darn", don't be surprised if your article is rejected. Of course, if your article contains nastiness or anything illegal -- don't even bother.

5. Is your Article original and written by you?

Submit only original articles. Please do not copy someone else's article, edit it, and submit it. That's stealing and you will be caught. And, do not submit articles from shared content sites. Article directories want original, unique content. Public domain is 'public' but think how ineffective article directories would become if there were 500 versions of the same public domain piece. Instead of wasting your time figuring out how to reinvent other people's content, just write your own.

Now that you know what not to do, start writing the kind of articles that article directories dream of -- and watch your business grow.

10 Essentals for submitting an article

Submitting well planned articles on-line will increase traffic and can even launch your career when handled right. They'll drive traffic from all over the net and show an excellent return on your time invested.

Write Your Article Like You're Writing to a Friend

Even though it may be seen by thousands, each copy gets read by one person at a time. Your readers are more open if you're speaking directly to them instead of down at them. Replace big words with simple words. I've heard that writing at an eighth grade level will increase comprehension.

Write a Killer Headline

An amazing article can end up going nowhere because the headline sucked a lemon and nobody read it. Any marketer who knows their stuff will tell you the headline is 80% - 90% of the reason you're even considered. Write a great article of course, but spend lots of time on your headline.

Pick a Topic You Know Well

Assuming you've done your research and found a niche you like that's profitable, you can become an expert in that field because you'll stay with it. If the research is a chore it's easy to lose interest.

Educate But Don't Sell

Articles are thought of as nuggets of information that educate. If your article breaks that unwritten rule and is actually an advertisement in disguise, it'll never see the light of another monitor. A well written article is a subtle but powerful way to motivate someone. Advertising builds barriers, where news is accepted with an open mind.

Write Quality not Quantity

There's no room for fluff in a good article. When reading the posting guidelines, check the restrictions for article length. Stay within the word count or you'll get trashed. It's usually 500 - 600 words. Save your full length version for sites that'll accept it.

Include a Resource Box With Your "Call to Action" Link

Either at the bottom or the top of your article you'll want to include your name, describe what you do, a sign-up email if you're building a newsletter, your website link, a short call to action, whatever's appropriate.

Submit Articles Consistently

Writing and submitting articles consistently will assure growing returns. Some sites will accept your work others won't, so don't get discouraged. Make a schedule, stick to your deadlines and "Just do it"

Read The Posting Guidelines at Each Site

When posting your article follow the guidelines. Don't forget, behind every website and ezine a real person decides the fate of your article. You're asking for exposure to their data base, so take your time and be nice.

Don't Forget The Spell Check

There's nothing worse for a busy web master than wading through spelling errors. Do a spell check, print it off and read it out loud to catch grammatical errors.

Use a Tracking System

With proper tracking you'll see what worked and what didn't. It'll show where to spend more time and drop what's not working. Monitored tracking will increase your return on investment, both for time and money.

Captivating readers with article writing

To get your name out there, write articles and allow them to be freely reproduced (with a resource box pointing back to you.) A well-written article can:

- help build your profile

- draw traffic to your site, and

- help build a database of clients through associated e-courses or newsletter.

How do you write the article? You can come up with the content - How do you grab those readers and make them come back for more?

As you can construct and edit an article (it has a beginning, middle and end; and you can check the grammar and spelling); if you want to WIN readers - think about what they want to know.

Put your readers first. Give them what they want and they'll be queuing up to read anything you produce.

A blueprint for writing articles that captivate your readers - whatever the topic - is a follows:

== 1. What Do Your Readers Want ==

You may know what they want because you're an expert in the field. If you don't know the subject well, you'll have to research. Look for forums on your topic and see what people are discussing. What are the problems? Can you provide an answer?

== 2. Start With An Attention-Grabber ==

Work on your opening. Try to avoid trite questions like "Have you wondered why people find it difficult to lose weight?" It's dull and it's not targeting the person reading the article - what do they care about the difficulties "people" have losing weight? They care about THEIR weight problem!

The opening paragraph should give the reader that warm "Hey, this is about me!" feeling. - "This could be the answer I've been looking for..."

Example: "Diet gurus make it all sound easy: to lose weight, all you have to do is expend more energy than you take in. Huh! If it were that simple, the "Big People" stores would be out of business. For those of us tired of diets, gyms and dull group meetings, there is a back-to-basics way to tackle this. It won't cost you a fortune or leave you feeling deprived."

== 3. Write As You Speak... Then Edit! ==

The sample opening above illustrates the importance of the tone used in your article. You need 'meat'to make it worth reading.

Write your article in a natural style that's akin to normal conversation. If the first draft is too informal - fix that when you edit. Readers may want facts, tips, and strategies, but they want entertainment too! Let your personality shine.

== 4. End On A High ==

Most articles fizzle out! Writers often don't know how to end on an upbeat note. They either stop dead or come up with a trite ending like: "So what are you waiting for? Get started today!"

The beginning and the ending of your article are the parts that make the biggest impression. Creat a feeling of anticipation... and leave them feeling satisfied (or excited) when you finish.

Offering advice to help solve a problem gives your readers a reason to feel optimistic about themselves. Don't make promises... but offer hope. If you are giving hints on marketing or business, sum up the benefits. Experiment with using a humorous quote, or giving readers a specific action to get them started. Be creative.

Here's a final tip: create a cheat-sheet. Divide it into beginnings/middles/ends and add more strategies as you think of them. (For example, using the tips in this article, you might write: ENDINGS - end on a high, offer hope, use funny quote, suggest action to get started.)

Do this, and you'll be cranking out articles everyone wants to publish!

Exposure for the new authors (article writers) out there.

Most writers nowadays are aware of the current buzz on the internet: writing articles is one of the best ways to build name recognition and web presence. Here are some words of encouragement for those just starting out with this approach to promotion.

By now most of you are probably aware of the current buzz across the internet: writing articles about your area of expertise is one of the best ways to build name recognition and web presence. If you can communicate your ideas and information well in a short piece, and include a by-line at the end that provides a link to your own website, then you can generate more traffic this way than by other typical approaches like submitting to search engines or link-sharing.

Much has been written about it, so I’ll assume that you’re already privy to the potential benefits of article publishing. I want to address THIS particular article to writers with published works; especially those who have self-published, and are now faced with the daunting (and much different) task of self-promotion.

If you mainly write fiction, maybe you balk at the idea of devoting your time to writing more informative pieces. Believe me, I understand this resistance. I am a fantasy author, and for a long time I believed that my muse lived at a far extreme from day-to-day concerns. But at the same time, I often used to (jokingly, I thought) remark to various people:

“Get me on the topic of creativity and writing and I could just ramble on for days.”

Then one day the inspiration hit me: maybe I should write all that “rambling” down for a change and then post it somewhere where other people could benefit from it.

I found that it was not only relatively easy to do this, but actually enjoyable; and it allows for a little relief from the right-brain strain of constantly cranking out creative fiction ideas.

If you’re hesitant about diving into article writing because you don’t feel like you’re quite an expert on anything, let me address that issue too. To write articles, you don’t need exhaustive knowledge about any topic; you only need to know a little more than the many others out there who might benefit from what you’ve experienced.

If you’ve completed a novel, then you can write for all aspiring novelists who haven’t yet summoned the courage to commit anything to the page. If you’re published, then you can write for others who HAVE completed a book but are still wallowing in obscurity. Share what you learned along the bitter road that is littered with rejection letters, lonely hours at the writing desk, despair, and oftentimes the misunderstandings of even our closest loved ones.

The point is, wherever you are along the path of your writing ambition, there are others behind you who could benefit from your experience. They will be grateful for your articles and the information and encouragement you gave them. Some will respond by clicking through to your website and learning about your other writings. Some will hopefully purchase your book.

How many can you hope to reach? Well, I just recently began this article writing endeavor myself. Now when I search by my name on Google or Yahoo I find my pieces turning up on over a dozen e-zines and blogs. Some of these sites have heavy traffic. As I write more, and submit more, the numbers increase exponentially.

In mathematical terms, articles are the great multiplier.