Writing articles can provide you with
enormous amount of exposure on
the Web. You are branding yourself
"on a shoestring budget, the smell of an oily rag"...
and best of all, it hasn't cost
you a cent, but a little time and effort.

Writing a free content article is simple
and follows a similar professional
approach as an article for a standard,
paying market.

People want quality content : for their
ezines and their web sites ; however,
as you no doubt realise by now, the
competition for content is fierce.
Every Web site owner wants content
(informative and helpful) and hundreds
of writers want their content
visible on the Web. It's FREE
promotion through your signature file
at the end of your article. Articles that
provide good and accurate information,
or ones that explain how to
accomplish something are usually
best, and will be read most often.

So start by pointing out a problem your reader
has. Ask yourself this vitally important question:
How will your article help people in solving their
problem? In this article I attempt to provide a
solution, ie. how to promote your online
business "on the smell of an oily rag"!

Here are some pointers in writing
articles for the www and getting them
published by article announcement lists
or ezines (electronic newsletters):

Firstly,

1. Accept that writing for the web is
different to writing for the off-line world.
People tend to skim and scan (note
alliteration) when reading online. They
read quickly scrolling down the page.

2. Identify your target audience.

3. Give your article a catchy title that
will grab people's attention and make
them want to read it.

4. Keep your title reasonably short.
Put some thought and effort into your
heading - again to get your reader's
immediate attention.

5. Be professional and take your article
writing seriously. Write about
something you know professionally.
Don't be overly casual in your writing (ie.
don't write exactly as you speak)

6. Keep your paragraphs short.

7. Get to the point quickly (enough
waffle with maple syrup, Craig!).

8. Target your article to your audience
with "focussed information".

9. Be brief, if you are a "waffler", like
this writer. People want immediate
information online and have limited
time usually - it's the "instant coffee, sorry
generation.

10. Write briefly
and concisely (redundant words, meaning
the same thing, Craig!) Try to keep your
article under 1000 words. (People get
bored quickly reading online). Most paying
markets usually only accept between 500 and
1500 words...and with a bit of luck they may
even"pick up" your great article. Try to be
concise in your wording. Brevity is the hall-mark
of good writing...or so say many of the teachers
of writing!

11. Use the OCCASIONAL exclamation mark (!)
to get your readers attention. Forget the ALL
CAPITAL LETTERS and exclamation points!!!

12. Be credible (big word, eh?) at all times.
I try to write my articles in a "conversational
style with dashes of my funny humour".

13. Use HUMOUR. People like to have a bit
of fun with the occasional laugh, whilst being
informed on a serious subject. At least I
believe so!

14. Write from "your heart", so that you
come across as a REAL person. Just write
what comes naturally with INTEGRITY...
and BE YOURSELF.

15. Be totally honest in your writing and
don't "borrow" too much from others
content. It's so easy to "steal" on the
www - so do your own work and if you
"borrow ideas or material, ACKNOWLEDGE.
"Incidentally, in addition to my own material
based on my experiences of internet marketing
over the past four years, in this article I have
"borrowed" numerous ideas from some fine writers
and well-known internet marketers - thanks a lot for,
sharing your info, David, Michael, John, Meredith,
oe and Edward).

16. Be humble…and don't talk down to
your readers. (Who wrote that song,
"It's so hard to be humble?"):

17. Use bullets in your articles - its makes
the points easy to follow... but beware of
security in the form of metal detectors!

18. Don't forget your byline, your
"business card". Make sure that you resource
box at the end of the article provides enough
information to identify yourself and provide
contact information. It's FREE advertising
at it's best.

19. Offer a free report with your article -
this is an easy way to collect a list of
adresses for marketing your product(s).
An instant target market.

20. Check all the links in your article before
submitting it.

21. Offer your articles by autoresponder

22. Conclude with a strong message.
Your final point (and paragraph) should be a
message that summarises your article or gets
your reader to take further action, like "GET
STARTED" (as I've done in this article).

23. Finally, make sure your layout is good
(not one of my strong points!), as this
greatly enhances your prospects of getting
published. Use a spell-check. Go over your
article carefully and be an editor yourself.

24. Make sure your article flows properly.

25. Re-read and re-read, until you get it "just
right." then see what happens to your site traffic.

"Aim for perfection, but settle for excellence" in your article writing..

About the Author

Craig Lock is an author of numerous books
and the creator of the ORIGINAL online
creative writing course.
http://www.nzenterprise.com/writer/creative.html