Simple Mistakes to Avoid When Publishing Your Articles Online
As a webmaster that is constantly looking for fresh web content, I view hundreds of articles in search for written, informative sources for my users in the course of a week. I have noticed that all the articles I have selected to publish on my website have common structures and are free of a couple of simple, but common errors. Avoiding these mistakes can be the difference between your article being accepted, and widely distributed, and being rejected, with little or no exposure.
Avoid publishing with Broken Links
When publishing your article online, you must first understand that for ever topic that you write on, there are hundreds, even thousands, of articles with similar topics competing for the same webmasters’ web space. When a webmaster is browsing through articles, the sight of broken links mean one thing, more work. Depending on the number of broken links, it can take a webmaster up to five minutes to examine and fix them. During this time, the webmaster could have viewed up to five other articles.
There is also the problem of editing someone else’s work. Most web content providers allow webmasters to republish articles without any modifications to the article. So, no matter how well-written your article may be, webmasters, reluctantly, may pass on it.
Avoid Misspelled/Misused Words
Another common mistake made by article writers can be easily overlooked. Misspelled and misused words are avoidable, but common mistakes.
When a webmaster is browsing for articles, to see as many articles as possible, they skim, not read, the articles. At the first sight of a misspelled word or a word that is used out of context, for the webmaster, there is no certainty that there are any more mistakes in the article, which may lead to the webmaster immediately passing on the article.
Copying and pasting your article into a Word Document, with spell check, can help remedy the spelling problem. To reduce your odds of publishing with correctly spelled, but misused words, can be solved by getting others to read over you article before publishing.
Most article writers are looking for maximum exposure of their content. Submitting your articles to article submitters or directly to article databases is no longer enough to get desired results. You must first capture the attention of as many webmasters, bloggers, and readers as you can with your well thought out title and article description. Then, with your fresh, well-written, error-free content, your article should sale itself.
Jimmy Walker is the founder of CitePlanet.com. Find thousands of quality citations from books, periodicals, and electronic sources by visiting http://www.citeplanet.com. Post samples of your work on CitePlanet!
Article Marketing Online: The Goldmine That Helps You Write Articles The Easy Way
John Huston, the director of such classic movies as The Maltese Falcon and The Treasure of Sierra Madre, once told the story that when a woman invited his good friend Ernest Hemingway out to the dance floor, Hemingway responded, “Criminy! I hate dancing in public so much I’d rather write!”
Many of us have been there done that. True, for article marketing online you do not have to write the Great American Novel but that doesn’t stop people from hating it just the same. Some complain about doing the research, others don’t like the brainstorming. While most of us can relate, the simple truth is manyt writers just cannot bare the thought of looking at a blank page and having to fill it. This is tough if you plan on making article marketing part of your online business plan; since you will have to repeat this process over and over again.
What’s the solution? Articles which have already been written that reside in the public domain. An excellent definition of public domain is provided by the Online Library Learning Center: “Works which are not owned by someone, and therefore not protected by copyright.” This occurs when the writer has voluntarily given up the rights to their own material, the copyright has expired or the work was published before the existence of any copyright laws.
Everything is basically laid out for you. It just comes down to finding the material that is right for your subject matter. Once this is completed you simply rewrite the article into your own words. Because the time to research your article has been drastically reduced and you don’t have to start with a blank page, this may be the fastest and easiest way to churn out articles on a steady basis.
It’s also very cost effective. Many new or successful online businesses would just resolve themselves to outsourcing the chore of article writing. Even if the funds are available, it is still going to get expensive. Why? Because you are going to need a lot of fresh unique content on your website to make an impact with search engines (the same engines that will bring you the bulk of your internet traffic). Rewriting public domain articles, optimized with the proper keywords, is an excellent way to grow your website.You can then use the money you would have spent on outsourcing to invest in some other area of your business.
Use public domain articles in your email newsletter or put several articles together and create an ebook that you distribute freely. Just make sure to brand your name and put a link in the book pointing back toward your website.
The key to all of this is to rewrite the material thoroughly. Public domain articles may not have a copyright but it also means the public at large is familiar with the information. Copying almost word for word is quite amateurish and extremely lazy. Use a public domain article as a framework to incorporate your own original ideas.
Article marketing requires a steady flow of creativity. Public domain articles are an incredible resource which can provide the solution to your web content needs. Tap into this overlooked goldmine starting today and give your article writing a major boost.
Daryl Campbell invites you to get more free tips, video, step by step coaching and up to the minute information to help you grow your business into a long term success at the Internet Marketing Guide http://winthemarket.com/tct.htm.
Become a Specialist: Why Writers Must Niche Themselves
If you’ve been a freelance writer for a while, you are probably adept at two or three types of writing. If you are a good advertising copywriter, you can probably also write good catalog copy and good promotional copy. A good short story writer can often write good human-interest features. Some good technical writers can also write good how-to articles and instructional manuals.
However, like the old adage says, just because you can do something, doesn’t mean you should. We’ve all seen writer Web sites where the person is attempting to be all things to all people. In nine cases out of ten, these writers over-promote their expertise. It’s common to see the same person claim to be an expert at newsletters, autoresponder sequences, advertising copy, feature articles, technical reports, how-to books, sales letters, Web site copy, and motivational stories.
The reality is that too much information just confuses your potential customer. Claiming to be good at everything smacks of hype (or desperation). Both turn publishers off. Editors who control the most lucrative assignments want to hire experts. Do they want to hire a political columnist to write a manual about project management software? No.
Selling more than one skill set in the same portfolio, on the same Web site, with the same brochure and business cards only works if you have a strong, established client base and more work than you can handle. Otherwise, it’s professional suicide.
Choosing one, two, or even three specialties can be an agonizing process for some writers. But remember that professional specialists always command higher fees than generalists. It’s in your own best interest to sell only what you do best.
On the Internet it is remarkably easy to promote yourself to multiple markets. Just use multiple Web sites. For example, you might have a central company site that explains your business and lists your customers. Then you might set up a second site that just focuses on your newsletter writing services. There you can focus just on your newsletter experience. If you’re saying, “but I don’t have a Web site” that’s a problem. At this point, every working writer today absolutely must have at least one Web site. It’s not just nice to have — it’s expected.
When you are trying to decide on a writing specialty, always be sure to play to your strengths and interests. For example, a writer on technical subjects needs to be good at using computers. You have to be the type of person who is willing to read all those user guides. If you can’t install (much less use) the software you are supposed to review, or if it bores you, you can’t write about it. No editor wants to hear complaints about how your computer “won’t work today and I don’t know why.” You need to be good at figuring out software and learning how it “thinks” reasonably quickly.
Similarly, if your specialty is writing about gardening, you had better have a garden. If you can’t sell anything, don’t become a marketing copywriter. If you think shopping is boring, don’t write catalog copy. That old saw about writing what you know is true.
Your enthusiasm, or lack of it, shows through in your writing. Always. People can tell if you are faking it, and you won’t get any assignments if your writing isn’t authentic.
The bottom line reality is, if you want to get published, accept the fact that there’s just too much competition out there. Then stop competing in a dozen markets and choose a few. Instead of trying to get every assignment, you can focus on winning the ones you can write absolutely brilliantly.
Susan Daffron is the President of Logical Expressions, Inc. (http://www.logicalexpressions.com) and the author of books on pets, web business, computing, and vegetarian cooking. Visit http://www.publishize.com to receive a complimentary Publishize podcast or newsletter and bonus report.”
Writing Articles Can Be A Profitable Business
People today are increasingly looking for job satisfaction among other things. They are less inclined to become cogs in the wheel if they can help it. Moreover, these days there are so many more options. The growth in the field of communications has opened up many opportunities. More and more people have begun to give up their day jobs in favor of more flexible work-from-home routines. The unprecedented rise of the Internet has been one of the major factors that have led to this new attitude.
Among the groups who are benefiting from this expansion in communication are writers. The world of magazines and ezines are a vast area that we need to exploit. In fact, anyone who can string a decent sentence together can now think of becoming a professional writer. These days, anyone can become a writer with a little investment and a certain degree of writing skill. Of course, it is not be easy to get a toehold into the field. But once one does, one could be rolling in the money.
Marketing one’s skills becomes very important if one is looking to rake in the profits by writing articles. If one is planning to send articles to a bunch of magazines, one should make an attempt to study the magazines and understand their specific styles. Having done that, one can commence writing articles that would appeal to those styles. Take the instance of someone who has to write about some famous monument in the city. His approach will certainly differ based on whether the article is intended for a business magazine, a travel blog, or a tourism website.
One must write articles that will encourage more and more readers to go through them. Being able to place good content within the framework of a well-written article is a skill that every writer has to cultivate.
Writers, in general, must bear in mind the fact that they have to keep writing on a regular basis. Practice makes perfect, and the more one writes, the better the writing becomes. It is advisable to read books and editorials that deal with a wide range of subjects. It is necessary to be familiar with a large number of concepts so that if you required to write on some unusual topic, you will not be at sea.
At the same time, one must become a good editor too. Typing errors are all too common. A single mis-type can change the meaning of a sentence. A spelling mistake might make the reader get the impression that the writer is incompetent. Thus, prior to finalizing an article, it becomes essential to read through it thoroughly.
Even a cursory proof-read could help one cull out a number of errors. Remember, when selling an article to a client, one must make sure that it has no errors. To ensure that, one can also invest in some of the editing software that are readily available these days.
Now, online writing does not pay too much. A client who needs a number of online articles is not likely to pay more than a small fraction of what an offline magazine might pay for an article that is of the same size. However, there is far more certainty in the online writing field. The delays that are part and parcel of the offline magazine world are few and far between in the world of the Internet.
One may not get a huge sum of money for a single article. However, one might manage to get paid a decent sum for a large number of articles. Also, most online articles are relatively short in length and may not require much research. Thus, a writer who is fairly quick can make a decent living in the online world.
Another issue is being credited for the articles that one writes. Getting a byline may not be a possibility at first. In fact, one might have to start out by ghostwriting for someone else. Even so, the point is that one is being able to hone his/her writing skills and also get paid for the same. With time, one should be able to establish one’s credibility as a writer. Then, getting a byline should be as easy as pie.
Many online article writers start off by subscribing to some of the many freelance writing sites. This may prove useful in the case of someone who does not know too much about this. Additionally, it is a good idea to acquire a website of one’s own from which one can carry out one’s article writing business. It is likely that the start will be slow, but writers should not lose hope. Once the offers start trickling in, and one starts producing good articles, there is no looking back.
Make money online at http://www.experienced-people.co.uk/1042-top-ways-of-making-money-online/ and get other work from home ideas at http://www.experienced-people.co.uk/5002-home-based-business-ideas/ from people and employers at http://www.experienced-people.co.uk/
How to Write a Great Article Title
The first step to writing an irresistible article is to create a clear and simple title that includes prime keywords that will be sprinkled throughout the article. Keywords need to be reiterated throughout the body of the article at about a 2-3% density rate. If you have an article of 500 words in length, then a combination of your keywords/keyword phrases should appear 10-15 times.
Why Focus on a Great Article Title?
A great article title may take only seconds to write, but can draw visitors to your site for years to come. It is time well spent to focus on the title to make it short and to the point; including important keywords. Anytime a viewer uses a search engine to locate information on a given topic they use one or more keywords to narrow their search.
Creative Titles
Catchy, creative titles commonly seen in magazines are wasted on the Internet. The key to writing a good article title on the Internet is to use terms that people would actually use in a search engine. You need to cut out the cute and fluffy stuff and focus on the meat of the article. A clear, concise title speaks volumes. You need to tell the reader what the article is really about. Don’t mislead readers with tricky titles. A well focused article with popular keywords and important information can easily be overlooked without a proper title.
Use Search Engine Terms in Titles
Search engine optimization involves using very specific keywords to draw attention to your articles. SEO keywords need to be sprinkled throughout the title and the body of the article itself. The title should define the main ideas presented within the body of the article. It should match search engine phrases. The more specific keywords you use in your title, the more traffic will be driven to your site.
Use popular keywords to attract search engine traffic to your website. Even on the largest of websites, a large majority of the traffic is brought in through keyword searches. It is unlikely that any amount of marketing or networking could outweigh the difference a great article title makes.
The other great thing is that you can combine other tactics for driving traffic to your site with a great article title. Combining several tactics like networking to draw traffic is essential for building a successful website.
Titles That Get Noticed
The key to becoming and remaining successful on the Internet is to find a way to get noticed. No one will read your article unless they are intrigued by your title. A great title is peppered with high-ranking keywords or follows one of the following patterns:
State a question within the title
Post a warning
List (top five, top seven or top 10 list)
Write a how-to article
Expose secrets
Debunk myths
Provide informative guides
Any one of these tactics can be used to generate interest and entice readers to click on your site to find out more information.
Specific and Unique Keywords
A great article title includes very specific keywords. Be as specific as possible to nail down the topic of your article and provide keywords that are searchable. A unique keyword is specific enough yet not so overused that your article would land many pages deep into the search engine results.
Tiva Kelly is the Head of Article Coaching at article marketing. She offers advice to authors at www.articlemarketer.com, a highly popular article distribution service. Learn how to market your small business by submitting articles through Article Marketer.
http://www.articlemarketer.com
Attention Struggling Freelance Writers: To Get Published, Do Your Homework
Writing is a product. A basic marketing truism is that you can’t sell a product if no one wants to buy it. Whether or not your writing is wonderful doesn’t matter if you are writing about a subject no one wants to publish. The moral of the story? Never create your writing in a vacuum.
It’s extremely easy to find out what topics are in demand by doing a little Internet surfing. In fact, the Internet is actually the best place to research hot topics. It’s far better than the library, chain bookstores, print media, or television. Today’s publishing trends will appear online first, long before they hit the bookstores.
Before you write anything, try to think like a publisher. Ask yourself, what do they want to buy?
Above all else, publishers want to print what is going to sell. For example, if you want to submit a book proposal to a publisher, go to the Web and find out what the hot topics are in your chosen field. As a writer, you are, by nature, a researcher. The Internet is a researcher’s dream come true.
For example, if you are a computer nerd and want to write about technology topics, what is the latest “buzz” on the propeller-head discussion boards? What are people complaining about? What new techie toy is your average 14 year old dying to get his hands on?
Or let’s say you want to break into a magazine. Every single magazine editor on the planet, without exception, will tell you to “read the magazine first” before you get in touch. Many, many magazines put their writer’s guidelines online. If they don’t, you can usually read a few issues online to get a feel for the magazine’s tone. You no longer have to waste postage begging for a copy of the magazine before you contact the editor or publisher. All you need to do is get online, go to your favorite search engine, and start digging.
If you’re interested in a particular magazine or trade journal, simply to go your favorite search engine such as Google. Then type:
[the magazine name] +guidelines OR
[the magazine name] +”writer information”
For more general searches, try these phrases:
“editorial calendar”
“writer’s guidelines”
“author’s guidelines”
“contributor’s guidelines”
“write for us”
“freelance writing markets”
“freelance markets”
“writing markets”
Yes, the quotation marks are important. They tell the search engine to find the entire phrase, as opposed to the individual words. You also might try derivatives of these searches, such as “writer guidelines” and “writers guidelines”. Sometimes web sites or search engines aren’t good at handling punctuation, such as apostrophes.
Armed with a little information, you can give publishers what they want. And in turn, they’ll give you what you want: a byline!
Susan Daffron is the President of Logical Expressions, Inc. (http://www.logicalexpressions.com) and the author of books on pets, web business, computing, and vegetarian cooking. Visit http://www.publishize.com to receive a complimentary Publishize podcast or newsletter and bonus report.”
Freelance Writers: To Make More Money, Keep Your Clients Happy
As a freelance writer, your job is to create a product that your customers absolutely love. Once you’re in business, you probably want to stay in business, so you can continue paying the bills, eating, and so forth. So here’s a little secret to freelance writing success: it is easier, less time consuming, and less expensive to sell an existing customer than it is to dredge up a new one.
For a freelance writer that means you need to be more than just a good writer, you need to be a conscientious one. You need to be easy to communicate with and easy to find. Yes, find. You wouldn’t believe how many people complain that their service provider (writer, graphic artist, whatever) has apparently disappeared off the face of the planet. So keep a client list with physical addresses and phone numbers. Don’t just squirrel away a bunch of email addresses — they can and do change all too quickly.
Always treat your writing like a business. It’s amazing how many business-people fail to return phone messages and e-mail. You won’t get work if you don’t return phone calls. Publishing of any type is by its very nature a deadline-oriented world. Editors have no tolerance for those who waste their time.
Although editors always say it, the point can’t be emphasized enough: you get more work when you meet deadlines and make an editor’s life easier. Every editor has experienced the writer who procrastinates and then turns in drek. Don’t be one of them!
Do a good job on every single project, no matter how small. Be sure to spell check everything you write, and get a real live human being to read your writings before you hand them in. The result will be happy editors who will be thrilled to give you more work over the years.
Many writers who are in it for the long haul keep clients for years. Trust is easily lost and much can change in the world over the course of many years. Do what you say you’re going to do when you say you are going to do it. It sounds simple, but meeting deadlines is hard. Don’t commit to any project you can’t really do. Telling people what you think they want to hear can backfire badly in the long run.
Many writers would like to curl up with their keyboards and just write, but the reality is, to eat, you must tell the world you’re in business. A big part of marketing is keeping your clients happy. With just a little effort, you too can be one of those dependable writers that editors turn to again and again.
Susan Daffron is the President of Logical Expressions, Inc. (http://www.logicalexpressions.com) and the author of books on pets, web business, computing, and vegetarian cooking. Visit http://www.publishize.com to receive a complimentary Publishize podcast or newsletter and bonus report.”
Using Keyword Phrases in Content Articles
As a marketing expert and article writer, I know the value of a good keyword article. The right article can make or break your success on the Internet. It is the difference between filling the black page with fluff and writing quality articles to lure viewers to your site.
Find the Best Keywords for Your Articles
After toying with my list of keywords, I plug them into keyword tools to find the best keywords with the highest number of searches. It’s no secret that using the right set of words strategically throughout your articles will help you get higher in the search engine results.
Sometimes it is good to use keywords with high popularity, other times it is best to find keywords that aren’t as heavily covered on the Internet to attract readers. If you have a site that is not highly ranked, it probably won’t matter much if you write articles about Paris Hilton. You won’t get many hits on the topic because she is written about so much on the Internet and you could be listed hundreds of pages into the search results.
I like to use a combination of both types of keywords in my articles to maximize the number of hits I get from search engines.
Keyword Phrases Attract More Visitors to Your Site
What I recently discovered is that using keywords phrases in content articles is the best way to attract more visitors to my website. More viewers equal a higher frequency of clicks and higher revenue. Combine several words to make unique keyword phrases that people would likely type into the search engines to find more information.
Keyword phrases are used to narrow searches. Instead of searching for Claude Monet, for example, you might search for Artworks of Claude Monet or Impressionist painter Claude Monet. Consider this when you form the keyword phrases for the articles you write. What are people likely to type into a search engine to find the information you are writing about.
Work Keyword Phrases into Your Articles
Keyword phrases are easy to work into content articles. Examine your completed articles and tweak sentences throughout them to make them keyword friendly.
Start with a list of keyword phrases on your topic before you even begin writing an article.
Choose a handful of words and work them into usable phrases.
Devise your ideas and content articles are around your list of phrases.
Avoid using too many keywords or keyword phrases. It’s best to focus on a small number of ideas and fully explore them within the body of the article.
Don’t use highly searched keyword phrases to get more hits if it doesn’t pertain to your article or your website in general.
Use Strange Combinations of Keywords
Another thing I’ve noticed about writing content articles is that it is often a strange keyword phrase that attracts more viewers to my websites. Combining several unrelated words or using a combination of misspelled words catches the attention of searches that would otherwise miss their target.
Again, using a combination of these methods works best for me. Use the correct spelling in your article, but also throw in one or two commonly misspelled words to attract a wider audience to your website.
Don’t underestimate the value of a good keyword phrase. Using keyword phrases in content articles is a great way to boost your revenue and sales while providing the consumer with information they need.
Tiva Kelly is the Head of Article Coaching and offers advice to authors at www.articlemarketer.com, a highly popular article distribution service. Learn how to market your small business by submitting articles through Article Marketer.
http://www.articlemarketer.com
Get Them Talking: Become the Freelance Writer Editors Love
Many writers would prefer to hole up in their little garrets and write and write and write. They’d be happy to never talk to anyone again and live quietly alone with their writing.
Unfortunately in this picture, the writer starves to death.
The reality is that if you’re smart, you will develop good relationships with editors. You will behave professionally, and never burn bridges. Writing assignments can build on one another. If you make editors happy with your clean, error-free prose that comes in on time, you will be unusual. In a world full of flakey freelancers, being competent makes you memorable.
Editors talk to other editors. If your work is good, other people in the publishing industry may notice or hear about your writing. The publishing business is often chaotic. Magazines and publishing companies get bought and sold all the time. It may seem like you’re dealing with a big intimidating corporate behemoth, but even in the largest company, remember that writing assignments always come from people. Editors who like you may suddenly move to new publishing company. Odds are, they will tell their new colleagues about the “great writer” they worked with at their last place.
You want to be that “great writer!”
Remember that magazine editors are like everyone else. While waiting in line at the deli or espresso hut, they talk shop. It’s really not unusual to get a referral because one editor talks to another editor at a different publication that happens to work in the same building or the same industry. Good news travels, and the result can be money in your pocket.
So get in the habit of keeping an up-to-date, organized contact list of every editor you write to or talk with. Check in periodically. Always take notes about when you called and what you discussed. It sounds elementary, and if you’re shy (as many writers are), you’ll need to overcome your discomfort enough to talk with the people who pay you.
While you are thinking about who you know, think about all those other writers you know as well. Good writers are often busy writers. Let all your writing buddies know that you’ll take overflow work. Also tell them your specialties. Find out if you have skills they don’t.
For example, the world of technical writing can involve many different software and writing skills. By working together everyone wins. For example, suppose you have experience using Quark XPress, which is somewhat unusual in the tech-writing world. If you work with another company that specializes in doing documentation in FrameMaker, they can outsource any projects that require Quark skills to you. They get to keep their client happy and you get some work. Best of all, after you become rich and famous, you can return the favor.
Remember that what goes around comes around. In the good karma category, as a writer, you provide information, so you may end up helping people you don’t even know. This good will may come back to you later in the form of paying work.
Susan Daffron is the President of Logical Expressions, Inc. (http://www.logicalexpressions.com) and the author of books on pets, web business, computing, and vegetarian cooking. Visit http://www.publishize.com to receive a complimentary Publishize podcast or newsletter and bonus report.”
Write a Feature Article in Four Easy Steps
The holy grail of freelancers and seasoned professionals alike is writing a feature article for a major online or print publication. Nothing brings recognition (and income) like a byline in Time magazine or Slate. This goal may seem daunting, but the following is a proven path to success of repeat feature writers:
Choose Your Publication
The first thing you need to do is pick a publication to target. The chief criteria are theme and demographics. You may choose a general interest weekly or a niche magazine like women’s golf. As a rule, the niche magazine will be an easier target but will pay less. This is not always the case, though, as there as some very valuable niches with affluent demographics. If you have a hobby, you are already knowledgeable and may already have some contacts, so this is an excellent place to start.
Study Your Subject
You will want to conduct some research on leading covers or other feature headlines for your publication, as well as current events and chatter about the topic. Using the golf example, study the headlines of the leading golf magazines and the sports page of a national paper such as USA Today or the New York Times. Often a human interest story is a viable topic, like a former leading player making a comeback.
Controversy Sells
The best titles are both informative and intriguing. Essentially, this is your headline and it should be designed to engage the reader to make a purchase or other commitment to read the story. Do not copy another author’s title, but learn how they made you want to read the article. If you are a golfer, the title “Why Your Sand Wedge Isn’t Just For The Bunker” may drive you to learn more about this assertion.
Keep The Reader Engaged
Despite a great topic and headline, your efforts may still fall flat unless your language sparkles. Humor and controversial points of view keep readers engaged and coming back for more. And if the readers want more, you can be sure their publishers will keep you at the top of their lists next time they receive your call or query letter.
This ultimate writing quest is a challenging but rewarding journey, especially if you set your sights on the right target. By choosing your favorite niche magazines rather than Newsweek for your first submission, you are likely to taste success sooner rather than later.
Andrew Morris helps writers turn their article writing passions into profits, and uncovers hidden gems of income generation at http://www.articlewritingzen.com