Friday, September 28, 2012

How to Write an Article for Article Directories

The article presents your thought process. It can be a hobby of providing information to people. A person can teach a lot through various informative articles. We are living in an information age where all the information is at one click of our finger. Either you are using a laptop or Smartphone; you can easily gain much information about any subject. Today I like to share some information about the method of writing an article for Article Directories. There are many free article directories, which allow you to submit your article.

Topic: First, write on your topic instead of searching a hot topic on the internet. Find the topic in which you can think and write from your heart. If you write on any topic, it will not give you much pleasure. There are many categories available in Article Directories; you can choose one of them and start to think over it.

Title: After selecting a topic, you have to keep a title for an article. The title should have a brief message about the content. A catchy title always attracts people.The title of your article must not contain too much character. Keep in mind that you are not writing a precise sentence but a line that describes your intention and thought. You can search for a keyword that has a high-ranking in search engines.

Body: Now concentrate on the body part of your article, which is the most important part of your article. Here, you have to write about your feelings and thoughts. What you have understood about the topic, and you are going to describe at this point. Generally, Your article should contain 400 words. Therefore, divide your thoughts into three or four paragraphs; it will be easy for a reader to understand the article.

Consistency: Keep control of your emotions, your content should have a continue flowing. Do not break a link while writing an article. Never start a new discussion or point without completing a previous point. When you do not maintain consistency in your writing, it will confuse your reader. Always stick to your topic and do not criticize anyone for any fault. It will give a negative impact on your article.

Language: There is no use to write your articles in a jargon language. Use simple language with short sentences so that readers can easily understand them. You can easily write your thoughts with small but effective sentences.

Guidelines: Before writing any article, understand the guidelines of article directories. We see many articles were rejected due to not following a proper editorial guideline. It will give you a perfect image about keywords, grammar, spelling, format, content, and author bio.

Summary: After completing the body part, write three or four lines about the summary of an article. Precise lines about the article will add a touch to your article.

Author-Bio: Here, you can write about yourself. You can also give your website link for your publicity or promotion. It should be not more than two or three lines. It will give you recognition as a writer. After all, we all love recognition.

Tuesday, September 25, 2012

SEO Best Practices for Ghost Writers

The content of every article found on the internet is very important in acquiring search engine optimization for the site that houses it. It enables the various search engines to determine how informative and significant the article is to the readers and researchers. As such, there are several SEO best practices, which creates significance to the search engine as well as the readers who visit the sites.

The most important element in writing articles for search engine optimization is the keywords. When following SEO best practices while formulating the article, the keywords should be strategically located in various paragraphs for search engines to see the main relevance of its content.

These keywords should be very closely related and should not go beyond four percent keyword density. Keyword Density or KWD should be around one percent to four percent of the body of an article. Including far too many keywords will simply confuse the search engine.

The SEO content of each article should be highly relevant to the keywords that are utilized. When a search engine lead the readers to the article written, it should be relevant to the topic they wish to gain information on. Creating false keywords in order to lure readers into the site will only increase Search Engine Optimization temporarily. Eventually readers will take on to the scheme and will avoid following the link.

Another important element that follows SEO best practices is to cross link the pages of the site being written on. This is initially done by having an overall singular main theme amongst the pages. The keywords should be found in the other articles of the site for readers to be able to find the other pages available.

Once the cross link process has been established, it is essential to keep the articles informative and interesting. Most readers tend to leave the site within minutes of searching for what they are looking for. To keep their attention within the site, it is important to break up the articles into simple and readable text such as headlines, sub-headlines, and highlighted words.

Readers should never be left hanging after each article. Articles that follow SEO best practices should have a sense of urgency or plan of action. There is no point to reading an article that does not give any sense of action or fulfillment.

Lastly, but equally important, is to make certain that the grammar and word spelling are correct. Having grammatically wrong statements or misspelled words can utterly change the meaning and context of the article. All in all, writers should uphold responsible copywriting for optimum and lasting Search Engine Optimization.

Saturday, September 22, 2012

How to Become a Successful Ghostwriter

Ghostwriting can be defined as writing by a person who does not get the credit for writing. This writer is called a ghostwriter. The ghostwriter may write books, articles, stories, reports, speeches, blogs, and media content on behalf of the other person who takes the credit for the writings.

Ghostwriters are hired by executives, politicians, and celebrities to draft or edit their autobiographies, articles and speeches. Ghostwriters are also used in the film industry for writing lyrics and musical pieces. Ghostwriting can be a career for those who have a knack for writing. Even in the fine arts stream or commercial art such as comics, a number of assistants do the piece of work and the credit goes to the single artist.

Ghostwriting is an enjoyable and lucrative career as long as one works hard researching and has an extensive vocabulary. The ghostwriter should be mentally prepared that in spite of all the time and hard work that is put into their writing, the credit will go to somebody else. The ghostwriter will get the agreed money for the work done but no recognition of their name.

Ghostwriting or 'ghosting', as it is called now, requires a lot of hard work and patience. The ghostwriter has to do some research and gather the relevant information for the article. The ghostwriter is in a position of trust. This trust should never be broken and the person you are writing for should never be let down. Do not share or discuss any ideas or information with anyone who is not involved in the project. Remember this job is being done for an agreed amount of money. Occasionally there may be a copyright or royalty arrangement.

Ghostwriting offers one the freedom to work from home. One is not tied to the nine to five office schedules where the boss can be unhappy with the performance and one feels claustrophobic in such a work environment. With the hard financial times that all are facing right now and with the recession worsening the situation, ghostwriting is an option one can turn to.

There are various sites where one can find the job of ghostwriting. Bid for the job and begin. Initially the pay will be very low and that is more frustrating than anything else. Slowly one must build their reputation by giving high quality work and take it from there.

Soon a person will be a success with hard work and patience.

Tuesday, September 18, 2012

Is It OK to Post Bad Article Content?

I struggle with bad article content quite a bit. I consider myself a Power Blogger, which means I like to crank out a lot of content and crank it out quickly. I put my heart and soul into the writing that I do but sometimes I am not on top of my game and the stuff I produce is not as good as I would like.

I am writing this article right after I put something out that I did not love. The question is what do I do with it at this point...

1. Do I trash it completely? - Some pieces of content are far from being reparable. They are so bad that they should never see the light of day. If I produce one of these articles, I just strip out the best ideas and record a video. Depending on the level of passion, I have for the topic, I may rewrite the article from a new point of view.

2. Edit the work - This is the easy solution. Edit the work and make it better. This can work sometimes but I have found that many times when I edit the article, I make it worse than if I never touched it in the first place.

3. Put it down and come back the next day - The truth is we have no idea what we do well and how we perform. I find that my evaluation of my work is a better indication of my mental state, than it is of the quality of the work. Many times when I come back the next day, I do not have to make any changes or very minor changes. Things look a lot more different the next day, so go back to your work when you have the chance to review it again.

It does not matter what approach you take and the choice you make may be impacted by your end goal.

I have two goals -

1. Get better as a writer. I have two approaches - I write a lot. I study great writers.

2. Continually get compensated more for my writing - Based on this goal, I put stuff out there. I do run the risk of some of my work being criticized but I find that I am the worst judge of whether or not my work is good, especially since I lean more to the critical part

Either way, keep writing and keep working and you will see yourself getting better at an exponential pace.

Saturday, September 15, 2012

All About Having a 'Lens' on Squidoo

Squidoo is a platform for those publishers who like to offer web content services and for those whom would like to share their interests publicly. Squidoo is not like any other website where people dump their work; it is a very different website that appreciates good content. A person who writes article on Squidoo has to develop a page first which is called 'Lens'. An article can also be called a 'Lens' on Squidoo. The website is named strategically, and every article writer has a nickname of 'Squid', but they are officially called 'LensMasters'.

Squidoo allows writers to publish and to add website contents by writing on various topics, but guidelines need to be followed. When a user intends to join Squidoo, the most important thing he should have is the passion to write. Your areas of interest do not matter as long as you like to write. The articles can be about anything, ranging from food to fashion. All that matters is that the article is interesting and it must offer quality website contents. Some guidelines need to be followed strictly, and spamming is not allowed. This makes the website spam free and allows readers and publishers to have a decent environment at their disposal to make money and to create valuable content.

Squidoo is useful for people whom use internet marketing. Squidoo is also recognized by many reputable search engines, such as Google, which gives a lot of help to the internet marketers. If someone posts relevant articles on Squidoo, there is a high chance that Google would rank it highly, making it available to a larger audience. Therefore, if you are trying to promote your website with Squidoo, you will probably end up at a higher rank in search engines if you write articles and you promote those appropriately. Squidoo also allows backlinks, which can help a lot if you target relevant and high quality content. Squidoo does have a marketing advantage, but that does not mean it is of use only to the internet marketers. It can also be used by people who love to write, read, and to share high quality content. Squidoo allows this all without charges and also gives an opportunity of earning some money out of it.

With Squidoo, you can also build your own page and you can give it your own customized look. You can either choose the theme of lenses to be professional, or casual as per your choices. By having your own page on Squidoo, you can easily post high quality content, and you can see your page rank higher in the search engines. The type of page you create, and the quality of content that you publish is all that will determine how much potential you have to earn from it.

Squidoo has forums that are highly active, and that contribute a lot towards the knowledge and information of the individuals. Squidoo is also active with many charity programs and contributes to them generously. You also have an option to contribute part of your earnings to charity but that is totally up to you. With a user-friendly interface, and with an easy-to-use platform, Squidoo is a great platform for writers, and it is definitely better than its competitors are.

Wednesday, September 12, 2012

Finding Inspiration for Freelance Articles

It's easy to get inspiration for articles when you work for a newspaper and your editor is telling you what to do, your inbox is stuffed with press releases and your voicemail is full.

But how does a freelance writer working from home stay on the ball? One of the challenging aspects about being a freelance writer is that you want to shy away from the obvious stories that might come to you through a press release or advertised event. Why? Because likely these story ideas are already being covered by staff writers in your community.

So, where can you go for inspiration?

Friends and relatives: Just about everyone we know has some unique quirk, whether it's an interesting hobby or an unusual career. Sometimes you can mine people's pasts for great stories. I once read an article about one of the first female bus drivers in a major city. Male passengers would refuse to get on the bus when she opened the door. If I was to pass this person on the street, I wouldn't give her a second glance, but I found her story fascinating.

Your own hobbies: Your hobbies may seem pretty mundane, but what attracted you to them in the first place? Do you like hobbies that emphasize risk, such as extreme sports, or creativity, such as music and art? In either case, there are a wealth of different angles you can explore, new trends, interesting personalities, insider articles relating to technique or performance, etc.

Overheard conversations: Coffee shops and buses are great places where inspiration can strike. What are the issues of the day according to the average person? Listen to what people are talking about. It may actually be different from what is on the front page of the newspaper. Often you'll hear people complaining about things that affect them in a day-to-day way - an unfair policy at the nursing home where their grandmother resides, an excessively bureaucratic insurance requirement or the high cost of outfitting kids with everything their school claims they need.

Mine your growing expertise: Freelance writers have one benefit that staff writers don't always have, and that's the ability to specialize in a certain topic or beat. If you have covered a lot of stories in one area, you may find your knowledge of the topic, the issues and the major players provides you with an endless list of ideas that you can explore and tailor to different types of publications.

Wherever you get your ideas, it's important to take notes so that brilliant idea that occurred to you while you were making breakfast doesn't get lost in the day-to-day flurry of activity. Keep a notebook handy and inspiration will always be at your fingertips.

Sunday, September 9, 2012

Your Photos Could Help You Break Into Journalism

Photo sharing is one of the ways social media has changed our world. Flickr, Instagram, Facebook or even personal blogs give people an opportunity to share their lives and experiences with their friends and with complete strangers.

However, this has had both positive and negative effects on professional journalists. In the past, everyone wasn't walking around with a camera in their pockets. We took our cameras to special events like trips, weddings and graduations or we took photos of our families at home.

Today when breaking news happens there's more likely to be a citizen journalist with a camera phone on the scene rather than a professional photographer. The photos may be grainy and poorly lit, but they tell the story and that's what's important.

When the Stanley Cup riots happened there was one photo that caught the attention of people world-wide. It seemed to be a photo of a couple "making out" in the road while the riot police both surrounded and ignored them (though, of course, they weren't really making out). It was taken by a professional photographer, Rich Lam.

But, there was also a video posted online of the couple being knocked down and a policeman looking as though he was about to hit them with a baton before he turned and ran away. This video was taken on a phone by someone standing on top of a car park. If it weren't for "citizen journalists," it never would have become part of the story.

Professional journalists can offer quality, but they can't be everywhere at once. However, one thing journalists can do is take the time to document the information in the photos. One could spend hours looking at great photos online, but often the information given is minimal. This can be a little frustrating. Journalists are trained to explain everything. A photo of kids playing in a backyard pool might have been taken because there was a heat wave that day. The fact that there was a heat wave will always be attached to that photo and when people see it, they'll remember that heat wave, if they were in the same region. This takes the photo out of the realm of a random image and puts it into the context of our lives.

If you want to be a professional reporter, learn to describe what it is you're photographing. Attach the names, dates, places and reasons why you took the image. You may be able to sell your image or include it in a portfolio.

Wednesday, September 5, 2012

Time Management With Writing

It is important in our busy lives to schedule time in our day to write. Our blogs are a gateway for our visitors to come and interact with us on a daily or weekly basis. Time management for our writing is very important, some of us are retailers, service providers, suppliers, manufacturers or combination of industries. Why should use time management techniques for our writing exercises?

Our writing habits often take a back seat, when it comes to handling business operations. It suffers throughout the day, unless we have a day off to focus on catching up on our blogs, articles and editing. Most of us may take the completely off and relax with the family or hangout at a movie or bar. Therefore, our writing goes back on the back burner again; yet we know we need to develop our blogs and other material. Sometimes our time management skills may need a fine adjustment.

Some of us are workaholics and use every second of the day to accomplish something. Talk about premature burnout! We tend to push the limits for a variety of reasons and our writing may suffer from overzealous ambitions to "get things done". I have been this way, especially providing services for my friends but I have learned to relax and unwind. There is nothing wrong with taking a 30-minute break between projects. This style has helped me relax before doing any personal writing for my website or for a creative episode.

Is there a fine balance of managing business and writing? Yes and it can be a difficult journey at first, but once a routine is established, it becomes easier. Especially for writing blogs, articles, business proposals, editing, graphical work, SEO related material. Here are a few ideas to help build a routine:

- Set a time in the morning, afternoon, evening to write

- 1-2 hours every day to write

- Wait for 30 minutes to Edit

- Drop any issue from the day and focus

- Focus on research and developing the topic

- Develop a sound structure > Topic, supporting info.

- Experiment with point of view

- Save your work and come back tomorrow

It will take time to build up endurance for lengthy writing and distractions are always there to throw us off target. It is not your fault; everyone gets dazed by something else but try to focus on the subject and type. Editing takes place after the first draft, take some time to unwind and then come back to editing the content matter. A fresh mind will uncover errors faster than an overworked soul.

Sunday, September 2, 2012

Painting a Picture and Story Telling In Non-Fiction Business Online Articles

There are many ways to write online articles or develop content for your industry, or give information to the world by putting it out on the Internet, the greatest communication device ever created in the history of mankind. Every online article author has their own style, me included, one which I developed over an eight-year period. My style is unlike other authors, and theirs is much different than mine. That's a good thing, it shows that there is freedom of expression, and the political correctness has not invaded the online world of articles as deeply as it has in other venues of the media.

They say in fictional work that you need to paint a picture, to tell a story, to tap into the emotion of the reader, and to put them in a place, allowing them to suspend their belief system as if they were actually there. Not everyone can do that, but the good literary writers often do. Although I don't write a lot of fiction, I have written a bit, and I think just a little practice in the fictional realm will help a nonfiction online article author do even better with portraying facts and information about the real world. Let me explain.

You see, one of the things that I do in my style of writing is I often tell a story. Perhaps it is someone that I met, an idea I had, or something I had read. Then I couple it with other information that I've garnered through experience, education, research, or mere observation. In doing this I can draw the reader in to my world and see things through my eyes, as if they were standing next to me and we were having a conversation. What I'm doing is painting a picture and telling a story even though it's in a nonfiction article.

You can do the same thing in your articles, it isn't that difficult. In fact, I invite you to read some of the articles that I create each and every day, and very quickly you will see how I've developed my style, and perhaps there are components of it which can also work for you. Unlike many of the great literary writers of our time, I was not schooled in writing, I learned the hard way, and perhaps in many regards I learned incorrectly. It's taken a long time to get over some of those early mistakes I made, which unfortunately became part of the foundation of my writing.

But one thing is certain, painting a picture and telling a story works in nonfiction just as well as it does in a fictional work. I think you should try it. Indeed I hope you will please consider all this and think on it.