Thursday, August 30, 2012

How to Write an Article in 5 Steps

Many bloggers don't know how to write an article for human readers. Instead they are only interested in things like keyword density, spinning and taking advantage of the loopholes in Google's algorithm that will enable them to rank their low quality articles for any keyword they wish.

I've seen a lot of bad practices in article writing and it's really disappointing to see so many people focusing too much in search engine optimization, that they forget that what they really need is human readers.

People who publish low quality content realize after a while that no matter how much traffic they manage to get, nobody actually stays on their website. So if you want to build a real business online you must focus on quality content. There are no shortcuts.

After years of writing I have developed a certain process that helps me keep my articles quality, professional and compelling to read. By following this process I am able to write an article in less that an hour and it can bring a lot of traffic to my website.

here is the 5 step process I use to write an article:

1. Choosing a Topic

The first thing you'll need to do is to find what to write about and the best way to do that is by finding out what you are interested in. It goes without saying that your blog should be in a niche of your interest, otherwise you will always struggle finding topics to write about, and ultimately you will get disappointed and abandon your blog. So, don't over-complicate this step. just figure out what it is that you are passionate about and move on to the next step.

2. Keyword Research

Once you have decided about the topic of your article you should do some keyword research. if for example the topic of your article is "how to write a blog post" go to the Google keyword research tool and search for that keyword. that way you will get a list of a lot of keywords relevant to your topic. Choose one of the suggested keywords as your primary and also choose some more as secondary keywords.

Focus on long tail keywords. These are keywords longer that 3 words which get small traffic but are typically easier to rank for because there is little competition. You can use SEOquake to analyze competition. This is a free Firefox plug-in that displays a lot of SEO information on search results and it can help you determine which keyword is the easiest to rank for.

Once you have found all the relevant keywords for your article you can start using them in your article. Use your primary keyword in your title and in the main body of your article at about 2% keyword density. This will make your article optimized for search engines. Higher keyword density is not recommended because it will make your article look spammy and Google will penalize you.

3. Research your Topic

Before writing your article it's important to do some research. You have already compiled your list of keywords so start searching on Google for each of those keywords and read as much information as you can. Do not underestimate the importance of this step. Research can make your article stand out and will increase the likelihood of having your article syndicated which can bring you a lot of traffic. Only if you are very familiar with the topic you might skip this step.

4. Start Writing

Length
Now have all the information you need to start writing your article. But before you do that you will have first to decide on the length of your article. Most people recommend that you write about 500 words, but unlike what most people I will advice you to write at about 700-1000 words. There reason is that a quality 1000 word article will greatly increase the chances of syndication.

Structure
An article in order to be compelling has to have some structure. You can't just start placing one sentence after another. Every article I write consists of the following components:

Title: It's the most important component because it's the first impression a reader get from your article. If the title is not compelling enough chances are your reader will stop reading your article. Keep in mind that the title is what shows up on Google results and if it's not catchy enough you will not get people's attention. The tile also is an important factor for SEO so you have to include your keyword on your title if this is possible.
Introduction: first impressions matters. In the intro you will introduce your topic, mention all the main point you will discuss in your article, explain why you are writing this post, and provide a little background information if required. The primary aim of the introduction is to bring excitement so that your reader will continue reading. Also don't forget to include your primary keywords phrase once in a way that looks natural.
Body: You must choose a way to structure your information with bullet points or sub-headlines (like in this article). That way you break up your content into small pieces which are easier to read. Another way to make your article more pleasing for the eye, is to add images and a video. A video will also increase the user engagement with your site and enhance the user experience which is a big factor in SEO rankings.
Conclusion: Do not overlook this part because an improper conclusion can destroy the article. Do not mention anything new in the conclusion. Keep it short summarizing what you just said and explaining your reader how to find further information on that subject. The conclusion is also the best place to add a call to action which can be a link to your product or an incentive for your reader to join your newsletter or an invitation to leave a comment. A call to action is a must. I can't stress that enough. You will be amazed on how many people will respond to your invitation. do not overdo it though. Just one call to action on every post is enough.

5. Final Edits

Once you finish writing your post take some time to proof-read it by reading it out loud. This will help you find spelling and grammar mistakes. Also make sure you have included your keyword(s) in the title, the first paragraph and several times in the body of your post while making sure they do not look out of place or turn off human readers. If you target more than one keyword add your secondary keywords in your sub-headlines. Remember that you are writing for humans first and then for the search engines so make sure you are not affection the readability of your article by over-optimizing for the search engines.

Sunday, August 26, 2012

How to Write Great Articles in 15 Minutes or Less

This article will show you how you can write great articles in 15 minutes or less. If you are anything like me, then you find that you work best when you work fast.

For some reason, when you take your time to do something, you wind up over thinking and the final product is nowhere as good as it would be if you just sat down and started cranking out your prose. However, fear may set in and you may have to slow down.

This article will show you some steps that you can employ to be able to write an article in 15 minute or less.

Create Your Basic Plan First - You do not want to have to go from 0 to 60 with no plan in place. Doing a few minutes of planning on the rules of engagement ahead of time will allow you to hit the ground running when you are ready to start writing. Here is what I mean -

· Have a list of ideas that you want to write about readily available.

· Have a list of keywords that you want to base your articles on available.

· Keep a notebook with new ideas that you can create.

Do Research Fast - I always have a bunch of topics handy that I can write about. When I sit down to write, I do a Google search for similar content. I will spend about 2 minutes reading quickly through 1 or two 2 articles to get some ideas that I can write about. Doing a quick skim triggers some ideas that you can write about but does not set your mind up to copy those ideas. In other words, do not copy somebody else's content. However, give credit if somebody else's work inspires your work.

Go with the low hanging fruit - Pick out an idea that is easy to write about in the moment. Do not save your best stuff for later, when you can spend more time on it. Your subconscious mind knows what it wants to do. Listen to it and you will find that the work that you create is better than the work that you will create if you save an idea.

Trust yourself - Especially in the beginning, you will talk yourself out of your ideas and will second guess what you did. If I second guess something that I write, then I will write another post later with my new thinking and an explanation of what changed. However, I will not pull back an idea that I had in the past, unless it is inaccurate.

OK, as we approach the 14 minute mark for this article, this should give you a taste of what to do on how to write great articles in 15 minutes.

Oh yeah, one more tip - You probably will not be very good in the beginning. Don't worry about it because you will find that you will get better very quickly and you will soon be able to write great articles in under 10 minutes.

Sunday, August 19, 2012

Are You More Productive With Your Article Writing During Daylight Savings Time?

The other day, I was talking to a fellow writer who happened to be working on her laptop at Starbucks. She looked intensively busy, for about 30 minutes straight, typing away. Then, she took a sip of her coffee, sat back and started gazing around the room. I told her I thought she might be working too hard. She laughed. She noted to me that she was a writer and was working on finishing up on a deadline. I explained to her that I was also a writer, and also self-employed, although in semi-retirement.

She asked me a very interesting question; "since we are now in daylight savings time, your productivity should increase, and you will have an hour extra per day to get work done." I thought this was funny, because quite frankly my production rate is fine, and I have something like 28,200 articles under my belt. Nevertheless, this was a rather intriguing line of conversation, and I wished to pursue it in case I might write an article about it; in fact, this is the article I wrote based on that conversation.

She explained to me that many creative writer types do their best work at night. When the sun goes down, things get quieter without all the distractions of the day. Daylight savings time means there's an extra hour of darkness during the nighttime hours when writers can be the most productive. This theory of hers made a lot of sense, and she said it was working for her, and always had. She noted that during the summertime and in the summer months she was not able to put out the volume she needed to, in order to really make ends meet.

Perhaps she is a starving writer, although she didn't say. I know for a fact that there are quite a few of those, and I guess it goes with the territory as the newspaper industry is cutting reporters, and there are more and more people trying to do freelance competing against each other. This drives the price down because of supply and demand; it's basically economics 101 you might say.

Interestingly enough, I did note that I was able to produce more content having more hours without daylight distraction. Along with this theory it would make sense that writers can produce more through the months of November, December, and January when there are the fewest hours of light because the days are shorter. That should work just fine unless you are working on solar electricity, because you wouldn't have enough time to charge the batteries to run your laptop to do the writing. Oh well, nothing in life is perfect.

Wednesday, August 15, 2012

How Is SEO Article Writing Beneficial?

SEO article writing is a job that requires professionalism and dedication towards the job. Many people are writing articles these days just because many companies are now working on the internet offering different product and services. The companies need to produce such articles that can enable them to sell their products and services buy attracting potential buyers. When you are writing a SEO article, you have to make sure that you use the most searched keywords.

Many people are learning how to write SEO articles. That is because writing these articles is not an easy thing. Content article writing requires professional writing skills. The article that is to be written needs to be purely original and the keywords used must not be long tailed ones. If you have proper command on writing articles then it can be a lot beneficial for you. You need to understand the philosophy behind SEO if you want to write SEO articles. The business that hires a great content writer can leave a great impact of his products and services on others.

Globalization has now become the goal of every business owner. All businesses have made a website through which they sell their products and services and interact with the customers. Customers also find it convenient to interact on the internet. Your SEO article is the thing that will be the tool which will enable you to attract customers.

If an article includes some innovative idea then it can attract customers in a much better way than a boring content article. People now want to learn and see new stuff. They have become frustrated with the old fashion ways and techniques. If they will be provided something new written with words that are impressive yet simple, then they will get convinced to buy your product or service within a snap.

You need to be familiar with your customers when you are writing SEO articles. When you will be familiar with them, you will know what they like and what they are looking for. That will make it easier for you to impress them in a better way. Selection of the right keywords is also a crucial task. Once the article is created according to the prerequisites, then it can make you improve your sales in a great way.

As you will be using the SEO articles in promoting your business, hence they should give a pleasant message about your company and its products to the customers. You should explain the customers that what's new with you that they should go for. Once they are convinced about this, then they can turn into the potential buyers.

One important thing about SEO article writing is that it can make you earn a considerable amount of money. That's why we see many people writing articles and making writer's accounts on the freelancing websites to get projects and contracts on writing articles. Writing quality, informative, innovative and original articles can sure bring a lot of benefits to a business as well as the writer.

Tuesday, August 7, 2012

In Your Writing, Do You Accept Constructive Criticism Well?

Not every writer is an editor, but all writers should know "how to write well" in order to actually write. However, that is why publishers and magazines and other places writers submit their work to... have editors. It's the job of the editor to help to shape your work to be the best that it can be. Readers don't want to read work that is filled with grammatical errors and doesn't flow well or have any point to the message.

Most people don't like to deal with criticism, whether it's physical, mental or spiritual. However, most people like to experience praise. How does this apply to your writing? If you're happy with your work and think that you're doing well, you may be less likely to seek out the assistance of an editor. However, if your writing is in a bad phase and you're not doing well, then you may be more susceptible to accept editing assistance.

Why can't we have it both ways-where we're open to criticism at any time, whether we're on a "writing high" or not? In my opinion, I think we can have it both ways. We simply need to be open to the possibility that we're not right all the time and that we can seriously benefit from the opinion of a meticulous and open-minded editor.

This aspect of dealing well with constructive criticism applies to how we treat our readers. For example, are we always telling them what to do in our "self-help" articles or are we educating in a way where we're treating our readers as adults rather than children. If your method of writing is more of scolding, that's not going to keep your readers as loyal fans.

Readers want to get reliable information from a trusted source and to be educated and entertained in the meantime. If you can't provide the facts, whether it's an article about How to use a netipot or even writing a chapter in your next novel, you'll soon lose valuable credibility with your readership. As a freelance writer and author, that is a situation that you do not want to find yourself in. Keep your tone light, yet informative and engaging and you'll garner a mutual respect between you and your readers. They'll continue to seek out articles and books written by you.

Not only do you want to write for your reader-base, but you also always want to write with your critics in mind. For example, if you don't provide the facts in your work, you have given your critics and easy opportunity to disparage your credibility-and if your facts are off, then these critics have every right to call you out. Wouldn't you rather have your work reviewed by a fact checker and editor in advance of publication so that you don't give your readers or critics any chance to call you out?

Saturday, August 4, 2012

How To Write a SEO Article

The importance of internet writing today is huge for every website. A good article could bring you the desired success, allowing you to sell a product or to present an idea. It can also generate traffic on the website. However, a SEO article must not only be optimized for searches, but also to have good and interesting content.

Articles are known as "traffic-bringers". Because of an article, your website could rank better in search engines. If your website appears on a superior position in Google searches, you will be able to generate more traffic. However, it is not about writing many articles, as you will have to know how to write SEO articles first. Once you have met several basic requests, the benefits could be extraordinary. A well-written article would be distinguished in the eyes of potential clients, which would come back to read more, or they might even recommend your website to other people.

Choosing keywords for a SEO article

A good article must be centered on several keywords. Think about the search engines. Why are they useful? Because they bring visitors. How? By searching certain keywords. Therefore, a person that knows how to write SEO articles must know where to place the respective keywords, and how often they must be used.

How to write SEO articles: Google KeyWord Tool

Besides the main keyword, there are also the secondary keywords that have the same importance. You will have to use the whole potential of the respective word. A good SEO article must have a good density of keywords, as this aspect is important for search engines.

Usually, 15 % of the article content must be formed by keywords and secondary keywords. However, it is also important to have good content article writing. Some people write articles filled with keywords, thinking that the respective article would bring those hundreds of visitors, but if the article is just a mess that can't be understood, the readers would easily get bored. A good article must keep the readers interested, and to offer them quality information based on what they are searching. Moreover, you should make the article readable, without grammar mistakes or punctuation flops. If you want the readers to trust you, it is important to act professionally.

Another important thing to consider is the link at the end of the article. You can ask the readers to subscribe for your newsletter, or to buy a product. A person that has reached the end of your article is probably interested about what you are saying; therefore, he or she might listen to your "Call to action".

Other considerations about SEO articles

Use short paragraphs. When the paragraphs are too long, the articles are hard to read. You will put the reader in the posture of looking for minutes to find a simple idea. You can have the best website in the word. If the articles are too long, or if the article is not well structured, nobody would lose time with it.

Find a quality title

It is essential for a good article to start with a good and catchy title. A title that catches the attention of the reader would be the one that speaks about something. Certain combinations of words would always be successful: "How to... ", "New... ", "The simplest method to... "

Forget about the academic and English advanced terms you have learned during college. If you want to keep a reader entertained, you will have to speak his or hers language.

Write as you talk - write as you would write to a dear friend, and debate the subject. Put some soul in your article, and don't write like a printer.

With those ideas in your head, you will be able to write a good SEO article fast. If you want to order some good articles, you can complete the form here.