You want to be noticed by
thousands daily. Online ezine publishers and webmasters are constantly looking
for content. They want and need your articles. But you will have a much better
chance of being chosen if you write an article that solves a problem for your
audience. Let's assume they are business people like yourself who need a
problem solved--to stop procrastinating, write a book, promote their business,
develop a loving relationship.
What Format Suits You?
Write a how-to-article.
Information hungry people want this one! You write a short introduction on the
background of the problem and the need for your solutions. Then, you get right
to it and give those solutions. Don't worry about giving away the store.
Readers will judge you by your concise style and content, and will be attracted
to see what else you offer.
If it
relates to a service or product you want to sell, then write about that and
lead your reader step-by-step through the solutions. Give information and give
resources to help your reader. Here's some from my clients: How to
Procrastinate to Your Heart's Desires; How to Create Employees That Can Hardly
Wait to Get to Work Each Day; Promote your Coaching and Speaking Business
Through Free Articles.
This
kind of article takes the shortest time to write and is also the easiest
format. Always include an introduction with your thesis--the point you want to
prove, or the problem you are about to solve. In your conclusion, add one more
punchy way to stimulate your reader to act on what you want them to act on in
your signature file below the article.
To
write a tip, start with a command: 1. Do this. Follow that by the consequence
of not following the tip. Then, add a quick tip with a concrete example to
illustrate it. You can give as many as 29 tips or ways and as few as three. For
example, "Seven Mistakes People Make When they Create a Web Site" or
"10 Ways to Organize your Online Office."
If you
keep your numbers reasonable; say around ten, you can use the other tips in
other articles. Sometimes you can offer a resource to your reader in your tip
as an example of solving the problem.
This is
one of my favorites because there are so many publishing and promotion myths
that keep people from expressing their brilliance. They think there are certain
rules. How about this one? "Bookstores are a
Choose
a credible expert or dynamic online personality to interview, and offer not
only how-to-solutions, allow the public to see the personal side of the person.
I have participated in several of these. It's a great way to be seen by
thousands of people. These are usually done in question and answer format.
Always use the good questions and answers for more content on your Web site or
in your own ezine.
Author
Debbie Allen asked me to write my online marketing success story for her new
book. Two friends dragged me into the Web--one insisted I set up a Web
site--the other introduced me to the concept of coaching via telephone, using
email such as an online newsletter to draw new clients and stay in touch with
other ones. Curious, I spent time expanding my seminar and ebook business
Online. I've never looked back. Web sales jumped from $75 to $2265 in just five
months. I thought, I need to share this gold with others! And, so a success
story is born and shared with anywhere from 1000 to 500,000 ezine readers in
cyberspace. It's also included in Debbie's print book to be published sometime
in 2002.
You have your
format. Now choose an outstanding title and include the largest benefit to
solving a challenge in the title. No matter what length your article is, it is
well on its way to being a top promotion method for your business.
Copyright 2002 Judy Cullins
Judy Cullins: author, publisher,
book coach eBook:_Quadruple Online Sales in 4 Months with Free Articles_
http://www.bookcoaching.com/products.shtml Send an email to
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Email: Judy@bookcoaching.com