The writers who have learned the value of using free reprint
articles as a promotional tool, go back to the well time and time
again because it generates real results. Some writers have ended
using all other methods of promotion because reprint articles
work so very well.
It is a beautiful thing when one of my clients tell me that they
need to stop article distributions for a spell because they are
swamped with new business and need to have time to catch up. Of
course, that is less money for now, but they will be back.
TIPS THAT WILL HELP YOU GET GREAT RESULTS WITH YOUR ARTICLES TOO
1. Teach, Don't Sell -
Article writers who generate a 1000 word sales pitch will not get
the results they expect, if any at all. Publishers do not want to
reprint sales pitches. They want to reprint articles that will
teach or entertain their readers.
2. Tell an Interesting Story -
Just the other day, I saw an article in the lists that flat put
me to sleep after two paragraphs. Did I finish the article No.
Do you think the article got republished? I doubt it. Did the
article generate any traffic or sales? Not likely.
If you can capture the interest of readers and keep their
interest through your whole message, you will have overcome
the greatest challenge all writers face.
3. Trim Excessive Words -
Even I occasionally put together an article that should have
had the excess baggage trimmed from it. One of my most printed
articles ran 200 words longer on its first publication. On the
first run, I received zero reprints. Trimmed and resent, the
article has been published hundreds of times.
4. Select a Good Title -
A title should always catch the eye and tell the reader that it
is an article they want to read. An article that is written well
can fail to produce results if the title does not match the
quality of the article.
5. White Space Management -
In newspapers and books, white space is not as important as it is
when you are writing for the web. Short paragraphs are vitally
important to keeping the interest of the reader. And extra white
space to break up the ideas in an article are just as important.
Unless you can manage white space properly, reading on the web
can be extremely difficult. The reasons for this are the smaller
viewing area in electronic print, AND the eye strain that comes
from looking at a monitor.
6. Highlighting Ideas in the Copy -
Some writers use a Numbered List like I am using here. This can
generally produce good results. Better than a Numbered List is a
Bulleted List with stars or dashes defining the different ideas.
Yes, I considered using a Bulleted List, but thought a Numbered
List would be better for this particular article.
7. Highlighting Subtitles in the Copy -
Most articles I write do not fit the Numbered or Bulleted
List scenarios. In those cases, I always use subtitles to
differentiate my ideas. With subtitles, I either use ALL CAPS or
Title Case for the subtitle. In most cases, I prefer using all
caps for the subtitle to ensure that the title case subtitle is
not mistook as standard body text.
8. Write an Effective Resource Box -
The Resource Box is otherwise referred to as your About the
Author Information. When your reader reaches the end of the
article, if you have done a good job in the body of the article,
the reader will be interested in who you are and what you do.
Your goal is not to sell a product or service in your Resource
Box. Your goal is to provide an intriguing biography that will
entice the reader to actually visit your website URL.
9. Keep Your Resource Box Short -
The basic length restriction for your Resource Box is 9 lines by
65 characters.
Sure, you can put out a larger Resource Box, but the chances of
getting published is greatly dimished if you spent too many words
talking about yourself.
10. Leave Your Site URL's in the Resource Box -
You should always try to leave links to your website in the
Resource Box and not in the body of the article. The only links
that should appear in the body of your article are links to URL's
where the reader can find additional documentation to support the
basis of your article or where the reader can find additional
tools or resources associated to the context of your article.
Your site URL is expected to be seen in your Resource Box. That
is where it belongs.
11. Rules Governing Links to Your Site in an Article -
Many publishers and distribution list moderators believe that if
you put your own links in the body of your article, then your
article is simply an advertisement disguising itself as an
article. Most publishers and distribution list moderators reject
this type of offense out of hand without any recourse.
The only exception to this rule is when you are linking to a
related resource on your website or providing a shorter-url
redirect for another website.
Most publishers and distribution list moderators will check your
on-site links to verify where they go.
12. End With a Solid Conclusion -
It is always good to conclude your article and wind everything up
nicely. Sometimes we see bulleted list articles that would have
done well, had they only told us that the article was over. When
your reader gets to the end of the article and wonders where the
ending is, then you will know that you have failed to reach your
true potential.
13. Get Wide Distribution for the Articles You Publish -
Over time, you might be able to search out all of the resources
available for distributing your article for free. There are
literally thousands of them out there.
Figure out which ones have the widest possible reach and use
those. Some places will never actually generate any reprints, so
do be careful of your time. Make your assessments of a resource's
value over several uses, since not all articles will appeal to
all publishers.
There are also services available that will help you to
distribute your articles. If you search them out and use them,
they can help you to spend more time writing and less time doing
the tedious and time-consuming tasks of submission.
14. Persistance Is Your Most Valuable Tool -
A single article may not have the pulling power that either you
or I think it will have. The marketplace is very fickle. Put
yourself on a schedule to write one article a month or one
article per week, and then follow through with your plans.
Four articles in the marketplace are more valuable than one.
And, fifty articles are more valuable four.
The more articles you have in circulation, the more links you
will have to your websites, and the greater a chance you will
have to be reprinted and to generate new sales.
If you keep it up, in a few years you will find that you have
become a household name and that people will seek you out to
offer you new opportunities for real success.
IN CONCLUSION...
If you follow these tips and utilize them in your own articles,
you will find that you will get published more often and gain
greater results from the articles that you do write.
Good luck in your article writing endeavors.
Bill Platt is the owner of http://www.LinksAndTraffic.com
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