How To Start Writing Articles Successfully

You have probably heard that writing articles is one of the best methods that you can use to promote your online business. You might resist the idea of writing your own articles, because you don't think you are any good at it, or perhaps you might think that it is too hard to find a topic to write about.

Well, in this article, I hope to share with you some tips on how to become a successful online writer --- even if you don't believe that writing is a task that you are prepared to tackle.

Now, let me share some information about me that few people realize...

I do not consider myself to be an expert on the subject of writing. And honestly, my English is not very good at all. It is really hard to tell, isn't it? Keep reading.

You see, I am from Norway. And as you might imagine, I speak Norwegian fluently. For me, English is my Second language --- not my first.

Despite my limited English skills, my articles consistently get reprinted on lots of websites and in lots of newsletters. I have even been published in ezines that have hundreds of thousands of subscribers! And, my latest article has only been in circulation for one week, and it already shows 220 results in Google.

I cannot think of another way of getting that many one-way links to my site so quickly and so easily.

How to Find Topics for Your Articles -

The first thing that you will want to do is to look at your website and ask yourself some very important questions.

What is the theme of your website?

What product or service do you sell?

Do you have a forum on your site? If you are stressing for an idea about what you can write, then use one of your forum postings. (I do this all the time. Sometimes, I can take my response directly from my forum, and I send my answer out as a stand-alone article to the various article directories.)

Do you find yourself answering the same questions over and again for people who are interested in your products or services? If so, sit down and construct your answer in such a way that it can be used additionally as an article to promote your website. Send your answer to the person who asked the question, and then release your answer as an article. I have spoken to many writers who have told me that this is how they got their own start writing articles.

These are only a few ways to develop the topic of an article you might write. You should always try to write about a topic that interests you, and that you think can benefit others to read. Don't hold yourself back with the excuse that you are not an expert in the field that you are writing about.

Everyone on the planet has something to contribute to others. There are things that I might know that you don't know, and I can share that information with you. And, believe it or not, there are things that you will know that thousands of other people including myself have no knowledge about. There will always be something that you can teach to me and others.

Finding the Time to Write -

You may think it takes a lot of time to write, and that you're not able to add this task to your already tight schedule. But, if you would only set aside half an hour every day to write, you'll soon have a couple of articles finished every week.

The Tools I Use When Writing -

Most text editors will have the features you need to write your articles. Writers use a wide range of software applications to help them with their writing tasks. Some of the applications that people use include:

* NotePad - Preloaded as a part of Microsoft Windows

* UltraEdit32 - http://www.ultraedit.com/

* Sun Office - http://www.sun.com/software/star/staroffice/

* Microsoft Word/Office - http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/

Personally, I use Notetab Light which is a free text and HTML editor. You can download this editor at: http://www.notetab.com/

Beyond your basic text editor, it is nice to have some kind of spelling tool to double-check your work. I strongly recommend that you do not rely too much on the software spelling tools alone. While good, these spelling tools seldom do a good job fixing even basic grammar problems. These spelling tools also miss words that are spelled right, but used incorrectly in the context of the sentence. Examples include: their and there, and week and weak.

When you consider the damage that a poorly written article can do to your reputation and your ability to sell goods and services from your website, it begins to make a lot of economic sense to have someone proofread your article before you release it to the public. The fees that you will be asked to pay for proofreading services will more than pay for themselves by presenting a stronger, more professional image for your website and business.

One place you can go to get good quality, proofreading services is: http://www.ideamarketers.com/services/proof.cfm

Or, if you plan to have your article distributed, and you would like to get it proofread at the same time, you can visit: http://thephantomwriters.com/x.pl/tpw/index.html

Places To Submit Your Article -

I will only list 5 websites here, where you can submit your articles:

- http://EzineArticles.com/

- http://ideamarketers.com/

- http://goarticles.com/

- http://contentdesk.com/

- http://submityourarticle.com/

If you would like to find a longer list of websites, where you can submit your articles, you can visit my forum at: http://everypleasures.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=17

It is my hope that having finished reading my article, you will decide for yourself to write at least one article for the purpose of promoting your own website. I hope I have given you the confidence to try this promotional method for yourself.

I honestly believe, if you would use this method just once, you will see positive results. If you use this method twice, you will see more good results. And if you are like me, and you write five or six articles to promote your online business, you will be sold on the value of using articles as a promotional tool.