Gasp! I can hear it from the purists now: Matt is advocating that writers really dumb down their writing styles to crank out more articles in less time. No, not really. Truthfully, writing for the internet, where the vast number of ezine articles can be found, shouldn't be a laborious process. By following these simple rules you should be able to produce an interesting, persuasive, and concise article in fifteen minutes or less.
Have a familiar topic in mind. Writing on something you are not familiar with will require plenty of research. Plan on spending 1-3 hours of good, solid research on a "new" topic for every 500-600 word article you write. Thus, if getting published is your desire, emphasize those areas you are well acquainted with first. Save the "new" topics for another time.
Simplify your language style. No, you will not be contributing to the decline of the western civilization, however you must not publish college level material for ezine use on a regular basis. Why? Because the vast majority of the people who are on the internet do not have a college education and/or English is not their primary language. You want people to read what you wrote, correct? Aim for a less educated crowd and you will capture and educate your readers. Isn't that the goal of your writing something in the first place -- to tell someone something that they did not know?
Use a clear, concise layout. With this article I have highlighted in bold my main points. With some of my other articles I number every point or paragraph. Why? I want readers to be able to quickly capture the essence of the article and to continue reading. As much as possible I leave out all the fluff and state what I have to say without being long winded. Verbose, who me? Not!
Engage the reader. With every topic you want your readership to have some sort of response. You can have the best topic but you will lose the reader if you do not give them a reason to read on. Be compelling, but please be brief. Converse with your readers and do not lecture them.
There, now you have it. In less than fifteen minutes I have made my point. So can you.
(c)2005; Matthew C. Keegan, LLC
Matt Keegan is The Article Writer who writes for ezines, newsletters, publications, websites, and more. In addition, Matt designs websites and manages two thriving message board communities: http://aviationemploymentboard.net/forum and http://corporateflyer.net/forum
