|
About the Author: Pamela White is the author of over 600 published articles, short stories and essays, and publishes ‘Food Writing’ at http://www.food-writing.com and ‘The Writing Parent’ at http://www.thewritingparent.net, two ezines that focus on unique writing niches. She teaches online writing classes at both sites, and invites readers to subscribe to the ezines by visiting each site.
? 2006 Pamela White
January 27, 2008
Most authors find it difficult to write online articles more than a few per day. One online article author who has some very decent articles actually writes between one and two articles per day and works extremely hard to do it. She feels drowned out and does not see how anyone can possibly write thousands of articles.
Well to this I say sure they can, I did. In fact I wrote 1111 articles in I think it was June alone. I consistently write 400-600 per month and am already up 240 on the month this month and it is only the 6th of the month. I do not use software to do this, although I have used voice activated assist yet I find that generally when I do I spend more time editing than it is worth really.
Additionally I do most all the articles off the top of my head, so if someone were to simply think and observe what they see and be actively involved in their lives they could do the same thing too. People are generally lazy. And I have been accused of not having the best or perfect-est articles, but I am not a writer or an editor and so if I can do this anyone can.
I bet I hit 1000 articles this month and top 10,000 by end of October. So I say to the critics, despite there comments, stop lowering your expectations and get busy doing rather than putting false barriers of productivity in front of you. Consider this in 2006.
|
‘Lance Winslow’ - Online Think Tank forum board. If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance; www.WorldThinkTank.net/. Lance is a guest writer for Our Spokane Magazine in Spokane, Washington
Online article writers often feel over whelmed by the number of articles produced by other authors. In fact sometimes they think that they can never accomplish the incredible rates of productivity of the top online article writers and yet they might be surprised how well they could do if they would stop allowing negative bio-feedback to rule their thoughts?
One online article writer asks; Does Writing One or Two Articles Per Day Make a Difference? Well of course it does. You see one article does make a difference if it is it captures the imagination of the reader and gets them thinking, do not assume that one or two articles is nothing, because that is 365-730 articles per year and that certainly makes a big difference indeed. A very big difference; Power to the people, power to those who persevere. Remember; Never, ever, ever, ever, ever Give Up. Never. Winston Churchill.
If someone writes one or two articles per day and then gets better then they can write four to 5 articles per day. Eventually they get better and better and eventually they are able to write 10-articles a day. The first year I started writing articles I actually got up to 13 articles a day and have 4000 articles by the end of the year. And here is the kicker. I am not even a writer, I am a retired entrepreneur you see? This is article number 8499 and the next one will be 8500.
|
‘Lance Winslow’ - Online Think Tank forum board. If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance; www.WorldThinkTank.net/. Lance is a guest writer for Our Spokane Magazine in Spokane, Washington
January 5, 2008
The first is for direct and immediate profit. In other words, you write the article and someone pays you for it. At this pint, you lose all rights to what you have written, so don’t imagine that you can regurgitate even one sentence and re-use it. Of course, you still have the knowledge and are free to continue writing and publishing on the same subject. Just make sure that the content isn’t recognisable and that you don’t inadvertently use an identical complex sentence to one which was in the article that you sold.
The second reason for writing articles is to attract visitors to your website and/or to purchase your product for longer term profit. In this instance, you can’t sell your article because to need it to carry your name and your business details and web address, not somebody else’s. You retain the rights and can do what you like with your masterpiece, but you will probably choose one or several of the following.
- Publish on your own website but use your blog or newsletter to tell people where to find your article. If you ‘ping’ your blog, certain search engines will be updated and others will detect of their own accord that your site has new, original content and will send their spiders along to index it.
- Publish in an ezine. Many ezine owners are looking for content and may agree to a swap, otherwise you may have to pay for your article to appear. However, if you choose the ezine carefully, it can be well worth the expenditure.
- Publish in an article directory. This may well lead to other websites using your work for content or distribution via RSS feeds. Each time your article appears, so will your link, attracting even more visitors to your site or product.
If you join MPAM and follow the 20 Steps course, you will learn about all of the above. The course lays out a detailed plan for the successful creation and population of a content-rich, search engine friendly website. In addition, there is the opportunity to at least cover the cost of your membership by writing articles for sale to MPAM as well as many other income streams and extensive training.
Whatever your reasons for writing articles and wherever they end up, before you start to scribble or tap away at the keyboard, there are a few basic things that you will need to know.
A good standard of English grammar and spelling is required. Without that, your articles will remain unread and other than on your own website, where you can do what you like, unpublished. The major article directories check spelling and grammar quite carefully and will reject out of hand, articles which are not of a sufficiently high quality.
Original, informative content is a must. It’s worth doing some research to find out what the internet population are interested in before you even start.
A well-structured, cohesive piece of writing is necessary. There’s nothing more likely to lose your readers’ attention than muddled or contradictory ramblings.
If you would like detailed tips about the dos and don’ts of article writing, then watch this space, there will be more coming soon.
|
As well as being webmistress of Liz-e-Biz.com and Income Stream Article Editor for MPAM, Liz has written an ebook entitled Successful Article Writing which you can get absolutely free.
December 31, 2007
Just for the heck of it, I opened a blank computer page this morning, with the intention of crafting an article, and I typed the first word that came to mind.
It was ?Winning.?
And I knew I?d have to follow it with something else, and so this phrase followed: ?Is only the beginning.?
Ah, good, that?s it; that will do!
?Winning Is Only The Beginning!?
Sure, let?s write that, I thought.
And one word followed the next, and before I knew it I was discussing one of my favorite topics: baseball, not for its own sake, but to distinguish victory from success.
This article, as it would turn out, would show how last year?s World Champs, my Chicago White Sox, were winners, but they?re not enduring successes.
Compared to the Atlanta Braves and the New York Yankees, they?re flashes in the pan, and simply not as professional. A lot of this has to do with management style, I would go on to say.
Anyway, as it turned out, I did a little statistical research to support my view, and ended up with a very respectable piece.
I forced the issue by blurting out a title, but it worked. Moreover, this title, the article, and a little more thinking and craftsmanship might yield a speech that I can take out on the road.
Here?s my point to you, the article writer. You can start anywhere you wish, but just make sure to start!
|
Best-selling author of 12 books and more than 800 articles, Dr. Gary S. Goodman is considered a foremost expert in telephone effectiveness, customer service, and sales development. A top-rated speaker, seminar leader, and consultant, his clients extend across the organizational spectrum, from the Fortune 1000 to small businesses. He can be reached at: gary@customersatisfaction.com.
December 9, 2007
A short while ago, Ezinearticles.com started featuring the pictures of on its home page. The images of the over 30,000 people who have written and posted articles are shown at random. I have found this feature very interesting and every time I log onto the site, I click on one or two of the pictures. The variety of talent and topics covered are truly amazing.
While looking at the pictures of these various article writers, I noticed something I didn?t expect. Article writers tend to be an older crowd. Of course, as far as I know, people are not required to give their age when they submit their biographical information. Even submitting a bio is voluntary. So there likely aren?t any statistics to verify my observation that most of the writers tend to be over thirty.
This surprises me because the demographic of Internet users is skewed to the younger age groups. Also, the most popular sites on the net tend to be dominated by young age groups. I am thinking of sites like myspace and youtube. Ezinearticles.com is very successful in its own right, but likely is attracting a different demographic.
At this point, you are likely saying, so what. Ok, it?s maybe nothing, but I think the popularity of article writing, and presumably reading, among the older crowd points to something significant about the Internet and how it is used. Research shows that people use the Internet primarily as a massive database, searching for information, clicking around until they find it, or like free association, follow one train of thought to another. They tend not to sit and read very much.
Even though people use the Internet as a database, search engines treat it like a massive narrative. The web crawlers look for words, and favour sites with lots of them. In order to achieve a ranking in the search engines, sites must have the words the engines are looking for, in other words - content. The web crawlers also favour sites that have a fresh stream of words.
Thus the popularity of article writing and exchange has emerged as a convenient way for people to promote their sites and get fresh content for their sites. Articles lend themselves very well to the way search engines work. Ironically, the most popular sites on the Internet didn?t achieve their ranking by being search engine friendly. They achieved their popularity by word of mouth, by lending themselves to viral characteristics. The users of these sites are younger and are not writing or reading that much. They are using the sites the way most people use most sites, clicking and browsing around.
It may be possible that two distinct Internet cultures have emerged. Older users, who have been schooled in traditional ways, reading and writing books, adapt naturally to narrative content. Younger users, although they may be literate, gravitate to multi-media, graphics, video and electronically mediated conversation. This makes me wonder if these younger users will adapt to narrative at some point, or if search engines will be changed to accommodate this generation. When this happens, narrative as we know it may become a lost art.
|
Ron Strand is a part-time Instructor at the Centre for Communication Studies at Mount Royal College and the President of Strateo Consulting Inc. - a strategic marketing and communications consulting firm.
December 8, 2007
I bill myself as the best-selling author of 12 books.
True, enough.
But has anybody wondered why that number isn?t 13?
I have WRITTEN more than 12 books, to be sure. Twelve have been issued by major publishers, and they?re the ones I count.
However, my 13th was written, and I had received an offer from a well known publisher.
But I didn?t like the offer, the editor, or the publisher.
In fact, I disliked everything about the deal, so instead of turning it into a book, I changed course and made it a very successful audio seminar, which will probably pay off more in the long run, as it did in the short run, in dollars and publicity.
Was #13 unlucky for me, at least as a book?
Perhaps it was. But then, I turned it into good luck, you might say.
I?ve written over 800 articles, but I was definitely tempted to pause at 777.
At 665, I submitted two or more at the same time, avoiding even the slightest perching at 666.
I don?t think of myself as superstitious, but I suppose, on some level, I might be.
So, I try to blast through to the next greater number, whenever I can.
Look for my thirteenth and fourteenth books, soon, at Amazon or at a store near you!
|
Best-selling author of 12 books and more than 800 articles, Dr. Gary S. Goodman is considered a foremost expert in telephone effectiveness, customer service, and sales development. A top-rated speaker, seminar leader, and consultant, his clients extend across the organizational spectrum, from the Fortune 1000 to small businesses. He can be reached at: gary@customersatisfaction.com.
November 28, 2007
A while ago, I attended a class geared to consultants, and one of the sections dealt with generating publicity.
I thought I was pretty good at this, but there was one tip that clarified something for me.
We cannot guarantee how many people will read one of our articles based on its initial publication, but we can have a big impact on their secondary readership.
For instance, if a major urban newspaper carries one of my articles or it features an article about me, a good number of readers might happen upon it, especially if it is placed in a well read section.
But then, it will be thrown away, and with it will go my chances for greater readership, right?
Not really, if I make a REPRINT of the article, a paste-up of it that I place in my portfolio. I may not have to bother if the publication offers a reprint service. For a small fee I can purchase a hundred or even thousands nicely packaged reprints.
Anyway, it is the secondary publication of my article that is even more important to me as a consultant, because I can deliberately send it to people who are most likely to retain me for a project.
The same idea applies to internet articles. No matter what business you’re in, you can ?reprint? them by copying their layout as they appear on the web, and insert them into your emails. Though it is less effective at getting them read, you can also insert links to them in your reference materials that you send to prospects.
Moreover, you can print hard copies of your internet articles and dispatch them to the most interested readers.
?The right people? may never come across your Ezine articles by themselves, and this fact can be dispiriting.
Instead of being satisfied that a relative handful of people have clicked on them, deliberately seek more readers through reprints, and you?ll get a much better return for your literary and promotional efforts.
|
Best-selling author of 12 books and more than 800 articles, Dr. Gary S. Goodman is considered a foremost expert in telephone effectiveness, customer service, and sales development. A top-rated speaker, seminar leader, and consultant, his clients extend across the organizational spectrum, from the Fortune 1000 to small businesses. He can be reached at: gary@customersatisfaction.com.
November 16, 2007
I?ve written 5 novels and 2 non-fiction works. In addition, I?ve penned over 200 articles on a wide variety of subjects. But I?m also an avid reader and love to read what piques other writer?s interests. They tend to stay within the guidelines of subjects related to their expertise. I would expect a travel agent to write about finding a good hotel in Rome, or a financial planner explaining the pros and cons of annuities. But some of these other writers have strayed all over the place.
I see some writers that appear to have an unlimited amount of knowledge about every topic. I wrote an article that describes how to spot an ?expert.? It?s a tongue-in-cheek discourse on why there are so many experts with so little actual qualifications. So, when I see an article that is really masking an opinion piece, I tend to wonder about their ulterior motives.
It?s one thing to write a letter to the editor of a newspaper giving a viewpoint on a current subject, like the bird flu or the Iraqi war. It?s another thing to write an article from the point of view as an expert. I think that, in those instances, the author should begin with the phrase, ?I?m no expert in this area. This is just my opinion.? At least we?ll know where he or she stands.
I?m not immune to this problem. Many on my recent articles are purely my own feelings on a particular matter. I always give my qualifications either in the beginning or at the end, in the biography. For example, if I?ve written about travel, I tell how many trips I?ve taken and to what locales. This way, the reader can understand what level of expertise I?m representing. Therefore, I expect the same from fellow authors.
If you say you are a marketing person and speaking about pets, don?t be ashamed to say so. You happen to own a pet and that?s fine and therefore, fellow pet owners will relate to you. But don?t pretend to be a pet aficionado or veterinarian. Always start the paper with a disclaimer that can even be self-deprecating, for effect. For example:
?I don?t know much about the government of Kenya, but I would like to make a comment from a layman?s perspective.? Isn?t that self-explanatory? Or ?I have read about the problems surrounding global warning and would like to express an opinion.? Now, is that too much to ask? At least the reader will be prepared for what follows, without any confusion in regard to credentials.
In addition, I appreciate the need for self-promotion by writing about subjects related to the writer?s website they are hawking. I?ve read everything from artwork to zoology in attempts to lure the reader to their site. I would love everyone to come to mine, but I don?t expect that everyone is interested in how the Yellow Pages function and how advertisers can save money. Or where to get the best health information on the web. I would never stoop to such tactics. Of course you can simply skip to my bio at the end, but that would be very self-serving, even mentioning that fact.
No. I?m far above that sneaky approach. I would rather be known as the honest, hard-working writer, that places his disclaimer in the very first paragraph. Leave the smoke and mirrors to the lesser amateurs that would rather have you believe they actually knew what they were writing about.
Finally, I would also hope that they might take the time to proofread their work. I constantly find misspellings, punctuation and grammatical errors galore. They tend to write in a hurry to churn out that next valuable piece that links them to their website or other promotion. They value quantity over quality and sacrifice content and pertinent data. I find that many of these articles have no point whatsoever. They ramble on and on filling space and wasting our time. As an intelligent reader, I imagine that you have gotten a great deal of insight into the meat to this discourse and will remember the lessons taught here. You will also note that, compared to many other ?fakes? masquerading out there, this is the ?genuine? article.
|
Jeffrey Hauser was a sales consultant for the Bell System Yellow Pages for nearly 25 years.
He graduated from Pratt Institute with a BFA in Advertising and has a Master’s Degree in teaching. He had his own advertising agency in Scottsdale, Arizona and ran a consulting and design firm, ABC Advertising. He has authored 6 books and a novel, ‘Pursuit of the
Phoenix.’ His latest book is, ‘Inside the Yellow Pages’ which can be seen at his website, http://www.poweradbook.com Currently, he is the Marketing Director for thenurseschoice.com, a Health Information and Doctor Referral site.
November 11, 2007
When I studied advertising in college, we read a neat book called, ?Which Ad Pulled Best??
It compared magazine and print ads in general, showing in the left column, one version, and then to its right, a second version.
Our job, as students, was to discuss the relative merits of both, and then after a stimulating and lively discussion, our professor would end the suspense and tell us which was, in reality, more effective in selling goods and services.
What a cool idea!
Well, let me give you a similar shot, except we?ll examine a title or two that I?ve used for my Ezine articles.
I?ve discovered that I can transform a loser, an article that practically nobody reads, into a winner, simply by refreshing the title and the brief, teaser copy.
For instance, which of the following titles, aimed at sales managers, do you prefer:
?Sales Managers Are Too Wimpy!? or ?Tough-Love Sales Management??
I can tell you, hands down, that the first one, which I tried initially, fell on its face. Very few, and I mean, frighteningly few sales managers wanted to touch it.
When I shifted to the tough-love title, it quickly rose in the ranks to be among my best pulling articles with respect to readership. What?s more, I didn?t change a word of the text!
Today, I noticed that one of my submissions had garnered no clicks, at all, while others, posted at the same time, were all doing better. Clearly, this non-response sent me a message that my title was a dud.
What was it?
?Salespeople: What Is The First Word Out Of Your Mouth??
I just altered it to read:
?Salespeople: Having The Last Word Is Easy?The First One Is Trickier!?
I hope you like the change enough to click on it!
Writing Ezine articles makes it possible to polish our pieces even after we have submitted them. Take advantage of this second chance to re-title your pieces, and to earn the larger audience they truly deserve!
|
Best-selling author of 12 books and more than 800 articles, Dr. Gary S. Goodman is considered a foremost expert in telephone effectiveness, customer service, and sales development. A top-rated speaker, seminar leader, and consultant, his clients extend across the organizational spectrum, from the Fortune 1000 to small businesses. He can be reached at: gary@customersatisfaction.com.
Newer Posts »
| | | | | | | | | |