Writing Timeless Articles

"Posterity gives every man his true value." – Publius Cornelius Tacitus

Publius (or Gaius) Cornelius Tacitus (AD 56 – AD 117) was a senator and a historian of the Roman Empire, and although he did not make this quote about article writing (as far as we know), it is still sage advice to consider when you write articles. It could easily be re-quoted; "Posterity gives every article its true value."

Every serious article marketer writes articles for the sole purpose of driving traffic to his or her website, blog or business. One of the biggest perks of getting your articles published on the Internet is that they remain there almost indefinitely, working to bring interested readers of your topics to your sites over and over, long after you forgot you even wrote the article in most cases.

This ability to bring return benefits is, however, provided that the title, content and message remain contemporary and fresh for posterity. It is like the music of the famous rock band "Led Zeppelin" of the late 1960′s and 1970′s. With few exceptions their music and lyrics sound as if they were written in the current era that you happen to be listening to them in.

Many authors make the mistake of "writing for the moment". What this means is that they write an article using events, dates or times that have a very short shelf life. By failing to plan for the future, much like you would plan a long term investment in a stock or bond with a future return in mind, the author short changes the effort put forth to write an article by writing for the moment only and therefore fails to maximize the long term return on their article investment.

A good example of this would be if you were writing an article about Christmas in the year 2010 (the year this article is being written). Many authors would title their article something like "Make Christmas 2010 a Memorable Occasion for Your Family". They may go on to write about the prices of Christmas trees, the present economy and gift giving trends for the year and Christmas season 2010. This is fine if you were writing an article for your "shopping tips" blog that will ultimately be "shelved" in the December 2010 archive or an article for a particular website publication that is looking for specific Christmas 2010 content. However in the year 2015 do you think anyone is going to want to read this article as it shows up in Google or another search engine?

In this example it would be much better if you are going to write a Christmas article, to obtain the maximum return on it for posterity, to title it first of all, something like; "Make the Timeless Traditions of Christmas Last for Your Family Forever". You would then go on the write about how Christmas trees have played a part in the lives of families for generations and how the giving of classic gifts like family photographs in carefully selected frames stands up year after year, etc., etc.

Here are some important points to keep in mind to avoid outdated and stale content:

1. Don't Write About Specific Sports Events and Their Outcomes

If you write an article about the score of your favorite sports team winning or losing  in a  regular game of the current season no one is going to want to read about that months or years later unless it was the Super Bowl or World Series, etc.  Instead, it would be much better to write a general article of interest about that particular sports' history, famous players, coaches or equipment.

2. Don't Write Time Sensitive Seasonal Articles

As mentioned above, refrain from including a specific year or present economical or social event in your articles. Instead, write about the traditions, history and special highlights of the season.

3. Keep in Mind Approval and Publication Times of the Publisher You Are Submitting Your Articles To

Almost without exception any high volume, popular article directory is going to have some time delay for an approval review. If you submit an article about Halloween  7 -14 before Halloween actually occurs it is most likely NOT going to get approved and published in time to be pertinent. Allow plenty of room for an article that needs to be published because of its content, in the current month, to get through the system and be reviewed in a timely manner. A safe submission time to be sure for that Halloween article would be October 1st.

4. Avoid Articles on Current Political Elections or Events

Again, unless you are writing for a particular publication, avoid writing articles that discuss current elections or political events unless they are in an historical perspective relating back to the event to make a current point. No one is going to want to read an article about how a particular candidate lost an election years later when everyone has forgotten what their name was or even what they were running for. Unless you are a student of political history do you know who ran against Ronald Regan in his second term presidential election? It is most likely the majority of your readers will not, nor care, years later.

The key thing to remember when writing articles that you want to work for you 24/7/365, year after year, is to write interesting, timeless content that will prove useful to people searching for information on the topic you are writing about now or 5 years from now. Take the time to research the topic and then format it in a manner that will keep it fresh and alive.