Sometimes you know you want to write, but you just can’t think of a topic or angle you haven’t covered. I suggest you perform a keyword search to see what people in your niche are searching for at that time.
Keyword searches can both pull you out of your temporary writer’s block and give you a boost by identifying topics that relevant to your niche. Tools such as Keyword Discovery, Word Tracker, Goodkeywords, Backtype, and Wordze are popular search tools that can help get you started.
Do you use any of these tools? Do you use other tools? Let us know in the comments.
P.S. Google AdWords’ Keyword Tool was recommended to me on Twitter by @wordsyouwant and @Matt_Siltala - thanks!
OK, so I slightly rewrote the phrase, but the point is the same.
In these days of information overload, for better or worse, time is a very precious commodity. When people search for information, they are usually looking for a quick fix - the information they want quickly.
Short articles (under 250 words) lose credibility - but long articles lose readers. We suggest you write articles around 500 words long. It should be enough to show your expertise and get your point across, but not too long where you’ll lose readers.
If your topic requires more than 500 words, how about splitting it up into a series? This will both keep it short, and get your reader coming back for more.
Hi all,
One of the big questions we get from new authors is “How do I get more traffic to my articles?”
While there is no magic formula that will get your 100,000 views (and if there is, please let me know), there are a few simple steps that you can take to give your article an initial push.
- Email your friends and family. Have them read your article and forward it on to their friends.
- Tweet about your new article, and ask your followers to retweet you. While you’re at it, send us a tweet as well. @ArticlesBase
- Share your article on such sites as Facebook, StumbleUpon, and countless others. You can do this directly from your article page: You can find a button that says “share” at the top and the bottom of your article page, that gives you the option to easily share your article across multiple platforms.
These, of course, or just a few of many actions you can take to promote your article.
What techniques do you use?
Yes, I realize it sounds funny, but editing your profile and even just adding a picture can greatly increase your exposure.
Your profile says a lot about you - who you are, what you do, and how people can contact you. If you include a biography, your readers will know you better and will be more likely to follow you to your own website. Explaning why you are an expert on the topic you are writing about will give you more credibility, and this, too, will increase the chances of your readers clicking through to your website.
We recommend including the following information (in whichever order you’d like to present it):
- Why you are an expert in the field you are writing about (education, skills, and/or qualifications)
- A photo
- A link to your website(s)
- Contact information
- Publications - if you have been published or interviewed in know publications, mention or link to them.
Remember to keep it short, yet informative. Pretend it’s an elevator pitch - and you have one floor to travel.
We at ArticlesBase love April Fool’s Day and appreciate a good prank as much as the next guy, but we’re so busy making big plans for the site that we don’t have time to think of really great April Fool’s Day pranks!
So we’ve decided to turn to you, our trusty community, to help us out. In exchange for your great articles, here’s what you will win:
Our everlasting love and dedication.
Just in case that isn’t enough, here are some more benefits of submitting an article (or two or three or 12) to the contest:
- The 4 winning articles, based on popularity, will be featured on the front page of ArticlesBase during the week of April 1. This means extreme exposure!
- The top 4 winning articles will also receive a nifty ArticlesBase April Fool’s Day mug!
- 10 random submitters will also receive the nifty ArticlesBase April Fool’s Day mug!
Articles can be anything April Fool’s related (history, background, how to pull of specific pranks, etc.), but beware of false information. Please do not publish any information that can harm any person physically or emotionally – they will be removed.
Here are the submission guidelines:
- All the regular article submission rules are valid (at least 250 words, all original material, etc.)
- When submitting the article for the contest, be sure to add the following tag keyword: Fools2009 Without this tag, we will be unable to track your submissions
- You can submit as many articles as you’d like - the more the merrier! Only one prize per submitter.
- The deadline for article submission is March 30, 2009 at 11:39 pm EST
- This contest is open worldwide - anyone above 18 can participate
- The prize is not redeemable in cash and must be accepted as awarded
- ArticlesBase reserves the right to decline any article submitted to the site, regardless of whether or not it was submitted to the contest
- Decisions of the contest judges are final - no substitutions will be available
Important Note: Only submit articles that are about April Fool’s Day - do not write a prank article (such as a company being purchased by another) if it isn’t true. Any current events in the articles will be cross-referenced before being deemed applicable for the contest and the site. Any article with false information will be removed from the site immediately, as per regular ArticlesBase guidelines.
So get to writing, start submitting, and don’t forget to add the Fools2009 tag keyword!
Update: We have been receiving quite a few articles via email. Those will not count. Please submit your articles the regular way through our submission page, and don’t forget the Fools2009 keyword.
