How to Write Articles for the Internet: The Do’s, The Don’t, The 8 Steps

Article marketing is one of several internet marketing strategies you can use to promote yourself and your business. You can also use articles offline, but this article is focusing on article marketing as an online strategy.

The Benefits

There are several benefits of article marketing. Here are just a few:

• Effective and low cost (usually free).
• You build credibility and trust. Articles are a subtle way to engage readers. When they believe you are credible and trustworthy, they are more likely to visit your website.
• You don’t have to be a “writer.” Write from your experiences as a business owner and share your lessons learned.
• Simple to do; in-depth technical expertise isn’t necessary.

Do’s & Don’ts

Do provide valuable content for your readers. Teach them something, explain how something works, or challenge their thought process on an issue. Use your imagination when writing your articles. Think of creative ways to convey your message.

Don’t write you article as a blatant sales pitch. This is a sure fire way to turn off potential readers who are looking for valuable information to help them with a problem. Remember, the reason people are searching is because they’re looking for answers, which makes your readers high quality. Don’t abuse their time by selling to them.

Do use your own content. When you write from your own knowledge and experience, your writing will come across a sincere and credible because it’s genuine. You have unique experiences that others will relate to. This will also establish you as an industry expert. After all, you’re the one who has done the research, studied, and experienced what you’re writing. You can also hire someone to write articles for you.

Don’t use pre-written articles that someone has sold or given to who knows how many people. Take what you learn from these articles and incorporate the information you’re your own knowledge base and experience—write your own article.

Do follow the writing guidelines of the article directories you submit you articles to. Some are stricter than others.

Don’t get discouraged if an article directory says there’s a problem with your article. Find out what the problem is, fix it, and resubmit. I have personal experience with this one. I wrote an article in parts, i.e., Part 1, Part 2, etc. One of the article directories didn’t like “parts,” but others were fine with it. I ended up having to combine all the parts into one article to get my article approved for the directory that didn’t like parts.

 8 Steps to Writing Articles

 1. Determine Your Audience. Think about who you are trying to reach. This group of people is your target market. Ask yourself what your audience is looking for. Consider their demographics. What makes them tick? What are their values? Try to get as specific as possible. The better you understand your audience, the better you can reach them with your articles.

2. Pick Your Keyword(s). Selecting a keyword will help you focus your article. Learn the difference between short-tailed keywords and long-tail keywords. Short-tailed keywords tend to be one to three word phrases. Long-tail keywords are longer phrases and target readers who are close to closing on a decision, whether is be to buy something or to opt-in for more information.

3. Select a Topic. Your topic should relate to your chosen keyword. Your article could be a how-to, a review, a problem & solution, a comparison, a personal experience (maybe a problem you’ve overcome), or something you’ve learned that you think your readers will benefit from.

4. Write Your Article. Sit down and start writing. Don’t worry about the article being perfect. Just get your thoughts on paper. As a starting point, jot down your main points (3 is a good number) and write down supporting sentences for your points. Each point with its supporting sentences will be a paragraph. Then write an introduction; try summarizing what your three points are. Then write your conclusion; sum up your points, provide a solution, or give them the bottom line.

Basically, tell your readers what you’re going to tell them, tell them, and then tell them what you told them. Don’t reveal the “answer” until the end of your article. If you give the answer away to soon, the reader won’t stick around for the rest of the article.

5. Title Your Article. Try to use your keyword in the title. At a minimum, use the keyword in the introduction of your article (or as close to the beginning of the article as possible). This will let the reader know that your article is relevant to what they are searching for. Consider a question as the title of your article. People don’t like to leave questions unanswered. There’s actually a chemical reaction that happens in the brain when there’s not an answer.

6. Fill Out Your Resource Box. The resource box is where you tell your readers who you are. This is the only place in your article where you can make a “sales pitch.” Write in the third person, for example, “Jane Doe is an entrepreneur specializing in internet marketing.” Then make an offer and tell your readers where to click (your URL) to get the offer (tell them what to do). The offer could be getting more information about your business, or access to an information product (a free product is always attractive).

7. Clean Up Your Article. After your article is written, edit and clean it up. Use simple language. Trying to impress your readers with big, lofty words is a big turn-off. Read the article to make sure it flows. Try reading your article out loud to hear how the article sounds. Check spelling and grammar. Remember, you don’t have to be an expert writer, just be the expert at what you’re writing about—it’s about the valuable content you’re sharing.

8. Submit Your Article. Submit your article to article directories. There are many directories available. Search article directories on Google. You can also use Alexa.com to get a feel for how popular an article directory is. Most directories will require you to create an account before you submit your article. Most accounts and submissions are free. Keep in mind that many directories will review your article to ensure it meets their guideline before the articles go “live.” Some directories are fast and some are slow.

Conclusion

Hopefully, these do’s and don’ts and steps will help you incorporate article marketing into your overall business marketing strategy.

Happy Business Building,

Yoli