| You've decided that you'd like to start article | | | | The titles you could use are endless, so let me |
| marketing to drive traffic to your website, jump | | | | help you narrow down the options. |
| up the search engine rankings, and establish | | | | Use one of these starter titles: |
| yourself as an expert in your niche. There is only | | | | Top 5 [ solution to customer's question] |
| one problem....You don't even know where to | | | | 5 Ways To [solution to customer's question] |
| start when writing your first article. Sometimes | | | | For example, with this article I could make it: |
| the sheer volume of options intimidates folks, so | | | | "5 Ways to Write Your First Article...Even If |
| I've broken the article writing process down into a | | | | You're Not A Writer!" |
| few simple steps. Here are 7 easy steps to | | | | 3. Make notes of what you'd like to say for each |
| follow... | | | | point. |
| So, you've decided that you'd like to start article | | | | This is where the brainstorming comes in--you |
| marketing to drive traffic to your website, jump | | | | have 5 points to cover in your article--what will |
| up the search engine rankings, and establish | | | | they be? |
| yourself as an expert in your niche. | | | | We're still doing prep work here--no need to try |
| There is only one problem....You don't even know | | | | to craft the perfect sentence yet. Just jot down |
| where to start when writing your first article. | | | | your some basic notes for each of your 5 points. |
| It is perfectly normal to feel a bit apprehensive | | | | 4. Write the body of the article. |
| and want to procrastinate--whenever we're | | | | Yes, we're writing the article body before the |
| learning a new skill it can be a bit nerve wracking | | | | intro and the conclusion on purpose--if you try to |
| at first, but trust me--when you break the article | | | | start with the introductory paragraph straight off, |
| writing process down into steps, you'll start to | | | | you may spend a lot of time just trying to get |
| think, "I can do this!" | | | | the ball rolling. |
| Sometimes the sheer volume of options make | | | | If you jump immediately into fleshing out your |
| you think "Where should I even start?", so I've | | | | steps, however, you can work much more |
| broken the article writing process down into a | | | | quickly because you already have a head start. |
| few simple steps and have eliminated some of | | | | You have your notes on each step to use as |
| your options. | | | | your guide. |
| These steps are not the only way to write an | | | | 5. Write your intro and concluding paragraphs. |
| article, but they are a very efficient way of | | | | After you've written the article body, it should be |
| getting the ball rolling on your first article. If you | | | | quite easy to craft a simple introductory and |
| follow these steps you'll have a first article that is | | | | concluding paragraph. |
| better than many author's hundredth! | | | | You can keep it short and sweet--in the intro tell |
| Here we go: | | | | your readers what your article is about, and in the |
| 1. What should you write about? | | | | concluding paragraph, you can restate what your |
| Customer questions give you great insight into | | | | article is about in different words. |
| what to write about (after all, we're trying to | | | | 6. Check your word count. |
| write useful articles for our target market). | | | | Most quality publishers have word count |
| Ask yourself, "What questions do my customers | | | | limitations, so it's important to keep your articles |
| frequently ask me?" | | | | between 400-1500 words. If you can, aim for the |
| Then pick one of those questions to serve as | | | | word count sweet spot of 700-800 words, as |
| your article topic. Your article will be the answer | | | | that length is most appealing to ezine editors, and |
| to this question. | | | | an article of that size looks about right on a web |
| For example, one frequent question that | | | | page also. |
| customers ask me is "How do I get started | | | | 7. Get some "away time" from your article. |
| writing my first article?", and you see that this | | | | Yes, just step away from your article for at least |
| article is the solution to that question. | | | | 24 hours and return to it with fresh eyes (and |
| Don't over-think things--you probably have multiple | | | | brain). When you come back you'll be shocked at |
| questions popping into your head that customers | | | | the errors you overlooked just yesterday, and |
| ask, but you just need to pick one. You can | | | | you'll be glad you took the extra time to make |
| address the other questions in another article. | | | | your article picture perfect. |
| 2. Create a starter title. | | | | That wasn't that hard, was it? I think you'll find |
| By "starter title", I mean a working title, one that | | | | that when you approach the article writing |
| you can change if you like when your article is | | | | process as a series of steps and limit your |
| complete. | | | | options (as we've done here), that your creative |
| I always start my article writing by coming up | | | | juices will start to flow, and what was once |
| with a title first, because the title gives me | | | | intimidating will soon feel easy! |
| guidance on what to write about. | | | | |