| |
| |
|
|
|
|
|
Everything I Needed to Know About Article Writing I Learned from My English Teacher
By now you probably understand how important writing for trade publications is to establishing credibility in the home business world. On to the first hurdle: how do you get past that HUGE writers' block? How do you know what to write about, and how do you make it unique, informative and interesting? Remember how you resisted writing those reports in school, insisting that you would never need to know how to do that in "real life"? Welcome to the real world of business writing. Your English teacher gave you the bare bones: pick a topic, research, take notes, make lists and an outline, write a rough draft in your own words, rewrite, rewrite, rewrite. Don't forget introductory paragraphs, summaries, footnotes and bibliographies. Thanks to the internet, you can use a search engine, copy and paste, cut and paste, type, cut and paste edit into infinity, include hyperlinks and add your resource box at the end. But...you're still stuck on picking a topic. You feel as imaginative as a two by four. Start with your own home business, internet marketing, or entrepreneurial problems. Better yet, start with your journal. You don't keep one? Here, you can borrow some of my own entries: (better yet, each of these items is looking for a foster home) Didn't want to get out of bed this morning. Turned on the computer and would rather play a computer game than work. The quiet is driving me crazy...music would help...now I want to dance...now that I'm up, I could vacuum....wonder what's on tv... The noise is driving me crazy, I can't concentrate. Ok, I finally got started. Ten hours later, I just can't stop. I wonder why my wife is glaring at me. I can't finish anything--the next new project always looks more interesting. Friends call and want to chat, the cats want fed, that window needs fixing. How do I know when to be persistent and when to try something else? My website has lots of visitors, many don't stay for more than 30 seconds, few sign up. I'd rather be __________ (fill in the blank): sleeping, golfing, fishing, watching tv, eating, reading, swimming. Now let's turn that list into a list of how-to's. I need to learn how to: get enough sleep; stay focused; identify goals, strategies and action plans; develop credibility among friends and family; identify success (measurable results?); make my website more sticky; encourage prospects to become active affiliates; balance work and pleasure; plan my day; stay motivated... and so on. First I brainstorm: when have I been able to accomplish any of these things? (take notes) Then it's off to the search engines. (take notes; bookmarking and copy and paste makes this easy) Now organize your notes: whatever floats your boat, whether it be lists, outlines, mind mapping or freeform writing. Just keep searching, taking notes and bookmarking until something hits you over the head. "This really might work, especially if you did this first and then tried this..." Be patient, it may take a little time. Don't copy word for word what another writer has already written; but on the other hand, don't worry about inventing the lightbulb either. If you've done much surfing at all, you realize that the internet is HUGE, a veritable wasteland. The chances of two people reading exactly the same articles or websites and coming to exactly the same conclusions are slim. Any bleary-eyed surfer will THANK you for your arduous research. And don't rule out your own experiences and thoughts. I once was dealing with a problem and was becoming more frustrated and angry by the minute. I finally just dropped it and went for a walk. (You can substitute any of those things, such as fishing, that you used to fill in the blank above). While walking I was thinking about another situation in my life, was looking at the part of the natural world I was walking through, and came to a brilliant conclusion. As soon as it occurred to me, I saw that the solution also applied to the problem I was trying to solve earlier. So you see, sometimes it's good to just follow your instinct and GO FISHING. I'll write that all up into an article some day soon. It's on my list. Meanwhile, I've got a few more ideas I'm writing up first. Now I can't wait to get them all written into articles. So...there's my topics, my motivation, and my action plan. If you've followed these steps, thanks to your English teacher, the internet, your own experiences, and your stumbling attempts at writing, you're now an author. But more than that, you've learned:
Then start over at the beginning...and don't forget how important it is to take time out for fishing. About The Author Glenn Beach is a poet, writer and home business entrepreneur in Nova Scotia, Canada. Free newsletter, more articles, and business start-up info at: http://www.work-at-home-business-opportunity-canada.com
MORE RESOURCES:
Writing-Articles - Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Advertising that Wont Cost You a Dime is to Write Articles Search Engines are constantly on the "look out" for freshly written content that has been submitted online. So how do you come up with ideas for your next article? Here are several suggestions that may help. How to use Articles to Boost Your Online Presence Writing articles is one of the best ways to get free targeted traffic to your website and isn't as hard as you may think!You don't need to be an expert on the topic you are writing about. Just pick an area that is related to the theme of your website, do some research using a search engine and before you know it you will have more knowledge on that subject than most. Writing Articles Sells Books Are you a reluctant marketer for your book? Do you avoid the social and selling aspects of self-publishing and promotion?Discover the easy and free way to promote your book. It's still the number one top way--writing and submitting articles to other ezines and Web sites. Writing Articles - Six Mistakes To Avoid Not writing articles yet? You really should try it, if you want a lot of free traffic to your web site. A simple "Top Ten. How to Find Ideas for Articles & Speeches Do you have problems finding ideas for articles and speeches?I know have had at times, and others tell me the same thing. At my Toastmasters club, for example, I've often heard members say they have difficulty finding topics for speeches. How to Create a Viral Lead-Generating Machine Whether you own your own affiliate website, or subscription website, or publish your own ezine or newsletter, you need people to see what you offer.More people are interested in you when they trust you. How To Write Best Articles I've been able to distinguish 3 main categories that people fall into, regarding the subject on writing articles. Allow me to share them with you. Increase Your Visitors By Writing Articles If you want to increase the amount of visitors to your website, start writing articles. There are many reasons why writing articles is a must for any serious webmaster or for people who want to maximise the full benefits of the internet. Reward Those Who Publish Your Articles! It is pretty obvious that content is king online. It is also obvious that writing more content and submitting them to other sites will help boost your popularity and bring more visitors to your site. One Well-Placed Article Nets 616 Mentions in Google Evaluation of a Home-Run ArticleI've been writing articles and posting them online for several years. But it took a while before I learned writing well and developing a long list of places to post them weren't enough. Web Design Information And Resources People who have an idea for a website sometimes require help in finding out relevant content to add to their website. This is where article websites are invaluable as you are able to use the articles on your site for free as long as you make all the links live. How An Online Writer Can Easily Self-publish Their Way To A Fortune Online writing is really self-publishing made easier and potentially much more lucrative with much less cost and investment to be made. But what is self-publishing and what does it have to do with online writing?Self-publishing is older than America and through the centuries great fortunes have been made by folks who opted to privately produce and market their own writing. Building Websites with Articles I've been blogging occasionally over the last two months about my ongoing experiment with writing articles. This is a super hot topic lately with the changes going on at Google and Yahoo that are impacting many websites and basically freaking people out. Want to Put Your Names on My Article? There's a new sort of ghost stalking the digital landscape.They let several people pay them for the right to put their names as authors to some articles and, maybe, other types of written work that they write. Energize Your Mind With Inspirational Writing Exercises Feeling uninspired? Like you're stuck in a rut with your writing?Free your inner creativity by trying some exercises to invigorate your writing.As I said in my article Stimulate Your Writing With Some Creative Exercises at - http://www. 6 Best Places to Submit Your Articles You know that writing articles is the best free way to promote your business and gain credibility. You understand the importance of articles containing actual information and not being just long sales letters. Website Promotion - Where to Get Ideas for Writing Articles Some six weeks ago, I began writing and submitting articles to free content sites in order to promote the six commercial Websites I own. The results have been both swift and dramatic, and the number of links from external Websites to my own Websites has increased from nearly nothing to more than 10,000 in a little more than a month. Ezine Publishers Want These 5 Things From Article Authors/Writers Want your articles to get picked up and reprinted by top name brand ezine publishers? While there is no shortage of authors willing to give their articles away for free with hopes of attracting ezine publishers who will pick up your article to send to their list as supplemental content or 'guest expert' - there is a gap between two very different types of articles:Type 1: Those That Get ReprintedType 2: Those That Get Passed OverArticle marketing can help you achieve fame, traffic, credibility, sales, referrals and much more, but not if your articles don't make it into viral distribution.Here are the top 5 factors that ezine publishers look for when they decide which articles to publish: 1) Does the article have zero self serving links in the article body? If so, good. Writing: Getting Started Writing for web content is one of the easiest ways for writers to get their work published. If you have yet to submit articles for syndication, you are missing out on a wonderful opportunity to share your knowledge as well as to promote your name. Writing For Dollars -- A Freelancers Guide If you have writing skills and want to use your skills to earn some income for yourself and families, we offer a few tips here. You can get some good opportunities from your local area and from Internet.
|
|
Home | Site Map | Link Partners | 1 | 2 | Contact us |
Powered By: Work At Home With Google - FREE!© 2006 |
