SOME HELPFUL HINTS IN WRITING ARTICLES FOR THE WEB - TWENTY FIVE
TIPS
Writing articles can provide you with enormous amount of
exposure on the Web. You are branding yourself on a shoestring
budget - it hasn't cost you a cent, but a little time and effort
Writing a free content article is simple and follows a similar
professional approach as an article for a standard, paying
market.
People want quality content : for their ezines and their web
sites .; however, the competition for content is fierce. Every
Web site owner wants content and hundreds of writers want their
content visible on the Web It's FREE promotion through your
signature file at the end of your article* Articles that give
good information or explain how to accomplish something are
usually best, and will be read most often.
Here are some pointers in writing articles for the www:
1. Accept that writing for the web is different to writing for
the off-line world. People tend to skim and scan (note
alliteration) when reading online. They read quickly scrolling
down the page.
2. Identify your target audience.
3. Give your article a catchy title that will grab attention and
make people want to read.
4. Keep your title reasonably short. Put some thought and effort
into your heading - again to get your reader's immediate
attention.
5. Be professional and take your article writing seriously.
Write about something you know professionally. Don't be overly
casual in your writing (ie. don't write exactly as you speak) 6.
Keep your paragraphs short.
7. Get to the point quickly (enough waffle with maple syrup,
Craig!).
8. Target your article to your audience with "focussed
information".
9. Be brief, if you are a "waffler", like this writer. People
want immediate information online and have limitedtime usually -
it's the "instant coffee, sorry generation.
10. Write briefly and concisely (redundant words, meaning the
same thing, Craig!) Try to keep your article under 1,500 words.
Most paying markets usually only accept between 500 and 2,000
words... and with a bit of luck they may even "pick up" your
great article. Try to be concise in your wording. Brevity is the
hall-mark of good writing...or so say many of the teachers of
writing!
11. Use the OCCASIONAL exclamation mark (!) to get your readers
attention. Forget the ALL CAPITAL LETTERS and exclamation
points!!!
12. Be credible (big word, eh?) at all times. I use my articles
to attempt to share, inform and entertain at the same time in a
"conversational style with dashes of my funny (peculiar/zany)
humour".
Happy writing "dem" articles