10 Tips For Article Writing Newbies

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This post on the 10 Tips For Article Writing Newbies, is not written from the ‘backseat drivers’ point of view!  Instead, it is by and from the perspective of someone who remembers the early days of my own uncertainty as a article writer.

It is written especially with the article writing newbie, or rookie, in mind.

Although I have written and submitted hundreds of articles for publication, I still sometimes find article writing tedious.  However, since those early days I have developed these 10 article writing tips that have helped me to become a very successful article writer.

It is my hope that you will reap the rewards from my own personal experience, and put these 10 article writing tips to good use in your article writing efforts.

Enjoy!

Tip #1.  Necessity vs Desire:

Articles and Blogs are imperative to your success in today’s search engine indexing ‘wars!’  This may not necessarily be what the newbie wants to hear, but just remember, “No Pain-No Gain!”  Listen, all of us hate article and Blog writing at times (me included) – and some of us dread the journey to pen and paper (or keyboard) at times.  However, they are a necessity if you wish to get your name ‘out there’ and drive more traffic to your sites.

Tip #2.  Just Start, It Gets Easier:

First it is sometimes difficult to get a subject or theme down on paper, and to get the first couple of lines scribbled down can be exhausting at times.  In fact, I know of some article writers who literally get knots in their stomach just thinking about the process!  Take my advice, chill out! Once you get your starting point and past the initial thoughts, article and Blog writing usually goes fairly smoothly.

The main thing is that you get started, now!  Pick a subject you know something about and just start.  You’ll be surprised at just how easily ideas start to flow, if you’ll just get started.  Also, don’t assume everyone knows what you know.  They don’t!

Tip #3.  Good vs Perfection:

Your High School and College English teachers are not looking over your shoulder.  Your article does not have to be perfect.  Now, that’s not to say it doesn’t have to be on point or to say that it doesn’t have to be correct.  It does, or at least it should be.  Listen, perfection is not the goal and is, in fact, seldom if ever possible.  Too much detail and you run the risk of losing your reader on several levels.  Too long and most readers simply don’t have the time or interest to wade through the material regardless of how important it is.

Tip #4.  Blog Length vs Article Length:

Most publishers want a minimum of six hundred (600) words per article – some will let you slide with four hundred (400) words.  Blogs can be much smaller or, even longer such as this post here. Blogs also can support content related pictures and embedded links as well.

Just don’t over do it.  Too gaudy or too slow to load and you have wasted your time, ticked off a potential reader, and probably upset a host who can ban you from their publications.  Articles, on the other hand, typically cannot carry these extra touches according to the requirements of most publishers.

Tip #5.  Format:

Prepare your article in American Standard Code for Information Interchange (ASCII) format.  There are many tools from which to choose to get the job done. A search for ‘free ASCII editor’ or for ‘free plain text editors’ will provide one with a multitude of free options.  Word Press is a popular choice. If all else fails, simply use notepad to turn out your masterpiece (That’s what I used to create this masterpiece!)

Tip #6.  Spelling and Grammar:

Once you have your article ready, run it through a good spell checker and a good grammar checker.  Microsoft Word works well for these purposes.  Just don’t use the MS Word copy for publication of your article.  Rather use it’s suggestions to make any necessary corrections to your plain text copy.  The MS Word copy will work for Blogs although this writer prefers other editors.

Just like the days when you were pushed by teachers to write better, you will find Article and Blog writing skills become easier with time and practice.

Tip #7.  Publish and Announce:

Once your Blog is ready you may want to use some automatic tools to publish and announce it.  First do a search for Blog hosts and select those which best suit your needs.  Join one or more and publish your Blog there.  Then search for Blog announcers and RSS announcers and use them to get your Blog noticed.

Now that you have that out of the way, find an article wizard that will post your Articles to free publishers.  You can post them one at a time by hand if you are really bored and have absolutely nothing else in life to do.  However, using an automatic poster you can publish to hundreds of hosts in an hour or so.  The only way to go in my book!

Tip #8.  Patience:

Now, have some patience (now dang it!)  Here’s an area where you can lose control.  Many of the men and women who host articles are timely and your articles will be reviewed within twenty-four (24) to forty-eight (48) hours.  However, some others will take even longer and thus some writers never date an article – A sure way to get your article rejected!

Tip #9.  Rejection - “Sorry your article has been declined”:

Be prepared for some article services to reject your articles.  Do not take it personally!  It usually has little to do with you or your article.

Some databases routinely reject articles for spelling errors when there are none, or where there is more than one way to spell a word.  And, just as in any other endeavor, some hosts are simply too lazy and get so far behind that the easiest and fastest thing to do (and perhaps the only alternative) is to reject everything.  You will learn who these are over time.

Then there are those who run your articles through the sausage grinder and if they find certain words, regardless of how they are used, your article gets no farther.  These are the people who can’t publish the Bible because it contains words that offend them or their readers.  Don’t worry about these folks who have their heads stuck so far in the clouds that they can’t see the ground!

Remember, just as in everything else in life, for every rule there is an exception!

Tip #10.  Keep the faith and keep cranking out articles:

Since most article writers, especially newbies, prepare only one copy of an article against the advice of most seasoned authors, it is important that the newbie keep their chin up – keep the faith!  That will be easier as more and more of your articles are accepted and published driving visitors to your website while creating those all important back links.

It is not necessary for every host to accept everything submitted to them.  After one or two hosts publish your article on any given subject, the search engines tend to penalize you anyway by ignoring additional postings.  This is close to spamming and while it could help someone find you, it probably won’t.  In this case, the more the merrier may not apply.  The additional listings will not increase your page rankings or links reported by the search engines.

It is more important to get published by hosts with the highest Google page rank possible!

Now, a Bonus Tip for you!

Tip #11.  The Rejection Slip:

Along with “the rejection slip” to your article, usually comes a suggestion on how to “fix” your article and a request that you resubmit it.  Don’t waste your time on this, please!

While trying to comply with one database manager’s request, you could have written a new article from which you get much more punch.  Enough publishers will pick your article up so move on and save yourself some time and heartburn.

Everybody has a thought or idea at least once a day, and almost always at the most inopportune time!  How many good ideas have you lost because of waiting?  Don’t procrastinate!  Go!  Capture that thought and write it down before it is gone forever!

Incorporate these 10 Article Writing Tips into your daily writing routine, and see if they don’t help you create more traffic and make more money!

Godspeed,

James Artre

Tagged as: Article Marketing, Article Writers