What is an article

Basically, an article is a body of text that imparts information. Whether this is done in a scientific language, with an informal voice or in a more serious manner, is usually decided by the subject and type of article, and to whom it is aimed.

A scientific or medical article aimed at professionals will use the first example, i. e. scientific language. The same article aimed at the general population must be written in layman’s language that everyone can understand. An article written on a serious subject should have a similar tone of writing, while something aimed at teens or young adults about entertainment, clothing or sport eg, will take on a bright and more breezy note.

To get a human face on the issue being discussed in an article, many editors require two anecdotal pieces to be included. These will come from interviews with people who have first hand experience of the topic. In an article about home-schooling for instance, you can interview people whose children are home schooled. If you don’t know of anyone, support organizations can help by supplying names and phone numbers. They are willing to do this because your article will help to spread the word about their work.

An article usually has five sections:

· Headline - Yes, this is important, as it will inform the reader what the article is about. If it is catchy, or has a hook of some kind, so much the better. The reader will be curious to find out what it is all about and read on. Look through a paper or magazine and note some of the headlines.

· Introduction - One paragraph is usually enough for the introduction. It should build on the headline and explain the content of the article without giving it all away.

· Main body - This will contain all information that is required about the topic along with anecdotes if any.

· Conclusion - The conclusion need only be one or two paragraphs to sum up and round off the information presented. In the case of how-to articles, it should give the reader a pat on the back for all the hard work that has been done and point out the benefits. Eg, “Now you have the most unique gizmo on the block and your friends will be envious.”

· Bibliography - This is not always necessary. Some editors like to see a list of your information sources, but don’t necessarily publish them. A longer article that contains specific important information on say, health issues or scientific topics may require a bibliography.

The how-to article is a little different than other types of articles. It should be written in imperative voice, eg, “Grasp the leaf and pull down.” Not, “You should grasp the leaf and pull down.” Warning on safety, if necessary, should be presented early in the body of the text and unusual terms and names explained clearly. Let the reader know what the project entails in the introduction – they might not want to paint 200 copies of that flower after all. A list of tools and materials will be required, but it is a good idea to leave writing this list until the last, even though it should appear at the beginning. This is so no mistake can be made in the type of tools and materials used.

In general, the how-to article will be written in steps. It is important that these appear in the proper order of doing, so the reader will not be confused. Do a quick summary of what the project should look like at various stages so the reader will know whether the job is going right. Visualize each step carefully as you write. The how-to article is one of the easiest types of articles to write. If sketches are required and you cannot supply them, just do a rough job to give the general idea. Magazines usually have their own artists who will work from what you supply.

Articles about VIP’s have been done to "death", so try and find an unusual angle to slant the information from. One writer who had tried to interview a celebrity, but failed due to the man’s ‘sniffles’, still wrote the article, but based it on his failure. Another wrote about a golfing personality and interspersed the article with golfing jokes. Editors and readers alike love a touch of humor.

One of the easiest articles to write is the “10 tips to a great (whatever)” type. The ten tips form the body of course, while the introduction explains why you need this information. The brief summary recaps the information and gives a call to action, eg, “Now you know the best way to catch that fish, go out there and do it.”

You should always keep the ‘writer’s voice’ out of your articles. People want to know what’s in it for them, not why you thought you should write it, or how you got the idea for it. And if you are writing about a topic that is so unusual that few people know about it, try to use an analogy that is familiar to them. In general, you don’t need hooks or gimmicks to start an article, simply find the point where the useful information starts and go from there.

Writing in exchange for bread on the table

Some people say that I have it all – I disagree. I constantly have to struggle with this love-hate relationship I have with writing. I love reading, that’s for sure. And I love to write….about myself as and when I want to. But when I am required to write about something like….say….how to change the black oil in a car or how to pick the right motherboard for your computer….I have to literally drag myself to the computer and prompt my fingers to move.

This is the relationship I have with writing. It’s because I make a living out of churning out articles after articles…sometimes completing up to 30 articles a day face to face with a deadly deadline….it is not such a heavenly life after all.

It’s ironic that I spent a large part of my life looking for the right thing to do. Something that excites me and challenges me. Something that I WANT to do instead of being FORCED TO do. I hate being forced into doing something but this is sometimes called the ‘REAL WORLD’. Even when you love doing something and you start having people telling you HOW to write your articles, or books, it begins to lose its initial appeal.

And yet, despite turning into a drudgery of kind, I continue to write. Writing is what I do best. Because my husband would turn to me in the dead of night, awakened by some kind of swearing and the tap-tap-tap of my keyboard, he shakes his head and says, “Gosh, you’re still writing? Why?”

I hiss back. “Because I am paid to do this. Because I LOVE this. It’s my job. It’s my life. This is what I am being paid to do, you moron!”

With a chuckle, knowing me, he turns his back on me and goes back to sleep. Smart ass!

While over the years, many other opportunities came a-knocking on my door and I wondered if I would do better if I did something else. Oh, I would still write but I will write my own stuff. My own novel. My own articles. My own blog. Whatever…my own diary. But no one else will ever get the chance to tell me how to write the things I write – NEVER!!!

And yet, surprisingly, I turn my back on those opportunities because I know I love to write. Like I said. I write for a living and secretly love it. If I started selling insurance or doing real estate, it would be like…so superficial. So temporary. But when I write…I write well and I do it quickly, fast and very efficiently. And I sometimes feel proud of myself…although my fingers and eyes were throbbing like an earthquake waiting to happen.

Writing is a passion. If you have a passion for writing, you’ll start writing passionately and whatever comes out is a masterpiece in its own right. Every single article that I’ve ever written, I am proud of them. I treat them like my little babies. I’ve lost count of the number of ‘babies’ I have today but all those articles that I have written, they are a part of me.

And I have learnt how to write efficiently and quickly without sounding like a train running out of steam. Get going, get going, get going. Come on, go on with it, write, write, write. And then after you’ve completed the article, go back and dissect them and inject some botox into them. If you stick around the first few sentences and try to get it perfect right from the start, you’ll never complete the article.

And with this secret (which is not a really a secret to begin with), I am now making my life as a writer.

Do I still love writing after spending the last 7 years writing on topics that are completely dry and arid to me? Well….I love to hate it …and sometimes I hate to love it.

I believe I will continue writing until I am lying on my deathbed….breathing my last few breaths….I can imagine myself saying, “Honey, get me my keyboard…I want to be buried with it.”

Once a writer, always a writer.

Evidence: I took a total of 3 mins 22 seconds to write this whole article.

Three common mistakes many authors make before submitting their contents to article directories

Article writing, submissions, publications and blogs are getting popular because with modern communication technology comes the popularity of information-based marketing, which is one of the oldest and most effective techniques in getting targeted prospects to sites and converting them into buyers.

Submission tools abound that authors and marketers can use to make the process of submitting their articles more easily. Though this is invaluable in getting the contents more exposure, it's only half of the process.

Here are three common mistakes many authors make before submitting their contents to article directories:

1. Confusing the reason to promote the articles with the reason to write them.

In article writing, there are three key benefits in using them for promotion; branding, lead generation and promotion, which are all part of your optimization strategy.

But there is only one reason why you write an article, and that is to inform your audience. Your article must be focused on a topic to achieve the three promotion benefits because no one will be interested in reading them if they aren't.

The first goal is to get people to read your article, the next is to get them to click on your resource box. Providing focused content will help you achieve these goals.

2. Overlooking all the promotional opportunities of article marketing for maximum results.

First of all your articles can help you generate additional links back to your site. Most marketers already know this. But do you know that you can get more visitors and better search engine results from those same articles?

How do you get more visitors and better search engine results?

Mention keywords at strategic places. Just be sure not to overdo them. A keyword density of 3-5% is an optimum percentage. Some directories support anchor texts which is effective. It's important to note as of this writing that majority of the directories are not able to support anchor text links. If you plan on using anchor texts you'll have to determine which directories will accept your submissions. Otherwise use a plain text url such as this. / yourdomain. com

Remember that is not only about the links back to your site. Part of doing well in your article marketing is getting picked up by publishers with a large number of audiences and gaining the ability of leveraging other brands because of the quality of your work.

Better search engine results also are great benefits. But these things do not put much money in your pocket. There are other factors that can turn your article marketing efforts into an opportunity that can boost your earnings. Not just increase the number of visitors to your site.

Start out with a plan. Make a list of all the different ways you can put that article to work for you and all the purposes it serves. One guru I know makes his articles work in 20 different ways or he doesn't use it. How many ways can you come up with?

3. Publishing content that is not useful for your readers.

Maybe in the process of writing articles, you are thinking that all that is you wanted is links back to your site. And any visitors it can generate is just a bonus.

THAT couldn't be farther from the truth. Not all article banks and directories are going to accept your content automatically. Each of them have guidelines and specifications on the articles that they are accepting. You can double the number of sites you can submit to by writing articles that the directories want to share with other people. All it takes is one publisher with a hundred thousand readers to increase your potential audience overnight.

Write the articles that publishers want in their publications if you want your article marketing to work the most effective way for you. This also means you have to obey the standard guidelines, spell checks, researching on a good topic and even hiring a writer to produce good content on your behalf.

In the end, it is all really a matter of choice on your part. You can start getting a little exposure from increased links back but on a very basic level. Or enjoy massive exposure from a little extra time writing quality useful content.