Everything online requires content, and articles are just one
form of content. Learning how to write articles and create
content should be a focal point for anyone looking to start a
business or even a hobby online, after all like the saying goes,
content is king.

Here are some tips to help you write better articles:

1. Write with an end goal in mind. Different types of articles
work for different reasons. If you are looking for syndication
and publication on authority websites, you’re not going to want
short, full of fluff 300-word articles. Instead, you’ll want to
go with long informative 800-1000 word articles that actually
deliver quality information on your topic, in a format that is
attractive to ezine and authority publishers.

2. Do your research beforehand. The better you know the topic,
the easier it will be to write for it. Simply by knowing your
topic, you can drastically reduce the time it takes to create
informative articles your readers will enjoy. Attempt to
comprehend your topic, before you sit down to write.

3. Just write. The more you write, the better you will get at it.
And not just on your topic. Challenge yourself. Write on anything
and everything, and your overall writing skills will improve, not
to mention your typing speed. Both things will help you reduce
writing time in the long run.

4. Write with the reader in mind. Instead of writing for your own
purpose, think about it from the readers perspective. What is the
reason they are reading your article? Are you addressing their
needs and concerns? If you can get into the mind of your reader
and what they are seeking from you and your writing, you’ll be
better equipped to write an article they will appreciate.

5. If you are writing for back links, keywords matter. If you are
writing for readers, forget about them. Keywords only help you
get found in the search engines. If you are preparing high
quality articles for syndication, you’ll get the readers from the
sites where you are published. That’s not to say you want to go
completely off topic, simply that keywords aren’t vital, and if
you are writing on topic anyways, you will naturally include
related keywords and the search engines will figure out where you
belong in their search results. As Google recommends, create your
content for your reader, to improve your chances of ranking well
in Google. In my articles, I have found this to be always true.

6. Learn to craft captivating titles. Titles are one of the most
important parts of the article marketing and writing battle. It
doesn’t matter how informative or well written your article is,
if the title doesn’t make readers open the article. Spend some
time on your title. Actually focus on making it reader friendly
and interesting. Your bottom line will thank you for this.

7. Write with passion. If you are bored to tears by your topic,
chances are your writing is going to reflect your boredom, be dry
and present less than glamorous prose. If you are in love with
your topic, it will shine through your words and come across to
the reader. This is one reason many suggest when you are just
getting started to go with a passion. It is much simpler to write
about something that you get emotional about, than to write about
something you have no emotional investment in.

8. Don’t proof read and spell check as your write. Stopping and
changing your mind frame from creation to editing can interrupt
your flow of thought. Instead focus on getting the thoughts and
ideas down, and then go back and do the spelling and grammar
checks later. You’ll find your mind thinks and writes that much
quicker by using this method.

9. Focus on quality. There will forever be the debate over
quality and quantity. Few take into consideration that quality
will naturally breed quantity, through syndication and other
methods. If you are consistently providing high quality articles,
publishers will love utilizing your content and do so on a
regular basis. And the more publishers that take notice of your
work, the more targeted traffic you will be getting. Quality
content will produce much more targeted traffic than the traffic
coming from article directories and other such places.

10. Turn off your word count tool. Stop checking the word count
and simply write until the idea has been fully explained to the
reader. If that takes 300 words so be it. If it takes 1000, then
let it. Stopping the flow of ideas simply to stay in line with a
word count is a sure fire way to leave your articles lacking that
finished feel.

11. Read. Yes, read. The more you read and the more you expand
your horizons, the better your writing will be. Simply taking in
the written word, exploring and understanding other writing
methods and formations will help you in your own writing. It can
also help you increase your vocabulary and find styles that
really reach out and grab readers by the eyeballs.

12. Check out what the competition is doing, and do it better. If
your competition is providing lackluster articles that barely wet
your taste for the subject, go above and beyond, and your readers
will notice. By knowing what kind of content you are trying to
compete with, you can improve your own skills and marketing
mindset.

13. Use the language of your target audience. If you are writing
for highly educated people, your writing should reflect that. If
you are writing for mass appeal, stick to relatively lower level
writing, think grade-8 levels. If a grade-8 student could read
and interpret what you are saying, you have succeeded. If they
cannot, you may want to revise your writing style and language.

14. Understand that writing is a skill. And as such, needs to be
constantly worked upon. Malcolm Gladwell stated in “Outliers” it
takes 10,000 hours to master something. Master writing by
continually working on it and the improvement of your skills. And
by the time you reach 10,000 hours of work, you’ll have mastered
the skill and no longer need others tips and techniques to make
your writing vibrant and a success.

Hopefully these tips will help you master article writing and
marketing. In the end, all that really matters is that you
actually do it. No amount of tips or tricks are going to help you
if you don’t just get started and get that writing underway.
Begin writing and over time your skills and abilities will
improve, and your writing will reflect your growing knowledge and
skills. Writing starts the same way for everyone, with a blank
page waiting to be filled. Get started filling yours today.

14 Tips to Improve Your Article Writing and Article Marketing
Copyright (c) 2011-2012 Trey Pennewell
Writing Puzzle
http://WritingPuzzle.com/