Article Marketing – some ideas to get you going in your online business

When we were young infants at school, our teachers constantly asked us to write stories, particularly on a Monday morning when the teacher would ask us to write about our weekend and what we’d been up to.  Most children are happy to do this; they love to talk about themselves, their families, their pets and fun things they did.  Now I’m sure there was much hilarity in the staff room as teachers regaled each other with stories about little Jonny and his escapades at the weekend.  Many parents squirmed in their chairs at parents’ evenings when little Jonny’s storybook was handed to them to read.  You see, children have no preconceptions, they don’t think before they speak or write.

As adults we frequently consider what others may think about things we’ve said or written.  Somewhere we’ve lost that freedom, that creative and energising quality to just be who we are and not conform to what we believe society demands we are.

Starting off

I’m suggesting now, go back to your childhood.  You know the saying ‘dance like nobody’s watching?’ – Well write knowing you’ve got something really interesting that the world needs to know about.

Start with an outline – what do you want people to know?  This will guide you in creating an introduction, body and conclusion for your article.  What I always do is mind map, it’s a wonderful way to be as creative as you like, it uses both right and left side of the brains so applies both logic and creativity.  You can find lots of free software to do mind maps professionally but use the search engines to find out what mind maps are and how to start using them with just a piece of paper initially.

So you’ve came up with the theme for your article, now how are you going to write about it?  Consider your heading, it needs to immediately grab the reader and make them want to read on.  Here are some suggestions for starting your header off:

• Little known ways to…..
• Who else wants a…..
• The Secret of…….
• Get rid of that…….
• Here’s a quick way to…….
• Now you can……..
• What everybody ought to know about……….

Next step

• Jot down some phrases and sentences that you would like to use.
• Always consider, what would I like to know about this topic?
• How would it best help me?
• Who or what is my target audience?  This will ensure you write in a language that is easily understood by them.
• Do as much research on the topic as you can to ensure the information is current

Consider how your introduction will flow?  This is a couple of sentences drawing the reader in to what you are actually writing about.

Are you going to have on large paragraph on your topic or will you break it down into sub-headings?  This is best as one continuous flow of text can be off-putting for some people.  So consider what your sub-headings will be and what will be contained within each.  One or two paragraphs here is plenty.

Finally, how are you going to end your article?  What do you want to say in your final paragraphs that will encapsulate everything you’ve written about?  You may want to use some sort of analogy here linking in to something you or someone you know has experienced and the outcome of that.  You may consider giving a look forward to the reader, e.g. watch out for further articles where I will show you the many free ways to submit your articles.

And finally…..

In essence then, give yourself permission to write with a totally open mind, start with drafting an outline of your topic, jot down some notes on what you want to include, decide how you will lay it out, then just go for it.

And lastly, just heed this saying; I have no idea of the originator but it goes ‘If you make a choice that goes against what everyone else thinks, the world will not fall apart.’