You Can Develop An E-zine Even If You Dont Enjoy Writing!
May 28, 2007
Do you know that many business owners market their businesses by writing content for their online newsletters (e-zine)? And if you don’t enjoy writing, the authors make those articles available to you.
You can find both articles in article directories and article bank located on the Internet. Do you know the difference?
Article directories are one-way places on a Web site where the site’s owner lists their articles. The articles maybe available as free or paid content for other publishers. View an example of an article directory at http://coachmaria.com/subscribers/subscriberarticles/
Article banks are two-way Web sites or pages within a Web site. They are places where authors “deposit” articles to invest and where lenders “take” the article to use. The “interest” someone pay for using an article consists of a bio or resource box. Each article bank site includes guidelines for authors and potential publishers. Authors retain first rights - retain ownership - to articles placed on article banks. Some article bank sites publish e-zines that include recently submitted articles, ad swap requests and/or an “articles wanted” area, too. You’ll find many article bank Web sites listed below. If you know of a bank I’ve missed please send them to me.
Building Character
May 28, 2007
Names are important. Names give clues about us, where we live, who we are. In some cases they can even tell what we do! There is a certain ring about George W. Bush, you just know he’s American! You can almost feel the Texan, and taste the oil
When selecting names try and make them suit the person and place, you might not think it but the name tells a lot about a character - think of Scrooge, of Judas - call someone by those names and people will just know what you mean. Location. Location. Location.
If you are writing a story set in the 1950’s then check what names were been used then. A useful tip rent an old film and watch carefully the names in the credits at the end. Listen to what people are called in the film.
I like American gangster movies and get some of my names from popular movies of the day. I’ll rent a Humphrey Bogart film and watch the credits. It’s surprising the names you can come up with!
10 Tips for Writing Effective Web Copy
May 27, 2007
On the Internet programmers and designers rule, not the writer. Yet words drive targeted traffic to your site, carry content, make the sale, convey marketing messages, persuade people to buy and make the difference between your site’s success or failure.
Here are 10 tips for writing effective web copy:
1. Make sure content is easy to read
In the online world, less is nearly always more. Write your copy for the impatient, online reader. Here are some guidelines for the length of your content:
- Headings: 8 words or less
- Sentences: 15 ? 20 words
- Paragraphs: 40 ? 70 words
- Page word count: 250+ words
Eliminate pompous words and fancy phrases. Effective online writing is not about impressing the reader with your extensive vocabulary. It’s about communicating. Use short, simple words. Get to the point. And then stop.
2. Write from me to you
The most powerful word in the English language is "YOU". Write for your reader, in a conversational tone, not for your ego.
Get to know your reader. Is there a common style or tone you need to use to reach her? Don’t forget, she’s come to your Web site to do something-make a purchase, obtain information, sign up for a subscription. Make sure every word you write moves her toward a solution.
The Best Advertisement For Your Business
May 27, 2007
It is no secret among internet marketers that writing articles is a great way to market your website. With all the article distribution services and all the websites looking for free, unique content, writing a quality article can bring you more links to your website in one day than an entire month of working out link exchanges and submitting to directories. The benefits of writing articles have been written about time and time again. Yet in order to enjoy the benefits of article writing, your article must first be accepted by the publishers who receive your submissions. This article will focus on a few key points to help increase your chances of getting your article accepted by the Internet’s top publishers.
Proofread Your Own Writing
Proofreading is very time consuming. If you want your article to be widely accepted, it is your job to make the publisher’s job easier. The first step in making the publisher’s job easier is to check, double check, and triple check your spelling and grammar. If you have someone that can review your article, have them read it over. Tell this person to look for grammatical errors, spelling mistakes, and poorly worded sentences. They will be able to point out mistakes that you may never have seen. When you write an article there is a tendency of getting overly familiar with the content and thus you could miss a glaring mistake in your writing. Consider the following exercise by reading aloud what is written:
A Plan
May 27, 2007
All writers should use a plan whether written or reflected. This includes the initial idea, the content or main points, and the conclusion whether it is an article, a short story, a chapter, or a complete novel.
Let us look at the article. This starts with main idea that is engendered in the title. Then the content is considered: the main points that will make up the article. All that is left to do now is to fill in the details of each line of reasoning. Leave it for a few days before editing, revising, and rewriting. The article is done.
Similarly, the short story starts with the intent and then the character who has a desire or want that is stymied by some obstacle. As the character attempts to overcome the obstacle, more complications occur until defeat seems the only possibility, but defeat is turned into success or disaster, success if the short story is a comedy and disaster if it is a tragedy.
The chapter of a novel follows a similar plan, but it is not as complete as the short story, since the tale or narrative must go on. The chapter is like one event in the short story with its aspiration, its impediment, its complication, and its achievement or downfall.
10 Best Writers Who Ever Lived
May 26, 2007
Compiling a list of the history’s ten best writers is like skating on a heated swimming pool. Just when you get started, you find yourself in hot water.
The reason is: writing’s completely subjective. What interests you may not interest me. We all read for different reasons.
But, here ? in no particular order — is another list of the world’s top wordsmiths:
1. Aesop ? Around 600 B.C. this Greek slave began to chronicle fables from around the world. His stories ? like the one about the tortoise and hare ? gave animals human qualities, and illustrated critical life lessons.
2. Aristophanes ? Reportedly the first comedy writer, back in 400 B.C. He combined plays with song and repetition to provide entertainment for ancient Greeks.
3. Socrates ? A contemporary of Aristophanes, he was likely history’s first "self-help" writer. He taught people to seek ultimate truths by questioning conventional wisdom and examining their own beliefs. He said folks shouldn’t accept opinion as fact.
4. Sophocles ? Another guy with no last name. He created plays that usually centered on a single heroic character who chose an unpopular course of action.
Do The Unfamiliar To Keep Your Writing Going
May 26, 2007
One of the best ways to blow someone’s winning streak during a tennis game is to comment on how great they are doing. Your comment will kick in their left brain’s inner critic which will zap their flow and change their focus. In tennis this is an underhanded type of gamesmanship.
In life, it happens to each of us all the time. Even writers.
In writing, the same thing occurs as soon as the right side of the brain, the right hemisphere, gets a break, the left side begins editorializing. Even if the left side compliments you on your progress or the time you committed, it still zaps the flow. Flow stops, hiccups, and the writing or idea doesn’t get to the next step.
This is an event that affects us all in more than just writing.
There is not any particular timeframe when this occurs either. It may occur when writing something short, like an article, memo, or email. Or it might not occur until chapter six of your book. This is why the freewriting exercise works so well. It allows your right brain to tell the left side to shut up for particular amount of time.
Reward Those Who Publish Your Articles!
May 26, 2007
It is pretty obvious that content is king online. It is also obvious that writing more content and submitting them to other sites will help boost your popularity and bring more visitors to your site.
So why wouldn’t you help boost those pages that have your articles on them?
I want to share a small tip that will help boost your articles popularity all over the world.
See, most of us who do write articles are mainly concerned about getting their articles published. Well why wouldn’t you reward those who publish your articles?
I am consistently finding ways to boost pr ratings for ALL of my pages within my site, you should be too. If we are all trying to do this, then why don’t we help boost our articles on other sites!
Here’s an example of this…
I have an article titled: “Getting A Better Rank For All Your Pages”
Now simply listing this article on my site isn’t enough. I also promote and submit this article wherever I can. If by chance a web site publishes my article, I will reward that site by adding a link on my site were that article is listed.
Killer Ad Copy
May 25, 2007
Not everyone is a writer. Good copy writing is a science and can be learned over time. Great copy writing is an art and should problably remain in the hands of those who can craft it well.
Words have power.They can make you laugh, cry experience great joy, provide encouragement or they can destroy your confidence. They need to be used very carefully. You can compell people to take an action you want through the power of your words.
When writing sales copy, you need to consider what response or action you want your reader to take.
To do this you need to talk to your reader on a personal level, get them emotionally involved in and draw them in through the power of your words.
Paint a picture of what your product or service will do for them and then anticipate and answer all of their questions and doubts before they have a chance raise them.
Many books on copywriting have been written. They can guide you and teach you to be a better writer than you are now - mostly by getting you to avoid making a gross faux pas thereby making your ad copy acceptable or passible.
Open a Vein
May 25, 2007
If you want to be a writer, you must write and that requires sitting at your typewriter or computer and writing although it may not be easy. That also means avoiding all distractions that will keep one from writing-visitors, friends, relatives, television, radio, and anything that will keep the writer from concentrating on the task.
Although many writers wait for inspiration before they start writing, that is a sure way to bring about writer’s block. Inspiration only comes with dedication, concentration, planning, and visualization. If one looks at the work habits of successful writers, it is one of habits, habits established by determination and persistence that require surrender to a timetable of work, a forfeit of time to write. That time must be rigidly adhered to be it an hour or several hours a day.
Setting a time each day is not always easy, but it must be done if one is to become a professional, published writer. During that time nothing must interfere with writing. It is not the time to edit, rewrite, revise, or research. It must be set aside for writing, for putting words to paper or to screen. Discipline is the keyword here and self-control must be achieved inflexibly. Sounds tough? Well, it is! Some beginning writers get up earlier and spend and hour or two before their day job; others prefer time before retiring for the night; while still others steal a few minutes several times through out the day. Whatever is chosen must be adhered to strictly.
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