This is a great article written by fellow savvy solopreneur Michael Pollack on his blog. In fact it’s so good, that I’m just going to reprint it here. But visit Michael’s SmallBusinessBranding.com blog for other great tips.

10 Tips For Writing Better Articles

Writing articles is a great way to create exposure for yourself and your business. In fact, I’d suggest it’s one of the best marketing tools you can use. Webmasters and newsletter publishers are always looking for good content. Further, aside from your time investment, it’s completely free advertising.

Here are 10 practical tips to ensure your articles get published and read by others.

1. Write to serve.
Before writing an article, ask yourself what problem it will help others solve. Some of the more common issues people deal with revolve around a lack of something, whether it’s time, money, self-confidence or just joy in life. How will your article help with these issues.

2. Grab their attention early.
If possible, intend to "hook" your reader right from the get-go. Ideally, your title should be the hook. When creating the title, ask yourself if it would make you want to read the article. Your first paragraph should also serve as a hook , as well as a general introduction to the article content.

3. Write to one person only.
Forget the fact your article will be read by many people and write to only one person, just like I’m doing with you now.

4. Keep the flow logical.
Don’t bounce around from one idea to the next. Each paragraph should logically follow the next. Although there may be different ideas expressed in each paragraph, they should dovetail off each other.

5. Use quotes to support your main idea.
Quotes from famous people are a great method to reinforce your ideas. They help you make your point and add credibility to your overall message. I use the quote library found at Motivation Mecca http://www.joshhinds.com or Uinspire at http://www.uinspire.com

6. Keep your paragraphs short.
Ideally, 4-6 lines per paragraph is what you want to shoot for. It looks and feels much more appealing to the reader to see "bite-sized" paragraphs.

7. Inspire action in your article.
If your article is, in fact, intended to solve a common problem, give people practical suggestions for taking action. Remember the formula "insight + action = growth."

8. When possible, tie your message to everyday activities.
A good example of this is "life is like a box of chocolates." Make it easy for your reader to relate to your ideas. That will also make it easier for your reader to apply your ideas in their life.

9. Summarize the article in the final 1-2 paragraphs.
Briefly summarize the main points of your article, how people can take action from the information and what results they can achieve.

10. Don’t forget the resource box.
Provide a brief resource box following your article. It should tell a little about you, your business, how you serve others and how to contact you. Be sure to include your URL and email address with an invitation to contact you or visit your site.

Using these 10 tips should help you write powerful articles that get published and read. Above all else, remember this. A writer writes. So – first – be a writer in your own mind.

Thanks, Michael, for reminding us of these important points when writing for a newsletter, blog, or other website copy.

Why Business People Speak Like Idiots: This book has a subtitle: A Bullfighter’s Guide. I believe they are referring to corporate bull. With a title like that, its gotta sell.

Cynthia Kivland draws my attention to this book on her newsletter.

She says: Throughout the book, authors Brian Fugere, Chelsea Hardaway, and Jon Warshawsky—who are also responsible for the Clio Award-winning Bullfighter software—identify corporate speak as the numbing down of American business. …They define four traps that lure us into believing that corporate speak is the best way to communicate, and more importantly, they identify these traps as symptoms of what’s ailing corporate America.

At its core, Idiots is about abandoning stultifying corporate speak for the sake of expressing our individual personalities—our voice—at work, and harnessing the power of this voice to generate enthusiasm and creativity in the workplace. In this era of exploring individual purpose and mission and how these fit with our professional lives, Fugere and friends have a very timely message. “This book is about being yourself, reclaiming your voice, and letting some personality, warmth, and humor into your work life.” Simplicity and truth pack a powerful punch.

Which leads me to second that when it comes to writing better newsletters and blogs. Get rid of corporate speak when you write, if you are still entrenched in that jargon. Write from the heart more from the head, and throw in personal stories that illustrate your points.

But you know that by now, don’t you!

Writing copy for your web site or for marketing materials is different from writing an article for your blog or newsletter. Yet I see so many professionals (highly educated Ph.D.s, competent consultants and experiences coaches) missing the boat.

If you study marketing and copywriting online (believe me, there is a ton of information available out there, some free and some for exhorbitant fees!) you can learn how to write a compelling letter to your readers that will inspire them to click through, buy, or sign up.

Then I see some professionals that must have bought the XYZ Marketing Guru sales course, and their copy looks exactly like all the other online marketers out there!

You do not have to copy the sales letter/landing page of everybody else. In fact, if you do, you will not compel anybody to buy anything, because of the ‘hype’ factor. You must be as real, authentic, and trust-worthy as you truly are in person. Not easy to do in print.

We can all learn about this. I’ve invited an expert, Fred Gleeck, to share some of the basics about writing online copy. He’s got some useful ebooks he’s making available to you for free over at www.FredGleeck.com/ebooks.

________________________________________

Writing Copy
©Fred Gleeck 2005

To subscribe to Fred Gleeck Insights, send a blank
email to tips@seminarexpert.com.

To get 5 of Fred Gleeck’s books for FREE, go to:
www.FredGleeck.com/ebooks

Writing copy for your websites and other offline marketing
is key to your success as an information marketer.

I’m putting together an ebook on exactly how to do this.

Rather than make you wait to see the book, I’d like to
give you the outline to get you thinking about the process.

Some people would tell you not to do this because
someone might copy your work and attempt to create
their own book/ebook on the same topic. Remember,
you can’t copyright an idea, only your specific presentation
of that idea. So forget it.

Don’t worry about people copying your ideas!

Concentrate on doing your own work and don’t worry
about what anyone else is doing. Also, the people who
do something similar to what you’re doing may turn out
to be ideal JV partners. These days, some of your
competitors may turn out to be your best partners.

Here’s the outline:

1. Prehead
2. Headline
3. Posthead
4. Opening Line/Paragraph
5. Build Rapport
6. Demonstrate Credibility
7. Develop Bullet Points
8. Testimonials
9. Offer
10. Pricing Discussion
11. Guarantee
12. Bonuses
13. Reason to Act Now
14. PS
__________________________

Stay tuned for more…

What Makes Your Message Memorable?

Denise Wakeman of www.biztipsblog.com just directed me to a post on Yvonne DiVita’s blog A-ha! (Authors Helping Authors) about what it takes for an author to make their message memorable. 

Yvonne DiVita’s message to book authors is just as applicable to newsletter and ezine authors. Here are a couple of points, and I urge you to read the entire post:

1. Clarity of message seems to be the first essential to a memorable book (article)
2. Delivers [the] message in the form of a story
3. Make the problem clear and the solution belong to your reader
4. Whenever possible use graphics to add to the emotional punch of your writing

This makes sense, doesn’t it? The beauty of writing for an online newsletter or blog is that your article content needs to be short. By virtue of being short, you have to be razor-sharp clear.

Take out all those unnecessary words and get to the point. Points are better understood with an example. And since, we are all models of walking our talk (n’est-ce pas?), what better way to illustrate a point than by a personal experience. Just make sure that the learning lesson is clear, and you aren’t just sharing stories to gratify your own ego.

Making your message memorable means linking the message to something unforgettable. What can you think of that you will never forget? How can you use that experience to tell a story and give the gift of a lesson learned to your readers?

Here’s to writing better ezines!

Yvonne DiVita will be one of our guest experts on Conversations with Experts August 10.