Crafting the headline for an article you publish is probably more important than writing the actual article. I say probably, but many professional copywriters who make lotsa money doing this will tell you it is THE most important task.

If your headline is ho-hum nobody will read what you have to say. If your headline is engaging and compelling, people will get drawn into reading your article like Ulysses to the Sirens. They won’t be able to resist it.

Of course, you still need good content in the body of the article. Otherwise readers will be mad they spent the time reading only to come up empty.

Brian Clark of Copyblogger gives some great tips on this. Recently he wrote this in a post called 7 Reasons Why List Posts Will Always Work. Here’s an excerpt:

"Any headline that lists a number of reasons, secrets, types, or ways will work because, once again, it makes a very specific promise of what’s in store for the reader. A nice quantifiable return on attention invested goes a long way toward prompting action, and as long as you deliver with quality content, you’ll have a satisfied reader."

"Plus, these type of posts and articles are perfect for building your authority and demonstrating a mastery of your area of expertise. If you’re business blogging, that’s key."

He then goes on to list 7 classic “list” headlines that you can remix on your blog when you’re looking to boost readership:

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Colleague Adam Urbanski also advocates writing a list to jump start your article writing process. Here’s his article, Six Easy Steps to Marketing Your Business With Articles and here’s an excerpt:

"Begin with listing ideas you want to cover, write down key words and phrases you would like to use… Next, write a paragraph on each idea or key word you listed. Add examples and stories to illustrate your points, list additional resources. .. Spend time creating a strong opening and a good summary or call to action to close your article."

The more you read about a technique or tip, the more variations on it, and the more you hear it from different sources, the more likely you are to remember it, and to try it out. So it is my pleasure to share Adam’s well-written article with you (he has others you might want to check on on the site.)

If you know of other experts who promote the list-writing technique, let me know (besides Jeff Herring of course!).

Yesterday while I was writing about the "secret writing tip" that has made my writing easier and faster (make a list) I ended up with a list of 10 steps I go through each time I write an article.

That’s how powerful the "Make a List" technique is for writing. You will actually create another article while writing the first one.

So from yesterday’s post, here’s my new list of writing tips:

1. Find out what keywords you need to use in your next article.
2. Write out a headline or general subject title (you will revise the title later).
3. Make a list.
4. Write one or two sentences about each point on the list.
5. Write an introduction that tells people why this is important to them.
6. Create a dynamic headline. (Use a headline/copywriter’s manual if you need help)
7. Write the conclusion. (Don’t forget a call to action.)
8. Include links in your resource box or author’s information paragraph
9. Submit to EzineArticles.com, or to your favorite article directory.
10. Repurpose the article for your ezine, blogs, and other uses (use it as a special report, etc.)

There really should be an 11th step here: What other lists did you see while writing the first article? Is there another article you could develop based on the first article? There usually is.

Come by this blog tomorrow because I just created another post while writing this one: how to create dynamic headlines, step #6, is worthy of expanding into its own article.

See how this works? Just walkin’ my talk…

The day I learned this writing tip was the day my writing just got a whole lot easier, faster, and more fun. It’s no secret really, but this one tip could change the way you write articles for the Web, for your ezines, your blog, for all sorts of marketing with content.

Make a list.

That’s right. Not too complicated, is it? As Jeff Herring, The Article Guy, puts it: "If you can write a 7-item grocery list, you can write an article."

Ever since I learned that, getting started with writing (some say this is the most difficult part) has become a snap. If I’d known it was this simple, I might have skipped graduate school.

Here’s how it goes in my head: Say I want or need to write an article on ezine publishing.

How do I know that I need to write about ezine publishing? I did a keyword search and my newsletter site doesn’t come up on the first page of Google when people use the search term "ezine publishing." I only come up on page 3.

If I have more web pages using the keywords "ezine publishing" I should improve my ranking. So I need to publish more articles using those keywords, either in article directories, on my website, on my blog, or in my ezine which gets archived on the Web.

Here’s how the "Make a List" writing tip works:

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This article was written by Daphne Gray-Grant, the Publication Coach, and is worth the read over on her website. Although Daphne doesn’t have a blog (yet), she frequently updates her website with fresh articles about writing. I recommend you go there to read the full article.

Can you identify with any of these negative thoughts when you go to write something?

1) I’m a lousy writer; I don’t have the talent to do this- (If you discover that you’re constantly bad-mouthing yourself as you write, replace the inner negative chatter with the following statement: “Writing is about practice. The more I do, the better I’ll get.")

2) I don’t have the time to write- (When you’re planning your writing time, think in small increments, not big chunks. Remember: If you write 300-350 words a day, you’ll have written a decent-length book by the end of a year.)

3) I’d better do a really good job on this (article, report, letter) because my reputation/sales results hinge on it- (When you’re writing, you need to shut down the tiny yet persistent voice that tells you how much you have riding on this job. Instead, do what the athletes do. Focus on the ball –- in your case that means: focus on what you’re writing.)

4) I need to write about this topic- (Instead, choose a topic that excites you and has you fairly bursting to write.)

5) Writing is too hard- (Lifting bricks is hard; waiting tables is hard; telling someone they have cancer is hard. Writing is not hard. Writing is just writing.)

My favorite, most frequent pesky voice says this: "As soon as I get caught up with (email, ezines, blogging…fill in the blanks) I’ll write that article…"

What’s yours?

Remember, the gremlin you share is a gremlin you squash…