|
Writing articles is an excellent way for you to get free publicity.
Getting an article published is free and some publications even pay
for your contributions. The publicity you receive by having your
article published in a newspaper, magazine or website can be worth
thousands of dollars in equivalent advertising space. Well written
articles yield better results than advertisements and earn you
respect from customers, who see you as an expert in your field.
So
what exactly is an article???
An
article is a short piece of information that aims to educate and
inform people about something, which they may be interested in. They
are usually between 500 and 3,500 words long and guess what.......
you are reading one right now. That’s right, I have written this
article because of my passion to share the idea that expensive
advertising is probably not the best way to market yourself and get
more business.
By
writing and distributing these articles you are sharing information,
which displays your expertise and gains you trust and credibility.
No amount of advertising can gain you either trust or credibility.
So
let’s look at this concept of writing and distributing articles as a
form of free publicity.
The best articles are ‘tips’ or expert pieces. People are looking
for guidance and will purchase from experts who show them how to
solve their problems.
Structuring Your Article
Your article should include the following elements:
(a)
The Headline
This should be attention grabbing and use power words and phrases,
such as “How to …” “10 Ways that …”, “Do you want to …?”
(b)
Lead Paragraph
The first couple of sentences tell your readers why they should read
the whole article. Show them the benefits they will gain, or the
pain that they will avoid, by reading the article.
(c)
Body Copy
This is where you inform the reader how to do something that will
enrich their business or personal lives. Use short sentences and
provide step-by-step directions that they can easily follow.
(d)
Conclusion
At
the end you want to summarise the topics you’ve covered and briefly
review the main points. Since you have helped your readers they
will most likely want to know more. This is your chance to make
your sell by making them an offer with a ‘call to action’ such as
‘mention this article and receive a 10% discount off orders placed
before June 30th.”.
(e)
Resource Box
A
resource box provides the reader with information on your company
and includes the following information:
- Your Name
- Company name
- Contact information
- Website details
- How to order your product, etc
Journalist, marketer and public relations specialist Belinda Crosbie
has three top tips for clients writing their own articles:
1.
What are the questions you hear most often from customers?
Write an article to address these queries. Remember to provide
valuable information; articles that sound like one big ad for your
company rarely get published.
2.
Write with the ‘st’ factor in mind.
Tell readers about the latest, greatest, first,
most, newest, quickest, best etc.
Publications want fresh, new information, so where possible show
them the ‘st’ factor with the ‘latest technique’, ‘newest
technology’ or ‘10 best solutions for…’.
3.
Edit, edit and edit again. As a professional writer, Belinda constantly
re-writes and re-works her words. Ask someone to read your article
and they’ll often spot errors you miss because they’re reading from
a new perspective. If you want to double-check that your sentences
make sense - read your article, sentence-by-sentence, from the
bottom up. You’ll be amazed what you pick up when you’re not caught
up in the flow of the story.
Topics to Target
There are thousands of problems people need solved, so the number of
solution-focused topics is endless. If you’re stuck, here are some
ideas to get you started.:
Florist
Flower Care Tips, Choosing Anniversary Flowers, Best Way To Buy Your
Wedding Flowers, Choosing Centrepiece Flowers For Your Dinner Party,
How to Press Fresh Flowers, How to Pick Perfect Flowers According to
Occasions, etc.
Baby
Related Products/Services
How
To Settle Your Baby, Baby Shower Themes & Games, How to Baby Proof
Your Home, Baby Sleep Routine, Ways to Help Your Baby Sleep All
Night, Age Appropriate Toys, Gifts for 1/2/3/4 Year Olds, 20 Fun
Silly Games to Play, etc.
Accountant
Tips
For Getting The Best Home Loan, 10 Tips For Financing Your Business,
Tips To Save You Money, Choosing Accounting Software, Bookkeeping
Basics, How To Save Money On Bookkeeping, Setting Up Budgets, etc.
Hairdresser
Hair
Care and Treatment, Hair Loss Prevention, Hair Drying Mistakes,
Celebrity Hair Styles, What Hairstyle to Choose For Your Lifestyle,
New Hair Trends, etc.
Restaurant
How
To Make Restaurant Quality Coffee At Home, 10 Ways to Attract New
Customers to Your Restaurant, Restaurant Décor Ideas, 5 Secret
Recipes, 7 Publicity Tips for Restaurants, Choosing Restaurant
Equipment, Making Healthy Food Choices when Dining In a Restaurant,
etc.
Customer Service
How
To Stay in Touch With Your Customers, How To Build Good Client
Relationship, 7 Tips For Creating Customer Loyalty, Common Customer
Service Mistakes, How To Get Back Lost Clients, Looking After Your
Customer Service Staff, etc.
These are just some ideas – if you need help choosing topics for
your business, please email me –
ivana@web4business.com.au
If
writing an article seems too daunting, you can hire a ghostwriter to
do this for you – generally at a very reasonable price. A
writer I highly recommend is Belinda Crosbie –
www.lifebydesire.com/business.htm.
Getting Your Articles Published
Once your article is written you will need to submit it to various
publications on-line and in printed publications. For a listing of
Australian printed publications, including the editor’s details, you
may wish to buy “The Australian Writer’s Marketplace”, available
from most bookshops.
For a listing of on-line article directories, visit:
http://www.web4business.com.au/ResourcesListArticleDirectories.htm
If
you don’t have a lot of time to submit your articles manually, you
may wish to consider using article submission services by companies
such as:
Submit Your Article –
www.submityourarticle.com or
The Phantom Writers –
www.thephantomwriters.com
For a small fee they will submit your article to thousands of
on-line publications, also known as ezines.
Remember, article writing is far more powerful than any advertising
you will do. It will prove to your customers you know your business
and best of all, it won’t cost you a cent! So don’t be afraid to
try it … what have you got to lose?
|
