Don't let overwhelm hold you back- follow this expert advice and start writing your promotional article today.
In Part 1, I talked about the importance of planning and structuring your article. Here are three more essential steps to help you make sure your article is ready to go.
4. Avoid clichés (like the plague). As in, clichéd language, clichéd advice, and clichéd topics. To refresh your memory, a cliché is anything that's over-used, banal, or tired. It's anything we've all heard 1,000 times before and hoped we'd never hear again.
Some typical examples of overworked expressions (and there are thousands):
... bring you up to speed, at the end of the day, since time immemorial, chilled to the bone, a gleam in his eye, her heart leapt into her mouth, a level playing field, when all is said and done, on the same page ...
Clichéd language can be fixed with a good edit. First, determine whether you really need that phrase. If you do, express the concepts in ordinary terms. So, for "see if we're on the same page", substitute "see if we all agree".
Clichéd advice and topics might include:
"Achieve your goals"
"Build the life you want"
"Don't worry, be happy"
"Empower yourself"
and, my personal fave, sent to me in an e-mail newsletter: "Take a bubble bath".
I include in this category any concept that's corny and sentimental, or writing that attempts to express the inexpressible: all those fluttering leaves, vibrant sunsets, and yearning sighs.
It's really tough to write about intense emotions or universal experiences in a way that's original and subtle. Great novelists and poets spend their lives struggling to do this. If you're not careful, it's easy to end up sounding like a 50-cent greeting card.
Fixing clichéd ideas is more challenging than fixing clichéd language. You need to ask tough questions:
"What does this phrase mean? What am I really saying here? What situations illustrate this? What do I want people to get? What value am I adding here?"
Remember that people are looking for straight talk and solutions to problems. Your solutions. They want your ideas, expressed with your urgency and importance.
So don't give your readers hackneyed ideas expressed in stale language. Don't fob them off with a bubble bath, try shoving them into a brisk, eye-opening cold shower instead.
5. Proofread Your article has to be 100% perfect in grammar, spelling and punctuation before the public gets to see it. The public means anyone visiting your Web site, and anyone you submit your article to for feedback or possible publication.
I confess, I did work as a professional proofreader for a time. And when you spend your life looking for missing periods and dots over i's, you tend to get a little demanding. But there's a reason for my concern.
Your article isn't like a casual e-mail that you zap off without reviewing or editing: It's more permanent and public. Your article is you, and people are going to assess your value by how you present it.
Think of it this way. If you're fortunate, hundreds, even thousands of people may read your piece. You're probably hoping to get lots of new clients from this exposure. Posting or submitting your article is, in a sense, like going for a job interview.
Dot your i's, cross your t's. Make sure there are periods at the end of sentences. Make sure you know how to use commas correctly, that you haven't made any common errors (for example, it's instead of its; there instead of their; your instead of you're). Check for missing words; check the spelling of any unusual words.
If you have even the slightest doubt about your English skills, have a professional proofreader or editor review your article. At the very least, give it to a friend to read. Mistakes are very hard to catch in your own work.
6. Be brilliantly unoriginal. Your promotional article is almost guaranteed to fall into one of these five categories:
Sex
Love
Health
Finance
Career
What I want you to understand is that you don't have to have the greatest, most never-thought-of-before idea in the history of the universe before you write your article. In fact, you can't. It's all been done.
That's the unoriginal part.
Yet people are always itching to read, again and again, how they can improve in one of these areas (or about what a terrible time someone else is having in these areas, and thank heaven it's not them this time).
So please, just get over your fear and give us your unique take on the eternal topics. Your unique take - that's the brilliant part.
Brilliant doesn't have to be big. It can be:
We're talking soft innovations that flaunt your particular expertise.
Your brilliance could be in how you package your experiences. Have you been through a messy relationship, learned how to talk better to your teenaged kids, survived a life-threatening illness, started up a successful small business? Chances are, there are people out there just waiting to hear how you did it. This information is gold.
There is brilliance in your own communication style. Are you kind and patient, buzzy and edgy, witty and ironic? Are you more like a kindly grandfather or more like a visionary CEO? Whatever your qualities, be utterly yourself.
Your brilliance can be the simplicity and clarity with which you give your advice-the way you get your idea across so well, it's like we're hearing it for the first time. The way you inspire. The passion with which you speak.
So don't worry that they've heard it all before. Of course they have. But they've never heard it all from you.
About The Author
David Roddis, The Writers' Coach, helps independent professionals write killer marketing copy, promotional articles and information products that attract more clients. Go to http://www.coachdavid.ca/fasttrack1 to join his mailing list and receive a free copy of "12 questions to fast-track your article". For more information, visit http://www.coachdavid.ca.
Writing articles has proven time and time again to be... Read More
Writing articles is one of the best ways to get... Read More
Ok, today we are going to talk about one of... Read More
Online writing is really self-publishing made easier and potentially much... Read More
Anyone who's been in the business for 2 or 3... Read More
This article is dedicated to those who are afraid to... Read More
You're Invited... Visualize your article going out like a party... Read More
Speak to an Audience that Reaches across the GlobeAs a... Read More
There is probably no easier way of earning extra money... Read More
Would it be worth it to master a technique that... Read More
Making your articles available for reprints by other ezine publishers... Read More
Your author bio is a vital part of your article... Read More
Free publicity can help to spread the word about your... Read More
This may come as a surprise... to you, but writing... Read More
As a follow up to my previous article on the... Read More
There are times when I want to write an article... Read More
It's stunning sometimes how far article marketing has come over... Read More
How to write an informative article?The following tips can help... Read More
It has become common knowledge that the smartest and most... Read More
Are you an Article Marketer? If so, you know that... Read More
There are two primary factors in creating a successful reference... Read More
A great headline can be the difference between having your... Read More
How does a writing agency market itself effectively in a... Read More
If you want to increase the amount of visitors to... Read More
The five essential questions to be answered in your article... Read More
You've got to start somewhere, but once you've created your... Read More
Every day thousands of people join affiliate programs and yet... Read More
To be successful at any affiliate marketing program, you not... Read More
Selling books online means that you need to get interested... Read More
Have ever wished that there were a formula for crafting... Read More
Writing for the internet requires that you create a large... Read More
This is precisely what I am doing here today (and... Read More
Articles are a fantastic source of links and additional traffic... Read More
Why do so many internet marketers waste their time on... Read More
Everyone knows an expert is just a drip under pressure.... Read More
Find definitions from H to P... ~~~~~~~~~~~ H ~~~~~~~~~~~ Haiku... Read More
It is important for all webmasters to realize that if... Read More
The Shortest Distance to Your Home Town Enterprise is Over... Read More
Do you wonder what easy, cheap, and fast way you... Read More
Knowing exactly what an editor wants.Unfortunately, many new writers struggle... Read More
Submitting articles once or twice a week can yield 15... Read More
It's amazing how quickly free articles can generatetraffic - my... Read More
Original quotes, when used at the beginning or at the... Read More
Many people which in online business world find difficulties in... Read More
You've written this wonderful (no question about it) piece of... Read More
Everyone focuses their web marketing efforts on search engines, and... Read More
Have you ever wondered why Ezine Articles have become one... Read More
I am sure that there would have been a moment... Read More
Evaluation of a Home-Run ArticleI've been writing articles and posting... Read More
The experts are always telling us that getting paid for... Read More
MS: Shelley, you're an excellent person to talk to about... Read More
In this article I will show you how to use... Read More
1. Participate in chat rooms related to your targeted audience.... Read More
Don't let overwhelm hold you back- follow this expert advice... Read More
Whatever you're selling, writing articles to distribute freely amongst webmasters... Read More
The Whole reason you write those articles is so you... Read More
Some six weeks ago, I began writing and submitting articles... Read More
It is a well known fact that writing, distributing and... Read More
A few years ago as a webmaster with no money,... Read More
Advertisements are one of the biggest indicators of a magazine's... Read More
Often all the Web Surfer will see is your title,... Read More
MS: John, you must be one of the most prolific... Read More
Ready to jump on the keyword article bandwagon? Billions of... Read More
Abandon your frustrations and get a fresh start by trying... Read More
Now that you know the secrets to writing great articles,... Read More
Writers talk about rejection all the time ? just part... Read More
Article Writing |