Five Ways to Wake up the Creative Writer in you

Writing an article doesn't just mean putting down thoughts into words then typing and writing it. You have to capture the interest of your readers and give them a reason to keep reading. You have to get the attention of the reader and have a firm grasp of their interest and pique their curiosity. Here are five ways you can get creative.

The main ingredient in writing an article is creativity. While creativity may come natural to many people, some of us get writers block. It can be a hair pulling ordeal just to get your creative juices flowing. 

Putting words into images in the readers mind is an art. A clear and crisp depiction requires a certain flair that only creativity can provide. Similes and metaphors help a lot, but the way an article gets entwined word for word, sentence by sentence then paragraph by paragraph into a whole article develops the essence of the article. 

So just what do you have to do when nothing comes to mind? That's a fair question but unfortunately, there's no surefire ways to get those perfect ideas to pop into your head. But, there are easy ways to get your creative juices flowing and put you into a perfect mindset and state of mind. Here are five of them.

1) Keep a diary or a journal in your pocket or with you at all times. You just never know when an idea is triggered by something you may hear, see, or smell. Your senses are your radar in finding great ideas. Write all of them into a journal and keep it with you for future reference. You may also write down anything that you have read or heard, someone's ideas could be used to develop your own ideas and this is not stealing. Remember that ideas and creativity can come from anywhere; it's the development of the idea that makes it unique.

2) Relax and take time to sort things out. You need a clear head. A jumbled mind cannot create any space for new ideas. If you are bothered by something, give yourself permission to get rid of it for awhile. Put it in the closet for a few minutes. Try closing your eyes and allowing yourself some quiet time. Block out all the sights sounds and smells around you. Turn your focus inward and breathe.

Try to relax every time that you can and think about your experiences and interactions with others. Your experiences are what shape your mindset and your opinions which could be reflected on your writings. Try to discover yourself, find out what triggers your emotions. Discover what inspires you and what ticks you off. You can use these emotions to help you in expressing yourself and your ideas, with this you can grow creatively.

3) Create a working place that can inspire your creativeness.

Creativity comes from being in a good state of mind and a messed up workplace that causes distraction won't be conducive in firing up your creative flow.

Surround your working place with objects that makes you happy and relaxed. You may put up pictures, or scents, plants or anything that can to inspire you, relax you and get your creativeness cranking.


4) Set the mood. Setting the mood requires you to just go with the moment or to induce yourself to feeling what makes your mind works best. Finding out what makes you tick could help you find ways to get your creative juices flowing. Set the pace and tempo for your mood and everything else will follow.

There are many ways to set the mood. Some writers have been known to have a little sip of wine to stir up the imagination. Some use mood music while others let the lighting of the environment create the mood. You decide what sets your mood.

5) Go on a vacation and just do something crazy and out of the norm for you. Letting yourself go and have fun produces adrenaline which can make your imagination run wild. If your day is usually a busy one, take an quiet adventure or a solemn hike. Whatever it is that is unusual from your daily routine can take the rut out of your schedule.

In no time at all, your imagination will make use of that experience and get your creativeness to start working in overdrive.

CONTINUE READING - Five Ways to Wake up the Creative Writer in you

Article Writing - Increase Traffic and Drive Up Your Sales

Article writing is a great way to increase the amount of traffic to your website, more importantly increasing your exposure to the world. Writing articles is all about getting links to your website, usually done from within what a "resource box." Your resource box should contain links back to your website, after someone reads your article if they are looking for additional information on the subject they are re-directed to your website.

Resources boxes play an important role in developing back links to your website, which are very important to search engines for ranking your site against your competition. Back links are one of the key factors that search engine use to rate your website based on relevance of a specific keyword, or topic. Creating an effective resource box will drive traffic to your website each time a reader would like additional information about the topic.

Article writing by far is the fastest way to build your back links, drive traffic to your website. Traffic is ultimately, what you want right. You did not build your website just to sit there and wait for people to stumble upon it occasionally. In addition, article writing is a fast and effective way to get your website indexed with the major search engines. When articles are published to directories that already have a lot of traffic your site is "picked" up by the search engines crawlers the next time they visit their web site, this means faster indexing and inclusion in search engines

Once you write an article you have to get it published, this is very easy to do, find article directories that are high traffic and user friendly. High traffic sites are your best option, your article spread around the internet much faster, and therefore getting you traffic faster.

The more articles that you write the more traffic you drive to your website. A good number to start with is five articles, write and publish a minimum of 5 per day, or at least 150 per month. In the right directories and distribution, you can build thousands of back links a month.

Related article:

How To Write Your First Article: How to Start Writing Great, Traffic-Boosting Articles Even If You Dont Have ANY Writing Experience & You Hated High School English! AAA+++

Free Website Traffic Via Article Writing

Good traffic, strong order-writing during Furniture Market.: An article from: Mississippi Business Journal

CONTINUE READING - Article Writing - Increase Traffic and Drive Up Your Sales

Article Writing Tips From Spongebob Squarepants

Wisdom can be found in the most unexpected places. Today, wisdom bubbled up from a pineapple under the sea. I suddenly realized that everything you'd want to know about writing articles for your website can be taught by SpongeBob SquarePants and his friends.

When you write for your newsletter, blog, or website, which character are you most like?

Squidward: Squidward is B-O-R-I-N-G. When writing articles, are you a Squidward? Do you just get the words down on paper or are you finding a fun twist to entertain your audience and keep them coming back for more? Take time to make your articles stand out from the thousands of other dull articles out there by including personal stories or just having fun while writing. For instance, this article could be entitled "How to Write a Good Article", but would it stand out from the hundreds of other articles about article writing? Probably not.

Mr. Krabs: This crustacean is focused on one thing and one thing only, making more and more and more money. Only a cartoon could actually have dollar signs drawn in his eyes. He thinks of no one, only how he can benefit. Are your articles focused on you or on the reader? Are you providing information or do you have blinders on, thinking only about how you can make money from the article you are writing? If your article reads like an ad or is self-serving or full of affiliate links, you might write like Mr. Krabs.

Patrick: SpongeBob's best friend, the starfish, has a good heart, but isn't the brightest creature in the sea. Do your articles make you sound like an expert? Are you providing valuable content or just pushing out sloppy articles as fast as you can? Always double check for typos and grammatical errors. If you're challenged by spelling and grammar, hire a Virtual Assistant or Copywriter to proofread and submit your article for you. Or slow down, set your article aside for a day and then reread it before you click the "submit" button.

Plankton: The smallest creature in the sea is also the sneakiest. He'll do anything and hurt anyone to steal someone else's work (the Krabby Pattie secret formula). Write your own material. Don't be Plankton. Don't copy and paste someone else's work, edit it, and try to pass it off as your own. You will be caught, and it just isn't worth it. Take the same amount of effort and work on your own thoughts and ideas. Plankton never gets away with his schemes, either. He's on Plan "Z" and is still pathetically failing at his attempts to steal the secret formula.

SpongeBob: This little guy always tries to do the right thing, and is a hard worker. He may not always end up getting the results he hoped for, but he bounces back and tackles his work with a renewed vigor. SpongeBob works very hard, he's a good friend, he always thinks of others, and tries to have fun no matter what he is faced with. Hardworking, friendly SpongeBob is the guy to be when writing articles.

Although this is a silly lesson in article writing, I hope you'll remember the important messages our underwater friends have taught us.

1. Be entertaining. Not boring.

2. Write articles to help others, not with dollar signs in your eyes.

3. Proofread your articles carefully, and provide valuable information.

4. Write your own material. Don't copy others.

 5. Be a SpongeBob! Hard work and persistence pay off.

Before you know it, you'll develop a following for having informative and entertaining articles and you'll be King or Queen of the sea.

CONTINUE READING - Article Writing Tips From Spongebob Squarepants

A Marvellous Hand Work

Embroidery stitches are the smallest units in embroidery. Embroidery patterns are formed by doing many embroidery stitches, either all the same or different ones, either following a counting chart on paper, following a design painted on the fabric or even working freehand. Heraldic Hand Stitched Embroidery uses various combinations of stitches. In Heraldic Hand Stitched Embroidery you find a special name to help identify it. These names vary from country to country and region to region. Some embroidery books will include name variations. Taken by themselves the stitches are mostly simple to execute, however when you put them together the results can be extremely complex.

Heraldic Hand Stitched Embroidery work by needle. The needle is brought to the upside of the fabric. For doing the stitch properly, it is inserted into the fabric and brought back to the surface in one movement. Then the thread is pulled through. The same method is used for plain hand sewing.

A thimble is usually used on the middle finger to avoid minor injury. Once the needle is inserted into the fabric, the hooded middle finger is used to push it through; the thumb and index finger grab the needle at the front as soon as possible and pull at the same time. This can speed up working when the embroiderer is used to it.

This method can be done using an embroidery frame or free-hand, but usually an embroidery frame or hoop is used to make work easier. The technique uses frames that allow for adjustment of fabric tension, as the fabric can't be too strongly stretched.

CONTINUE READING - A Marvellous Hand Work

Add Some Factor with Your Body

A Heraldic Coat of Arms was more like a label for instant identification than it was like a painting. You wanted to know instantly who was coming toward you, so you could know which side he was on. Coats of arms later took on further significance and meanings. They also became a way of showing membership in the aristocracy, after they lost their significance in warfare.

Heraldic Coat of Arms painted in different colours such as bright red, royal blue, sky blue, emerald green, royal purple, black. By using metals Heraldic Coat of Arms can paint in gold and silver. A Heraldic Coat of Arms can have several parts. The main part is a shield, which can have a crest above it, a motto, and animals supporting the shield. The terms used in heraldry are similar to a kind of old Australia. The idea is that a shield can be described by one expert in heraldry so that another expert could draw it correctly without ever seeing it. In this trendy period Heraldic Coat of Arms creates a special attention among young generation. The Australian Capital Territory has no Heraldic Coat of Arms. However, a  Heraldic Coat of Arms for the city of Canberra, the national capital of Australia, was granted by King George V in 1928. The motto embodied in the Heraldic Coat of Arms is 'For the Queen, the Law and the People'. The supporters are a black swan and white swan, symbolising the Aboriginal and European races. Coats of Arms are widely used in New Zealand by major institutions, local authorities and even in some cases individuals. Their decorative qualities, symbolism and historical aspects hold an enduring interest.

A traditional expression of national identity, the New Zealand Heraldic Coat of Arms proclaims the sovereign nature of New Zealand and the authority of the Government.

The Heraldic Coat of Arms can be seen on a variety of documents and papers of constitutional and national significance, ranging from Acts of Parliament and Proclamations, to passports.

Heraldic Coat of Arms used just as a symbol and represent a country on different way.

CONTINUE READING - Add Some Factor with Your Body

20 Ways To Use Articles To Get Killer PR For Your Business

Writing articles is a powerful, free way to promote your business. Because articles are a news source they are much more credible than a paid advertisement. This is a fantastic way to get your message in front of thousands of eyes. It can establish your credibility in your Industry; it can promote name recognition, and help you to introduce a new product to the world! Once you write an article don't just let it sit! Put it to work!

Here are 20 ways to MAXIMIZE the use of your articles!

1. Offer article as a FREE REPORT to customers.

2. Place articles on autoresponders

3. Offer article as a free gift when people refer others to you

4. Offer article as a free gift for subscribing to your opt in list

5. Use articles as weekly tips for newspaper columns, magazines, or ezines

6. Ask colleges, seminar or workshop presenters, and other training organizations if your article would make a nice addition to their training materials packet

7. Submit your article general knowledge directories such as ehow.com

8. Submit your site to specialized vertical portals specifically on your topic. Ex: marketing or business related resource sites like www.makingprofit.com

9. Submit your site to webmasters with sites where your article would complement their content

10.Use copies of your articles in your media kit or new client introduction pieces

11. Post articles in frames around the office. Visitors will see them when they come in.

12.Send out copies of articles with sales letters, meeting follow up letters, product release letters, It shows prospects that you are an industry leader by being "in the news".

13.Archive articles on your web site

14.Have piles of articles on display in your office for visitors to grab

15.Give permission on your web site for others to republish your articles if they include full bio.

16.Contact editors of ezines to see if they would be willing to publish your article in their ezine

17.Post your article to "content providing" directories

18.Swap articles with other ezine publishers

19.Group related articles together and publish as an ebook

20. Use articles as an add on bonus when people purchase your product

Cashing In On Article Writing: Internet Marketing To Go!

CONTINUE READING - 20 Ways To Use Articles To Get Killer PR For Your Business

10 Article Writing Keys For Newbies

This article on the 10 (no, 11... yes, 11) tips for newbies is not written from the catbird seat point of view of the article host or database manager.  Rather it is by and from the perspective of an author who remembers the early misgivings. It is written especially for the beginning article writer.  The Tennessee Mountain Man has written and submitted hundreds of articles for publication to thousands of article hosts and database managers and still finds article writing his nemesis. 

1.  Necessity vs Desire:

Articles and Blogs are necessary in today's scheme of search engine indexing.  Not what the newbie wants to hear.  Just remember what the Bible says, "there has nothing over taken you that is not common to man".  That's right!  All of us hate article and Blog writing at times, and some of us dread the journey to pen and paper (or keyboard as the case may be) all the time. Many a webmaster would call them "a necessary evil" as they are not generally anyone's best liked house keeping chores.

2.  Just Start, It Gets Easier:

First it is sometimes difficult to get a subject or theme and to get the first couple of lines scribbled down.  The Tennessee Mountain Man knows authors who literally get sick thinking about the process.  Lighten up.  Once an author has a starting point and gets passed the initial thoughts, article and Blog writing usually goes fairly smoothly.

The main thing is that you get started.  Pick a subject you know something about and just start.  You will be pleasantly surprised at just how easily ideasflow.  Don't assume everyone knows what you know.  They don't.  Will Rogers once said, "all men are ignorant, just on different subjects".  And, so it is!
3.  Good vs Perfection:

Your old English comp professor is not looking over your shoulder.  This paper does not have to be perfect.  That is not to say it does not have to be on point or to say that it does not have to be correct.  It does or at least it should be.  But, perfection is not the goal and is, in fact, seldom possible.  Too much detail and you run the risk of losing your reader on several levels.  Too long and
most readers simply don't have the time or interest to wade through the material regardless of how important it is.

4.  Blog Length vs Article Length:

Most publishers want a minimum of six hundred (600) words per article - some will let you slide with four hundred (400) words.  Blogs can be much smaller.  Blogs can and maybe should support appropriate pictures and embedded links.

Just don't over do it.  Too gaudy or too slow to load and you have wasted your time, ticked off a potential reader, and probably upset a host who can ban you from their publications.  Articles, on the other hand, typically cannot carry these extra touches according to the requirements of most publishers.

5.  Format:

Prepare your article in American Standard Code for Information Interchange (ASCII) format.  There are many tools from which to choose to get the job done. A search for 'free ASCII editor' or for 'free plain text editors' will provide one with a multitude of free options.  Word Press is a popular choice.  If all else fails simply use notepad to turn out your masterpiece.

6.  Spelling and Grammar:

Once you have your article or Blog run it through a good spell checker and a good grammar checker.  Microsoft Word works well for these purposes.  Just don't use the MS Word copy for publication of your article.  Rather use it's suggestions to make any necessary corrections to your plain text copy.  The MS Word copy will work for Blogs although the Computerman prefers other editors.

Just like the days when you were pushed by Profs, you will find Article and Blog writing skills become easier with time and practice.

7.  Publish and Announce:

Once your Blog is ready you may want to use some automatic tools to publish and announce it.  First do a search for Blog hosts and select those which best suit your needs.  Join one or more and publish your Blog there.  Then search for Blog announcers and rss announcers and use them to get your Blog noticed.

Now that you have that out of the way find an article wizard that will post your Articles to free publishers.  You can post them one at a time by hand if you are really bored and have absolutely nothing else in life to do.  Using an automatic poster you can publish to hundreds of hosts in an hour or so.  The only way to go.

8.  Patience:

Now, have some patience.  Here is where you lose control.  Many of the men and women who host articles are timely and your articles will be reviewed within twenty-four (24) to forty-eight (48) hours.  But, many others will be days and weeks down the road therefore never date an article - a sure way to get rejected.

9.  Rejection - "sorry your article has been declined":

Be prepared for most hosts to reject your articles.  Do not take it personally.  It usually has little to do with you or your article. 

Some databases routinely reject articles for spelling errors when there are none or where there is more than way to spell a word.  And, just as in any other endeavor some hosts are simply too lazy and get so far behind, the easiest and fastest thing to do (and perhaps the only alternative) is to reject everything.  You will learn who these are over time.

Then there are those who run your articles through the sausage grinder and if they find certain words, irrespective of how they are used, your article gets no farther.  These are the people who can't publish the Holy Bible because it contains words that offend them or their readers.  Don't worry about these folks who are so heavenly minded they are of no earthly use.

Remember, just as in everything else in life, for every rule there is an exception

10.  Keep the faith, and keep cranking out articles:

Since most authors, especially newbies, prepare only one copy of an article against the advice of most seasoned authors it is important that the newbie keep his chin up - keep the faith.  That will be easier as more and more of your articles are accepted and published driving visitors to your website while creating those all important back links.

It is not necessary that every host to accept everything submitted to them.  After one or two hosts publish your article on any given subject, the search engines tend to penalize you anyway by ignoring additional postings.  This is close to spamming and while it could help someone find you, it probably won't.  It is not necessarily, the more the merrier.  The additional listings will not increase your page rankings or links reported by the search engines.  It is more important to get published by hosts with the highest Google page rank possible.

Now, one BONUS TIP for you:  Along with "the rejection slip" will usually come a suggestion on how to "fix" your article and a  request that you resubmit it.  Don't waste your time.  While trying comply with one database manager's request you could have written a new article from which you get much more punch.  Enough publishers will pick your article up so move on and save yourself some time and heartburn.

Everybody has a thought or idea at least once a day usually at the most inopportune time.  How many good ideas have you lost because of waiting?  Don't procrastinate!  Go!  Capture that thought before it is gone forever.

CONTINUE READING - 10 Article Writing Keys For Newbies

9 Tips to Write Unique Articles

1. Remove your limits

Reduce your subject to a single core word and then brainstorm around it. For example, if you're trying to write about "Study Skills", expand your thinking to "School". Now jot down everything that comes to mind when you think about School, and when you run out of ideas start asking yourself open questions around the subject and noting your answers.

Examples:

What did I enjoy about school?
What scared me?
What did I wish I'd known from Day 1?

This will help you get back into the mindset of someone struggling with school issues of all kinds and you'll start to get a feel for their concerns and worries.

2. Restore your focus

Once you've started to understand the general feelings of your readers, allow your mind to focus back on your original topic of Study Skills. From your new perspective, what questions would you ask? What would you want to know? Is this really a "Studying" issue or is it more about Time Management or being able to work without distractions or being paralyzed by the fear of not doing well?

3. Be your audience

Write each question on a separate sheet of paper; don't stop until you have at least ten and preferably more. Stay in the mindset of your readers until you feel you've asked every major question that concerns them.

4 Take a step back

Put your pile of question aside for a few hours, overnight if possible. Don't consciously think about them; just go about your day as usual. Give your subconscious time to process them without any further prompting from you. If new questions come to mind jot them down somewhere safe and then forget about them.

5. Get out your pen and write

When you're ready, sit down with your pages of questions and simply start to answer them. Writing your answers by hand can give you access to ideas that might be missed if you type them. Don't edit yourself at this stage. Using Speech to Text software or a digital recorder can also be helpful in bypassing the internal editor.

Imagine someone sitting in front of you asking for advice and just talk to them. Keep your tone natural and conversational and stay with the question-and-answer format.

6. Edit lightly

Trust your first instincts. Proof-read and correct any obvious errors, but don't do any major editing until your piece has had time to "sit" for a while. Again, leaving it overnight will give you a fresh perspective the next time you look at it, but even if your deadline doesn't allow for that it's important to give yourself a break from it.

When you're pushed for time, writing several articles at one sitting can create enough change of focus to make you "forget" the one you've just written.

7. Polish it up

Short articles are unlikely to need major editing if you've written them as described here. They will flow easily and naturally already and having each Q & A on a separate sheet makes it easier to select only the ones you want. Your job now is to put them in a reasonably logical sequence and make sure they're understandable and that the reader is led smoothly from one question and answer to the next.

8. Top and tail it

Write a brief introductory paragraph as a "teaser" for the main article. Many article directories now put the first paragraph of each piece into RSS feeds which are picked up by other websites, so you'll want to make sure that your two or three major keywords appear at least once in that first paragraph.

Write another short paragraph to summarize the major points of the article and provide some ideas for the reader to explore the subject further. Don't of course forget your own resource box: use the format <a href="http://www.SubmitYourNewArticle.com">SubmitYourNewArticle.com</a> for your link, so when your article is converted to html your link will automatically be live.

9. Submit it!

CONTINUE READING - 9 Tips to Write Unique Articles

How to An Effective Article Writing And Marketing

Article Writing increasingly appreciated by Search Engine Optimisers who recognize the benefits that brings, it is one of the best ways to increase traffic, search engine attention and visitors to return. If your article is published on a website, a link back to your website can be included. This link is highly valued by search engines, this is a link in one direction, it is one of the few links on the page, and pages that have unique content in it. Therefore, many people have found that regularly publishes articles (once a week, once two weeks) their page rank has jumped. This increases your search engine rankings, which naturally increases your visit. Do not need a genius to show more visitors and more revenue more evenly!

This benefits for the author, but many people do not realize that it's also very beneficial for publishers as well. Search engines like sites that are constantly updated, because it shows that the website is active and is widely used as well as sample content sites are a valuable Web site and not a link farm. Similar to the author's experience the benefits, editors find that your website increases in the range of machines, and traffic and profits. It also has the additional advantage to provide something new for users who regularly return to your site.

However, there are some important rules that authors must follow to create articles that are widely used. A poorly written article unpunctuated will not seen twice for every good webmaster.

The most important rule in writing an article may be true emphasize your item and check for errors in spelling and grammar. This will make it fun for readers to read (and therefore will be used more) and will make you and your website more professional.

Content is obviously the most important thing in the article. So, obviously, you know what you're talking about, if no one is going to take you or your article seriously. Remember, your item will be the top of the page to knows, not to introduce this subject. Therefore it is useful to specialize in some topic or a broad field. However, remember not to assume your audience is stupid, or arrogant.

Your article will be useful for webmasters. For this, give examples of what you describe. This makes things complicated is easy to understand, is divided into articles to make it readable and gives readers ideas on how to achieve what you just explained. Similarly, provide links to sites that can help readers achieve what he had just described. It is easier for them.

The last thing you think the tone of your article was written. It's much easier and more enjoyable for the reader, if you have a friendly tone. Also, don't forget to use words that are easy to read, for example, instead of " in addition, he found that by creating an article, the author was favored because they are useful for your ride search sites " just say what you mean-" when writing your articles will get more traffic from search engines " (it may be that extreme!).

The most important thing in your article from your point of view is what you put in the "About the Author." This is your chance to shine, and what you've written the article. Everything you write is always going to receive the benefit of search engines, but you will not receive additional traffic reader if you do not write correctly. There should be formal but not very friendly, and sweet-this will only be available to ensure that he should grab the reader's attention in a short time. This should follow the structure of "a little bit about the author, then tell the public what you do." You must promote your website, but do not advertise.

For example, false information box will be a "Visit the great website of the king of search engine optimisers, like a regular day fantastic tips and suggestions are very valuable three times a week. He is a leader in their field and have many years experience with thousands of satisfied clients that she describes as equivalent to Internet for Jesus. Instead, write "Joe Bloggs has several years experience in SEO and is famous for his useful advice!. Visit this site to get great SEO tips three times a week "(again, this is exaggerated but you get the idea).

The last part to write an article that sells. It is relatively easy - submit to several article directories included in your newsletter (or ask other Web sites for inclusion in it). Some websites to help you today is:

 www.articlewow.com, www.articledepot.co.uk, www.article99.com.

Follow these tips and you will get a great traffic boost. Write some articles, and then write one on your tips that you have discovered from your own experience!

CONTINUE READING - How to An Effective Article Writing And Marketing

11 Quick (and Good) Content Ideas for Your Ezine or Website

Publishing articles, especially via an e-zine, is the ideal opportunity to showcase your business. By sharing your knowledge and expertise, you build credibility as an expert, while spreading the word about your services and products.

While I'm sure that sometimes you have dozens of content ideas, I bet other times you find yourself staring at a blank computer screen, grumbling that it's publishing time again. Well, have no fear! Here are 11 quick (and good) content ideas for when you're in a pinch.

1. Give real-life success stories.
Describe a problem you've solved for a client/customer, and use that as a springboard to offer more general advice. Show your readers how you've helped customers address challenges -- "case studies" if you will. This positions you as the expert in your readers' minds more than your coming out and saying so.

2. Think of three areas in which you'd like your clients to think of you as a resource.
Now develop content in those areas. For example, in my past life as a professional copywriter, I really enjoyed writing for Web sites. To help encourage my clients and prospects to hire me for these projects, I published several articles on how to write Web copy that sells.

3. Read industry publications for ideas.
Are there any hot issues in your field right now? The more controversial, the better. Don't be afraid to offer your own opinion -- your readers want to know it. After all, YOU are the expert in their eyes.

4. Jot down 8 questions your clients have asked you in the past.
You know, the ones they ask you over and over. Answer each in a short article. If you publish weekly, that's two months' worth of content, right off the bat! And if you can't think of any questions, send all your current clients/customers a quick e-mail, asking them what topics they're most interested in learning more about.

5. Learn anything neat lately from an industry conference, workshop, seminar, or insightful article?
No one says you have to reinvent the wheel of information! Pass on any gems of advice you've learned elsewhere -- just give them full attribution. Or give your opinion of the event or article itself. Your readers will appreciate your frankness.

6. Offer a list of your top 5 or 10 tips on a certain subject.
It's much easier to bang out a list of tips than to put together a real article. Of course, the tips can evolve into an article if you wish! Be sure to list your best tip first, or at least close to the top. (If you "fire your biggest gun" last, you risk losing your audience before they get to the good stuff.)

7. Interview associates whose expertise would interest your readers
(while not competing with yours). E-mail interviews are incredibly easy to do. Just send your interviewee 3 to 5 questions via e-mail, edit their answers, and have them approve the final version. Be sure to give them a short plug in your e-zine as a thank you. (A one- or two-sentence description of their business and their Web address should be fine.)

8. Recommend books and resources that you use, and offer full reviews on them.In one issue of my old ezine newsletters, "AKB MarCom Tips," I featured reviews of my favorite four copywriting resource books. I'm glad I also gave my Amazon.com associate links, because I ended up making some nice commission, to boot!

9. Invite clients or readers to write you with their own questions, and answer one in each issue.
Right after their question, publish the person's name, business, and Web address, with their permission. They'll enjoy the attention and free publicity!

10. Invite readers to send in profiles.
Ask them to tell you about themselves -- their names, businesses, locations, and how they use the information gained in your e-zine. Feature one profile in each issue or one every few issues.

11. When all else fails, borrow an article!
There are dozens of Web sites offering hundreds of articles that you can use in your e-zine. The articles are free and available for you to use immediately. The only catch is you're required to leave the entire article intact, including the author's promotional information. One of my favorite places to search for articles is www.ezinearticles.com.

One last note: Keep in mind that if your e-zine's main objective is to get you more clients and customers, you should NOT feature other writers' articles more than once in a blue moon. Remember our main goal is to continually showcase YOU.

CONTINUE READING - 11 Quick (and Good) Content Ideas for Your Ezine or Website

3 Simple Steps to Dramatically Improved Writing

Amateur writers write for the sake of writing. While this may create copious amounts of inconsequential content or provide them personal pleasure, it does nothing to increase business prospects, improve the world, or move their audience to take action.

So what is the goal of great writing, and how can it change your presentations? Professional writers always have one main goal in mind with everything they write: to transform their audience. Great writers strive to help their audience see through different eyes, act differently, change the way they interact with the world.

Anyone can throw words together and make complete sentences (case in point: most of the blogosphere), but if you want to actually have impact through your writing, you must learn to write for transformation. It's the difference between being merely informative and being compelling and persuasive. There are three simple steps to transformational writing: 1) writing for a specific audience, 2) using the right venue, and 3) choosing and executing the right type of transformation (there are three).

1. Specific Audience

If you want to reach your audience, it's absolutely crucial that you understand them, get out of your own perspective, and write to their perspective. One of the first things I do with every piece I write is identify my target audience, things such as age, gender, race/ethnicity, location, income level, purchasing habits, hobbies, talents, interests, etc.

When I know who I'm talking to, I'm prepared to custom tailor the message to resonate with them specifically. For example, words such as "revolutionary," "cutting-edge," "fresh," or "in vogue" will more likely resonate with an 18-25 age group, whereas a 60-70 age group will probably have negative reactions to them, who prefer things that are "proven," "safe," and "sensible."

2. The Right Venue

By venue I mean the medium used to convey your message, including such things as magazines, newspapers, journals, books, radio and TV ads, blogs, websites, etc. The venue you choose is, in large part, determined by your audience.

For example, if I'm writing a lengthy article on monetary policy intended for scholars and economists, the best venue is probably a scholarly journal. Few people can stand to read long blocks of meaningful text on a computer screen, I probably won't have enough space to make my case in most magazines, etc. On the other hand, if my content is concise, simple, and intended for a broad audience, perhaps a newspaper article makes sense.

All of us are exposed to written communications that we skim or ignore, yet if that same message is presented in a venue more palatable to us, we're much more likely to spend time reading it. Writing for transformation requires utilizing the best venue for our subject matter and audience.

3. The Right Transformation

There are three types of transformations: know, feel, and do. A know transformation seeks to give the readers new information, or old information arranged in a different way, to help them to learn and know things they didn't know before, in such a way that changes their life and perspective. A feel transformation obviously seeks to evoke strong emotion in the audience, while a do is designed to get an audience to take very specific, immediate, and tangible action.

Amateurs look at this list and try to do all three; professionals focus on one and nail it, because doing so affects the others. How do you want people's lives to change because they read your message? What do you want to see occur in them? Do you primarily want them to know, feel, or do something? Pick one-yes, just one-and execute it well, and the others will take care of themselves.

If you want your message to actually have impact, you must learn to write for transformation. Know who you're writing to, use the right venue to reach them, and choose the right transformation and execute it well. After all, transformational writing is the only writing worth reading.

Have a professional writer custom craft your message for transformation by visiting http://www.youwritingcure.com now.

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CONTINUE READING - 3 Simple Steps to Dramatically Improved Writing

5 Simple Tips To Write Informative Articles

Submitting your quality written, and keyword rich articles is certainly your first step to achieving your personal or business related goals. However, many authors wonder why their articles are not being picked up by publishers and webmasters to be placed on their theme related websites, and if you're willing to follow a few simple steps, you will be on your way to having a successful article writing campaign that will appeal to publishers, webmasters, and also your online readers.

The truth of the matter is, that many publishers and webmasters are looking for fresh, well-crafted content to place on their site that offers their readers valuable information and tips, but they don't like to accept articles for their sites that show obvious signs of self-promotion of your own business, products, or services. Selling your business in your article is just going to drive people away, and they will move on to the next article that will help them answer the questions they're seeking.

Tip #1: When readers search for a specific topic of interest, they're searching for information that answers specific questions they may have at the time. If you're not exactly sure how to format your article to flow with all the necessary information, just remember that when you start writing your articles, consider formatting your articles with the focus on the WHO, WHAT, WHERE, WHEN, and WHY. When you start to develop your articles in this format, you will definitely make it easier to write your articles on specific topics that will flow naturally.

Tip #2: If you're writing about a specific topic that can help your readers, provide a brief introduction of what you're about to talk about. This way if the reader is interested in what you have to say, they will know what direction you're going in on your specific topic. In the body of your articles, have the key information that your topic is talking about with many features followed by the benefits.

The best way to achieve this is to talk first about the feature of your topic, product, or services briefly, and then follow right below your feature, a detailed benefit (make sure you focus and write more on the benefit). At the bottom of you article, always end it with a brief conclusion. Never stop writing without having an ending. Readers will be wondering if they received the entire article, or if you're missing some information. Remember, most if not everyone likes an ending.

Tip #3: In the body of your article, make emphasis on your features and benefits that you're talking about by adding "bullets" and also "highlighting" the important features and benefits. This does several things to your article, it allows your readers to quickly find the important information in your article, and if they happen to not want to read the entire article from top to bottom, they may opt to go directly to the information that they want, and you make it much easier for them to find it with bulleting, and highlights!

Tip #4: If possible, when writing about a unique topic, you will add more impact and credibility to your content when you offer your readers important resources to back up your claim. You can provide a few legitimate testimonials, a list of awards that were achieved, or anything else you feel will back up what you're talking about. This is a great way to provide your readers solid proof you're the authority on this topic, and you have value for them to obtain from your information.  

Tip #5: The biggest mistake many new authors make when writing their articles for ezine directories to be picked up for distribution is creating a really weak "Author Bio"! You spend all your time and effort creating the perfect article to be submitted to the ezine directories, and many ezine publishers and webmasters start picking up your article and adding them to their emails and sites. However, if your author bio at the end of your article doesn't have impact, it will not motivate the reader to click through to either read more, or get additional information on what you are truly offering.

Make sure you spend as much time in creating the best author bio as you do when you start writing your article. Make sure that you let your readers know who you are, and that you are the expert on this topic, and if you're talking about several products or services, in your author bio, if you're allowed a maximum of 3 hyperlinks to your site, blog, or email, also make sure that you take advantage of this option, and add your maximum allowable links for your readers to click through and continue their journey to specific information they're interested in reading.

These tips are only a guideline to your article writing success, and if you take some of the information I provide and use it that best fits your writing style, I feel that you will be on your way to being a great Web Author, and many of your well written articles will be picked up by publishers and webmasters hungry for freshly written content that offers a quality message to their readers.

CONTINUE READING - 5 Simple Tips To Write Informative Articles