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Business Writing Skills II - A Web Writing Primer
Whatever you would write on paper, cut it in half. The web was designed for quick reading. Studies show that people do not read long blocks of text while surfing the web; reading from the screen is often slower than reading on paper. Therefore, be...
Business Writing Skills Part III: Avoiding Sexist Language
Many businesspeople are unfamiliar with business writing. Concise writing will build your business because you will better connect with customers and prospects. In this four-part series, I will teach you how to make your writing and other business...
SOME HELPFUL HINTS IN WRITING ARTICLES FOR THE WEB - TWENTY FIVE TIPS (PART TWO)
13. Use HUMOUR. People like to have a bit of fun with the occasional laugh, whilst being informed on a serious subject. At least I believe so! I try to write to share, inform and hopefully even "entertain a little". 14. Write from "your heart",...
What you absolutely must know about writing headlines
It is very important that your headline causes the buyer to make an immediate judgment decision on whether or not to buy your product. If, after reading your headline, it is not possible for a person to say “I want this” or “I don’t want this”, then...
Write SMART: How to Create Terrific Writing Goals--And Achieve Them!
Open up your favorite calendar and circle today's date. Why? Because no matter what day it is, you've been given a wonderful gift: a bright and shiny year ahead to make your writing dreams come true. What are your writing goals for the coming...
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Writing for Publicity and Profit on the WWW
I sincerely believe that there has never been a better time in
history for we (or is it us?) writers to making a comfortable
living on the internet.
The World Wide Web offers you an opportunity, unique in history,
to speak directly to millions of potential customers. Some
commentators advise that if you want to be listened to, speak to
them "in their language". I only partially agree (but then, I'm
always breaking the rules!)...
When I write articles for "the international market" of the net,
I don't target particular countries and try to adapt my writing
style. I've found that people around the world don't seem to
mind the fact that I may use "funny" words or spelling - small
details, like "s's" instead of "z's", color or colour...as long
as the grammar is reasonably correct. I just try to write in my
"natural style" - one in which I feel comfortable (seeing I was
brought upin South Africa with British English) and suggest you
"foreign" writers do the same.
Incidentally, I put this short note at the end of some of my
articles...
"PS: Dear Americans, please excuse my"strange" British English
spelling. Very Colonial! I just write and use my own style and
spelling - one that I'm accustomed to (sounds funny that ending
]sentence n a "preppie"). I am quite happy for these articles to
be used and distributed by other electronic and other magazines.
If they help others out there in any way, then I'm happy."
To sum up... My advice is just find your "natural style" by
writing as you speak- as practice writing in your "natural
style" breeds confidence. Then submit your articles to ezines
and announcement lists, like Article Announce, Free Content, The
Write Articles, ArticleXpress (Making Profit.com), Publisher
Network and Article Publish. I find this marketing method by far
the most effective means of getting traffic to our various sites
(and one thing then leads to another)...and best of all it costs
nothing, but a little time and effort!
Lately, all our marketing has been done through writing articles
(on internet marketing, writing, money and self help) and
submitting them to the article announcement lists mentioned
before. Often from there they get picked up by ezines with large
readerships - from 10000 ...to even ones with hundreds of
thousands of subscribers. True! These big ezine publishers are
continually looking for new and quality content, particularly
ORIGINAL material that can help others "out there in cyberspace".
My advice is... Write about what you KNOW - your areas of
knowledge and expertise, based on your experiences. We find this
strategy of SHARING relevant and practical information most
effective of all in drawing traffic to our various web sites...
and best of all, it helps others "out there in the vast
void/realm of cyberspace". That is why I write my articles.
Here is my "dime's worth" (see learning "American English" , or
at least your expressions already) on the subject of writing for
an international audience on the world wide web. The Web offers
you an opportunity, unique in history, to speak directly
to
millions of potential customers. Some commentators advise that
if you want to be listened to, speak to them "in their
language".I only partially agree (but then, I'm always breaking
the rules - story of my life!).
Here are some other points in writing articles for the www:
Firstly,
Identify your target audience.
Keep your title reasonably short.
Keep your paragraphs short.
Get to the point quickly (enough waffle with maple syrup,
Craig!).
Target your article to your audience with "focussed information".
Never use a big word, when a dimunitive will do.
Use the occasional exclamation mark (!) to get your readers
attention!
Make sure your article flows properly. Re-read and re-read to
get it flowing as best you can - with correct spelling, grammar
and punctuation.
Try to be concise.
Be credible (big word, eh?) at all times. I try to write my
articles in a "conversational style".
Put some thought and effort into your heading (title) - again to
get your reader's immediate attention.
Use bullets in your lay-out - easy to read in point form...but
be extremely security conscious, when "checking in" your
articles. Bang bang! (oops, er sorry - bad taste). Conclude with
a strong message. A message that summarises your article or gets
your reader to take further action
Offer a free report with your article - you can collect a list
of adresses for marketing your products.
Finally, make sure your layout is good (not one of my strong
points!), as this greatly enhances your prospects of getting
published Some prominent article writers say one should write
differently to one's natural style , when writing for the web .
I say , DON'T . Just write what comes naturally...and BE
YOURSELF. Though you may have to be briefer than usual, if you
are a "waffler", like this writer. People want immediate
information online and have limited time usually - it's the
instant coffee, sorry generation.
The internet is such an amazing medium for communication. I've
just submitted this article and it's been published almost
instaneously (big word!) in a few places. So YOU TOO can write
articles on your chosen subject in your internet marketing
efforts.
MORE TRAFFIC = INCREASED SALES
Writers and internet marketers - Grab this moment in history
well.
"Carpe diem" (seize the moment!).
Happy writing and...
Just GO FOR IT
Craig Lock
P.S:
On re-reading this short piece, found I used a lot of "eyes".
Very "ego-centric" (big word). Sorry, but didn't know how to
write it any other way based on my experiences!
Hope this may help you readers "out there in cyberspace".
About the author:
Craig Lock http://www.craiglock.com
The various books that Craig "felt inspired to write" are
available at: http://www.nzenterprise.com/writer/books.html
http://www.novelty-gift.com/ebooks.html and
http://www.bridgeniche.com/ Article Provided By:
http://www.indexbizz.com/
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