| To get started, I want to discuss research and outlining | | | | counts and time frames for now. Eventually, you'll want |
| for an article. Why these two things? Because too | | | | to write faster and keep it to a certain length, but early |
| many people skip them entirely. They go straight to the | | | | on, just getting words down is a good task. |
| writing part, either rewriting other content or making up | | | | Writing Your Article |
| information as it is necessary. There are a dozen | | | | Step one, put away any resources you were using. I |
| things wrong with those two scenarios, not the least of | | | | know they're tempting, but writing an article while |
| which is the fact that you risk infringing someone's | | | | looking at an existing resource can cause you |
| copyright if you decide to do rewrites. | | | | problems. To start with, it's tempting to start rewriting |
| Researching Your Articles | | | | parts of it. And even if you don't try to rewrite it, you |
| To start with, if you're not already an expert about a | | | | may end up doing so accidentally. |
| topic, become one. This is a pretty easy task. Just get | | | | So, use your notes and your memory. If you need a |
| some books and read some popular websites. In fact, I | | | | specific fact, go back into your resources and find it, |
| recommend you spend a bit of time generating a | | | | then make sure you source it with a citation. This will |
| boatload of notes too. A lot of people think that this is | | | | ensure nothing gets swiped unintentionally. |
| a time consuming process and it will sink their business. | | | | Next, keep your paragraphs short. If you take a look at |
| I disagree. First off, by researching everything ahead of | | | | my articles, you'll see none of my paragraphs get |
| time, you probably save time. You can absorb all that | | | | much longer than five or six lines. This does two things. |
| information and use it to write about everything you | | | | First, it keeps the article easily scannable for people |
| may need for your site. Secondly, you will write better, | | | | who read quickly on the Internet. Second, it makes it |
| more informative articles. This is huge when you're | | | | easier to write the content. You'll quickly get better at |
| trying to develop a solid knowledge base that people | | | | making a complete point in under five lines. |
| will recognize as an authority resource. | | | | Don't worry about getting your article perfect the first |
| Another great tool to keep on hand is OneNote - part | | | | time through. Just write. Writing is a learned skill - the |
| of the Microsoft Office suite. You can print pages | | | | more you do it, the better you'll get, so don't expect |
| directly to OneNote or just write your notes there | | | | yourself to be amazing at it right off the bat. |
| directly. This way, you can collect all your research in | | | | When You're Done |
| one easy to access place. | | | | Once you've finished writing your article, read back |
| Outlining | | | | through it to make sure it sounds okay. A trick I like to |
| After you've read enough content to get a good feel | | | | use is to read it out loud. It will take a bit of training to |
| for the topic, it's time to start outlining some content. | | | | get to where you can recognize things that sound |
| You don't need to outline the entire article or to put | | | | funny while reading silently. For now, read it out loud |
| together a five paragraph structure, but it does help to | | | | and you'll hear those goofy segues or grammar issues |
| have a basic runthrough of what will be in each article. | | | | that you might otherwise miss. |
| Say I want to write an article about choosing an MP3 | | | | Once you're satisfied with your article, guess what - |
| player. That's a pretty general topic, so I should outline it | | | | you can rewrite it. You own the rights to that original |
| and choose something more specific. Here's what I | | | | piece of work and can rewrite it in as many ways as |
| might come up with: | | | | you want. One thing to keep in mind though is that your |
| - Choosing an MP3 Player for a Young Childo | | | | articles still need to look original to Google. To help with |
| Features for Childreno The Right Price Rangeo How | | | | that, use a tool called Copyscape. It costs $0.05 for |
| Durable Is it? | | | | every article you run through it, but you can make sure |
| As you can see, I chose a more specific topic, then | | | | everything you write is original, even the rewrites. |
| got even more specific with details that matter to the | | | | Finally, if you're reeling right now and really don't want |
| audience of this article. I could have written a very | | | | to write your own content, don't forget the outsourcing |
| general article about MP3 players, but this one has a | | | | options. Sites like Elance or Odesk have tons of |
| better targeted audience - a huge plus for any article | | | | writers with good feedback who can help you out - |
| marketing or blogging. | | | | the only difference is that it will cost you a bit of |
| When you start writing an article, don't set unrealistic | | | | money. |
| expectations for yourself. Ignore things like word | | | | |