| How to Format Your Articles |
Make it Interesting
The first thing to remember when you are determining how to format your articles is to write casually. Of course you want to sound professional and knowledgeable, however, try to sound as if you are writing to a friend. Include your personality, humour, and special insights. Give them a mental image and you will have a better chance of keeping their attention. Remember when you were in school and the teacher used funny or interesting visuals and props? Telling anecdotes, analogies or short stories in your articles is the closest thing you can get to using props.
Aim to Please the Search Engines and the Article Directories
One reason that article marketing works is that you are, in effect, adopting the article directory's search engine ranking to get listed on the first page of the search engine, often in a matter of days under your specific key words. To get this kind of search engine ranking merely through site optimization could take months to accomplish, if ever at all. Choose good keywords by performing keyword research, and read each article directory site's guidelines BEFORE submitting your articles. Article directory sites receive thousands of article submissions daily which must be reviewed manually by moderators before being published. Articles that do not fall within the guidelines are quickly declined and author memberships are often easily suspended. Once you have developed a good, reputable name for yourself within each directory you may find that your articles will get published much quicker.
Length of the Article
Most article publishers prefer short articles between 300 and 750 words. Become an expert in your topic and provide enough useful information to whet the reader's appetitie and make them want more. Use your bio box to direct them to your website where they can get more in-depth information. Format your articles to 65 characters per line or less, including spaces, and written in short paragraph sections, no more than 10 lines. Check the directory guidelines.
Additional Points on How to Format Your Articles
Unique content means you should never copy someone else's work. Ezine editors and publishers will recognize this and ban you from sending any more articles.
Use a clear and descriptive title that encapsulates what is contained in your article body. More people will read your article if they know what it is about. Also, the search engine's main quest is to provide its readers with relevant information. If your title keywords do not correlate well with the body of your article you may suffer repercussions from Google, not to mention that you will irritate many readers.
Your keywords should be used enough to be indexed, but not to be spammy. Use your keywords or keyword phrases in your: title, heading, 1st paragraph, 2-3 times within the body (AT THE MOST) and once in the closing paragraph. Your keywords density should be around 3-5% of total article or 5-6 times in total.
Format your article resource box to be no longer than 6 lines. Include your name, web site address, and a unique offer such as a newsletter subscription, free eBook or examples of additional enticing articles that can be found on your site about the subject. Don't use the whole box talking about yourself as the reader is more interested in finding useful information than hearing about you.
Correct spelling and grammar is essential. Mistakes will get your opinions and recommendations rejected by your readers almost immediately.
Avoid including affiliate URLs in your article body or resource box. Most times they will be rejected immediately. To promote an affiliate URL send the reader to your own web site or blog, which contains the affiliate URL.
Dont write a sales letter. Articles should only educate the reader about your topic and reveal you as an expert on your subject. No other advertising methods offer the advertiser this opportunity to bond with your potential customer. Take advantage of writing articles as a way to get the readers trust and respect, and they then they will buy from YOU when they are ready to make a purchase.
And now that you've learned how to format your articles, I suggest that you write at least one article per day and submit it to 10-20 of the top article directories. Using a good submission software will reduce the time this takes dramatically, and drive tons of relevant traffic to your website. Happy writing!
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Article Source: UnArchived Articles
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