From Blog to Article

As a writer, do you sometimes/often/always find yourself at a loss as to what to write next? No, I am not talking about topics or subjects you already have nailed down. Rather, the simple desire to get started with something, anything to break the brain logjam. It could be a personal project or something you want to develop to show to a potential client the stuff that you are made of. Whatever, I have been there myself and have found that some of my sources of inspiration have come from blogs. You got it…sites that have sparked my creative juices and allowed me to take a concept and bring it to fruition.

Typically, I come across a blog geared toward a particular topic &ndash let’s say aviation &ndash and find something within that blog that catches my attention. It may be a trend, company news, even simple speculation. Oftentimes, what I read becomes the inspiration for a fresh article so I take that idea, do some additional research, and create my own new work.

No, I don’t cut and paste someone else’s writings. Instead, their pithy work becomes the seed that I germinate to produce a unique and compelling article of my own. The key here is this: it is my own voice, not someone else’s work.

We all have our favorite blogs, you can be certain of that. Spend some time on those particular blogs and see what inspires you. Who knows, but a sentence or a paragraph you read may gel your brain into producing a 500-750 word article that you can include in your vast repository of interesting and relevant work.

Gosh, I think that I may be on to something!

Article Scribble literary works and Clients: When Things Do Not Slog away To

In each of my subject relationships, I look forward that mutual respect and reliability be basic ingredients in my linking with the other individual. If one or both traits do not exist, then the relationship shouldn’t proceed any further.

So, what do you do when you get an uncomfortable or bent impression about working championing someone, but you can’t tender your finger on it? Should you persist the business relationship or move on?

I deep down cannot declaration these questions on the side of you, but I have well-grounded that in my many years of working owing or with people that it is fully okay just now to move away on. In other words, if I put faith that a function relationship is not mutually gratifying, than it is okay to end it. There are abundance of employers peripheral exhausted there and piles of other projects to work on. The yet can be said there the other herself: if you shove off them or they drop you, they will gather up someone else.

In my opinion, you lack not contain a limited or physical reason either. On occasion you have a gut counterbalance to a singular forecast while other times there may be something up the project that simply goes against your principles or good doesn’t be agreeable to articulately with you. No sum, simply conclusion the affair relationship and move on.

How you drifting the relationship is up to you. If you hunger for to leave a door open, effective the human being that you are hustling with other projects is fine. If you want to segregate the door, you can swear them specifically why you no longer want to work for this person.

In all cases, mellow your words with humaneness, but don’t waffle and certainly don’t rat lies. You can’t harry about what others characterize as with regard to you; to do so is a waste of space and compel certainly impact your cleverness to upon fashionable and solid business relationships down the line.
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Learn Why You Should Have A 3-Tiered Strategy For Article Submission

You’ve heard a lot about how much writing articles can do for your internet marketing strategy. You now understand how writing articles can help position you as an expert in your field, gain valuable targed traffic for your web site, and quickly multiple your site’s text links.

Now you have convinced yourself to take the plunge into article marketing and you have a few articles all lined up and ready to submit — and you are overwhelmed by the sheer volume and variety of article directories available. It is easy to simply go with the big dogs and forget the rest, but that is a big mistake. You really need to have a 3-tiered article submission strategy. Select a couple of the big dogs, but also add some medium-sized directories and some smaller, newer directories to your list for regular submission as well. There are several reasons why this strategy can be much more effective in the long run than targeting the large directories alone.

The mega-directories carry a big punch in terms of link power and recognition. You can almost watch the reader numbers climb on your articles. But because they are so big they also get a large volume of submissions every day and your articles very quickly move from the top page of the directories new submissions list and even from the top page of the topic listing.

Medium-sized directories don’t pack as big a punch as the mega, but their text link value is still strong and they usually have a solid reader base. They have been around long enough to build a loyal audience and clientele. However because they are not as big their submission volume is lower than the mega so your articles retain top billing longer — and becoming a top article or top author may be an attainable goal for the part-timer.

Small and/or new directories usually don’t offer nearly the level of power of their larger brethren, but a quick study will reveal whether or not the directory is regularly maintained and promoted — and you know that will mean the link power currently exists and will grow in the near future. Also with new and small directories you can easily achieve top author status and your articles will stay at the top of the ranking longer — they may well pass directly from “new” status to “top” status which rarely if ever happens at a mega directory.

That is my current strategy for article submission and I hope you found it helpful.

Maintaining Article Integrity

Inasmuch as I enjoy writing, I do not enjoy participating in schemes to create “templated” articles for other “authors” to use or misuse to their delight. Or, at the very least, to profit from my hard work!

On occasion, I am asked by a client to take someone else’s article, make some changes, and make it their article. Quite frankly, this smacks of plagiarism…I won’t do it, so please don’t ask!

Instead, if there is a general idea in a particular article that strikes a responsive chord in you, I would be interested in taking a look at the article and see if it inspires me to create original work. The key, of course, is original work, not a rip off of someone else’s writings and not a thinly disguised rewrite of the article.

My policy regarding working for others is this: if you trust my writing talents, you can trust that what I write for you will be “knock their socks off” good writing that will stand on its own two feet.

A good writer is a wellspring of original material while a poor writer hangs on to coattails of other writers or, worse, steals their information outright. Don’t get caught up in the “article mill” schemes that some so-called writers are involved in. Your reputation is at stake and you will be found out.

Ripping Apart An Existing Article

Occasionally, I get a request from a client to take their existing articles and rewrite each one with a fresh “voice” or style. I usually look at these types of projects with a bit of suspicion, as I wonder if the articles are owned by the client or swiped from someone else. I only proceed if I am confident that the articles are, indeed, the intellectual property of the person possessing them.

Once I get the articles in hand, I look over each one carefully to see what must be done to whip them into shape. I must tell you I have received some of the worst written rubbish from gleeful clients expecting me to improve upon their initial poor efforts. Let’s just say that I never tell my clients exactly what I think of their original work, but I am not shy about doing a hatchet job on an article either!

I like red pens and I bring one out and start crossing out sentences, correcting grammar, adjusting paragraphs, and inserting my notes. There are times when my “marks” seem to outnumber the words that were previously typed or written.

If the client gives to me the project on diskette, I simply insert the diskette [after running a virus check, of course] and print out each article in Microsoft Word and go at it. If no diskette is supplied then I simply input the article with my changes included and take it from there.

Normally, I must redo all or parts of an article two or three times before I get a good feel for it. Then and only then is it sent off to the customer for their review.

Quite frankly, it is easier for me to write an article from scratch then it is to take an existing article and rip it apart. Still, I savor the challenge and usually get a “job well done” in response as I transform an existing piece from an ugly duckling into a graceful swan.

The Source, Of Course

Writing “net friendly” articles does not mean we can automatically leave out any mention of our sources. There is a tendency for many writers to simply write their material and not cite their sources, particularly when it is obvious that a source has been quoted somewhere within the body of the article.

Generally, what I do when it comes time to mentioning sources for an internet article, I attempt to first find that information on the internet and, if it is there, I simply provide anchor links in my article back to that source. In addition, I try to link directly to the page where the information is listed instead of pointing someone to the site’s index page. Why make it difficult for your readers to find out exactly where you obtained your information? Take them directly to the source, of course!

Other than that, I add the customary and appropriate resource information in my footers [or endnotes as some would call them] at the end of the article. Some may disagree with my methodology particularly with my anchor link citations, but it appears to be the best way to cite sources in this information age.

Remember: flexibility is the key when writing for the internet, but not at the point of failing to cite the appropriate sources when it is necessary to do so.

Article Writing and Clients: When Things Do Not Work Out

In each of my business relationships, I expect that mutual respect and trust be essential ingredients in my association with the other individual. If one or both traits do not exist, then the relationship shouldn’t proceed any further.

So, what do you do when you have an uncomfortable or odd feeling about working for someone, but you can’t put your finger on it? Should you continue the business relationship or move on?

I really cannot answer these questions for you, but I have learned that in my many years of working for or with people that it is simply fine just to move on. In other words, if I believe that a business relationship is not mutually satisfying, than it is okay to end it. There are plenty of employers out there and plenty of other projects to work on. The same can be said about the other person: if you leave them or they drop you, they will find someone else.

In my opinion, you need not have a specific or tangible reason either. Sometimes you have a gut reaction to a particular project while other times there may be something about the project that simply goes against your principles or just doesn’t sit well with you. No matter, simply end the business relationship and move on.

How you end the relationship is up to you. If you want to leave a door open, telling the person that you are busy with other projects is fine. If you want to shut the door, you can tell them specifically why you no longer want to work for this person.

In all cases, season your words with kindness, but don’t waffle and certainly don’t tell lies. You can’t worry about what others think about you; to do so is a waste of time and will certainly impact your ability to develop new and solid business relationships down the line.

Article Shelf Life: Getting the Most Out of What You Write

I admit that the internet is definitely for the “here and now.” Always changing, what may be popular one day may be irrelevant the next. A den of “fast track fads” is what the internet has become. Still, if you are an article writer, you know that the web content you provide for your customers today must have an extended shelf life with it, otherwise your customers lose out and your reputation sinks. You can write relevant and persuasive content that doesn’t lose its sheen with time; read on and I will show you how.

It is a given that if you write seasonal articles these very same articles will quickly lose their appeal once the season is over. Few people are interested in Valentine’s Day pitches outside of January and February, but you can keep their interest strong year round by not directly focusing on products, but on the history of the holiday. I have discovered that my seasonal articles are likely to get read “out of season” if they deal more with something beyond an overt sales pitch. Give readers something to digest other than talking about chocolates and flowers; you can discuss “love” a timeless subject with universal appeal!

In addition, stay away from explicit dates. If you mention something to the effect, “here in December 2005…” you will quickly age your article in no time. This can be difficult to do if you are mentioning something like current mortgage trends or recent world events. All of those hurricane articles you read just a few months ago seem distant and certain to be ignored by readers who are focusing on current events [however, they may become valuable again when the next hurricane season rolls around]. It is okay to write current event articles, but expect them to quickly fade into oblivion once the event has passed.

Typically, the subject of “shelf life” does not come up with my customers. If I am asked, I mention that each article should have at least one year’s appeal before an update might be necessary. This is reasonable length of time given the fast paced changes on the web. Naturally, if the customer wants me to do the update, they will be charged the same rate as a fresh article: in reality I provide to my customers a new article, not some cut and paste update.

Finally, I never give explicit guarantees for an article’s effectiveness because once it leaves my hands, I seldom know exactly what a customer will do with it [i.e., place it in a newsletter, turn around and sell it, put it on their web site, etc.]. My customers know that what I write for them can be effective, but its ultimate impact is only as good as what they choose to do with it.