9 Steps to Unique Articles!

In order to find and write articles that are good for your business, you need to follow certain guidlines. We have compiled a list of 9 ways that can make the perfect article for you.

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 and 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 at the end of the article.

9) Submit it!

Copyright (c) 2007 Steven E

Listed below are more articles related to the above article from the "Article Writing" article category.

People interested in the above article "9 Steps to Unique Articles!" are also interested in the related articles listed below:

How Can I Determine If My Readers Will Understand What I Write?

Your writing skills may be superb, but what if your readers can't understand your text? Technically, your readers may have problems with your document's "readability," but what truly counts is the document's "understandability". Most average literate Americans can read a well-crafted document; the question is will readers understand the text in the same manner you want them to? This is where determining the "understandability" of your documents makes more sense.

How To Choose The Best Readability Formula For Your Document

Presently, there are more than 200 readability formulas developed by various scholars since the 1940s. Only a handful of these formulas are reliable to determine the reading-level of a sample text. This article will help you to decide which readability formula or formulas to use on your documents. Identify your industry, then select the appropriate readability formula.

How To Use The Flesch Grade Level Readability Formula To Write For Your Audience

Flesch Grade Level Readability Formula improves upon the Flesch Reading Ease Readability Formula. Rudolph Flesch, an author, writing consultant, and the supporter of Plain English Movement, is the co-author of this formula along with John P. Kincaid. That's why it is also called Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level Readability Test.

How To Write Better Internet Marketing Articles

Writing and submitting articles is an effective marketing ploy to deliver targeted visitors to your website, raise your search engine rankings, and increase sales of your products or sales. The basics of writing an article are much the same, no matter where you use it. You should write it to make the best use of keywords without being obvious. Readers want useful information so don't write a commercial. Gradually you can steer your readers towards your services or products.

Improve The Quality Of Your Writing In Less Than 60 Seconds

Writing is not really an art. It is a craft – and you can learn a craft. Follow these four techniques to improve the quality of your writing, no matter what type of writing you do. These four steps, rechecking your spelling, taking care with punctuation, watching for fundamental grammar errors, and rewriting, will improve your writing. They are proven tools used by every wordsmith.

All About Readability Formulas And Why Writers Need To Use Them

We can trace the origin of readability formulas during the late 19th Century in the United States. The schools in the US did not routinely grade students until 1847 when the first graded school opened in Boston with a series of books prepared for each grade. Junior high school science teachers wanted to teach scientific facts and methods in plain English, rather than teaching complicated science vocabulary. As a result, teachers, librarians, and scholars developed primitive readability formulas to determine what seemed readable to their students.

How To Use Readability Formulas To Help You Write Better

We can assess readability through readability tests by applying readability formulas. Readability formulas are mathematical in nature; each formula's primary aim is to measure the grade level a person must have to read and comprehend a text.