More Tips for Writing
Continuation of Lesson 18 from You Can Make
Money Writing
We continue this lesson with some more tips for writing articles
that will be found, read, and will inspire a click through to
your website.
Be a Story Teller
My wife and I were living in a mobile home with a leaky roof
in Michigan when we started our first website. Using borrowed
software to create our first page, we made something so ugly
that...
Are you waiting for the rest of this true story? That's the
point. Stories keep an article interesting and draw a reader
in. Once you have your topic and keyword, you might want to include
a story that is relevant. If you don't have a true story to tell,
make one up. You can start with "Suppose a man..."
or something similar.
By the way, the "story" can be just a few sentences
long, followed by "tips" or whatever. For example,
three sentences could tell the story of how you messed up buying
your car, followed by six paragraphs on how to do it right. And
of course a story is not always appropriate for all topics -
but use them when you can.
Use Examples
Examples make it all clearer and more "real," don't
they? For example, suppose I am writing an article about ways
to find money to invest. I say, "If you can reduce most
of your expenses by just 5% to 10% you'll have more than enough
to invest." But that is pretty general.
It would be best to follow that (or precede it) with examples,
like, "Call your agent and raise the deductible on your
car insurance to reduce your premium by up to 15%." or "Replace
all the light bulbs in your house with fluorescent bulbs to cut
6% or more off you electric bill." and so on.
This is especially important anytime you say something that
the reader may not understand. Suppose you say in your article
on self improvement that, "Rationalization resolves cognitive
dissonance, but also hides the truth from you, so you cannot
change." You better explain that with an example or two!
Here is an example of using an example:
You imagine yourself as fearless or at least as a person who
acts despite fears, but still you hesitate to try writing for
money out of fear. The uncomfortable feeling of inconsistency
that results is called "cognitive dissonance" - a conflict
between ideas about yourself and the reality. It is resolved
by your rationalization: "I heard that it's too late to
make money with articles now."
Of course, once you have convinced yourself that this is the
"reason" you aren't writing, you have blinded yourself
to the truth, and it becomes nearly impossible to change.
Try to use examples when you can.
Involve the Reader
Doesn't a question make you feel more involved in what you're
reading? Well, did it? Use questions in your articles, and sometimes
even in the titles.
Another way to involve the reader is to include sentences
that reference the readers experience, like, "You probably
have seen..." or "You may already know..."
On the other hand, don't assume too much about the reader's
experience. An beginner to the internet won't feel anything but
confusion and annoyance if you write, "Okay, you probably
have the keyword density of the page right, and you certainly
know how to do PHP scripts..." You should refer to experiences
or knowledge that almost all potential readers are likely to
share.
Have Something New
What does the average person not know about your topic? Concentrate
on those things first. Every article on saving money on car insurance
will have the tip "Get several quotes," as they should.
However, the article that tells you that if your kids are at
a college which is more than 100 miles away, you can have them
taken off the insurance policy and save a lot of money - that
article is more likely to make the reader come to your website
for more information. Give them something new.
Tease the Reader
We covered how to "tease" the reader in the resource
box, to get them to click through to your website. You can also
use this technique more subtly in the article itself, to arouse
the reader's curiosity.
For example, an article on ways to make money at home might
have a line that reads, "These are just a few of the hundreds
of ways you can make money at home. Why not find a way that works
for you?" The reader may think, "Hundreds of ways?
What are the others?" They can find out on your website,
of course, a fact which you will tell them in the resource box.
Continues with more tips for writing here... Still
More Tips for Writing Articles
Note: This is part of the book, You Can Make Money
Writing. There are links to all the all the lessons/chapters
on the home page.
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