There are many things that we want to do that we don't ever try because we think they're too hard. For those who are new to article marketing, writing an article may be one of those overwhelmingly hard things. In this article I'm going to break the task of article writing down into small steps for you. Here are 8 small steps that when done in succession will result in a finished article that you can submit to publishers.
I've heard it said that you can do anything you make it a goal to accomplish, as long as you break it down into small enough steps.
Your goal can even be quite large--the person who I most recently heard give this advice was a professional football player. As a child he had the goal of playing football for a professional team. The idea was overwhelming to him--he was just a regular kid; how could he even begin? He decided to break his task down into small steps, such as making his school football team, then getting to be a starting player, and so on until he got to the point where his final step was to be selected for a professional football team.
Inspired by his example, it occurred to me that there are probably many things that we want to do that we don't ever try because we think they're too hard. For those who are new to article marketing, writing an article may be one of those overwhelmingly hard things.
In this article I'm going to apply the "breaking things down into small steps" advice to writing articles. Here are 8 small steps that when done in succession will result in a finished article that you can submit to publishers.
1- Select your topic.
Coming up the topic of your article is the hardest part. You will always write on the general niche of your website; for example, if your website is about running shoes, then your general niche is "running".
Your articles should also teach your readers how to do something specific. That's why free reprint articles are often called "educational articles". People read the articles because they need to learn how to do something.
For this article, I want you to choose one basic thing related to your niche that your readers need to know how to do. That will be the topic for your article--the purpose of your article is to teach the reader how to do that specific thing.
2 - Determine your title.
To make things easy for you, here are some title templates you're welcome to use:
How To [Do What You're Teaching In Your Article] In 5 Simple Steps
[Problem reader has that you're addressing in the article]: 7 Steps For [Addressing This Problem]
3 - Decide what format to present the information in your article.
If you look through an article directory, you'll notice that the articles don't all have exactly the same format. Some contain numbered lists, some have numbered steps, while others are broken up with sub-titles.
All of those formats are fine, but for this first article you're writing, I would suggest formatting your article with numbered steps, such as I've done for this article you're reading right now. Numbering helps the reader clearly see where the different steps begin, and it also helps guide the reader's eyes through the article. Essentially, you're creating a step-by-step tutorial.
4 - Figure out the different steps of your step-by-step tutorial.
Write them down in order and number them. Be as detailed as you need to be.
5 - Provide any needed extra information on each step.
Some steps may need a lot of explanation, while others may be self-explanatory.
6 - Create an introductory paragraph.
The opening paragraph can make or break your article. If it catches the reader's attention, then he'll continue reading the rest of your article. If not, then he'll leave the page and continue looking elsewhere.
7 - Write a concluding paragraph.
The concluding paragraph is where you neatly wrap things up. There are all sorts of ways to end an article (summarizing the content covered in the article, giving "homework" or "action steps" for the reader to do, or asking a thought provoking question).
This time, I'd like you to end your article by encouraging the reader to put the steps in your article into practice. State the benefits for applying the information in the article and end on a bright and hopeful note.
8 - Proofread!
Your article is not complete until you thoroughly proofread it for spelling and grammar errors. It may be helpful to set your article aside for 24 hours or longer and then come back to it with fresh eyes.
Writing a free reprint article may seem like an overwhelming task, but if you break it down into small enough steps you see that it's really quite doable. If you take one step at a time, you will end up with a finished article! Will you try doing these steps?
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