Posted on January 11, 2012 by CJ Article Team

“If we spoke the way we learned to write, we’d all stutter.” -Unknown

What I’m doing with this article is article marketing. Besides having this article in an article directory, the search engines can also pick the article up so people may also find this without even going to the article directories. As with social media, provide valuable content. Don’t write an obvious or blatant commercial for your business, product or service. Usually at the end of the article or in your biography, you’ll be able to have links to your blog or website and contact information according to the different directory practices. Article marketing is valuable because it builds your online presence as well, establishing you as an expert and helps builds links to your sites.

One of the biggest hurdles for Internet Marketers to over come is writer’s block. They worry about what to write. Remember, the articles do not have to always be about the product or service industry that you are trying to market. Write about topics you are already interested in and are knowledgeable in. Look at an article online, in newspapers, or magazines and retell it. Don’t copy but retell the article as if to a friend.

Joe Vitale in his book Hypnotic Writing, recommends turning down the screen light so you cannot read what you’re writing. Just type and keep going until you’ve told all there is to tell as if to a friend. THEN go back and correct the mistakes. I was surprised at how much faster I wrote and how little mistakes there were. Of course there were typos, spelling mistakes and grammatical mistakes, but they were easily corrected. Getting started was always the hard part.

I recommend writing around five hundred words, but they can be as little as four hundred words. Article with more than five hundred words are more likely to be accepted by article directories with higher standards. I don’t recommend writing more than eight hundred word articles. There’s nothing wrong with it, but people’s attention spans on the Internet is short. You don’t want to bore them. If you have an article that is eight hundred words, think about splitting it into two articles.

Don’t forget about formatting. Keep the paragraphs short for easy reading. Would you be inclined to read this article if it were one whole paragraph? Again, remember people have short attention spans and especially on the Internet.

Short lists with descriptions are easily read. “How To” articles are very popular and helpful for readers. Always provide valuable content and information. Mike Koenig recommends in video marketing topics such as “What are the top ten questions you’ve been asked about your business?” and “What are the top ten questions people should ask about your business?” These could be valuable topics if done right. Remember you want to give content, not make an advertisement. The more valuable the content you give, the more respected you will become, and people will seek you out.

Finally, do not give up too soon. If your article is rejected, learn from the recommendations the editors give you. They are there to help you and want you to succeed. A rejected article can become your best article if you don’t give up. Go back and make it better. Remember this is not school. Learn from your mistakes. You’re not going to get a bad grade, you’re getting help. Successful article marketing doesn’t happen overnight. Keep on writing and be consistent. You’re articles will stay out there working for you every day. The more quality articles you have the greater the impact you’ll have for your business.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/3359494