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Okay, if you have been following along, you know how to use articles to generate traffic to your web site, and you know the common mistakes to avoid. You may be wondering what persuasive writing has to do with articles. After all, you're not exactly selling something with an informative article, are you?
Well, actually, you are. You at least want to persuade the reader to continue reading until he gets to your link at the bottom. Below are some tips to help you write more persuasively, followed by some more little secrets of using article banks.
1. Headlines. "10 Ways To..." hooks the more systematic reader, "10 Mistakes..." gets those afraid they'll screw up, and people find list-articles in general to be enjoyable reading. Questions are great attention-grabbers. "How Much Can You Make This Year?" will get more readers than "Make More Money." Paint a picture in seven words or less, if you can. "A Thousand Dollars Fell Off My Table," might lure them in.
(Note: Christopher Knight, at EzineArticles.com says that without a doubt you'll get more traffic if you have good keywords in the first few words of the title. In other words, make it "Article Writing - 10 Mistakes To Avoid," and not "Ten Mistakes To Avoid In Article Writing.")
2. Article description. Most article banks require a description of 2 to 3 sentences. The description lets the reader know what the article is about, so you get readers who are actually interested in the topic, and - if it's done well, it makes them want to read it. A good way to do this is to hint at things and leave the reader wanting more: "You may be making these errors right now, and costing yourself money every day. Learn how to avoid the most common optimization mistakes."
3. Article body. Write in a style that's natural to you, but keep paragraphs short, or readers will lose interest. Also, if you can hint at incompleteness, you are more likely to get a reader to visit your site. For example, don't say, "Here's how to write articles." Say, "Here are some of the techniques I use to easily write new articles." You want them to go looking for the other techniques - on your site.
4. Resource box. Read the last issue for tips on resource boxes. If you aren't sure about your writing, write a couple versions, and ask a friend which one makes him want to visit.
5. Sub-headings. Subtitles can make an article more reader-friendly, by breaking it up a little. (They also help to optimize the article if they contain good keywords.) You'll notice that I break up most of these pages with subtitles, like the one coming up...
1. Submit to the right category. If your article is suited to several categories, look at the visitor statistics if they have them, or guess which one gets more traffic, and submit it there. You can also rewrite articles in a way that makes them ready for re-submission to another category.
2. Space out submissions. Some article banks put you on top of the list of articles for the day, either on the home page or in the category headings. If you have many articles to submit, you are better off submitting just one or two per day, so you'll get more exposure for a longer time. No point in having your articles push your other articles out of view.
3. Set up a system. I have a list in my computer files of URLs that will take me straight to the article bank submission pages, so I can copy and paste them to save time. I have copy-and-paste "About the author" information for each site, to speed up the process. This morning I submitted two articles to fifteen article banks each, creating 30 more incoming links - in 45 minutes. That would have taken me four hours before I automated so many of the steps.
4. Watch your web site reports. When you see which article banks are bringing you traffic, put them at the top of your list. That way, if you have limited time, you can at least submit to the best ones.
5. Look at what others are doing. Which headlines really catch your attention? Model your on those. Which articles would you like to use on your web site? Ask yourself why, and use what you learn when you write your own articles.
Next Time: Working on it...
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