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This week I have writing tips for producing articles that get traffic. I also will warn you about common mistakes people make when writing and submitting articles. Then I have a list for you of article banks that take free submissions.
1. Length. Most places want articles between 200 and 700 words.
Mistake: Having an article that is too long or too short. Too short and it won't fill a page, so webmasters won't want it. Longer articles won't be picked up by newsletters or most web sites.
2. Headline. Ideal: 3 to 7 words, good keywords in it, and it's catchy. Try for two out of three at least. My poorly-optimized "We Bought A House For $17,500," get tons of traffic, and I re-wrote it as "Cheap Homes In Nice Towns," and submitted that as a new article, so you can have the best of both.
Mistake: Not grabbing the readers attention with the headline. If "Air Safety Information," was the best article on air-safety in the world, and "I Survived A Plane Crash" was the worst, the latter would still get more people reading it. There'll be more on good writing in next weeks issue.
3. Formatting. Articles of four to ten paragraphs are best, as well as "top ten" and other list-articles.
Mistake: Long paragraphs. The same information can always be broken into small paragraphs, which are easier on the eyes.
4. Resource box. This is the whole point - the link to your site. Say a few words about yourself, and put a link to your web site, with a reason for visiting. Example: "Steve Gillman has more than 100 articles published online. For more information on using articles to generate traffic, and to sign up for his free article-writing course, visit: http://www.TheMoneyMakerSite.com."
Mistake: Too many links. When webmasters see two links in an article, and two more in the resource box, they don't want to use it. Who wants too many ways for the reader to leave their site? Two links may be appropriate at times, but I find it's best to have just one, and only in the resource box.
Mistake: Not testing the link. Browse any article bank, and you'll notice that some articles have the address of the author's site, but it isn't a link. Test your link! Some article-submission software automatically converts anything starting with http or www into a link. For most, you'll need to get your HTML right: <a href="http://www.yoursite.com">http://www.yoursite.com</a> If it's not a link, most readers won't go to the trouble to type the address in their browser.
Mistake: Not inviting the reader to your site. This is the whole point, remember? Don't just hang a link to your site. At least put "To learn more, visit..." or something similar. One of my most-clicked links reads, "To learn more, and to see a photo of the house Steve and his wife bought for $17,500, visit their web site: http://www.HousesUnderFiftyThousand.com."
Mistake: Not displaying the entire URL. When people use your articles, they'll copy and paste. They won't take it from the source code. If the link says "The Money Maker Site," they won't know if it's a .net, .com or whatever. They'll screw up your link. Put the whole URL: http://www.TheMoneyMakerSite.com.
Below are article banks that take free submissions, and have categories for most general topics. I put them roughly in order of traffic-generating performance, based on my experience, so use the top ones first. You may also want to do a search on Google for article banks that cover your specific topic.
1. http://www.ezinearticles.com
2. http://www.alumbo.com
3. http://www.ideamarketers.com
4. http://www.advertisingknowhow.com
5. http://www.article-emporium.com
6. http://www.goarticles.com
7. http://www.buzzle.com
8. http://authors.e-syndicate.net
9. http://www.valuablecontent.com
10. http://www.linkgrinder.com
11. http://www.netterweb.com
12. http://www.articlecity.com
13. http://www.amazines.com
14. http://www.certificate.net
Next Time: Good headlines and good teases - How to make that article suck them into your web site.
P.S. If you haven't subscribed to this, and you want to get the other secrets, you can go here to subscribe: Free Website Optimization Secrets.