Is Cheap Article Marketing Shattering Your Image?
Poor, defenseless style and substance.
Timeless trademarks of great article writing, they’ve become contemporary prey to laziness and lack of talent; the hallmarks of “cheap” labor.
As countless companies seek to save a buck in a bad economy, it’s the smart ones who standout with articles that are as rich in style and substance as they are in SEO keywords. I’m talking about 300-500 word stories that engage readers, establish a distinct voice and deliver a targeted message; the kind of articles that come from experience.
Seasoned writers understand this. They know that quality matters as much as quantity when trying to get listed in the search engines. After all, what good is getting into Google if the perception of your company is tarnished in the process? Spelling errors, broken English and shallow content have that effect.
Luckily, you’re not destined to endure such detriment. There are ways around the pitfalls of pitiful writing — and they don’t always require hiring a new scribe (but it helps!).
At the very least, make sure that your articles have a beginning, middle and an end. This simple structure can make a world of difference to readers who crave the answers to three simple questions:
- What is this article about? (BEGINNING) Introduce the topic in an interesting, informative way. Make a powerful statement, ask the reader a question, but whatever you do… hook him/her from the very first sentence. The opening paragraph of your article should tell the reader why it’s a benefit to read further.
- What are some examples, and why? (MIDDLE) Support your introduction with some well-researched examples. Names, places, dates, styles, functions… any or all of these may be of interest to the reader as you explore the topic further. Just make sure that you explain why they are relevant.
- What did this article teach us? (END) First, you introduced a topic, and then you explored it with specific examples as well as reasons why they are relevant. Now, you are going to reiterate the point that your first paragraph tried to make. Sum up the whole article in a final paragraph that reminds the reader of the benefits that he or she gained from reading it.
Piece of cake, right? It is… yet so many articles get purchased by companies and published in directories online without this simple structure in place, rendering them unreadable by humans. But for $10 per article, what else would you expect? (yep, that’s the going rate for grammar school level writing — and that’s still way too much)
My advice to you is: review a writer’s article portfolio before striking a deal.
Make sure that his/her writing reflects these easy-to-use techniques for creating articles that bear the right amount of flair. They should be meaty enough to enlighten a reader — no fluff. And, of course, this can all be accomplished while targeting specific keywords for SEO.
In the end, you’ll be happy to have a series of articles that you can proudly display — both in directories and on your website! SEO TIP: Once an article has been submitted to a directory and ranked on Google, you can leverage the content on your own website’s blog, knowledge base, etc.
Here’s a Few More Tips for Article Writing:
- Don’t assume readers are total newbies to your topic — be informative but not condescending
- Don’t pad sentences with more words than you need
- Avoid redundancy — each sentence and, thus, each paragraph should deliver new information
- Check spelling and grammar — not just through spellcheck but by reading through the entire article
- Be aware of your source for information — start with big, reputable websites and work your way down to the lesser known sites (but try to cross-check the info that they provide)
- Write the summary last (after you’ve established the overall tone of the article)
- Try reading it aloud and ask yourself: Is it dull? Does it have enough personality? Can it be more informative? Are there any awkward sentences?
Got an article marketing horror story? Leave a comment and let me know…