Monday, May 14, 2007

How To Write Best Articles

I’ve been able to distinguish 3 main categories that people fall into, regarding the subject on writing articles. Allow me to share them with you.

Here we go!

Category #1: The absolute hard way of writing articles.

Let me pick a topic for an article: “Brest Cancer.” This subject is a very serious matter and one that will make many people read and even publish.

But I have absolutely no knowledge about it or experience in any shape or form. Actually, the only information that I have is from my friend’s mother who has gone through this horrible experience.

I’m going to take the *lazy-way-approach* and I’m going to write an article about it without doing any research. My article is going to be based on the little bits and pieces of information on this subject available in my brain. But mostly, it would be my thoughts expressed through my opinion.

So I start writing the article.

Shortly after, I stumble across a big problem. I can’t finish it. My brain is working extra hard but I can’t even form a single sentence. I struggle day and night to make it sound intelligent, but what else can I do when there’s a very little information available in my brain.

Finally, I somehow finish the article on Breast Cancer, which consist mostly of my thoughts and my opinion about it with very little or no facts at all.

What would the quality and the acceptance level of my article be?

People, such as myself, who have no knowledge about it will read it and will take it as granted. But what’s going to happen when I offer it to ezine publishers to include it in their newsletters or offer it to webmasters as content for their websites?

The most probable ezines and websites to publish my article would be the ones directly related to the subject. But, what’s going to happen when their publishers read my article?

Since they have an abundance of knowledge on the subject or they can quickly check their resources and compare them to my article, they would immediately recognize my level of knowledge on the subject – or the lack of it.

Conclusion: why struggle writing about something that we know very little or nothing about?

Category #2: The intermediate way of writing articles.

Let me pick a topic for another article: “Internet Law.” A topic that would definitely get the attention of many Internet marketers. But I don’t have much knowledge about it!

So, instead of falling into Category #1 and throwing down my opinion about it, I’ll do an intensive research and I’ll gather as much as useful information as possible supported by facts.

I’ll even contact some sources directly affected by it or involved with it to gather some original information, instead of depending entirely on the reports published by others.

Then, I’ll process all that info in my brain and I’ll start putting the article together. I’ll quote some sources for added integrity and to let people know that I’m not just sharing my opinion.

It’ll take me few days to write it but the process of writing would be less painful since I have already gathered various information about it. It would be just a matter of putting the story together.

What would the quality and the acceptance level of my article be?

The reception will depend on the demand and the interest for the subject of the article. But the quality of the research will pretty much dictate the quality of the article.

Conclusion: the better the homework we do during the research, the better the article we write.

Category #3: The absolute best way of writing articles – this goes for books and reports also.

Let me pick a topic for yet another article: “How To Write Best Articles.” If I would’ve picked this topic two years ago, I would’ve had no clue about it. I would’ve been in Category #1. Or I could’ve done the research and moved to Category #2.

Since I’ve done plenty of reading on this subject (articles, reports, ebooks), and I’ve gone through the experience of writing and submitting articles (bad and good), it took me only 20 minutes to write this article.

That’s because I already had this information in my brain. It was just a matter of typing it up in Word Document.

What would the quality and the acceptance level of my article be?

The first time I wrote an article from my knowledge and experience, it got picked up by websites that I have never even heard of. Amazing. When I submitted it to ezine directories, the only reason it was rejected by the webmasters or their publishers was because I didn’t follow their posting guidelines. A little technical glitch. Ooops! :-)

Once again, the demand and the interest for the subject of the article will dictate the level of acceptance. And what about the quality?

Think about it for a second.

If I ask you to tell me more about the supersonic X-43A scramjet that splashed above the Pacific at Mach 9.8, shattering the existing world aviation speed record of Mach 6.8, how much would you know about it?

But if I ask you to tell me about your latest experience with … you name it … how much would you know about it?

I’d have to schedule a time slot so you can give me all the details. And how about you writing it that down in an article format? Do you think you will have a hard time writing it?

The quality will be enormous since it will contain your unique personal experience. It will be original. People will want to read it (just as you’re still reading this article) because they want to learn from the other people’s experience – bad or good.

Conclusion: it takes the least amount of time to write an article from your personal experience and it enjoys the most amount of reception. NowScience Articles, tell me about your experience because I want to learn from you.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Steve Dimeck. Publisher and author of The Success Maze - an ebook dedicated to the people who are still looking for ways to succeed online but feel a bit lost in this online Maze -- or should I say Jungle.
FREE Details: > http://www.thesuccessmaze.com