The internet was built as an information superhighway, so it is no wonder that so many people log on each day to seek out the information they crave. The real guts of the internet are in the content that people provide via the written word. When managing a website that you hope will become successful, you should be adding some great content onsite as well as submitting content to other sources such as newsletters, Ezines and other related product sites. Here are a few tips to help you create this great content.
1. Clearly state
the subject if the article within the first paragraph. All of the
information pertaining to who, what, when, where and why should be easy to
locate. You can simply state the problem and follow that with a solution or a
step-by-step approach to solving it.
2. Begin by
organizing your thoughts on the topic into points. Think about or make a
list of the points you will be trying to cover in your article. This will help
you shape your numbered lists, the steps involved in the step-by-step or just
paragraphs.
3. Make the
reader comfortable and put them at ease. Since you are writing for the vast
majority of people online who are seeking information in layman’s terms,
remember that you are not writing for a literary or scientific society and that
your style should be simple to follow with simple wording. If you do introduce
new words, make sure you define them clearly.
4. Use short
paragraphs when explaining your points. Short paragraphs are little tidbits
of easily digested information that the reader can easily follow. A huge, solid
block of text can be daunting to see, and might put-off your readers. A good
short paragraph will consist of about three to five sentences; these are not
run-on sentences, either.
5. Be brave
and bold and give away your trade secrets. This is not crazy talk. If you
can build confidence and trust and at the same time create a demand for your
goods by letting people in on your secrets, you can go a long way toward
achieving you profit goals. Say your service is writing metatags, you think
“who will need me if I explain how it’s done?” By giving more information,
people will know that you are the authority on the subject and will come to you
for what they need. None one wants to do the hard work for themselves when you
probably know how best to do it for them.
6. Provide personal
experience and back it up with concrete examples. You can give hypothetical
situations or tell about a problem you faced and how you solved it.
7. Keep the
emphasis on how your service would benefit them. It’s the benefits that
sell your products and services for you. You might be selling garden supplies,
clothing, gifts, home décor and jewelry; but the benefits of shopping with you
might be the free shipping or the convenience of one location.
8. Provide
your resource information. If you give website addresses that readers can
look to in order to verify your source comes from a reputable authority, you
can gain even more confidence in your own knowledge. Not only that, but you
will boost your page rankings in the search engines, too.
9. Ask for
opinions of your article. Keep in mind that a good editor is important in
becoming a great writer. Show your article to friends and colleagues and try to
get their honest opinions; then take what they said and apply the constructive
ideas to your article.
10. Place
the most pertinent information at the beginning. Start big at the top, as
people tend to read downwards, and then summarize at the end. Things that are typically cut by editors are
at the end and you wouldn’t want anything important removed.
