KISS – Men and Article Writing
Keep It Simple Stupid!
Writing a good SEO article isn’t difficult if you follow basic steps – and that is perhaps why so many male internet marketers would rather outsource this task. This is not intended as a negatively sexist comment, but more an observation. Consider the following to see if you agree with me:
- When some men are give a new mechanical device, often their first urge is to take it apart to see how it works. The fact that their investigation leads to the items failure to perform in its intended way is irrelevant.
- When you bring ‘assemble yourself’ furniture home, the first thing a man reaches for is the screwdriver or allen key – the last resort is the instructions leaflet (which is invariable in dubiously translated English, granted).
- They will spend hours cleaning a barbeque and then get distracted during the 10 minute cooking process and burn the steak………..
Back to article writing
So, when I tell you that over 70% of my clients are male internet marketers, it is worthwhile to acknowledge that there are differences in the way men and women think. Obviously for me, that’s a very GOOD thing. It means that one of my major income streams, providing writing services for internet marketers, is doing nicely. I am constantly looking for new writers to join my team, and it doesn’t take long for me to see who ‘gets it’. And mostly it is women – although I have had one male writer for well over a year now (and you know who you are JC!) who is sensational!
KISS
Keeping it simple is one of the main things I look for in writers. That they can understand a sometimes complex topic and produce articles that, while interesting and informative, are able to be understood by the common man, is a gift. Convoluted sentence structure, overly technical terms, and flowery language are NOT required.
Outsourcing
So for all of those internet marketers out there, particular those who cannot or do not want to, write articles – outsource! There are people like me out there who would be glad to help you out – and in the process you allow us to set up own own businesses as service providers. There is plenty of work to go around, and some work can be done quite cheaply.
However, if it is quality, original, SEO content you need – you know where to find me!
Postscript:
In order to continue to deliver premium content to my current clients, I have closed my list to new clients for 2009. Please do contact me though if you would like to be contacted 2010.
Article Writing – Getting The Basics Right
Whether you are a beginner or have been writing internet marketing SEO content for some time, it is important to know that you are getting the basics right. Are you?
Keyword Placement
Are you placing your well-researched keyword properly? It should be in your article title, in the first and last paragraphs, and once or twice in the body of the article, depending on its length. Don’t use them gratuitously – if your article is well written they should appear organically anyway. Overuse of keywords will cause readers to click away – probably not what you had planned.
Interesting Headline
Make your headline as interesting as possible – but not at the expense of losing your keyword. “5 Ways to..”, “Top Seven Reasons Why…”, “The Truth Behind…” – all invoke curiosity.
Deliver Value
Don’t waste your readers’ time. Have something of value in the article, teach them something they might not already know. But don’t fall into the trap of telling them everything about the topic – they need to have a reason to visit your site to learn more.
Make Your Resource Box Work For You
If you are posting your article to a publishing site that provides a Resource Box, use it to its full potential. Don’t waste time telling the reader your life story (they don’t care, they just want to know what you can do for THEM). You can BRIEFLY position yourself as an expert, but more importantly you need to deliver a call to action – tell the reader what he or she needs to do next, i.e. find out more at http://www.yourwebsite.com. BIG HINT: Don’t use hypertext in your research box – the link may be lost when the article is reproduced elsewhere.
There are many other ways to tweak your articles for SEO and the associated traffic and links, but get these basics right, and you know you are on the right path.
And if article writing is not your forte, don’t agonize over it – outsourcing article writing is easy, and gives you the freedom to do the things you do enjoy and are good at!
