Unique Article Content

[stma]

I HATE writing. Really Really hate it - but when I find I have to write something I tend to use dragon naturally speaking and just "talk". It's not perfect but it's much better than it used to be.

(helps if you have a good computer too).

I'll read an article someone else wrote, then just sort of hash over it again in my own words.

It's fast (I type faster than I talk - but can't seem to write articles that way) might be something for you to look into.

[Dusko]

Hi

Writing is a skill that can be learned. You have already been given great advice about the mechanics of writing in this thread and there are many other books and sites on the topic. The important thing is, actually, to know what are you going to write about. They say preparation is 84% of writing, which means exploring, reading about the theme, conversing, tracking it on TV and Internet and so on. Writing is always the second part, the first part is what you put into your brain to digest and eschew upon.

If you find writing hard, that's because you didn't deposit anything into that particular bank compartment. If it's hard, go back to the preparation phase, read and learn more about the topic and then return.

There are two main approaches. Either you will be the writer that happens to be published through a web site because it is more convenient, or you will engage others to write for you, where you actually take on the roll of a publisher. The example of the former is StevePavlina.com, where he writes practically all the time (7-800 longish articles for four years by now), generates a million or more views per month and makes 50 or even more grand MONTHLY in the process. The example of the latter would be all those anonymous AdSense sites, with 10-20 articles per site, making $100 per month... which can also be a viable business model.

If you are a site publisher, you then share the same ideal with any ordinary book publisher: create an edition devoted to a larger topic, fill it with books on more specific topics, do so 50 or 100 times, pay authors as little as you can get away with, and as soon as you find enough money and time, branch into another broad niche topic. When branching to a different topic, book editors would invariably engage an editor, a specialized person to organize the entire process throughout the niche. (Site publishers have no that kind of idea in their heads, which effectively proihibits them from getting rich.)

So, read and learn before you write and then everything will fall in place.

[obannon]

When I get stuck on an article I like to use this Q&A approach:

I'm going to talk about ___ (here is your opening paragraph)

The problems/challenges it addresses are ___ (1 or 2 paragraphs)

It's better to not have these problems/challenges because ___ (2 or 3 paragraphs)

Here is where someone can find ___ (closing paragraph with directions for finding what you are promoting)

For me this works well because it breaks the article into easier to attack sections and each section is prompted by the question, I just have to answer the questions and my article is done.

Then go back through and make sure you used your keyword several times, add your formatting (bold,italic,underline,links) for keywords and you're ready to submit it.

Hope this helps.

[Lindiop]

I think writing list articles can help too:
Paragraph one - state problem and explain that there are several solutions but these are the ones you think are best.
Then a bullet pointed list of maybe 5 or 7, possible solutions to the problem and when they work best.
Final paragraph sum up what you've said.
To quote an old cliche -
Tell em what you're going to tell 'em
Tell 'em
Tell 'em what you've told them.

Works for me when I'm stuck :-)

[swampy]

A lot of us are having trouble finding content, because all the sites on the web are catalog/store sites. What I've done to get around this is to do reviews of the different sites/companies after cruising through their catalog. Feature the best pieces in your story. Plus, a lot of them will have affiliate programs you can join and link to at the end of your post.

[cwaldal]

How often should we be posting to the blogs we setup? This is a question I have left over from 30DC 2007.

Remember Ed had the PDF with the chart with all of the little hubs of content? It made a lot of sense to me, but refreshing all the blogs seems like a lot of work.

Is there a general rule?

(Sorry if this has already been spelled out - I have been searching since last year.)

Thanks a ton!

[Caro]

Originally Posted by cwaldal

How often should we be posting to the blogs we setup? This is a question I have left over from 30DC 2007.

Remember Ed had the PDF with the chart with all of the little hubs of content? It made a lot of sense to me, but refreshing all the blogs seems like a lot of work.

Is there a general rule?

(Sorry if this has already been spelled out - I have been searching since last year.)

Thanks a ton!

Main ranking vehicle - your WPD blog - 3 times a week.

RSS feeds on the other entities should assist with providing fresh content.

Caro

[cwaldal]

Originally Posted by Caro

Main ranking vehicle - your WPD blog - 3 times a week.

RSS feeds on the other entities should assist with providing fresh content.

Caro

Awesome!

Thank you!

[dougmcisaac]

I have the same issue getting an article written so on many of my projects I'll hire a writer, but I've also purchased quite a bit of PLR and just rewrite it. It's a lot easier to rewrite an article than it is to start from scratch.

Doug

[joubess]

If you decide to write your own articles, you learn to write by writing. At first, it takes a lot of time and the product isn't the greatest. But publish it anyway. The next article will be easier.

There is no sin in hiring out writing to a freelance writer, although I don't like PLR because you can't be certain there isn't duplicate content out there from someone else buying the same package, putting their name on it and publishing it.

I used to hate writing, but my freshman year in college I took a course that required a 3 page paper, typed, double-spaced every week on what we were reading for the whole semester, and then a 10 page final term-paper. By the end of that semester I could write quickly, easily and with only a little editing and rewriting. It was a matter of practice.

Though the skill gets rusty from time to time, I can get back in the swing of writing with just a few articles worth of work. At this point I'm a blogger so I write nearly every day of every week.

Another thing to do to be able to write is to read. Reading fiction and non-fiction regularly gives you more fodder for your writing. By reading you are more comfortable with the written word, so when you produce written words they aren't so scary. You never know when an obscure fact you read last year will come in handy. You'll remember it when you need it.