Unique Article Content

[deegz]

Is it just me, or is anyone else having trouble writing articles for all these places we are submitting them to...WP, Squidoo, Hubpages etc.

It took me almost 2 hrs. to write just one article and it wasn't even very long or very good. Plus, we are supposed to be updating these sites on a regular basis with more articles, right?

I am searching via Samurai for content plus using other software similar to Samurai and they are just not coming up with much that I can use.

Should I just outsource and have them written?

Any suggestions would be very welcome.

Thanks.
Deegz

[BAMBI]

If you want to outsource this is a cheap outsourcing place Amazon Mechanical Turk - Welcome
I haven't used it personally, but I have heard it comes highly recommended.

[jerry]

Originally Posted by deegz

Is it just me, or is anyone else having trouble writing articles for all these places we are submitting them to...WP, Squidoo, Hubpages etc.

It took me almost 2 hrs. to write just one article and it wasn't even very long or very good. Plus, we are supposed to be updating these sites on a regular basis with more articles, right?

I am searching via Samurai for content plus using other software similar to Samurai and they are just not coming up with much that I can use.

Should I just outsource and have them written?

Any suggestions would be very welcome.

Thanks.
Deegz

Deegz,
I like this question because it is about using time and going for quality.
I have never outsourced because I don't trust the quality of someone else's writing. The drawback is, as you have experienced, it takes time to put together a good article.
Especially when you bring into account the use of keywords and spreading them well in an article.

As an offline writer, my suggestion to you is, if you decide to do the writing yourself -- it's a matter of practice. Things are tough at the beginning. That's true for writing just as in everything else. And there's a learning curve.

But just like these marketing tools that you are coming to learn and use well, writing takes practice, and after you've written a few articles - good or bad - writing somehow gets easier and faster.

The key to quality in writing is re-writing. That gets faster with practice too.

As a hands on example of all this: I knew I had to respond when I saw your question, yet I had no idea what I wanted to say to you when I began writing. And here I've whipped off this essay, teaming in wisdom and practicality, without having to rewrite a thing, in 4 minutes.

Keep up the good work

[lavenderstreak]

I am outsourcing 3 blog articles a week from a writer I found on Elance. She writes WAY better than I do, I don't have the time to write, and my blog is getting updated frequently and I can go on and do the things I do best (like creating the websites and promoting them... well still learning the promoting them part, which is why I'm taking the 30DC).

I did write my own Squidoo page today, but I know it's not something I have to do frequently. I also know that after I get through a writing exercise I am that much better at writing. I wish it was easier, what can I say?

Post a project on Elance or RentACoder, the bids vary widely depending on where they come from. You may be surprised at how inexpensively you can hire others to write for you.

Hang in there!
Cheryl

[deegz]

Thank you all for your advice.

I guess for now, since $$ is tight, I will keep trying to write myself. Hopefully, it will get easier and faster as Jerry (I think) said.

Thanks again.

Deegz

[Caro]

It will get easier and faster I promise.

It can start off awkward, clunky, time consuming...and then you find a rhythm - you are learning new skills.

And just like when you first learned to ride a bike - you're a bit wobbly and don't go forward in a straight line - often crashing, needing to put your foot on the earth, and possibly have a helping hand.

So too with this.

You'll be in the Tour De France of article writing before you know it

Caro

[Linnea]

Thanks for raising the question, and for some great answers from Jerry and Caro.
I realized today what I already knew...but had let myself be sidetracked about - the subjects that I am really interested in personally are soooo much easier to write about than ones I just choose for a good keyword phrase.

[HendryLee]

Caro is right.. It takes me 2-3 years before I find my rhythm but mostly because I procrastinate. The thought about writing scared me off.

But when I started writing consistently each day, I'm now able to write a 350-word article in the topic that I know very well in 7-10 minutes. For the last 3 months I wrote 10-20 articles per day.

Practice makes perfect.

[jcvinny]

Not sure if I got it fully?

Why didn't I get it?? 'Coz you have hard time writing unique contents because

1) Either you have a problem coming with some IDEA for writing
2) Or you know what you want to write, but you kind of dont get words, or rewrite a 1000 times and getting delayed
3) Worst case : You type at < 10 words a min. and want to write 700 word article - do the math...

Solution:
1) Use templates for writing - quickly search on the keyword to find other articles and you try to present the same article in a different template.
eg. Instead of a plain 700 word article, write Frequently asked questions /answers on <topic>

on the same lines : do a quick search in google and u can come up with atleat 10 new templates and there u go with 10 new articles on just one topic/ kw/ subject/


2) Quickly jot down the points so you don't block the flow of thoughts. And do a multi-pass approach to writing. Meaning, after you jot down the main points. try to quickly explain as if you were telling you mom. This should be done ASAP. Dont think of even correcting the spelling or grammar or any thing.

Use word or something to correct the spelling and grammar. - dont spend time on that.

Then review and you will have new thoughts sprouting... rewrite as you review. If need be stop here and if you hv thoughts for another article start doing the above for the next few articles.

Now as ed said you should have a small notepad and pencil with u all the time. why is that important... since you already put ur thoughts and wrote some article u will suddenly get sparking thoughts later...again note it down and next time you revisit this article you will make those changes and it gets better.

I know what u r thinking, u want to write that article for today...think abt this.....since u started writing (scribbiling) multiple articles... you will hv time to review and polish as u go...and when u find some article impressive that gets in your queue and gets published.

#3) can someone help....please


Now people, start shooting at each of those sub-niche questions ...getting into the lingo...

[doublehead]

Remember something too . . .

You're probably your own worst critic. Things you write may be much more appreciated by your readers than you think.

So go easy on yourself and just do the best you can. Perfection is not mandatory