The Best Ways For Writing A Great How-To Articles

There is no end to the subjects you can write about and you can use any style you wish. However, it has to be something that people will want to read. "How to" articles are very popular with both website owners and readers and can be a great way to get your article marketing campaign underway. Basically, the purpose of a 'how to' article is to explain to a reader how to do something.

If you are using article marketing to help drive traffic to your website you will need to come up with ideas for articles that people will want to publish and read. The quality of articles found on article directories can vary significantly so it is important that yours are among the best available for your article marketing campaign to be successful.

So let's get started. When you are writing a "how to" article remember that you are the teacher so write in an authoritative tone. You are sharing your expertise with someone who may have little knowledge of the subject at hand. So keep your writing style simple and your instructions clear.

Of course, you will have to have a good knowledge of how to do the task yourself before you can think about instructing anyone else how to do it, so stick to what you know. There are many possibilities. If you have experience in networking you could write a 'how to' article on how to set up a router at home, or if you love cars you could write an article on 'how to service your car'. There are endless possibilities for 'how to' articles, in fact you are reading one right now.

Also, you must start at the beginning and work through the task step by step. Sometimes it may be beneficial to use bullet points to help give the impression that it is a step by step process. Alternatively you can link the steps with words like 'next', 'and then' or 'now'. If you are new to writing the bullet points option might be best for you as it keeps things simple, and helps you avoid complex grammatical structures.

As you write, re-read your text every few paragraphs, and try to read it from the reader's point of view, assuming they know nothing about the task at hand. As an expert on the subject it can be too easy to make things over-complex because the task is second nature to you. Try to imagine you are doing it for the first time and instruct the reader accordingly. Going back to our previous example, will the reader actually know what an ethernet cable is, or what a router is for that matter?

If a particular stage in the task is complex you may want to repeat the instruction, or ask the reader to check their progress so they are sure they have followed your instructions successfully.

With longer articles it is important to do this regularly so the reader does not lose track. Summarize what they have done so far, tell them what should have already been achieved and ask them to check that everything is as it should be. If a reader finds that the project does not look like what you have described, they can then retrace the last few steps and see where they went wrong.

If you work through your article in this manner you should be left with a clear, concise 'how to' article that takes the reader through each step of the project to completion. Read it again, at least twice, to make sure that it is well written and that instructions are clear. Wrap up with a concluding paragraph congratulating the reader for a job well done.

And finally, the icing on the cake, the headline. This does not necessarily have to be done at the end. It can be done before you write the article but you may find that headline ideas will come to you as you write your content. Be sure to spend some time perfecting your headline as this can be the difference between the success and failure of your article.

Happy Writing!

Write & Submit Articles To Promote Your Business And Get Targeted WebTraffic.

Many of the newbies that are being exposed to the Internet on a daily basis have dreams of running a website and making it successfully.  For some, this is a grueling task and leaves them short-winded trying to do so.

There are numerous marketing techniques that can be used to generate traffic on a regular basis which is the life blood of your webiste success. Out of all of them I have tried, writing qualuty articles seems to work the best (content is still truly king).

Writing articles for ezines, newsletters, websites and forums in addition to using other marketing strategies keeps your website visible.

The Internet has turned out to be a publisher's paradise. Never before has the chance to publish your ideas and insights been this easy. In some cases all it costs is some of your time. You can write an article this morning and have it published in the evening.

Writing was once a secret weapon for many marketers, but now it has been thrown in the open and is now being used by many successful online marketers.  It has work wonders for me since I started doing it the right way.  My articles have appeared in ezines, newsletters and on websites with varying degrees of success.  Here are some guidelines on how I have gained great results writing articles:

A. Write about what you know:  Make sure it’s related to your business (so you can use the keywords you want to rank with) and helpful (so it gets published).  Once you get thinking about it, you'll probably find there are hundreds of articles you could write that are helpful. You may even have some of them partly written already in your instruction manuals or installation guides, etc. Another good idea is to think of all the questions you get asked by customers and potential customers. These questions show you what people are interested in. If you write an article answering every one of these questions, you'll get published, and you'll also show yourself to be a credible expert.

B. The best articles are only as long as they need to be:  Keep it short and sweet – there’s nothing wrong with a 400 word article. By the same token, if you need 1500 words to say all you need to say, that’s fine as well

C. Simply write in a style that your audience will be comfortable with: If they’re from the old school, don’t write like I am. Don’t use contractions, don’t end sentences with prepositions, and don’t start sentences with “and” or “but”. But if they’re not old school, just use conversational English. In fact, the more of yourself you include in the article, the more engaging it will be. The key is to make it readable.

Once you've written your article, you'll need to develop a list of publishers that may be interested in publishing it. The best way to accomplish this is to display your articles on your website. Place a subscription box on each of your article pages to enable your visitors to subscribe. This list should be used to send your new articles to your list of publishers. "Submit Article" in the Google search will give you many sites where you can submit your articles.

Happy writing!

Successful Article Marketing Strategies

Are you thinking about starting to write articles as a way of promoting your website? Are you looking for some advice about how to write a successful article? Have you a lack of belief in your ability to write an interesting article? Around a year ago I would have answered yes to all of these three questions but have now learnt quite a lot about article marketing. In this article, I give tips and advice to help other people to become successful article marketers.

I have now had around three hundred articles accepted at what I consider to be one of the main article directories, ezinearticles. At times, I have to admit that it can be quite a choir to think of a subject to write about, to then write the article and also to then submit the article to all of the major article directories. At other times, the words seem to just flow and it can be quite easy and even enjoyable.

The benefits of article marketing can be huge and I am happy to report that a lot of my articles have been included on many different websites, this of course creates a lot of important one-way backward links to my websites.

I have seen a large increase of traffic to my sites, which is partly no doubt down to this writing of articles. As a rule I try to write around seven to ten articles per week. If on one particular week I am not able to for whatever reason, I do not stress about it, I just see it as a break.

I try to make each article interesting and they are written from the heart, in my own style. Some of them can be quite funny, for example, I have written an article about dieting which has the title of, Have You Ever Seen A Fat Postman?

I try not to make each article too long as people may become bored half way through. At the same time I believe each article should not be too short as there is likely to be little value to the reader. My articles are normally anywhere between four and seven hundred words in length.

Most of my articles will give the reader some form of advice about the subject I am writing about. This advice of course, is my own personal opinion and comes from my own personal experiences.

I have received many e-mails from people who have enjoyed reading my articles and I have also had requests from other people who have asked if I would be willing to write articles for them.

I am sure if I can write a number of articles that everyone else can. Give it a go, you might surprise yourself.

Once you have written the article, you then need to submit it to some of the article directories. In my opinion these are the best, ezinearticles, articledashboard, goarticles, articlealley and searchwarp.

Stop Undermining Your Article Submissions!

Your web site plays an integral role in your article submission strategy. If it isn't up to par, your article submission projects won't produce much in the way of results.
To support your efforts in writing and submitting articles, you need a solid workhorse, which is the job of your web site. It's not just for looks, but rather serves the purpose of offering something of value to your target audience and converting browsers to faithful readers, loyal newsletter subscribers and committed buyers!

On the Internet, just like with bricks-n-mortar businesses, appearance is critical. Use these strategies to elevate your web site giving it literal curb appeal and improving your business, which translates to more article acceptances and more exposure in your target market!

* Cut the Pomp and Circumstance

As with so many elements of the Internet, the use of a Splash Page featuring fancy graphics and an Enter button is obsolete. Most people find them irritating and won't even venture past this point to see the rest of your web site, so delete your splash page now!


* Professionalism

If your web site looks the Internet Amateur Hour, you're probably turning off prospects. Quality clients/customers won't do business with you if your image is unprofessional. Make sure that pages are neat and organized featuring content that's easily readable. Be consistent in formatting from page-to-page to prevent a thrown-together look.


* Focus

Just like your articles, your web site needs focus. No business fills every need for every consumer, so direct your web site to the prospective clients/customers in your target market. Be clear about the products/services you offer and engage prospects in your specific market by catering to their needs exclusively and better than your competition.

* Presence

Online businesses have to overcome the hurdle of not having face-to-face contact with prospects. Make interaction with you a simple process by providing a contact form, listing a phone number and including an e-mail address on every page.

* Stick to Business

Does your web site look reflect you as a business professional or does it blast prospects with a variety of hard-to-read fonts and excessive graphics? Limit the number of fonts and colors used throughout your site. Use graphics judiciously avoiding slow-loading designs that frustrate prospects.

* Content


They call it king for a reason, so don't dethrone your efforts by featuring the same old content. Give prospects and search engines, plus your regular clients/customers, fresh content that fits your theme and offers value to your target audience.


* Accentuate

Pay special attention to your Articles Page. Include reprint details with your required guidelines above your articles. Use inviting language in your guidelines encouraging publishers to take advantage of your material. Make it convenient for publishers by listing articles alphabetically by title and include a three-line description. Link titles to the actual article page with offer versions in html, pdf and text files.

* Courting Publishers

Publishers are very busy people, so make it easy for them to publish your articles. Offer a separate publisher's only subscription notifying them when you have a new article available.

* Show Your Smile

Potential clients want to know who you are. Include a photo on your Article Page for publishers/editors to use when they reprint your articles. Prospects also appreciate being able to actually see a person because it makes doing business online much more personal.


* Call-to-Action

You're wasting time, effort and valuable space with web pages that don't give clients/customers the opportunity to do business with you! Each page, even your individual article pages, should always include a call-to-action. Strut your stuff by offering prospects your newsletter and/or subscriptions to your exclusive members-only offerings. Streamline the process and gain more clients.

* Testimonials

Share client/customer testimonials with prospects instead of keeping them to yourself. Add at least one testimonial per page including article pages letting prospects know just how valuable others find your products/services.

* Respect Clients/Customers

More than ever, people are concerned with the security of their private information. Establish a clear privacy policy and publish it on your web site and linking to it from each page.

* Guarantee It In Writing

Decide your return/refund policy before your web site goes live! No matter how good your product or service is, at some point, you're going to have an unsatisfied customer. Create a consistent refund policy up front and update it immediately on your web site if you change it.

* Polish The Final Product

Grammatical mistakes like misspellings, improper punctuation, and capitalization errors signal prospects that you're not attentive to detail. Have someone proofread your entire site including your articles to make sure all text is error-free.

So, what's your curb appeal? Your web site is your online office and showroom. Does it make you look like a professional or more like an amateur with a sideline hobby?

Remember, marketing with articles is about generating exposure. Although publishers need articles they may not accept them if your site is poorly designed, disorganized or filled with grammatical errors and outdated content. Put your best foot forward to prospective publishers and clients who come to you through your article submissions. If, despite your best efforts, your web site still needs work consider hiring a professional. You'll quickly recoup the cost of hiring an expert with more sales and increased exposure!

Secrets of Article Publishing Success

When including links to your web site within your article, make sure those links are working! Each directory you submit to may handle it differently. Some will convert them automatically to a live link, others you will need to add the html to the link to make it live. When your article gets republished the link may not be live, defeating the purpose of trying to increase your back links.


If someone can’t click on it and go to your web site, what advantage is it to be writing and submitting articles? You should always add your web address in you bio or “about author” starting with http:// That way even if the link is not live, someone interested in going to your site could always copy and paste it into their browser. Always preview your article to check to see if it is formatted the way you want it to look and check your links! Revise it as needed.

The importance of choosing the correct category. If your article is about marketing, why would you want it in poetry? It is critical to your article success that you choose the correct category for several reasons. It will group your article together with similar articles. This helps the search engines find “relevant” content. It helps users who are looking for new content to find your article. It can speed up the submission process by helping the directory owners. Some article directories have rss feeds for each category. Subscribers and rss feed directories will be notified when that category is updated, thereby increasing your article exposure.

Take advantage of all each article directory has to offer. Each one is different but they may offer some valuable features that you may not be aware of. Always create a clear, concise summary. Add keywords if available. In your profile, you may be able to create several links to your websites. These are links that will stay with the article directory and be spidered by search engines. You could easily add 50-100 static links pointing to your website this way.

If you need new ideas for writing articles, check out each directory for their most popular articles. This will give you a good idea on what people are looking for. Continue to submit to as many article directories as you can. There is success in numbers.

Happy article writing!

Secrets of Article Publishing Success

When including links to your web site within your article, make sure those links are working! Each directory you submit to may handle it differently. Some will convert them automatically to a live link, others you will need to add the html to the link to make it live. When your article gets republished the link may not be live, defeating the purpose of trying to increase your back links. If someone can’t click on it and go to your web site, what advantage is it to be writing and submitting articles? You should always add your web address in you bio or “about author” starting with http:// That way even if the link is not live, someone interested in going to your site could always copy and paste it into their browser. Always preview your article to check to see if it is formatted the way you want it to look and check your links! Revise it as needed.

The importance of choosing the correct category. If your article is about marketing, why would you want it in poetry? It is critical to your article success that you choose the correct category for several reasons. It will group your article together with similar articles. This helps the search engines find “relevant” content. It helps users who are looking for new content to find your article. It can speed up the submission process by helping the directory owners. Some article directories have rss feeds for each category. Subscribers and rss feed directories will be notified when that category is updated, thereby increasing your article exposure.

Take advantage of all each article directory has to offer. Each one is different but they may offer some valuable features that you may not be aware of. Always create a clear, concise summary. Add keywords if available. In your profile, you may be able to create several links to your websites. These are links that will stay with the article directory and be spidered by search engines. You could easily add 50-100 static links pointing to your website this way.

If you need new ideas for writing articles, check out each directory for their most popular articles. This will give you a good idea on what people are looking for. Continue to submit to as many article directories as you can. There is success in numbers.

Happy article writing!