The secret is out! A lot of people have suddenly realized that the best way to get one-way, inbound links to their websites and build their credibility is to write and publish articles. This is the reason behind the current surge of interest in article writing. The downside of the rush is that it is now harder to get articles published in high traffic locations. However, if you follow some simple rules, and also practice a lot, it is possible to produce articles that will stand out from the crowd. Here are some guidelines that I try to follow as much as possible.

1. Write about something that is “hot” or topical. Right now in the field of online marketing, for example, there is a lot of interest in Google’s latest update, Blogs, RSS, Adsense and yes, article writing. If possible select one of these current topics and give your insight and experience on subject. Topical articles stand a much better chance of being published than do articles which deal with subjects that have already been written to death.

2. Keep your eyes open for news articles and information related to your field of activity. For example, within the last two weeks a major news story announced the results of a study showing that people who owned and walked their dogs lost 14 pounds in a year, the same amount as is lost in a typical weight loss program. If you are in the fitness or exercise field, this is a nice piece of news to build an article around.

3. Format your articles properly and remember that you are not writing a literary essay. Internet and ezine articles typically have short paragraphs. This makes them easier to read. Also, stick to an article size of 500-800 words. If the article

4. Give concrete examples and make your article a short “tutorial.” How-to articles are always popular. People go online to find solutions to their problems and to find out how to do things. If you are writing about web design, then show how to accomplish a particular task with some html code within the very article itself.

5. Give urls of helpful sources where people can get more information on the subject. The more information you give the more useful your article will be and the more likely that it will be published, read and published again in other places

6. Write with the spirit of giving, not getting. If you try to sell yourself or your product in the main body of the article itself then you will not succeed. On the other hand, if you go out of your way to provide solid information and advice to your readers, then you will gain respect and people will be curious to read the lines about you in the resource box at the end of the article. It is best to keep your selling out of the article. The few dollars that you can get from an affiliate sale is nothing compared to value of becoming recognized as a reliable authority in your area of business.

So don’t be deterred by the competition. Keep on writing and you will be well rewarded for your efforts.

Donald Nelson is an editor, web developer and social worker. He is the director of A1-Optimization-http://www.a1-optimization.com , a firm providing copywriting, search engine optimization,article writing and web promotion services.

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