The problem with article writing and content creation is often about inspiration and underlying that is probably an understanding of why this is really important for your business. Once you get beyond that the next problems are what to write about, where to start and how to start.
Typically, if the above problems are familiar to you, you may find yourself waiting for inspiration or even struggling with structure. You might also find it hard to get going with opening lines or paragraphs. Alternatively you might sit there and force the article out. If you find yourself procrastinating and never quite getting around to writing articles or that they take a long time, this article will help.
Over the last decade I’ve written over 500 articles. Most are written in under 45 minutes. I have a way of catching inspiration on the topics. I also have a ritual for writing them and a structure for putting them together. This makes the whole process quick and easy.
Why Article Writing is Important
Writing articles can be important for a number of reasons:
- To offer information and build a relationship with your newsletter subscribers
- To give your clients a deeper understanding on a topic
- To create SEO ranking for your site and pull in more leads
- To distribute the article via social media and pull in even more leads
To use your time effectively you want to aim for all three of these every time you write. I say this because it’s true that all 7-Figure Back Office clients biggest asset is the time they have. Therefore you need to get as much out of the minutes you spend writing an article.
How To Get Article Writing Inspiration
The word “inspired” means “in Spirit” or “with God). And I don’t wait to get inspired. I go looking for it.
To support me with article writing I have a simple process. Each week on a Friday morning I spend 5 minutes looking back through my notes from my client calls. I note what the clients asked or how I helped the client. This will give me up to 10 possibilities. I then whittle that down to my favourite two or three. I pick my favourite and then file the other two.
During the last week a couple of our Limelight Starter Package clients have asked me about article writing and how to create the content and get the maximum use from it. So, that’s what gave me the inspiration to write this one today.
Getting Started With Your Article Writing
I have an appointment in my diary to write articles every Monday morning at 11am. I choose to write at this time of the week because I’m fresh from the weekend and not yet into the routine of the week. I have already chosen the article I’ll write from the ideas I had on Friday and I’ll then map out the four main sections (see below) of the article before I put on my headphones, find a great track and write away until it’s done.
Article Writing For SEO
If you are posting an article to your blog, you can of course send your newsletter readers and your social media followers to the article, but there is another traffic source that will keep on producing leads long after you have told everyone you know.
If you have done your keyword research (we can provide this service for you – send me an email and we’ll take a look at it) you will know which keywords to use when article writing. You use those keywords in your title, in your first paragraph and in your page description and you mention them often throughout the article. If you also have back-links to your website and/or create back-links on your keywords you will increase your Google ranking. Doing this means you squeeze more value from your article.
Article Writing… The Structure
One of the reasons why an article takes me under 45 minutes (this one took me 25 minutes) is because I have a strong structure. I’ve used it above.
In paragraph one I lay out the problem. In paragraph two I speak about the typical solutions and why they don’t work and telegraph that I have the answer. In paragraph three I gently let you know I know my stuff and why you should listen to me on this. Paragraph four takes you to the solution.
Although that’s the basic structure, I do pull the structure around a little. For example, I might take two paragraphs to talk about the typical solutions and why they don’t work, or I might write five or six paragraphs on the solution.
Article Writing Distribution
Once your article is written you upload it to your blog. Here you make sure you SEO this. The above steps are the basics, but there are some advanced moves I will talk clients reading this through. They need a bit more explanation that I can give here.
Once your article is uploaded, email out to your subscribers. The following day tell your social media followers and broadcast it sites like Linked-in. I then change chunks of the content and re-purpose the article as a guest blog.
Following these steps means you do your article writing quickly and easily. You have the inspiration you need. You know how to get started, you have a structure to follow and you now know how to distribute the article.
If you unsure on anything above, or you want to know those advanced SEO moves ask me during your next Limelight Starter mentoring call. If you want to know more about the Limelight Starter Package, click here.
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