| Having worked with a large number of small business | | | | get published. |
| owners, one common mistake I see over and over | | | | 2. Write with the 'st' factor in mind. Tell readers |
| again is the obscene amounts of money they throw | | | | about the latest, greatest, first, most, newest, |
| away on advertising. Many of them believe the more | | | | quickest, best etc. Publications want fresh, new |
| money they spend, the more business it will bring. | | | | information, so where possible show them the 'st' |
| WRONG!!! WRONG!!! WRONG!!! | | | | factor with the 'latest technique', 'newest technology' |
| So what's a new entrepreneur to do? | | | | or '10 best solutions for...'. |
| It's simple! Write articles. | | | | 3. Edit, edit and edit again. As a professional writer, |
| Writing articles is an excellent way for you to get | | | | Belinda constantly re-writes and re-works her words. |
| free publicity. Getting an article published is free and | | | | Ask someone to read your article and they'll often |
| some publications even pay for your contributions. | | | | spot errors you miss because they're reading from a |
| The publicity you receive by having your article | | | | new perspective. If you want to double-check that |
| published in a newspaper, magazine or website can | | | | your sentences make sense - read your article, |
| be worth thousands of dollars in equivalent | | | | sentence-by-sentence, from the bottom up. You'll be |
| advertising space. Well written articles yield better | | | | amazed what you pick up when you're not caught up |
| results than advertisements and earn you respect | | | | in the flow of the story. |
| from customers, who see you as an expert in your | | | | Topics to Target |
| field. | | | | There are thousands of problems people need |
| So what exactly is an article? | | | | solved, so the number of solution-focused topics is |
| An article is a short piece of information that aims to | | | | endless. If you're stuck, here are some ideas to get |
| educate and inform people about something, which | | | | you started.: |
| they may be interested in. They are usually between | | | | Florist |
| 500 and 3,500 words long and guess what....... you are | | | | Flower Care Tips, Choosing Anniversary Flowers, |
| reading one right now. That's right, I have written this | | | | Best Way To Buy Your Wedding Flowers, Choosing |
| article because of my passion to share the idea that | | | | Centrepiece Flowers For Your Dinner Party, How to |
| expensive advertising is probably not the best way | | | | Press Fresh Flowers, How to Pick Perfect Flowers |
| to market yourself and get more business. By writing | | | | According to Occasions, etc. |
| and distributing these articles you are sharing | | | | Baby Related Products/Services |
| information, which displays your expertise and gains | | | | How To Settle Your Baby, Baby Shower Themes |
| you trust and credibility. No amount of advertising can | | | | & Games, How to Baby Proof Your Home, Baby |
| gain you either trust or credibility. | | | | Sleep Routine, Ways to Help Your Baby Sleep All |
| So let's look at this concept of writing and distributing | | | | Night, Age Appropriate Toys, Gifts for 1/2/3/4 Year |
| articles as a form of free publicity. | | | | Olds, 20 Fun Silly Games to Play, etc. |
| The best articles are 'tips' or expert pieces. People | | | | Accountant |
| are looking for guidance and will purchase from | | | | Tips For Getting The Best Home Loan, 10 Tips For |
| experts who show them how to solve their | | | | Financing Your Business, Tips To Save You Money, |
| problems. | | | | Choosing Accounting Software, Bookkeeping Basics, |
| Structuring Your Article | | | | How To Save Money On Bookkeeping, Setting Up |
| Your article should include the following elements: | | | | Budgets, etc. |
| (a) The Headline | | | | Hairdresser |
| This should be attention grabbing and use power | | | | Hair Care and Treatment, Hair Loss Prevention, Hair |
| words and phrases, such as "How to ..." "10 Ways | | | | Drying Mistakes, Celebrity Hair Styles, What Hairstyle |
| that ...", "Do you want to ...?" | | | | to Choose For Your Lifestyle, New Hair Trends, etc. |
| (b) Lead Paragraph | | | | Restaurant |
| The first couple of sentences tell your readers why | | | | How To Make Restaurant Quality Coffee At Home, |
| they should read the whole article. Show them the | | | | 10 Ways to Attract New Customers to Your |
| benefits they will gain, or the pain that they will avoid, | | | | Restaurant, Restaurant Décor Ideas, 5 Secret |
| by reading the article. | | | | Recipes, 7 Publicity Tips for Restaurants, Choosing |
| (c) Body Copy | | | | Restaurant Equipment, Making Healthy Food Choices |
| This is where you inform the reader how to do | | | | when Dining In a Restaurant, etc. |
| something that will enrich their business or personal | | | | Customer Service |
| lives. Use short sentences and provide step-by-step | | | | How To Stay in Touch With Your Customers, How |
| directions that they can easily follow. | | | | To Build Good Client Relationship, 7 Tips For Creating |
| (d) Conclusion | | | | Customer Loyalty, Common Customer Service |
| At the end you want to summarise the topics you've | | | | Mistakes, How To Get Back Lost Clients, Looking |
| covered and briefly review the main points. Since you | | | | After Your Customer Service Staff, etc. |
| have helped your readers they will most likely want | | | | Getting Your Articles Published |
| to know more. This is your chance to make your sell | | | | Once your article is written you will need to submit it |
| by making them an offer with a 'call to action' such | | | | to various publications on-line and in printed |
| as 'mention this article and receive a 10% discount | | | | publications. For a listing of Australian printed |
| off orders placed before June 30th.". | | | | publications, including the editor's details, you may |
| (e) Resource Box | | | | wish to buy "The Australian Writer's Marketplace", |
| A resource box provides the reader with information | | | | available from most bookshops. |
| on your company and includes the following | | | | If you don't have a lot of time to submit your |
| information: | | | | articles manually, you may wish to consider using |
| - Your Name | | | | article submission services by companies such as: |
| - Company name | | | | Submit Your Article - or |
| - Contact information | | | | The Phantom Writers - |
| - Website details | | | | For a small fee they will submit your article to |
| - How to order your product, etc | | | | thousands of on-line publications, also known as |
| Journalist, marketer and public relations specialist | | | | ezines. |
| Belinda Crosbie has three top tips for clients writing | | | | Remember, article writing is far more powerful than |
| their own articles: | | | | any advertising you will do. It will prove to your |
| 1. What are the questions you hear most often from | | | | customers you know your business and best of all, it |
| customers? Write an article to address these queries. | | | | won't cost you a cent! So don't be afraid to try it ... |
| Remember to provide valuable information; articles | | | | what have you got to lose? |
| that sound like one big ad for your company rarely | | | | |