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10 Top Tips To Improve Your Articles

By: Monika Nolte

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1) Read and follow the publishers’ guidelines* for what they will accept:
a) The types of article - will they accept interviews, profiles, tips, how-to, etc.?
b) The topics - topics usually have to relate to the publications primary subject.
c) The format - do they want it in html, text, rtf, PDF, doc, email, other?
d) Is it interesting - will people who know nothing about the subject want to read it?
e) How long is it? - 500 to 1000 words is usually what is wanted.

Guidelines differ for printed publications and online ones. Be sure to check them out carefully before submitting your articles.

2) Make sure the information presented in your article is accurate. Carefully research your subject and if you use other people’s information, check that for accuracy too. Also make sure your information is newsworthy, up-to-the-minute and fresh - editors have to keep their readers happy too.

3) Run your articles through Copyscape or a similar program to ensure information used from other people does not show up as plagiarism. www.copyscape.com has free software that will show you if any phrases used in your article can be attributed to others.

4) Use plenty of examples to get your message across. Sometimes highly technical information or the use of “big words” can confuse readers so support what you say with examples or reiterate what you mean by saying it again but using different words.

5) Build a good relationship with the editors by:
a) Introducing yourself to the editor, tell them a bit about yourself and include a photograph,
b) perhaps make some nice comments about their publication.
c) Personalising your submission by using the editor’s name whenever you email them.
d) Asking, before you send in your article. Some publications don’t use any outside writers.
e) Sending articles in the body of your email rather than as an attachment. Even editors are wary of opening attachments from people they don’t know, plus downloading an attachment takes extra time they may not have.
f) Not sending more than two articles per week to the same publication.
g) Saying thank you. Editors of some publications may let you know that they intend to publish your article, be sure to mind your manners and send a thank you email. That may just make you stand out from the crowd, as well!
h) Taking the criticism in your stride and learning from it, and not sending a spiky email back to them. We can’t please everyone all the time, so you might get an email from an editor who does not like your article or finds problems with your grammar etc. and tells you so.

6) Carefully edit your article.
a) Check the structure of your article - does it have a logical sequence? If you confuse people, you won’t get published.
b) Check your grammar and spelling. Get someone else to read it - other people can always spot mistakes you didn’t. Read the article out loud to see if it flows well, if you left out words or used any incorrectly.
c) Use of jargon, slang or technical terms could make your article really hard to understand. As I said earlier - if you confuse people (including the editor!), you won’t get published.
d) Define or carefully explain whatever jargon you feel you must use.
e) Write in such a way that a seven year old (or someone whose first language may not be English) will understand your article.

7) Keep the advertisement of your products or services to a minimum. Editors are looking for content for their publication and they are unlikely to give you free advertising. Check other articles in that publication or their guidelines for what information they normally allow in the resource box. A special offer especially for their readers can give you a real advantage in whether or not you get published.

8) You need to tell the people to whom you submit your articles that they are allowed to publish it. As strange as that may seem, if editors don’t have explicit permission, they won’t publish your article. You can include a notice about the copyright being yours, but be clear about giving permission for them to publish the article as long as they include the links etc. in your “resource box”.

In fact you might want to give the editor extra options for the publication of your article. For instance, they could publish it as a bonus or in an eBook give away. You need to expressly give permission for them to edit it or change it or even use bits of it so that it fits with the layout of their publication.

9) Put your best foot forward - in other words the subject of the article comes first. Grab the reader’s (and the editor’s) attention with headlines, one or two line sentences or paragraphs - keep it short and sweet.

Look carefully at your article and write a short summary of it, using all the most important points, then include your summary in the submission of the article. In our overly busy world, even editors don’t have time to read every article end to end. Make it easy for them.

Last but not least -

10) Talk to your reader, write the article as if you were talking to one person and they were sitting right in front of you. One mistake lots of people make is making their article too impersonal. How much attention do YOU give to impersonal information? Wouldn’t you rather have someone talk to you instead of at you? Other people also prefer the writer to address the reader directly and add their personality, with their passion for their subject, their reservations, their jokes, even their intimate knowledge or experiences.

Article Source: http://depositarticles.com/

Contact Monika at www.rhwhseo.co.uk/ if you would like to get more information on Article Writing. Perhaps you would like something written for your website or blog. She can help you get the exposure your website needs with well written articles. This article written For RHWHSEO.

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