As most people know writing an article and posting it with links back to your site is an excellent way to direct traffic to your site. However, after reading hundreds of articles I have noticed some people need some tips on how to maximize readership and the rate of publication of their article. Publishers publish articles for two reasons. For fresh content on their site and to generate revenues, often with ads placed on the page with your article. So, with a highly read article the publisher will be more likely to promote your article, which increases your exposure.
It's OK to have paragraphs of one sentence...even one word! So when writing your articles try to make it short and simple. People are lazy by nature and the easier the article appears to read the more likely it will be read. Don't worry too much on the writing style. It is your title and the appearance of an article that people use in determining whether or not to even read it. Once they start reading the article, then it's the content and your writing style that will suck them deeper in.
Another good guideline to follow when writing an article is to aim for the 600 word count. Less than 600 words is too low for many publishers, and not long enough to be considered a proper article. The ideal length for an article to achieve maximum republication is between 600 and 800 words. It is a good idea to write an article and then go back through looking for places to break up long paragraphs, make the language easy to understand, and give the article a feeling of you so the reader can connect with you on a personal basis. Another way is to read your article out loud to yourself several times. If you stumble anywhere, you probably need to rewrite that portion.
The beginning and the ending of your article are the parts that make the biggest impression. Create a feeling of anticipation... and leave them feeling satisfied (or excited) when you finish. Offering advice to help solve a problem gives your readers a reason to feel optimistic about themselves. Don't make promises... but offer hope. If you are giving hints on marketing or business, sum up the benefits. Experiment with using a humorous quote, or giving readers a specific action to get them started. Be creative.
Here's a final tip: create a cheat-sheet. Divide it into beginnings/middles/ends and add more strategies as you think of them. (For example, using the tips in this article, you might write: ENDINGS - end on a high, offer hope, use funny quote, suggest action to get started.) Do this, and you'll be cranking out articles everyone wants to publish! Remember, your ultimate goal is to write an article that will be published and read. So be creative and put yourself into your writing.
