We all know why we write articles, we all know it takes a long time and we all know that each article directory expects the article to be in it own special format.

Wouldn’t you like to make your life a whole lot easier? As an owner of an articles directory I some times see 10 articles per day from the same author. I know that using article writing software will make his life managing the software a whole lot easier.

So every now and again a product comes on the market that’s perfect for article writers. One such product just came across our desk, and it’s so handy, yet so cheap that we had to tell you about it.

It’s called Article Notepad; it’s basically like Notepad but specifically designed for articles.

With it your articles are much better organized allowing you to create, edit, and save all your articles in one place.

We use it ourselves now instead of having different articles stored in txt or doc format scattered throughout my hard drive.

It features support for Title, Summary, Main Body, Resource Box, and Keywords. It also has a word count and the feature to save your resource boxes and import them into new articles.

Also a point which may of interest to you is that the full version has resale rights so if you want a relevant product to sell from your web sites where you keep 100% profit then this would be a good one.

The best part is that it’s only $15!

Here’s the link:

Article NotePad

Any by the way, this article was written using Article Notepad!

For those of us who write and submit articles to various content directories, we do so primarily for one reason:To get the link back to our site.However, it’s important to keep in mind that not all links are equal in the eyes of the major search engines.How your links “appear” to the search engines can be nearly as significant as the number of links that actually point to your site.

As you cultivate links to your site, the goal is to have as natural a link structure as possible.What this means is that search engines like to see links presented in a manner that does not appear to be phony, or an effort to fool the search engines into thinking your site is more popular than it actually is.In our efforts to do this, it is important to keep in mind the following:

First, your incoming links should increase gradually.Search engines see a sudden jump in links as artificial and not an indication of your site’s popularity.When you submit your articles to an article directory, your links generally increase gradually as they are picked up over time and published on web sites and archived ezines.

Second, whenever possible, your incoming links should not be reciprocal.Many of you are now saying, “easier said than done”.Perhaps, but submitting articles to article directories is a great way to build these types of links.

Search engines view sites that rely heavily on reciprocal links as not necessarily containing sought-after content that others want to voluntarily link to.That is, pure link reciprocity implies that the only purpose of the link is to build links and has nothing to do with the quality of the content on the web site.

Third, it’s very important to be consistent in how the link to your site is published.The following example will illustrate this point:
The following URL’s all point to the same page, of course.However, as far as the major search engines are concerned, they are all different:
http://articlelists.com
http://articlelists.com/
http://articlelists.com/index.html
http://www.articlelists.com
http://www.articlelists.com/
http://www.articlelists.com/index.html

Therefore, if your incoming links vary as listed above, your page rank is being watered down by up to a factor of six.So if you are not already doing it, be sure to be consistent in how you have your incoming links published.

This last item discussed here concerns anchor text.Anchor text is the actual text that appears for a particular hyperlink, and is perhaps one of the most important issues to consider when building your incoming link structure. For example, in the following link, Free Article Directory, the words “Free Article Directory” constitute the anchor text.However, when you place your cursor over the link you will see the destination site, www.ArticleLists.com, displayed in the status bar.

There are two important rules of thumb to remember about your anchor text.The first is that your anchor text should vary.That is, the incoming links to your site should not all have the same anchor text. This creates a more natural appearance to the search engines and will help in your rankings.The second rule is to place your keywords into your anchor text whenever possible.The reason this is important is because search engines view the anchor text as an indication of the topic of your webpage. So you get a two-for-one effect:You not only get the desired inbound link, but you also create a more natural-looking incoming link structure which will be viewed more favorably by the search engines.Of course, you would first want to do some keyword research to determine the popularity and importance of various keywords relating to your web site, and then use the ones for which you are trying to rank well.

When you begin to view your inbound link structure from the perspective of the search engines, you begin to see the logic of what needs to be done to rank well.For the search engines, it’s all about content and delivering the most relevant web pages possible for a given search term.

Creating an inbound link structure that appears more natural, or voluntary, will indicate to the search engines that your content is indeed something that their users would find useful.Assuming your site publishes quality content, you have, in a sense, helped the search engine do their job; and in the process you’ve gone a long way in making your web site more visible on the Internet.

We should all know the importance of articles to internet based companies as a method of website promotion. They contribute in driving traffic to your website and ultimately determine the success of the site. A good website owner needs to understand the benefits and undertake a constant article promotion strategy. The results can be very beneficial in relation to the amount of work involved. Link popularity, an increase in search engine results, and surge in traffic are the more well-known benefits. Becoming an authority in your niche is another major benefit that can be obtained if article marketing is carried out correctly.

Articles can have a great effect in giving a site high rankings in search engine results. The likelihood then is greater website exposure resulting in greater traffic and sales/profit.

However, there are important factors to remember when writing articles to obtain the maximum benefits that an article can provide for your site. So what are the main criteria that all articles should include? We will go through a few of them here.

Good Quality Content:

The most obvious requirement is for well-written, informative articles that will benefit the reader in some way, and help them further understand the topic that you are discussing. There is little point in just filling your article with keywords, but instead must provide good reading material. Whilst being informative, try and make your article entertaining, and one which will stick in the readers mind, rather than something that a reader may read a paragraph or two of and then disregard.

If possible, provide figures, facts and statistics on your topic. People like to see accurate stats, and will begin to trust you more as an expert in your niche should your content and stats be helpful to them.

It is important to read through your article once it is finished and also to check through for good grammar and any spelling errors.

Relevant Keywords and Phrases:

Throughout your articles, remember to center the information around the keywords and keyword phrases related to your topic. When people search the internet, they are usually searching for something specific rather than just browsing. It is highly likely that the majority of traffic being driven to your article will be from a search on google, yahoo, or any other major search engine, so ensure that you keep this is mind when writing.

Do not try to include keywords that are irrelevant to your article, merely to drive traffic to your article from search engines. If your site is about automobiles, then use keywords that are related, such as cars, car parts, truck accessories, and any other relevant terms. There are many tools on the internet that provide keyword analysis to determine what keywords and keyword phrases are mostly sought out. Use these tools to create a list of terms that you wish to target in your article.

Keyword Density:

Now that you have identified your keyword phrases and specific keywords to use, you must use them fully. It is very unlikely that a search engine will “get to grips” with what your article is about if you only use a keyword once throughout the entire article. You must have good keyword density in the article content in order for the search engines to rank your article high in the search results. Aim for between ten to fifteen percent of keyword density within the content.

For those that are unsure what keyword density is, it is the number of times that a keyword or a keyword phrase appears in an article. Although it is important to have good keyword density, it is equally important not to go too high or too low with keyword density, as it results in either the essence of the article being lost, or being too low for the search engines to pick up the terms.

Article Links:

Do not forget to include a link to your website. There is no use in writing an informative article, if the reader can not then click on a link to your site to find out more. Your website will not benefit without one!

This is a perennial question among writers and wannabe’s.
Many of us dream of writing a book. Why not. What
greater story cans one write about than one’s own. Each
day brings a new beginning, a new page in the book of life.

What can you write about?

Someone said everyone has a story. How true. Each day
that pass by, is a page in your book of life Where to start?
From the very depths of your soul, from your heart.What
stirs you? What excites you?What challenges you? What
frustrates you? What makes you happy?

Are you having the so-called writer’s block? All blocks
can be readily removed, dealt with and best of all, replaced
with determination .Just sit down and start writing. Think
of a word, write about that word and keep writing. Simplistic?
Not really. A word can get your fingers flying on the
keyboard, or if you believe in paper and pen, go ahead
and let your thoughts flow out from the tip of your pen
to that precious paper.

Develop the habit of writing everyday, yes, everyday.
Write something and you’d be amazed at the database
of ideas stored in your brain waiting to be discovered.
You do not have to write about a new idea, a new concept,
a new theory. Think of a fresh approach, a different angle,
a different perspective.

Think of this: You go on a nature hike with four of your
friends. You take the same route, see the same scenery,
under the same canopy of foliage and sky and step on
the same terrain, hike under the same weather conditions.

After the hike, surely there will be five different versions of
the experience or adventure. You go home and describe the
day’s hike to family and friends, each one will have different
picture of the scenery, of the hikers and their experience. If
this day was captured and frozen in time with your camera,
each pair of eyes that looks at the picture will have different
perspective of each picture. Each one will see different features
that attracts their attention.

Life within you, life around you, people in your world,
your hobbies, your dreams, your adventures. The list goes
on. There is always an angle waiting to be discovered, an
idea eager to be interpreted, to be written and shared
with the world.
So, what’s holding you back? What is important is to
just sit down and start writing. Tap into that deep reserve
of knowledge that lies deep within. Swim in the river
of experience, enjoy the swim as you get in deeper, your
strokes stronger and more confident.

Don’t put it off for another day. Surprise yourself.
The world awaits to hear from you.

END

Basically, an article is a body of text that imparts information. Whether this is done in a scientific language, with an informal voice or in a more serious manner, is usually decided by the subject and type of article, and to whom it is aimed.

A scientific or medical article aimed at professionals will use the first example, i.e. scientific language. The same article aimed at the general population must be written in layman’s language that everyone can understand. An article written on a serious subject should have a similar tone of writing, while something aimed at teens or young adults about entertainment, clothing or sport eg, will take on a bright and more breezy note.

To get a human face on the issue being discussed in an article, many editors require two anecdotal pieces to be included. These will come from interviews with people who have first hand experience of the topic. In an article about home-schooling for instance, you can interview people whose children are home schooled. If you don’t know of anyone, support organizations can help by supplying names and phone numbers. They are willing to do this because your article will help to spread the word about their work.

An article usually has five sections:

� Headline – Yes, this is important, as it will inform the reader what the article is about. If it is catchy, or has a hook of some kind, so much the better. The reader will be curious to find out what it is all about and read on. Look through a paper or magazine and note some of the headlines.

� Introduction – One paragraph is usually enough for the introduction. It should build on the headline and explain the content of the article without giving it all away.

� Main body – This will contain all information that is required about the topic along with anecdotes if any.

� Conclusion – The conclusion need only be one or two paragraphs to sum up and round off the information presented. In the case of how-to articles, it should give the reader a pat on the back for all the hard work that has been done and point out the benefits. Eg, “Now you have the most unique gizmo on the block and your friends will be envious.”

� Bibliography – This is not always necessary. Some editors like to see a list of your information sources, but don’t necessarily publish them. A longer article that contains specific important information on say, health issues or scientific topics may require a bibliography.

The how-to article is a little different than other types of articles. It should be written in imperative voice, eg, “Grasp the leaf and pull down.” Not, “You should grasp the leaf and pull down.” Warning on safety, if necessary, should be presented early in the body of the text and unusual terms and names explained clearly. Let the reader know what the project entails in the introduction – they might not want to paint 200 copies of that flower after all. A list of tools and materials will be required, but it is a good idea to leave writing this list until the last, even though it should appear at the beginning. This is so no mistake can be made in the type of tools and materials used.

In general, the how-to article will be written in steps. It is important that these appear in the proper order of doing, so the reader will not be confused. Do a quick summary of what the project should look like at various stages so the reader will know whether the job is going right. Visualize each step carefully as you write. The how-to article is one of the easiest types of articles to write. If sketches are required and you cannot supply them, just do a rough job to give the general idea. Magazines usually have their own artists who will work from what you supply.

Articles about VIP’s have been done to “death”, so try and find an unusual angle to slant the information from. One writer who had tried to interview a celebrity, but failed due to the man’s ‘sniffles’, still wrote the article, but based it on his failure. Another wrote about a golfing personality and interspersed the article with golfing jokes. Editors and readers alike love a touch of humor.

One of the easiest articles to write is the “10 tips to a great (whatever)” type. The ten tips form the body of course, while the introduction explains why you need this information. The brief summary recaps the information and gives a call to action, eg, “Now you know the best way to catch that fish, go out there and do it.”

You should always keep the ‘writer’s voice’ out of your articles. People want to know what’s in it for them, not why you thought you should write it, or how you got the idea for it. And if you are writing about a topic that is so unusual that few people know about it, try to use an analogy that is familiar to them. In general, you don’t need hooks or gimmicks to start an article, simply find the point where the useful information starts and go from there.

You’ve built a website and are very proud to be counted among the ranks. Now you’re expecting people to come for a visit. In fact if this is your first website you’re probably thinking maybe I’ll get a few visitors or maybe a thousand visitors. Would it surprise you if I told you that you are going to get very few visitors?

Remember the movie Field of Dreams, 1989? Kevin Costner plays an Iowa farmer whose dream is to be a baseball player, something his father wanted for his own life. In the movie he hears voices from players that have passed on. What he hears becomes an aphorism still used today, if you build it he (they) will come. Meaning if he built the ball field his father, shoeless Joe and other baseball players from Chicago would come and he would get his chance. However this is not the case with building a website. Unfortunately know one knows you’re there and you won’t hear any voices telling where to go from here. Eventually the search engines will pick it up and you will get a few visitors that will trickle in but how to get the thousands to come is the question.

Building is just the beginning. You had your fun and now it’s time to get down to the nitty gritty. It’s called Website promotion. One of the secrets to tons of traffic to your website is to create one way back links. Writing articles is a way to get these back links. The proof is in the article you are reading right now that it works. Any questions?

Yes it’s time to get out the paper and pen like you did in school. People want information. They want to learn something new. They want to feel they have some inside information that no one else has. This is the information age, are you going to give them what they want?

If you have studied website promotion you probably have heard that content is king and if you haven’t then that’s probably good because it is slowly becoming obscure replaced with unique content is king. There are several things you can do to get started. You can buy private label content, (previously written articles) a big no no in my opinion since it indeed has been used everywhere else. You can purchase article generator software that puts a few filler words into your private label content, thus a new article. However I would not go this route as filler words are not usually unique. Another way would be to write the articles yourself.

What am I going to write you ask. If you sell wedding dresses your readers are going to want to know about weddings, picking out dresses and maybe advice about the important day. If you sell travel packages your audience is going to want to know about the best places to see. If you’re a breeder and someone is looking to buy a puppy, you might want to write an article on how to choose one. If you are a guitar salesman your readers might want to know which one is the best. The world is ready for uniqueness and information so here’s your chance.

How does an article help my site and what does it do? Most sites that accept articles for submission allow you a generous author’s bio at the bottom of your article. This is where you are going to give a brief description of yourself as well as the links of two or three sites you may be promoting. Over time you will create thousands of back links to your site that will send google into a tizzy. Back links is how the google determines what websites are worthy enough to have their robots roam upon. Roaming on your site is what you want.

I can’t write anything you say. I feel empathy for you but do not despair, you can hire a ghostwriter. Give the writer your ideas, pay the fee and let them put the pen to the paper. These days to be politically correct it would be fingers to the keyboard. Unfortunately be careful of who you have write the articles. There are some sneaky people out there that will buy these software generators themselves and try to sell you the same articles that I just told you to stay away from. What is worse is at some point you will run across one that has plagiarized someone else’s work and copied it right from the website next door.

Are the wheels turning yet? Now you ask where do I find these wonderful writers. If you will take the time to type in your google search type in freelance writer or other keywords, you will find plenty of people looking for work. The cost doesn’t have to be real high either.

I know you have one final question and that is where the rubber meets the road. What is the cost? You can hire a ghostwriter for pennies per word or sometimes you can pay per article. Some freelancers charge ten dollars or more per article depending on the experience of the writer.

This wasn’t your last question? Ok I have time for one more. What if I can’t afford to pay for these articles; I have a budget that looks like a shoestring. Well you still can write them yourself. There are plenty of free online courses that will teach you what you need to know.

There is another benefit besides the back links you create by writing articles. Once you get a few hundred articles out there relating to your service or product you become the source of information. You become a recognized expert in your field. Folks begin to see your name in your author’s bio and say hey I’ve heard about this guy before. He must know something. Folks turn to you at the source and expert in your industry. This is the time right now to jump on the article bandwagon.

I read somewhere that only fifty percent of Americans are internet connected. This leaves the field for playing wide open. This statistic does not even include foreign lands. Yes you can even market to them as they read and buy too. So only one decision needs to be made and I ask are you going to hire a ghostwriter or do it yourself? Either way is good if you are careful with the articles you buy and making sure if what you have is unique. Are you going to give your customers what they want? If you don’t someone else will. Potential customers want information and remember if you write it, they will read.