5 Tips for Powerful Articles

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Articles engage your marketplace and your audience – maximize their power by using these simple tips to keep them effective.

1. Use a template.

A template will help you deliver your expertise to the reader in a format that more easily delivers your information to your audience''s needs.  An example might be "Seven Tips for ___."

2. Keep it short.

Articles should be a short, quick, and easy read – about 200 to 300 words. Readers want a quick "takeaway" to see if you"re worth additional time.

3. Keep it strong.

The message of your article should be clear and specific. Right from the headline your reader should be saying, "This message is exactly what I"m looking for."

4. Help the reader read.

Your article should be scan-able – make sure the layout of your content uses:

• a title
• subtitles
• boldface leading words, and
• bullet points

These features help the reader capture the essence of your message quickly.

5. Help the reader find you!

Every article you post should have a resource box, or a final short paragraph with a compelling headline and a link back to your blog or website, so that the reader can find the other solutions you"re offering. I recommend Jeff Herring's expertise on article marketing – check out his Power of One Article.

Melody Campbell, The Small Business Guru is a Virtual Buzz Strategist, who works with Coaches, Speakers, Authors and other Small Business Professionals to build a bigger practice, sell more books, book more speaking engagements and cultivate loyal customer relationships using tools on the Internet. Melody can be found here, here and here.