Writing online articles for your web site or for article marketing purposes requires some different skills compared to writing offline articles.
Chief among them is the ability to focus tightly on a main point to drive it home in as few as 300 words.
If you think about the articles you read in newspapers, magazines, and other offline sources, they tend to take a broad approach.
And they're definitely a lot longer.
That's because the goal with an offline article is more along the lines of telling a story.
Getting to the point quickly is not a priority.
It's a common misconception among new online article writers that the offline model is the one to emulate.
In reality, following the offline 'rules' will likely lead to a lot of head scratching and website failure.
Whether you put your articles on your own site or submit them to directories for others to use - or even if you employ both strategies - the priority is the same.
Success depends on focusing on one major point and ending the article once it has been driven home sufficiently.
Why? Because online readers expect different things compared to offline, traditional article readers.
Offliners settle in and expect to view a fairly lengthy build-up throughout the articles they read.
They want the history and the groundwork as they go along.
Conversely, online article readers tend to want a faster read.
Their modus operandi is more hit-and-run.
So, what does this mean for you as an online article writer? It means narrowing the focus and getting to the point quickly in every article you write.
Avoid the natural writing tendency to follow divergent paths and explore where they lead as you write.
When the urge strikes you to pursue something that branches off from the main point, stop writing the article and jot down a note about it in a notebook you keep near your computer.
Later, develop an entirely new article about it.
This will benefit both you and your readers.
You will be able to produce more articles, and your readers will enjoy more clarity and coherence in your writings.
Chief among them is the ability to focus tightly on a main point to drive it home in as few as 300 words.
If you think about the articles you read in newspapers, magazines, and other offline sources, they tend to take a broad approach.
And they're definitely a lot longer.
That's because the goal with an offline article is more along the lines of telling a story.
Getting to the point quickly is not a priority.
It's a common misconception among new online article writers that the offline model is the one to emulate.
In reality, following the offline 'rules' will likely lead to a lot of head scratching and website failure.
Whether you put your articles on your own site or submit them to directories for others to use - or even if you employ both strategies - the priority is the same.
Success depends on focusing on one major point and ending the article once it has been driven home sufficiently.
Why? Because online readers expect different things compared to offline, traditional article readers.
Offliners settle in and expect to view a fairly lengthy build-up throughout the articles they read.
They want the history and the groundwork as they go along.
Conversely, online article readers tend to want a faster read.
Their modus operandi is more hit-and-run.
So, what does this mean for you as an online article writer? It means narrowing the focus and getting to the point quickly in every article you write.
Avoid the natural writing tendency to follow divergent paths and explore where they lead as you write.
When the urge strikes you to pursue something that branches off from the main point, stop writing the article and jot down a note about it in a notebook you keep near your computer.
Later, develop an entirely new article about it.
This will benefit both you and your readers.
You will be able to produce more articles, and your readers will enjoy more clarity and coherence in your writings.