Article Surfing Archive

There are many reasons why you may want to write articles but in terms of publishing for profit, there are really only two.

The first is for direct and immediate profit. In other words, you write the article and someone pays you for it. At this pint, you lose all rights to what you have written, so don't imagine that you can regurgitate even one sentence and re-use it. Of course, you still have the knowledge and are free to continue writing and publishing on the same subject. Just make sure that the content isn't recognisable and that you don't inadvertently use an identical complex sentence to one which was in the article that you sold.

The second reason for writing articles is to attract visitors to your website and/or to purchase your product for longer term profit. In this instance, you can't sell your article because to need it to carry your name and your business details and web address, not somebody else's. You retain the rights and can do what you like with your masterpiece, but you will probably choose one or several of the following.

- Publish on your own website but use your blog or newsletter to tell people where to find your article. If you "ping" your blog, certain search engines will be updated and others will detect of their own accord that your site has new, original content and will send their spiders along to index it.

- Publish in an ezine. Many ezine owners are looking for content and may agree to a swap, otherwise you may have to pay for your article to appear. However, if you choose the ezine carefully, it can be well worth the expenditure.

- Publish in an article directory. This may well lead to other websites using your work for content or distribution via RSS feeds. Each time your article appears, so will your link, attracting even more visitors to your site or product.

If you join MPAM and follow the 20 Steps course, you will learn about all of the above. The course lays out a detailed plan for the successful creation and population of a content-rich, search engine friendly website. In addition, there is the opportunity to at least cover the cost of your membership by writing articles for sale to MPAM as well as many other income streams and extensive training.

Whatever your reasons for writing articles and wherever they end up, before you start to scribble or tap away at the keyboard, there are a few basic things that you will need to know.

A good standard of English grammar and spelling is required. Without that, your articles will remain unread and other than on your own website, where you can do what you like, unpublished. The major article directories check spelling and grammar quite carefully and will reject out of hand, articles which are not of a sufficiently high quality.

Original, informative content is a must. It's worth doing some research to find out what the internet population are interested in before you even start.

A well-structured, cohesive piece of writing is necessary. There's nothing more likely to lose your readers' attention than muddled or contradictory ramblings.

If you would like detailed tips about the dos and don'ts of article writing, then watch this space, there will be more coming soon.