How To Write An Article Online - 2

The How To Write An Article Online series is designed for creators of online content, new writers, and anyone looking to improve their article writing skill. Our first post in this series talked about good practices when writing an article. You can read it here: How To Write An Article Online: Good Practices. This post deals with developing the skill and technique needed to make your internet content stand out from the thick, muddy pools of the cyber slush pile. 

There're several ways you can make your articles positively stand out. This of course is what you’re aiming for as a serious writer. We're only going to skim the surface in this tutorial, and aim for the factors that are generally troublesome to the majority of online writers and creators.

How to write an article online: developing skill and technique

Broaden your vocabulary or buy a thesaurus

It's great to produce well-written articles, but are yours exactly just like a hundred other pieces on the Internet? In order to wow your reader you must have a style and a special knack for the craft to enable your article to climb to the surface of all the dross. Your style should flow freely. This means that if you write in a hiccoughing sort of way your readers will have problems getting your meaning clearly, and may have to read a particular section over and over again. Broaden your vocabulary so that you’re not using the same word repeatedly. Here is a little, very lazy example to illustrate my point.

~My sisters and brothers are the best sisters and brothers a girl can have.

~My sisters and brothers are the best siblings a girl can have.

Admittedly, this is a very simple example, but it demonstrates my point succinctly. If you haven’t got a simple right-click thesaurus on your computer, buy a little one and keep it with you when you’re writing. I use mine all the time because it's a great help to me (especially when I'd just started my writing course). Note: you'll need to create your articles in Word to make use of this tool. 

How to write an article tool: In case you've never used your computer’s thesaurus, here's what you do: place your cursor in the middle of the word you wish to change (find an alternative word for) and right click. A box will appear on your screen, which should give you several options, two of which are, ‘synonyms,’ and/or ‘look-up.’ Follow either of these and they should bring you to the thesaurus. This feature will give you other suitable words you can use in favour of the one you’ve written. Play around with this and eventually you can wean yourself off it. If you've never heard of it, here's an extremely useful Thesaurus for writers you should get your hands on.

Lay out article nicely

Pictures work well in articles because it's true that a picture is worth a thousand words. Many people who read online content prefer pictures because it means they don't have to read yet another one of our drab articles :-). Ideally, pictures are great for wooing viewers to your web content. Of course, in a tutorial like this one, images wouldn’t do much good because you’re reading this for a totally different reason than you’d read an article about unusual plants found in the Amazon rain forest (for example). To fully understand how to use and optimize images in your articles see immediately below.

How to write an article tool: Optimising images on your blog and How to store pictures online 

Be sure that your article is laid out web-style. Have clear, separate paragraphs, and section out your Internet content with nice bold headings to allow for skimming (this is covered in part one of this series).

Use good grammar

A how to write an article post won't be complete without this section. This is the foundation of good writing. Creating great Internet articles should follow the same rules as other writing projects.

Make use of the built-in grammar check on your computer if you’re not sure. If my answer to this is that grammar is not my strong point, then what am I doing as a writer? I'm not that good at painting, so I'd think twice about painting awful pieces and then subjecting you to the abuse of having to view them on the Internet. 

Then again, I suppose lots of rubbish singers, go on the X-factor/American Idol and belch out their corroded larynx to the entire world.

How to write an article tool: Free, quick English tutorials
The above is free, but here's an easy to use, simple grammar books you can buy.

Be yourself and express your thoughts skilfully when writing an article

Stay away from big words and wordy phrases. Large important words, unless they’re needed, do not necessarily express the feeling and the emotions you want your reader to ‘see.’ Write simply. Using big words doesn’t necessarily mean you write well. Your writing worth is judged by what you say and your ability to transmit your thoughts clearly to your reader. Get people to truly care about something you’ve said by: 1. Put a part of yourself into your article. 2. Develop enough skill to present it in such a way that they'll be enticed by the pictures you paint for them with your words. 3. Help them. 4. Give them something to laugh at.

People who read your work know what you sound like. If your ‘sound’ is not you, they will know that you’ve been messing around with the copy and paste thingy again. I’ve stopped reading a few of my friends’ pieces because when they make comments or write to me, they sound like themselves. However, when they produce an article, I can tell that large chunks of the work is someone else’s.

How to write an article tool: Forget copying. Instead, Get super ideas for blog posts
Some great places that accept original and expressive articles and pay for them, writing opportunities

How to write an article: edit, research, get facts right

If you’re creating a factual piece make sure you re-check your information for any flaw or inconsistency. Leave it out if you’re not sure of it. Wherever possible, leave your sources - not only for images, but for facts as well. It goes without saying, you do not cite as your source, one single Internet page when writing your article. 

If you find information worth sharing that you suspect is flawed, inform your online audience of your suspicion. Put your own thoughts and experience into your work and let your readers know that even though you’re reporting the event/information as an objective body, you think it may be less than the truth.

If you’ve come across additional information after publishing your project, go back in and have it fixed. By the same token, if one of your readers suggests that something you’ve said may not be accurate, send them a message of thanks and submit a fix to your work. The last thing you want is to be known as someone who professes to know the truth, while propagating a series of lies and inaccuracies on your articles.  Wipe the face of your articles clean with strict editing scourers, making sure that there are no mistakes, no misspelt words, and no incorrect sentence structures. Practice certainly makes perfect where editing is concerned.

How to write an article? Read

We’ll talk about this more in-depth in another one of the articles in this series, but I have to include a short note about reading here. One of the most important technique/skill building exercises for creating internet content and writing articles, is to be an avid reader yourself.

This is the only way you'll systems and tactics that work, and of course, those that don’t. When you find an article that catches your eye study it and decide why it’s so attractive. It goes without saying that emulating the writers and creators of great web content is a good idea.

Reading also helps you to see good and bad sentence structures; great and mediocre wording; and fantastic and idiotic project ideas. This will help you in your own work. If you start out as an okay web content provider/article writer, reading should make you (at least) a fine one at the end of your first year in the business.

Revision: how to write an article online - 2

~If I’m serious about writing, I have to teach myself new words. I won't make it out there with just the few I’ve managed to pick up along the way. In article writing it's not quality versus quantity, it's quality plus quantity where vocabulary is concerned.

~I’ve got to pay attention to how I lay out my work. Attractive layouts and wholesome images get my articles read by more people.

~I’ve got to use good grammar. 

~I have to be skilful at expressing myself and my thoughts. I have clearly say what I want my readers to ‘see.’

~I’ve got to be careful to get my facts right, and humble enough to correct them when they’re wrong.

Reading helps me to be a better writer.

Here’s what we’ve been studying so far in this series:
How to write an article online - 1 Good practices 


Please subscribe to this blog or join us to get the next update in this series. If you think this How To Write An Article series can help someone you know, please send this to them and/or share it on your favourite social networking sites. Thank you. 
Extended reading:

How To Write An Article Online - 1

How to write an article online is designed for new writers and creators of online content (and for those looking to improve their skills). This shows you some good practices to keep your readers satisfied and informed even if they haven’t got the time to read your entire article. Watch out for the rest of this series by subscribing to this blog on the right. This series is beneficial for those wanting to start a career writing online; whether you're a new blogger, a freelance writer looking to break the online market, or someone seeking to write content for online sites that pay you to write for them. 
NB: There are some additional helpful links to get you started at the end of this tutorial. 
You can read part 2: How to write an article online: developing skill and technique.


How to write an article online: good practices

People who regularly read online content generally tend to skim though the works because of lack of time. If, however, they find material that offers help in a way that relates to their specific need, works that amuse them, or content in which they’re interested, they'll stop and take the time to indulge in a more thorough read.  This considered, if you don't enable easy skimming on all of your work, you may lose fans to writers who are more succinct in their articles. Here are some common ways to ensure that your internet articles are ready for easy reading and skimming.

Use pictures to illustrate

Pictures work well to illustrate your point without having to go into too much detail. If you have a good digital camera, start taking your own pictures. You alone know exactly what you want to say, and using your imagination to set up and capture just the right image for your article could reap you benefits. You may even discover that you actually have a talent for photography. When you learn more on how to write an article online, you'll see that having your own pictures is a lot more practical than using existing ones online. 

In my writing course I was told that a good writer always carries a camera because you may find yourself in a situation where you’ve taken an on-the-spot photograph which may be worth a lot to a newspaper. In addition to this, you may get your big break of acceptance by a large publication, simply because you have a unique picture to go with the story you want to tell. These articles show you how to use your pictures to optimize your work.
Optimizing pictures on your blog increases page views
How to store pictures online

Separate your sections

If you take a look at this article you can easily assimilate the important points by looking at the heading of my sections. This not only helps your reader to focus on which part of the piece he/she wants to digest, but it works wonders in helping you, the writer, centre your thoughts precisely. If it helps, write your section headings before you write the article. 

If you write in one long paragraph capturing several main thoughts, but scattering them throughout the piece, your writing can read very confusing and clumsy. Most readers won't take the time to sift through to the 'good' bits. 

Headings in bold

Writing an article online is different from writing for traditional publications - bold headings may be required but not vital. However, if you’re an Internet content provider, your employers and readers will expect your sections to be headed in bold print. This not only makes it easier for the fans to capture the essence of your work, but it gives a better skimming result to the casual reader, not to mention SEO (but we won't talk about that here).

If this article is important to you, you would read the entire piece. However, if you were in a hurry and only wanted to skim the gist of the message, you could do so in less than one minute.

Remember to edit

There is no point paying attention to the other factors if you aren’t properly editing your work. If you want to perfect – or at least improve – your writing skills, editing should be a large part of producing quality product. I’ve edited this article six times so far, but I’m sure that you can still pick out at least one typo or error in the content. This is because you’re looking at it with completely fresh eyes - another reason to leave your article for a few hours (or a day, if you've got the time), then read it one last time before publishing it.

Why is editing important for skimming? Because if your content is accurate and well-written, it should be easy to understand with merely a brief look-through. If your writing is less than adequate, it would be difficult for skimmers to make any sense of it at all. Editing is a large and very important part in learning how to write an article online. 

Here are some brilliant, English tutorials on getting the grammar, punctuation and spelling right.

Revision blocks

While these are not always necessary, it’s a good idea to have one at the end of tutorials or articles that instruct. If your reader cannot finish your longer sections, having a revision block at the end of the tutorial gives him/her an option of just reading that section. If it makes sense to them, they will return for a more exhaustive read. Remember that as the creator, it’s your job to do the research and provide your reader with the information you claim to have. Regardless of how your reader chooses to peruse your work, your pieces should always provide good and accurate information. This is your responsibility, one that you took upon yourself the minute you decided to put your thoughts into words and publish them. This is not something you should take lightly when writing articles online.

Bullet points
Bullet points are very useful if you want to write an article online for proper Internet skimming.  Stay away from wordy phrases and express yourself as succinctly as possible. Bullet points also allow you, the creator to highlight the facts in the article that you want the reader to pay attention to. Not only does this look neat and professional, it also hones your skill in focusing on one point at a time. 

Revision and conclusion to 'How To Write An Article Online - 1'

1. I should use pictures to illustrate points when writing an online article.
2. I should section off my articles so that I can focus my thoughts in orderly patterns when I write.
3. Bold headings make my work appear neater, and make them easy to skim through.
4. Edit, edit, edit. Well-written work is easier to read, than pieces littered with mistakes.
5. Revision blocks like this one are helpful to the reader for skimming purposes.
6. Bullet points lend a professional look to my articles, and help my readers to focus on the main points I want to bring to their attention.

If you liked 'How To Write An Article Online: Good Practices', please share it on your favourite networking sites. As always, thank you for visiting A Blogger's Books and for leaving your comments. If you have any questions please leave them in the comment box too.   

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Blog Tools You Need For 2012

Blog tools you need for 2012 will explore what you need for better blogging this year. Proper blog tools are essential in order to give your visitors the complete reader experience they deserve. Blog tools can also increase your earnings by making your blog more attractive, work more efficiently, and preform better in SEO results. I have - and am using the following tools for blogs and find them extremely helpful. Now it's your turn to try them. You can also go here for the best in Blogger tools if you're with Blogger.

Blog tools you need for 2012

Note that some of these are free blog tools and others are paid ones. Also, some of them require you to sign up to receive them. It's okay to do so because I have. All this means is that you conveniently receive any updates to these blog tools in your inbox. This can be quite helpful, especially in cases where Google changes its policy on practises etc. 

Blog tool 1: Global CommentLuv Site Search Engine

This free blog tool enables you to search for sites that allow your last post to show up in your comment. This is a great and easy way to spread your posts globally. You get a whole lot back for a little bit of time and effort (with no guest posting in site). The commentluv site is free to use, and if you bookmark anything this month, this should be it. Type in your niche and look for sites similar to yours. Click on them and leave your comments. Did I say that most commentluv enabled sites encourage you to leave comments by giving you do-follow links? This simply means that when you leave a comment, the link to your last post appears with it and this link is do-follow, thus helping your blog rank better on Google.

Blog tool 2: 7 Steps to Complete Search Engine Domination

This blog tool helps you to build a popular blog in less than a year. And yes, it's completely free! I'm still reading it at the moment, and am finding it insightful. You need to go to this page  to get it. Just stick your email address in so it can be sent to you in your inbox. You'll get regular updates, but you can unsubscribe any time you like. I don't think you'll want to do so because the updates are pretty cool and always helpful if you're serious about blogging. This is one free tools for blogs you don't want to miss out on. 

Blog tool 3: Tasty Tuesdays freebies page

I don't know what we would do without Tasty Tuesdays freebies page. No prize for guessing why this is another one of my top, amazing free blog tools. You'd be right in thinking, because it's free. Most of the plugins and tools offered on this page are made for Wordpress sites, but bloggers in general can still make use of a lot of them. There are free sales hosting page. Do you want to sell something online and want your buyers to click on a  professional sales page? Do you want free 'buy this' buttons or 'download this' tabs? 

Then this Tasty Tuesdays freebies page will be something you'll be going back to each week. 

Blog tool 4: CommentLuv premium 

I use this blog tool (or plugin) at my new Wordpress sites, and I think it's doing a fantastic job. CommentLuv encourages people to comment on your site because it gives them a do-follow link (in most cases) back to their last few blog posts. It also keeps spam at bay and gives you a ton of customisation you can do to improve your blog. I think it's the best blog tool I've seen in a long time. You have to buy CommentLuv, but you can then redesign it and do whatever you want with it. Once you purchase it, you can use it on all of your sites - no matter how many you have. Then your blog is added to the comluv search engine where more people are able to find it. This blog tool is the best one around for link building. It's also perfect if you want to increase your readership and decrease your bounce rate. I recommend it whole-heartedly. If you haven't seen my wordpress sites yet. They're here and here. If you buy one blog tool this year, it has to be commentluv. Blogger users can download commentluv by signing up for an account on Intensedebate . Wordpress users - just purchase and instantly download. There are videos to show you how to install it, but it's very straightforward.

Conclusion: So how about you? What blog tools have you used and have become impressed by? Please share them here so we all can make full use of them. These are mine for 2012, and I suspect I'll be talking about them for a very long time. If you liked 'Blog Tools You Need for 2012', why not share it on your favourite social networking sites, please. Tell us what you think in the comment boxes below. Thank you for visiting and commenting on A Blogger's Books!

Startup Business

At this time of recession, it’s ironic that one of the fastest growing money-makers are people with a startup business. Writing e-books, blogging, and launching online businesses are all the rage these days and it seems like 1 in every 10 parent I meet has got a startup business. People always say everyone has got a book in them – and this may be the case. But nowadays it seems that everyone has got a business in them too! Many of us start our business and fail. Many go on to be quite successful and even move on to teaching others how to start their own business like this incorporate company in Hong Kong 

are you nurturing a startup business?

I think the key to all of these elements is to have the right people helping you. I’m an author, and I’m very good at what I do. However, when it comes to website coding and design; or building up my own business from scratch, I’m a small fish swimming in a very huge lake.

I’ve been recently toying with the idea of getting an online partner, someone who’s not a writer, but who’s able to fix a problem on one of my blogs in the click of a finger. I saw the company formation in Hong Kong on the Internet which will help you with things like registering your online, company formation etc. My blog needs something like this because I’m ready to hit a higher deck where writing and blogging is concerned. Please let me know if you’ve used anyone affordable. 

I've come to the realisation that I'm not cut out for tech stuff. This hit me towards the end of last year because while my writing has gone from strength to strength, my technical skills (or lack thereof) are at a standstill. My mind bends with all the stuff I've read online and I need some help. 

Blog Statistics: 2011 Numbers

My blog statistics in 2011 have been quite encouraging. It's really progressed in terms of page views and Google PR rating. (If you'd like to check yours, go here). I'd like to share some of these statistics with you because you're the reason A Blogger's Books is where it is today. Thank you. Here are my blog statistics for 2011. 

Blog statistics for 2011

Blog statistics for top 10 posts

Free gadgets to improve page views

Free blog gadgets for Blogger
Make more from adsense: tips for small time bloggers
How to create a blank page in Blogger
How to resize Facebook Networked blogs widget
Free gadgets to monetize your blog
Writing opportunities
4 brilliant online sites to write for
10 ways to make your blog post popular
Free, quick English lessons

Blog statistics for top 5 referrers
Blogger.com
Direct
Google
Viperchill
Relationship Blog

Blog statistics for top 5 visitors (by country)
United States
United Kingdom
India
Canada
Malaysia

Other stats
#48.67% (almost half) of my traffic comes from search engines
#The search engine that sends more traffic to A Blogger's Books is still Google -with a whopping 97.67 % (if all search engine traffic).
# Alexa traffic rank - 583,115
# Google PR rating - 4

Thank you again for your support in 2011. Please let me know what you'd like me to focus on this year. Leave your comments in the box below and I'll try my best to do that for you. If there's anyone you know that can benefit from the things we talk about on this blog, please send them this way. Thank you for all the comments, the visits, the links and your presence here. It's what keeps this blog from shutting down altogether. 


Hopefully I can figure out this year how to earn from all the hard work I put in here and on my other sites. Please let me know if you have any ideas that'll work for me.

Reverse Google Pagerank Algorithm

Reverse Google Pagerank Algorithm seems to be some sort of made up term to get high-ranking sites to link to various spam websites and suck some of their hard-earned pagerank. 

Have you received this letter? I just wanted to give you the heads-up. If you receive the following letter or anything like it, please do your research before adding any links to your site. If you know anything about an actual reverse Google pagerank algorithm please let me know so that I can update this post. 

(Name removed) I just wanted to drop you a line and invite you
to be a link partner for our website (name removed).

I've found your website with the "reverse google pagerank
algorithm" which indicates that we both would get better google
rankings, when we exchange links.

I've already gone ahead and added your site abloggersbooks.com
to our link directory, could you please verify the description
before it will go life {sic} at: (link removed)

There is no site (that I can find) like the one this guy mentioned. As far as I could see, there's also nothing called Reverse Google Pagerank Algorithm. In fact, Google has specifically advised against link exchanges.  

Have you received any emails mentioning reverse Google pagerank algorithm from this company? If so, did you add their link to your site?