7 Proven Headlines Formulas That Remain Fresh

by Tracy Needham

You've got less than 10 seconds to convince someone to read your webpage or article--so your headline better be compelling. Forget clever--most people are too busy to read simply for the sake of curiosity these days. Making the "What's In It For Me?" obvious is usually the more successful (and easier!) way to go.

A Google search will turn up a myriad of headline formulas, but some have been done to death--especially in the internet marketing arena. So here are seven workhorses that can be used in almost any situation, but won't make the reader think "Have I read this before?"

How to...
"How to" is a classic headline that reels them in by promising to show the reader how to solve a problem or get a desired result. And the more specific you can be, the better.

• How to Sell to People Who Don't Want to Be Sold
• How to Start an Herb Garden on Your Window Sill

Ask a QuestionA headline that asks a question also provokes the reader's curiosity--IF you're asking a compelling question they want an answer to. Only ask a yes/no question if you're certain they'll say yes. Otherwise, you're giving them an easy reason not to read.

• Do You Make These Mistakes in English?
• Do You Struggle to Fall Asleep at Night?

# Ways to...
Essentially, this is a "how to" headline for a list of tips. "Steps" works as well if there's a sequence the reader should follow.

• 30 Ways to Get More Blog Subscribers
• 5 Steps to Improving Your Golf Swing

Testimonial
Let your clients do the talking for you! Using a testimonial from a happy client can also be an effective headline because it offers "social proof" that someone else thinks your product or service does what you promise. Put it in quotation marks to signify that it is a quote, and when possible, give the client's name in the opening paragraph.

• "At 60 Miles an Hour the Loudest Noise in This New Rolls-Royce Comes From the Electric Clock"
• "I woke up pain-free for the first time in 3 years, after my first visit to Dr. Relief"

If ...Then...
This one does double duty by identifying the target and/or the problem, and following up with the benefit. You don't always have to include "then," it can also be implied.

• If You're Stuffy and Congested Year Round, Then You Need To Ask Your Doctor About Non-Allergic Rhinitis
• If You're a Runner, You Can Run 10% Faster and Double Your Endurance By Next Week

Warning: ...
Warnings are always a big attention-getter. They work best if the copy that follows the colon mentions the mistake they may be making/about to make and conveys a sense of urgency.

• Warning: Don't Spend Another Dime on Pay-Per-Click Until You Read This
• Warning: If You're Still Using a Currency Marker to Check for Counterfeit Bills, You Could Get a Big Surprise with Your Next Deposit

Give Me... and I'll Give You...
About a year ago, I would have said this one may be overdone. But its popularity has fallen off and the tact of promising a clear benefit in a short amount of time is still quite powerful--especially when you're offering something where "I don't have time" is a common objection.

• Give Me 5 Minutes a Week and I'll Show You How to Get All the Clients You Can Handle
• Give Me 10 Minutes a Day and I'll Give You Six-Pack Abs Without Sit-Ups

Tracy Needham, founder of Compelling Communications, LLC, helps small business owners boost their business through compelling copy and marketing strategies that make the most of their time and money. Sign up for her FREE Special Report: The One Press Release You Can Write to Get Thousands of Dollars Worth of Free Publicity at http://www.compellingezine.com . (c) 2008 Tracy Needham

7 Techniques to Make Your Article More Useful to Readers

by Deepak Dutta

Whether you are writing articles for article directories or posts for your blog, your goal should be to make them useful to readers. But, most of the articles and blog posts are full of vague generalities and they contain a pile of words and sentences meant for search engine rankings only.

If you make your contents useful to readers and strategically use a few key words to make it search engine friendly, you will not only attract search engine traffic but also develop readers' loyalty who will promote your brand virally.

How do you make your article useful to readers? Use the 7 techniques discussed in this article to make an impact on your readers.

1. Use examples to elaborate your point. Without example the writing becomes an exercise in abstraction and many readers will not have a clue as to what you are trying to convey. You can either start with examples and than generalize message to an abstract concept or you can start with a general statement and elaborate it with examples.

If you are discussing several concepts, start with a simple example and build on the same example to illustrate all of your concepts. Switching to different examples for each of your concept, will leave the readers wondering how all the concepts you have discussed in your article relate to each other.

2. Use analogy, metaphor, and story. Analogies are very instructive and they provide insights to an unknown concept using a known concept. For example, you can explain back links by saying, 'a back link to your website is like a vote for your site. If you have more votes than your competitors, you win. More back links to your site means higher ranking in search engine results.'

Metaphors are also used to compare two different concepts but the words 'like' or 'as' are not used in metaphors. Our every day speech is full of metaphors, e.g. 'raining cats and dogs', 'old flame', etc. Use them to liven up your prose but be cautious. Improper use may sow confusion in the reader's mind.

If you have a personal story, use them to illustrate your point. Stories are very powerful in conveying a message. A Story resonances more in the minds of the readers than an abstract concept.

3. Enhance value by incorporating opinions. Bloggers often link to other articles and write a sentence or two to introduce a topic. While this is a good practice in letting your readers know what others are thinking in the related topics, you can enhance the value of the post by including your opinions and inviting others to post their own thoughts in the comment section.

4. Use Quotes from Authoritative Writings. You may already know about the value of using quotes from your college essay writing class. Quotes from authoritative figures help increase the value of your opinion and thoughts. You can proclaim that you are not the lonely person who has this crazy thought, but lots of respected people do agree with your insights.

5. Use illustrations and charts. You can use this technique in Squidoo lenses, Hubpages and in your own blog posts. This technique may not be possible for general article marketing sites because of the popular article directories don't allow images and videos in the article.

Some concepts are difficult to explain using words only. However, a simple illustration helps readers grasp the concept easily. Readers can also easily remember a chart than a few paragraphs of a blog post.

You don't have to be a graphic artist to create useful illustrations. Use MS PowerPoint or other free chart software to create your charts. Use screen captures when writing a 'how to article' about the use of software.

6. Write Pros and Cons. Most articles discuss only one side of a topic; either the writer is for or against it. Why no use both sides of the coin? Share your opinions about why it is good for your readers and what your readers should be cautious about while using or implementing the concept in your article.

7. Let your article sit for a day or two. Don't rush to submit your articles to all the article directories as soon as you finish writing it. Wait for a day or two and read the articles again to see if you can add or modify some thing to make it more useful to your readers.

Does your article provide any useful information to readers to make their life better? It does not always have to be materialistic gains for your readers. Even if you can share humor or inspiration with your readers using your prose, you have achieved your goal of providing value by your writing.

In the web information is cheap but valuable information is few and far between. If you do your part in making your readers happy, you will be recognized as an expert in your field and money will flow.

Post free classifieds and free ads for all your free online marketing needs using Deepak Dutta's online classified ads tools.

Writing for Local Businesses

by Nick Daws

Many writers concentrate all their efforts on trying to sell their work to national publishers and magazines. And yet, by doing so they are overlooking a huge potential market which is literally on their own doorstep.

There are many small and medium-sized businesses who at times would appreciate the help of a writer, yet have no idea how to go about finding one. Among the many items they might need assistance with are:

• Newspaper advertisements
• Brochures and leaflets
• Sales letters
• Website content
• Press/news releases
• Important letters

Bear in mind that the average small business owner may be very good at auto repairs, plumbing, interior design or whatever, but have limited writing skills. If there is someone local he (or she) can turn to, who is not going to charge a fortune, chances are he will be delighted to hire that person to take the work off his hands.

At this point you might ask why such a businessman would not simply go to an advertising agency for help. The answer is they could, but agencies are expensive, and because they make their money from commission on the advertising they place, most are not really interested in doing occasional work for small businesses.

This is the market niche which you, with your writing skills, can fill. I would suggest charging by the hour – maybe starting at around $25 an hour initially, perhaps increasing to $50 to $100 an hour or more as you become established. This will give you a reasonable rate of return for your efforts, but will still be a lot less than most agencies will charge (or professionals such as accountants and lawyers).

Here's just one example. A few months ago I was contacted by a man who runs a local second-hand car business (we met when I bought my current vehicle from him). His landlords wanted him to vacate the land he was using, which he had sub-contracted from a local garage. He felt this was unfair, and had drafted a letter explaining his objections and offering to pay an increased rent. In view of the letter’s importance he wanted a ‘professional’ to check it before he sent it. I edited the letter, correcting several spelling and grammatical mistakes, and re-typed it on good quality paper.

I charged him $50 for this, which he was happy to pay. I am pleased to report that the letter had the desired effect, and he is still successfully trading from the site in question!

Work can be obtained by advertising in local papers and via mail shots. You could also spend a day leafleting local businesses. Word-of-mouth is also a powerful sales medium, so if this type of writing appeals to you I recommend getting some business cards printed and handing them out to everyone you meet – the car mechanic, the gardener, the builder, even the dentist! It’s also worth trying local charities, schools, and so on. After all, if they don’t hire you, they might end up spending an awful lot more on an advertising agency.

On the other hand, advertising agencies (as well as marketing and PR agencies) can be markets for freelance writers as well. At one time I did a lot of work for a local one-man-and-his-dog advertising agency. The main in question was a talented graphic designer but did not really have a way with words (neither did his dog), so he used freelance writers when required.

You should be able to find information about local agencies in 'Yellow Pages' or whatever local business directories circulate in your country. Drop them a line introducing yourself (preferably with one or two examples of your work) and ask if they would be interested in using your services. If you're brave enough, follow up the letter with a phone call a few days later.

Another tip is to make friends with your local printer. Printers regularly deal with small businessmen and women, and will often be willing to refer requests for writing help your way (especially if you bring them work in exchange). Ask if you can leave a supply of your business cards on their counter.

And finally, don't forget to try your local newspaper. Often nowadays they have only a skeleton staff of reporters, and many rely on freelances to supply news and gossip to help fill their pages. You won't get paid a fortune for this work - though you should certainly be paid something - but it can be good fun, and a way of raising your profile in your local community.

This article is based on a section from Module 11 of Quick Cash Writing, the brand new course by UK freelance writer Nick Daws on making money from shorter writing projects. For further details, including any current special offers, check out http://www.quickcashwriting.com/

Nick Daws is a best-selling author living in Staffordshire, England.
You can discover his exciting course “How to Write Any Book in 28 Days – OR LESS!” online at http://www.writequickly.com/

Easy SEO Article Writing Basics For You

by Angela Booth

Are you writing articles for the Web? Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is fundamental -- here are four tips which will help you to learn this skill.

Firstly, let's look at why SEO is important: SEO helps your articles to be found. People looking for information use the Web search engines, which are basically indexing software.

Therefore, you need to include the search terms -- the keywords -- for which people are searching in your articles to ensure that the articles are found.

1. Choose Your Primary Keyword With Care

If you're writing Web articles for a buyer, you'll usually be given a set of keywords to target (include) in your articles.

But what if you're writing articles for yourself? In this case, you need to create your own keyword list. For each article, choose a primary keyword. (Only one.) You'll include this keyword in the article title, as well as in the first paragraph of the article.

You can also choose a secondary keyword if you wish. However, once you've chosen your primary keyword, just focus on writing an excellent article.

2. Write an Excellent Article -- Be Original

You must also remember your article's readers. So your article must not only be original, it should also provide useful information. While keywords are a primary tool of SEO, links are equally important. An article will only be linked to from other sites and blogs if the information is great.

Strive to make your articles "linkworthy". The more links any article collects, the more likely it is to be found by searchers.

3. Avoid Keyword Stuffing

As a Web writer, you'll often work with buyers of your writing who are unfamiliar with the Web, and they may use terms like "keyword density".

Years ago, when the search engines were less powerful than they are now, having keywords appear several times in an article was important. Nowadays, repeating keywords is more likely to get an article labelled as Web spam. Using a keyword too often is known as "keyword stuffing": avoid it.

Use keywords naturally -- once you've placed a keyword in an article title, and again in the first paragraph, it's not necessary to repeat it again, unless you're doing it naturally in the flow of writing.

4. Great Keywords Lead to Great Articles: Keyword Ideas

Because keywords are so essential to ensuring that content is found on the Web, it's vital to use those search terms which are used by Web searchers. Often they're keywords you wouldn't use yourself.

Therefore, when you're writing articles for others, ask to see customers' communications and questions, and also any lists the buyer has of search terms from the site's Web logs.

These sources will often give you great keyword ideas for articles, and the better your keywords, the more effective your articles will be.

Want to make a great income from your writing? Angela Booth's "Sell Your Writing Online NOW" Training Program at http://sellwritingnow.com/Home/training.html gives you all the skills you need to make great money writing for the Web. A subscriber recently said: "Your training has inspired me - I'm on Lesson 14, and I'm making enough money to quit my day job."

For free weekly writing information sent to your Inbox, subscribe to Angela's Fab Freelance Writing Ezine at http://www.freelancewritingezine.com/ and receive "Write And Sell Your Writing: The Power-Write Report" immediately.

The Solitary Mindset That Might Be Holding You Back

by Lucia Zimmitti

Honestly assessing your writing temperament can help you be more productive; you'll learn to work with your natural strengths and navigate around the spots that give you trouble. We continue in our exploration of the most common types of temperaments (and you may see yourself in more than one) with a look at "The Island." The others (discussed in separate articles) are:

-Sir Starts-a-lot

-The Perfectionist

-Fool for a Deadline

-The Tofu Artist (a.k.a. The Feedback-Dependent Writer)

Writing temperament: THE ISLAND

Writers need other writers. Trust me: there's nothing like the support of fellow writers to keep you going. But even beyond that, writers need other people - they need first readers, people to offer them feedback before the manuscript ends up on a editor's desk. The Island type of writer doesn't believe that and never passes off the work to anyone else for review.

Among Islands, there are two subsets:

a) The Over-Confident Island The first type of Island doesn't bother sharing his work with others because he "knows they just won't get it." You may be picking up a note of disdain in that statement (and you'd be right). He often believes the failure to connect with his work is the fault of the reader's stupidity and not in any flaws in his writing. Of course what the over-confident Island fails to remember is that editors and agents are readers, too, and they won't slog through something that the Island's bowling league or critique group won't.

Even though it manifests as over-confidence (and sometimes that's exactly what it is), this "They just don't get it" attitude might be a defense mechanism that protects a deep vulnerability. Whatever the root cause, the Island hampers his chances for breaking into print when he rejects the perspective of others and overnights his manuscript directly from his palm-treed acre to a New York publishing house. We're all too close to our work to see it objectively. That's where others come in.

For confidence to work for the writer, it must be balanced with humility, which allows for an openness and willingness to learn, to listen, to grow.

b) The Fearful Island (a.k.a. The Under-Confident Island or the Overly-Humble Island) This Island subset doesn't keep her work close because she mistrusts others' abilities -- she doesn't have faith in her own. She's driven to write, often she really enjoys writing, and she dreams about holding her very own published book in her hands. But when it comes time to push her words off the safety of her island, she balks.

She doesn't think her work is good enough, and unlike the perfectionist who labors in the hope that it will feel done at some point, the fearful Island isn't so sure any of her efforts will transform her work into something dazzling. And so she finishes it and keeps it locked away. And finishes something else and locks that up, too. She blushes and changes the subject when someone asks her about her writing "hobby." If someone asks to see something she's written, she drops the Martini tray she's holding, oblivious to the little toothpicked-olives bouncing along the parquet floor.

The sad thing: there are heaps of Fearful Islands out there, which means there are brilliant works out there, doomed to locked drawers, that we'll never get to explore and enjoy.

Take heart: Like all of these temperament classifications, the Fearful Island is a mindset, and mindsets can be changed. You can consciously change the way you think. It takes work and commitment and persistence, but it's quite doable when the will accompanies it.

If your goal is publication (and it is for all the writers I work with), you must balance humility with a healthy dose of confidence.

Benefit: For either Island type, you are spared rejection, spared the discomfort of a lukewarm reception of your work. You will never hear the sting of, "Huh. That just didn't work for me. What were you shooting for?" (Although we often need to hear that, it hurts -- no matter how tactfully the message is sent.)

Cost: You know you can't get published unless you throw your manuscript in the ring. But it's also true that you can't get better unless you revise, and you can't revise fully and meaningfully unless you get outside feedback. That's one of writing's immutable laws. And although rules can often be broken with success, not that one.

And remember: If writing is important to you (second only to a select group of humans), you can succeed with the right attitude, no matter what writing temperament you are.

To discover other ways to make your writing habit more efficient, satisfying and fun, visit http://ManuscriptRx.com and sign up for "Write Through It," the FREE monthly newsletter that offers practical writing advice and anecdotal wisdom.

Lucia Zimmitti, a writing coach and independent editor, is a member of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators and the Editorial Freelancers Association. Her fiction and poetry have been published in various national literary journals, and she has taught writing at the high school and college levels.

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