If it's one thing I can not stand it's a hassle – something that takes too long or is too hard to put in place. I want results and I want it right now. I'm not some big corporation with years to build a brand. I want sales immediately, not years from now.
That's why writing short articles is so important to making article marketing work for you. May consumers are just like me and they want solutions to their challenges now, now now! That's a good thing. Because if you provide results, they'll buy from you just as fast.
So how long does the article have to be?
Short answer : 500 to 700 words.
Long answer : If you can not say it in under 700 words do you really have a strong command of the subject matter?
The bottom line is writing short, concise articles takes expert status. If you are not got it, baby, then work hard until you've learned the ropes.
3 Ways to Cut the Fat from Your Articles
Since I spent several years editing, proofreading and generally skewering the writing of other journalists I can give you a few points for cutting down long articles into ezine article. My advice: Put your articles on a word-count diet. Instead of counting carbs, count how many words it will take to get your point across. Here are three tips that can help:
Article Weight Loss Tip # 1: Split those articles up.
If you have an article that's 1,200 words long, make it into two 600-word articles.
Article Weight Loss Tip # 2: It's all about the themes, baby.
Stick with one theme for each article you write and just expound on it. Really work to dissect one theme or piece of advice to solve a key problem everyone in your industry is facing. For accountants right now a good theme would be balancing your current rush of clients with cultivating new business relationships, keeping the new leads coming in so that when tax season is over you still have a steady stream of income.
Article Weight Loss Tip # 3: Use subheads, bullet points and numbered lists to break up your content. Scan your article and pull out the pieces of advice you give through the piece. More often than not you're telling people here and there what they should do to solve a problem. Put that information all in one place and you'll be surprised at how much you'll cut from the article.
To keep your articles lean and mean you'll want to focus more on giving the advice to solving a problem more than anything else. Really bring home that fact that you've been where your teams are now and you know the way to "freedom" from those challenges they're facing now.
That's what makes you the expert – and the one who can command top dollar for your products and services.