Article Surfing Archive

Writing an article for the internet is not like writing for a newspaper or a magazine.

There are remnants of the who, what, where, when, why and how. There is a need to use an angle and a hook ' something that will draw the reader in.

But unlike a newspaper or magazine article, it's unlikely that you will write the article from the top down; it's unlikely that you will put all of the relevant information at the beginning and then allow the article to taper down so that an editor, to make space, can shorten the article by removing text from the end.

Similarly, unlike a newspaper or magazine article, when an article is written for the internet, it is not meant strictly to inform.

When you write an article for the internet, you don't just report on the facts.

Instead, there are other steps that you take:

' Consider your topic: what are you going to write about and what do you hope to accomplish with the article? Many articles that are written for the internet are meant to establish credibility within a field ' to create a sense that the person credited as the author is someone who can be counted on to provide information. Many other articles are written as an entry point for making a sale.

' Consider your audience: who are you writing the article for? Not only should you think about who you are writing the article for, but also you should think about what that person would want to know about your topic.

' Consider the voice of the article: how can you speak to your audience at their level, conversationally, without talking down to them? Once you have decided on a voice that you will use with the article, keep it consistent.

It seems simple ' think about what you are writing for and who you are writing for and then write the article accordingly. And, to an extent, it is that simple.

But that doesn't mean that there are not other tools that you can use to make the articles that you write for the internet even more effective.

A descriptive title can help to draw the readers in. Similarly, to keep the readers of the article interested, provide them with quality content ' not just a sales letter.

It is important to tell a story. It's important to encourage the reader of the article to act. But it is also important to avoid excessive product promotion as well as excessive self-promotion. And, if you are writing an article for the internet that is meant to promote an affiliate product, be careful not to include direct affiliate links as most article submission services will not accept these links.

If you are writing your internet article with the intention of submitting it to an article submission service, remember to consider the audience that the service markets to; in other words, don't submit articles that are unrelated to the audience or topic.

Similarly, be sure that you are not submitting articles with inappropriate keywords. While using keywords in your article is important ' keywords will draw attention to your article and enable search engines to find the content ' using inappropriate keywords, keywords that are irrelevant, will not help your article.

Instead, it will be a distraction. Incorrect spelling and poor grammar are also distractions from the content of your article.

If you want to write an article for the internet that is free of distractions, take a closer look at articles that are already published. Focus the language that you use. And, above all else, make sure that the information that you provide is not only accurate but also that it is current, up to date.

And, of course, if you are not confident that you can write a great article for the internet, consider other options ' options that include hiring professional content providers to write the article for you.