4 Major Mistakes to Avoid when Writing an Article

By avoiding these common mistakes, you will greatly improve your article. The Internet has an overabundance of disregarded content that was written in the same rambling way that the author normally speaks in. Many of these articles would never have been neglected by the general public had the author simply looked for these common mistakes prior to publishing.

Number One: Poor Title

The title, or headline, must grab the reader's attention and reel him or her into the story. It should not be extremely long. The title can be fun and does not necessarily need to be a verbatim description of the article. Sometimes a title is best written last. Keep in mind that we are talking about titles for articles and not books. This is an important distinction because longer titles and sub titles that might be appropriate for books will not work for articles.

Bad Title: Website Promotion Ideas: 8 Simple But Effective Tips To Get People To Visit Your Web Site Again And Again

Why? This long and clumsy title does not work for an article. The title has unneeded words and does not take the intended audience into consideration. The theme was correct and the title could be salvaged by properly rewriting it.

Better Title: 4 Major Mistakes to Avoid when Writing an Article

Why? This title is short, informs the reader what the article is about, and is worded to walk the reader into the article. It is properly targeted for the intended audience.

Number Two: Poor Opening

The opening paragraph, especially the introductory line, must be strong and present the topic. The title should flow nicely into the opening paragraph. If the title is "Saving Money at the General Store" and the article leads with "I really don't understand why more stores don't supply coupons"-it is time to rewrite. In this example, the reader will become confused quickly. It is important to maintain a logical flow.

Additionally, never write the following:

• In this article, I will show? (Just show it)
• This article will cover? (Articles do not need a table of contents or an outline)
• By the end of this article? (Don't talk to your readers like they are in grade school-unless the audience really is in grade school)

Number Three: Poor Flow

Poor flow destroys writing in general. Many writers would benefit from creating an outline and rearranging their writing based on it. Writing that does not follow logical flow is completely doomed. Many article authors seem to simply write in the same order as thoughts occur in and then call the job complete. Meanwhile, the writing is a complete mess and a potentially great article remains nothing more than amateur fodder.

This mistake can be avoided by printing out the work, reading it over, and labeling the main theme for each sentence. In the "poor opening" example, the introductory sentence belonged later on in the article-perhaps the conclusion. Reading the article draft aloud is a professional technique for discovering sentence structure errors.

Number Four: Poor Conclusion

It is poor form to label your conclusion as such in an article. There is no need to type the word "Conclusion" or state "In conclusion". A conclusion should not be a summary of what was already written. It must include fresh writing, illustrate the main point of the article, and bring the article to a logical closing. Moreover, it can't leave the reader with the sense of incompletion. An ideal conclusion will drive the point home and give the reader the satisfaction of having read the article. The closing of the article must be communicated well or the reader will come away unsatisfied-even if the article was great up until that point.

Writing great articles takes practice and adhering to some basic principles. To eliminate poorly written articles, share them with your friends and family. Write down their questions and comments as they read your article. With newfound information in hand, proceed to rewrite your work. Never be afraid to delete and rearrange-every writer must do this. In the end, your readers will thank you by continuing to read your improved work.

©2005 Jason Andrew Martin LLC

Jason A. Martin has been conducting business on the Internet for 11 years. He is a freelance writer on many topics and is currently working on obtaining a degree in Journalism and Law.

His official web site, which contains articles you can use for your web site, can be viewed at: Jason A. Martin

---

Seecrets on Website Promotion: The Hard Truths on Writing Free-reprint Articles

This author started with a clean website and wrote 5... Read More

4 Major Mistakes to Avoid when Writing an Article

By avoiding these common mistakes, you will greatly improve your... Read More

Ten Top Tips for Writing Articles on the Internet

Online readers love information, but be sure your information is... Read More

10 Things To Remember When Writing Articles To Market Your Website

Whatever you're selling, writing articles to distribute freely amongst webmasters... Read More

Ten Tips Articles

"Ten Tips" articles are the easiest piece to write because... Read More

Visibility, Credibility and Position Through Articles and Celebrity Testimonials

A huge problem for many people who are working on... Read More

How to Write an Effective Article

Writing a great deal of articles myself, I see a... Read More

Newbies Guide to Writing and Submitting Ezine Articles

How many times have you read the following? If you... Read More

Top Ten Reasons to Write Articles for Free Publication Online

Many writers struggle with the decision of whether or not... Read More

How I Became An EzineArticles.com Platnium Member in One-Hour Flat & How You Can Too

[Disclosure: I went into EzineArticles.com very innocently. I... Read More

One Well-Placed Article Nets 616 Mentions in Google

Evaluation of a Home-Run ArticleI've been writing articles and posting... Read More

What Posting Articles Online Did For My Google Page Rank In 90 Days

Article Marketing Builds Momentum and TrafficWhen I started submitting articles... Read More

How to Measure the Value of Your Article Marketing Campaign

It's not enough to scatter your articles across the internet... Read More

Lots of Extra Money Waiting to be Made from Writing $5 Articles

There is probably no easier way of earning extra money... Read More

You Really Can Make Money With Your Words

Sometimes when I am communicating with other webmasters and I... Read More

Everything I Needed to Know About Article Writing I Learned from My English Teacher

By now you probably understand how important writing for trade... Read More

What to Write About

This is a perennial question among writers and wannabe's. Many... Read More

Want to Put Your Names on My Article?

There's a new sort of ghost stalking the digital landscape.They... Read More

Thought Leaders - Using Article Marketing To Entrench Yourself and Your Personal Brand

A "Thought Leader" is someone recognized as an authority in... Read More

Do I Really Need To Write Articles For E-zines?

When I was first advised to start writing articles, this... Read More

The Best Place To Submit Your Articles

If you've spent any time online trying to promote your... Read More

Simultaneous Article Submission

Do you know the difference between simultaneous article submissions and... Read More

Copywriters and Article Marketing: What Should You Write?

So you've decided to market your home-based copywriting business through... Read More

Ambition versus Dedication

All writers aspire to recognition, but are we dedicated? Ambition... Read More

Top Ten Tips to Write Articles that Will Get Published

This free way to promote or publicize your book or... Read More

Niche Marketing: The Power Of Articles

If you haven't considered the power of articles as part... Read More

SureFire Ways To Get Free Publicity Using Articles

Free publicity can help to spread the word about your... Read More

The Real Reason You Should Be Marketing With Articles

Article marketing has become very popular of late, especially with... Read More

In Search Of Ideas For Articles

Finding something to write about can be frustrating for all... Read More

Write Your Slice of Life: 6 Quick and Easy Steps to Writing a Personal Essay

Do you know why the "Chicken Soup for the Soul"... Read More

Website Promotion ? Where to Get Ideas for Writing Articles

Some six weeks ago, I began writing and submitting articles... Read More

How to use Articles to Boost Your Online Presence

Writing articles is one of the best ways to get... Read More

Dont Buy Your On-Line Marketing Articles From Article Factories

I was busiy submitting some articles I ghost wrote for... Read More