| Are you unknowingly writing articles that
simply annoy your readers? If you are making the 10 article writing mistakes below, then
I'm sorry to tell you - but "YES!" you are.
10 Ways to Make Sure Your Article Readers Do NOT Become
Prospects and Customers...
1. Over-promising and under-delivering in terms of content.
If you make an outrageous proposition or a huge promise
like (Lose 30 pounds in 30 days) in your article title, then you better make sure you back
up your claims. For example, when I wrote the article, "How to Promote Your Book to
the Top of the New York Times Best Sellers List," I showed the exact steps we took to
help Dr Mark Hyman achieve that status. Within our article, we shared our case study and
provided valuable information for authors.
2. Too many errors.
Whenever I make an occasional grammar mistake (or when I
pronounce a word wrong) my GetLinkedInHelp.com business partner Kristina Jaramillo has to
correct me. She'll do it in a lovingly way (as she is my partner in business and in life)
- but she has to point it out every time because to her it's like taking your fingers and
making the screeching sound on the blackboard. Do you want your readers to have that kind
of response because you simply did not take the time to proofread your articles?
3. Not enough beef.
You really expect me to trust you and buy from you when you
are giving me bits and pieces of information. Yes, 200-250 word articles are perfect for
your blog as long as you produce highly-valuable, highly-informative content all the time.
But if I'm reading your articles on someone else's blog, website or ezine I need to see
that you are the expert and I need you to give me a real reason to go to your website to
grab even more information.
4. Hard selling.
If you if you are hard selling within your articles, you
instantly lose credibility. Instead of being seen as an expert who truly wants to help
others success, you'll be seen as an advertiser.
Also, trying to sell me within your article is like asking
me to marry you on a first date. You have to build and nourish your relationship with me
first. Provide rare gems that no one else is offering, then invite me in your bio box to
grab a free resource such as a special report, ebook, templates, video etc. And, make sure
this free offering provides real value - otherwise you are wasting your time.
5. Writing in gigantic blocks of text.
Big blocks of text are easy to get lost in. They also
strain eyes and make reading difficult because it's hard to scan, let alone read. In fact,
a study shows that only 16% of your readers will actually read your article word-by-word.
The rest mostly scan.
6. Writing like a robot with no personality.
Readers do not like to read writing without personality. It
feels as if you're reading from a robot! Or even an impersonal "professional"
commercial site! Instead, write your articles with style and personality.
This is one of the reasons why I say that you should be
writing your own articles instead of hiring a writer. No one can copy your personality.
Let your personality shine through and you will create an instant connection with your
readers. This connection builds trust and will help you in your cause of getting them onto
your list.
7. Crossing the line with your writing.
I want you to write with personality. That doesn't mean to
get profane. It doesn't mean to insult your audience. It does not mean to talk down to
your readers. It doesn't mean to be a Rush Limbaugh in words!
8. Re-purposing the same story over and over again.
One of my article marketing clients includes the story on
how he went from barely making it to the bottom of his driveway to climbing Mt.
Kilimanjaro in every single one of his articles. These articles are getting put on his
blog. They are being used for article submission and in a 30 day auto-responder series.
Now, I just want to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro to get away from this story.
9. Over-stuffing your articles.
Now, I already talked about not adding enough beef. Here,
it's the complete opposite. Many article marketers are throwing together so many different
ideas together - and they're all over the map. They're literally confusing and
overwhelming readers. Keep your articles on focal point! If you need help, check out these
article templates: http://www.StartWritingArticlesFaster.com
10. Making your articles boring.
The number one rule of writing anything - is to stay away
from boring. You need to add stories. You need to engage readers. And, you need to add
psychological triggers.
By avoiding these 10 ways to piss off your article readers
you will convert more readers into prospects and customers. Just remember, you need to
provide value. |
