How To Write Ezine Articles In Clusters

Writing several articles at once might seem pretty much impossible to do if you are just starting to write Ezine articles and find producing them one at a time hard enough. However, writing articles in clusters is not difficult and, once you understand how it's done, you will enjoy the benefits. A group of articles written as a cluster can easily be turned into a series but for now we are looking at the how to produce a group of unique articles written at the same time around a central topic.

Some of the main benefits are as follows:

1. Writing articles in groups saves time when you are researching your subject;
2. It gives you space to fully develop a theme;
3. It gives you more unique content for your blog or website;
4. It gives you extra articles to submit to ezines or to sell.

When you write an article for publication in ezines, you have to keep the word count within certain guidelines (about 500-800 words is usually most acceptable). If your article is too long, ezines might not be prepared to give up the space required to reproduce it. If the article is too short, there is a danger Ezine publishers won't take it seriously. Cluster writing is definitely not about turning out a number of truncated Ezine articles instead of one full length one. Neither is it about stretching or padding your material (you'll only ever get a poor fit if you try that). It is about making full use of ideas and not wasting time or words.

If you are writing about a topic you know well, you will find yourself constantly having to edit your articles to keep the word count down. Instead of throwing away the excess material, paste it immediately into another document with a new title. I would suggest keeping the titles similar - eg "Puppy Training, Why To Do It" and "Puppy Training, When To Start", you can swiftly move on to "Puppy Training, The Best Methods" etc. Don't let the document get too big, anytime your word processor reaches page 2, it's time to think about breaking it into two.

As you write, be alert to any tendency to wander off topic. You might be writing about how it is one thing to have a cute puppy jump on your bed but quite a different experience when that pup has become a 10 stone hound with muddy paws. Suddenly you remember something about doggy vitamins. Instead of popping the idea into one of your puppy training articles as an aside, put it into another new document which you can later use as part of a new cluster about dog nutrition. With one quick "cut and paste" you have kept one article focussed on the main topic and saved an idea, which might otherwise have been wasted, for a new project.

If you are writing an article on an unfamiliar topic, you might think you won't have the problem of needing to cut down your article and will have trouble finding enough to say. However, if you undertake proper research about the subject matter (as you should if you want your article to be taken seriously), you are bound to come across material which relates to the article you have planned but does not quite fit it. Make notes of all this related material. If you get ideas for further articles as you are researching, make a note of these ideas. Research for article writing takes time, so make the most of it. Even if you can only manage two articles on an unfamiliar subject, it is two for the price of one.

Let's look at how to use just one passing idea as the basis for a group of articles. Take the thought "my first home business venture reminds me of Apollo 13". To make this idea into an article, we have to say what is behind the initial thought. Otherwise, the reader will be left thinking "What, it nearly got lost in space?" or "You were trying to land on the moon?". With no explanation or clarification, the idea is meaningless to anyone but you.

The thoughts behind the idea could be about a series of numerical coincidences in regard to events, about surviving near-disasters, about how duct tape solved a huge problem and about the power of prayer. With all these four things encapsulated in the idea, you have the basis of a four paragraph article. It does not require much of an imagination stretch to see that you could have the basis for four separate articles clustered around a central idea.

Never let an idea or a word go to waste. For the time and effort cluster writing saves, it is worth trying to use the technique even in the early days of your Ezine article writing career. Once you try itFind Article, you will realise it's even better than "buy one get one free".

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

For more articles about writing go to Writing Tips or visit Elaine Currie at her Work At Home Directory

How to Make Money Online With Short Articles - Sharing Your Articles

One of the most effective means of promoting your website is through writing and sharing short articles. This article shows how to make money online with articles...like this one!

Letting others use your articles, as long as they include your byline, is a very effective way to increase website traffic. Most articles which are posted online will include a byline which not only tells visitors you wrote it and might say how they can contact you, but will normally include a link to the website you are trying to promote.

So how does this work?Let's say I sell do-it-yourself legal forms...which I do.
I then write a short but helpful article explaining how important it is to have a last will and testament...which I did. I include a link in my byline that leads people to my do-it-yourself website.

Now, I take that article and submit it to several article directories, making sure that I include it in relevant subject areas, i.e. law, legal matters, government, or even last will and testament if I'm lucky.

On the internet, there are two major groups of people seeking information or help.
Group A is seeking information on preparing a last will and testament. Their search leads them to an article directory site where I have posted my article. Browsing through the list of articles, my title catches their eye, they look at my article, and they notice my link, click on it and find out that they can prepare a will themselves using an inexpensive package available there, thereby saving a lot of time, effort, and the potentially large fee that an attorney might charge.

Obviously, not everyone seeking that information will read my article or find it relevant to what they are seeking. Even among those who think that I have just provided them with the exact info they needed and that I am the best writer in the world, only some will actually click on my link. As is the way with Internet business, only a few who wind up at my website will actually buy anything...but there will be more than there would have been without the article.

Group B, on the other hand, provides information. However, instead of researching and writing it all themselves, they go to article directories and find articles that fit their website, blog, or ezine. They then present those articles to their readership. If they have selected my article, there will be a lot more people who will see it than if it simply sits on the article directory site collecting virtual dust.

Wait! It gets better!
1. Remember that remark earlier about posting it to as many article directories as possible? The more websites you can get to carry it, the better chance you have to eventually initiate the chain of events outlined above, hopefully resulting in a sale. So, you can enhance your own chances of success with any one article by placing it on as many article directory sites as possible.

2. If you can write several related articles, you can repeat the process as many times as you can come up with articles. This begins to create an exponential return from the fact that as some people read your articles, they realize that you have written other articles as well. Group A may choose to read more what you have written, improving your chance of being seen as an expert in their eyes, leading possibly to a sale. Group B may choose to keep an eye out and catch your next article because they like your work and know that it will fit in with the thrust of their website, blog, or ezine.

Still more!
3. Some of the website owners from Group B who found your article where you posted it on an article directory website, also run their own article directory websites and take the articles they find and post it on THEIR sites...sometimes for use by even OTHER website directory owners!Don't stop!4. Once the article is written, it can be posted by you in forums and on message boards. Although you might not be able to include your byline, many of these sites allow you to create a signature which can include a link to your website.

TIPS:
-Stick to one point. Don't try to solve the mysteries of the universe. If writing about the last will and testament, don't get off into dissertations about law, trusts, living wills, quill pens vs. ballpoints, etc.

-Keep it concise. Obviously, the subject and your style of writing will dictate the length to some extent, but most of these articles should be between about 400 words and 1200 words in length. If the topic is complex or just has to run long, break it up into Part I, Part II, and so on.

-Use your keywords. If the topic is the last will and testament, you will want to use that phrase about 3% of the time. It is a good idea to make sure it makes it into the title and first sentence as well, and, if the article directory allows, make sure it's in the description and keywords (some directories allow you to pick keywords relevant to your article).

-Check your spelling and grammar. Nobody's perfect, and most sites, and readers, will not be looking for perfection anyway. However, not many people will bother with an article replete with spelling and grammar errors.

-Research your facts. If you are presenting opinion, feel free to soar above the clouds. In fact, controversy may work in your favor in that event. On the other hand, if your article is fact-based, or if you give statistics, or quote others, make sure you've got it right before you publish it.

-Get some help. Posting your articles one-by-one on a hundred different websites can be time consuming, not to mention incredibly boring. There are services available which, for a fee, will send your article to several different article directories and ezine publishers. There is also software available which can do this, although setting up the accounts initially can still be very time consuming (and boring). HoweverComputer Technology Articles, this can be worth it.


ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Donovan Baldwin is a Texas writer. He is a University of West Florida alumnus, a member of Mensa, and is retired from the U. S. Army. Learn more about the importance of your last will and testament at http://legal-forms-supermarket.com/about/last_will_and_testament.html .