WRITE, WRITE, WRITE!

Please feel free to use this article in anyway you choose.
All I ask is that you leave it intact and notify me each time
you use it.
Thank you.

WRITE, WRITE, WRITE!
By Dr Kem Thompson

I should just leave this tip at that, shouldn't I?:)

But seriously, writing is a cost- effective way of promoting
your business. It exposes you to potential customers in a way
that few other marketing vehicles do.

Writing and submitting your work to online sites gives you
fr*ee marketing opportunities. It also increases your credibility
in the eyes of potential customers.

Have you taken advantage of this very effective marketing
strategy?

If not, why not?

~*~'What If I Can't Write?'~*~
Common question, common excuse with a simple answer:
if you can talk, you can write.

You don't need to be a professional writer before
you can write as a way of marketing your business.

All you do need to do is
. Want to write
. Decide to write
. Write

~*~'What Should I Write~*~
A few ideas are:

. Articles
. Tips (eg top ten or top five ways to....)
. Letters to editors
. Reports (yes, reports!)

think of some more and add them to this list.

~*~What Topics Should I Write About?~*~
Here, your only limitation is in your imagination.
So be creative and let these questions serve as guidelines
in helping you decide what to write about:

. What information will potential customers find
useful?

. What are you interested in? Find a way to make it
relevant to your business and write about it.

. If you were in your potential customers' shoes, what
topics (related to your business) would interest you?

. In what ways have you solved problems for people in
the past? Write them down. Chances are, other people
would benefit from the solution you provided.

. What are your experiences as a business owner? Write
about them.

. Fill in the blanks :
a) How To .......
b) Top 5 Ways to......
c) What Many People Don't Know About......
d) My Favourite Pastime is....

What you've got now is a bunch of potential headings for your
articles, tips, reports or whatever.
If you think about it, there's a lot for you to write about.

All you have to do now is actually put pen to paper (hand to
computer).

~*~What Should I Do With What I've Written?~*~

Submit, submit, submit!

Newsletter editors and webmasters all over the 'net are looking
for fr*ee content for their subscribers and visitors.

Imagine the exposure you get by submitting an article to an
ezine with thousands of opt-in subscribers. Fr*ee of charge, too!
It'd be more expensive (and not always as effective in pulling
in prospects) to advertise in the same publication.

Here is a brief list of places that accept articles for
publication or announcement:

. PromoteYourArticle@yahoogroups (you need to subscribe fr*ee)
. article_announce@yahoogroups.com (subscribe first. Fr*ee)
. http://www.articleblaster.com/submit-articles.htm
. http://www.family-content.com/articles/submit.shtml
. http://ezinearticles.com/add_url.html

To receive a list of 50 groups and sites that accept
submissions send an email to submissionlist@daysofsuccess.com.

Here's how it works. The key is to have a system that you use.
An example is below:

. Write at least one article each month.
. Include a resource box at the end of it.
. Include permission to fr*eely distribute it at the top.
. Submit it to at least 5 sites each day.

~*~To make your writing easily acceptable and profitable~*~

. Provide useful information. No sales letters or pitches.

. Include some way to get readers to contact you:
you could offer a fre*ebie or a link to your website.
This info goes into your resource box.

. Make your resource box about 4 - 6 lines long. I've
included mine at the end of this article to give you
an idea.

. Write it using a text editor like Notepad - that's
how many editors prefer to receive submissions.

. Format it to be 65 characters long per line. Press
the 'enter' key each time you get to 65 characters
(unless your text editor has word-wrap in which case
you'd set it to wrap at 65 characters).

. Always obey submission guidelines to the letter.

. Follow the writing tips below.

~*~Writing Tips~*~

. Write like you talk. Be conversational in your
writing. If you can hold a conversation, you can write.

. After writing your first draft, leave it to 'fallow'
then start on your next article.

. Never submit your first draft. Rewrite it after a day
or two.

. Spell check thoroughly. Check for grammar errors too.
Get someone else to read through it if you can - they
may pick up something you've missed.

. Obey submission guidelines (it's so important, hence
my repeating it here)

. Write something everyday. Even if it's just a personal
journal entry, just write. It'll get you into the
habit, and keep you creative.

I didn't quite expect this 'tip' to turn into a full blown
article! But hey, I enjoyed writing it, and I hope you've
enjoyed reading it.

If you have then start writing today.

And start submitting.

~*~END~*~

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
DR Kem Thompson is a Business Writer and Business Coach.
Visit www.daysofsuccess.com/bizwriter.htm to find out
how she can help you promote your business through
writing articles, ezines and more, send an email to
bizwriter@daysofsuccess.com