Article writing is all about creating content that will provide value and if your article is well written, people will see you as an expert and will want to share your content with others. You then get more online exposure and more traffic to your website which leads to more business.Whether you write articles for your newsletter, blog, the article directories or all of the above, people are looking for content that solves a problem or fills a need they have.

Questions to ask yourself before you begin your article writing

Before you even think about setting pen to paper, or fingers to keyboard, answer the following questions:

1. What are some of the problems that your target market faces?

2. Which of these problems are they most desperate to solve?

3. What solutions can you offer for those problems?

Pick one part of one problem to write about in your article, along with one solution. That will be your focus.

What to include in your article

Once you’ve outlined the problem and solution you’ll be covering, you’ll need to incorporate the following elements in the article itself:

* A title and first sentence that grabs the reader’s attention and promises a solution to their problem. This is your first and probably only chance to hook your reader. Miss this one point and you’ll lose them. Tip: Try the Tweak Your Biz Title Generator to generate great titles for articles and blog posts.

* A little bit of credibility. Let people know why they should trust what you offer. Do you have experience in this area or stories of success? Where are you getting your information from?

* The solution itself, but not all of it. Tell your readers part of the solution, but just enough to add value without giving away everything. You’ll want to solve part of the problem so that they haven’t wasted their time, but you also want them to be engaged and want to learn more from you.

* A strong call to action. Articles submitted to directories or guest blogs should always have a resource box at the end. Use that space to tell people what they should do next, such as sign up for your ecourse, download a free report, visit your site for more information, etc. This is critical to seeing any results from your marketing.

A few notes on wording

Be sure to use language that your target market can relate to in your article. If you’re targeting professionals, stay away from slang. If your market consists of someone like a stay-at-home mom, use examples that she can understand.

Don’t get overly obsessed about keyword density either. Include it in your title, first paragraph and conclusion. Use variations where they sound natural.

For your article writing to be effective, you have to write something that is targeted at your market’s needs, helps the reader and hooks them enough to want to learn more about you or your offer. Writing in this way builds a trust relationship with loyal readers who will benefit from your expertise and go on to become customers or clients. This makes for a mutually beneficial working relationship which is the point of writing articles in the first place.