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Structure Of A Good Article

Good article writing starts with a sound structure. Anyone can write articles. Everyone has either an experience or an expertise that could help so many people.

Most leaders I know have expressed to me the desire to share this information through a blog or an email newsletter. They end up not doing anything because they just can’t seem to pin down what a good article looks like.

In the hopes of encouraging everyone to write, here are 3 key characteristics of good articles. I have noticed these 3 common traits on the most popular blog articles.

A Solid Title – Every good article begins with a solid title. By solid I mean one that leads people to read the article not tricks people into it. Be creative but don’t be manipulative.

250-500 Words – I have yet to find anything worse than an article that takes 3,000 words to say 300 words worth of important information. There are some articles that require a long explanation, but overall, blog articles that succeed seem to always be below 500 words.

Keep It Simple – The most effective blog articles are written on a very basic vocabulary. We all know you can use big words the right way. It’s impressive, (I mean that) but it usually distracts from your purpose. After finishing your article reread it and try to simplify your wording so that more people can understand what you are saying.
If you have to use and uncommon word make sure you give a definition. The definition will help the reader understand what you are trying to say.

These are only three basic characteristics of good articles that I have witnessed. Of course, there are many exceptions to these but overall they really do describe the fundamental aspects of a good article.

Have you been waiting to write article for you business or personally? Give it a shot. Pick a good title, keep under 500 words, and keep it simple.

If you follow these three principles you’ll be well on your way to being an encouragement and influence to many people online.

What are some of the exceptions to these three characteristics?

February 10, 2011 in Blog, Email Marketing, Social Media Marketing, Wordpress Development with 0 Comments

Using MailChimp ReubenEwert.com Got 90 Subscribers Fast

ReubenEwert.com is based on a 40+ year preaching ministry. Mr. Ewert came to me asking if I could help him incorporate all his devotionals, bible studies, and sermons from an analog format into a digital platform. This would allow him to continue caring for his wife while still being able to share the message that has been ingrained on his heart.

We immediately loaded WordPress on his server and installed The Standard Theme. Using the WordPress platform and the Standard Theme framework we were able to go live in a short amount of time.

After a bit of brainstorming, a lot of strategy talking, and a ton of funny conversations we came up with an effective plan. It involved MailChimp and his monthly devotional series called Biblical Living.

We chose MailChimp because they offer a free plan that no one else in the email marketing industry can touch. We created the PDF from his paper devotionals and uploaded it to the media library of his WordPress blog.

Next we asked the nice monkey to send out a link to the PDF after someone signed up for the list. He was happy to do it. (It’s fun to talk about MailChimp as a real monkey, try it.) We then added a subscribe page to the site and BOOM!, done and done.

The next part of our strategy was all on Reuben Ewert. Â He had to learn how to use Facebook and reconnect with the thousands of people he usually saw every year. Within 30 days his numbers went from 75 friends to 1200+. I still remember the conversation I had with him about not getting discouraged. I said “now listen, adding friends to a social network is not easy, it takes time. Don’t be discouraged if you only have 25 people added each month.” HA! He just smiled and nodded and went to work.

When we began sharing the news about the devotional it was slow going but as soon as January 1st hit the subscribers just continually rose. We saw an increas of 75 people in the first 30 days. Our original goal was 25 subscribers in 3 months. Again, he just took on the project like nobody’s business.

He and Mrs. Ewert recently moved to North Carolina so the activity on the blog has been down while he adjusts to the new home and church but I know he is chomping at the bit to get back on the site and start pumping out some great articles again.

This is just one example of using the right tools, good strategy, and hard work to grow a community online. I’m looking forward to seeing how this property grows and encourages thousands around the world.

Got a question about using MailChimp? Leave it in the comment section below.

Maybe you’d like to get something like this going?ï¿½ï¿½ Let me know, I’d love to talk about it.

February 9, 2011 in Blog, Email Marketing, Social Media Marketing with 0 Comments

Rapidly Changing Environments Are A Good Thing

Social media and internet marketing change very fast. It has been said that by the time you bring your computer home from the store it is already outdated. While this may be stretching the truth a little, it does characterize a significant fact about technology in general. Things do change very quickly, especially online.

There are many reasons a company would not get involved in social media or web marketing but the excuse of “It just changes too fast” shouldn’t be one of the them. In fact, this reason should compel you to jump on board.

In a rapidly changing environment it doesn’t take long for things to shift. All of the sudden the newbie is the authority. So many people are starting to jump on with social media and web marketing that if you consider yourself a “late comer” you will soon find yourself assuming the “veteran” status.

There are a few exceptions to this process. Just because you have an account with any or all of the social networks, doesn’t mean you are going to be successful.

Here are three things to keep in mind when stepping on board the SS Internet Marketing (Get it? It’s like a boat name. Crafty.)

Learn the environment - Take some time when you first jump on to learn what type of environment the network is. For example, Facebook and Twitter have drastically different communication systems. Most, if not all, of the social networks have an online guide to help you learn how to communicate more effectively.

Stay active - As with any online or offline community, people come and go on a regular basis. If you are really interested in communicating your message to others make sure you set a goal to have regular updates.

Promote others – Any online community dislikes an arrogant, pushy, salesman as much as an offline one does. Use your platform to speak much like you would if you were hosting an awards ceremony. Promote those around you and you will find that you will be much more effective.

When you have experience in something online you obtain a certain level of “authority” which makes your voice louder than anyone else around.

February 4, 2011 in Blog, Social Media Marketing with 0 Comments

The Governor Should Have An Open Twitter Policy

Using Twitter as an open door policy in Florida.

This last friday marked the beginning of something great here in Florida. Our new governor Rick Scott held his first Twitter Town Hall Meeting. He promoted the new event through local news media and twitter itself.

He was able to keep an accurate list of the questions by creating a # tag that each questioner would add to the tweet and would make them easily searchable.

The Pensacola News Journal reports that he received hundreds of tweet questions but only answered a dozen or so.

Overall I think this would be a great tool that our Governor could use during his stay in Tallahassee.

One thing I hope is that this type of questioning would not be limited to a single event but would become a norm for the Governor to answer questions via twitter.

There was one small hangup. Someone created a twitter username that looked as if it was the Governor and began answering the questions. It didn’t sound ilke that it caused any great confusion on the part of the the Scott team or Twitter Users.

In the Pensacola News Journal’s (PNJ) report on the event they showing some of the answers Governor Scott gave to the questions and then say:

Those were some of the answers Scott posted to questions from Floridians who tapped into his first Twitter town hall conducted from the Governor’s Mansion on Thursday evening. There were no new revelations in the half-hour session, but the news was that it happened at all. The new-media method was, itself, the message

I still think it is funny that people are still calling twitter and social media the “new-media”. This should be the norm.

Why couldn’t Governor Scott take a few minutes of the day and check his twitter @ mentions to see if he can help someone with an answer?

It’s called an open door policy at many places but this could be called an “open twitter policy”.

January 26, 2011 in Blog, Social Media Marketing with 0 Comments

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