Photo: Time goes by by Street Spirit
One of the best ways to rank well in the search engines is to build links. And the best ways to build links, is to simply write an article for articles directories and other web 2.0 sites like Squidoo.
The only problem with writing an article is that it’s time consuming. People tend to stare at the screen wondering what to write next. And even when they finally know what to write, they stop and pause to think how to write what they want to write about.
Sounds familiar? If so, this post will really help you out.
20 minutes does not include preparation but…
Bad news is… when I say 20 minutes, it doesn’t include the preparation that you do before typing. The 20 minutes I’m talking about is typing only.
Good news is the preparation you did can help you write multiple articles. And once you’ve got your preparation ready, most of you would have no problem completing a 500 or so words article in 20 minute.
Think about it. Most of the time you spent writing an article is spent on thinking… and handling interruptions… and recovering from interruptions. That’s right. Did you know that it takes approximately 20 minutes for you to recover from an external interruptions?
That means if you’re interrupted by an sms… or an email when you’re in a “writing mode”, it would take you 20 minutes before you’re as productive as you were before the interruptions.
This is one of the many things I learned Eban Pagan: Work and play in blocks of uninterrupted time.
So that’s step 1: Prepare the environment you’re writing in. Turn off your cell, your msn messenger, ICQ (if you’re still using it), email client and lock your kids in a sound proof room if need be.
Step 2: Maintain a “idea notebook” inspire yourself at will.
Step 3: Once you know what to write, do a little mindmap (or a list if you’re a lazy bum like I am) on the subject. What are the things you can write about?
Step 4: Once you get an idea of the subjects you can write about, do your keyword research. Make a list of possible keywords and save it. You’ll get back to this list of keywords as you write other articles so that you can target other keywords to rank in search engines.
Step 5: Write. Now you know the general subject and the exact topic to write on, the rest is easy. All you have to do is introduce the general subject and why is it important. Then go on to the specific topic and talk about how to optimize it.
Here’s an example
Let’s say when I refer to my “idea notebook”, I decided to write about landing pages. That’s the general subject I’m talking about.
I then brainstorm what to write about landing pages and create a mindmap or a list of the possible specific subjects to talk about. In this case, the specific subjects can be
- How to optimize your opt-in form
- How to design a high converting landing page
- How to optimize your website’s color scheme
- What typography to use and why
- Psychological triggers to maximize response
And so on but you get the idea.
Then I do my keyword research to make a list of possible keywords about landing pages. For the first article, I can perhaps target “landing pages”. For the next one, I can target “opt-in pages”. Then “squeeze page”. And so on.
If you think using the keywords of the specific subject will work better, then go ahead and use it. It depends on your objective is.
As for the article itself, I would go something like this:
Landing pages is the page people land on when they first arrived on your website. (introduction) blah blah blah… They are important because blah blah blah. (why is it important?) One of the most important factor of landing pages is its color scheme (specific subject). This is because blah blah blah. (why is it important?)
There’s no reason you can’t finish it in 20 minutes. I have a friend who can finish a 500-word acceptable-quality article in 10 minutes flat. But he has been doing this for almost 2 years straight.
Leave a comment