Knockout content rich article techniques for writing must read lead paragraphs

In article anatomy I like to teach that there are several key components. Of course these can be stretched varied and thrown out altogether, but not until you're an expert at writing content-rich articles. One key component of a clear article is, of course, the lead paragraph. Second in importance only to the headline itself, the lead graf (paragraph for short) has to be engaging, informative and lead the reader to believe you're the one with all of the great advice they've been looking for. Write a good lead-in and your readers will be anxious to act on whatever advice you share in the article itself and if they do find value in your advice in the article – they'll be very hungry for me of your expertise. Hence, more sign-ups to your e-mail newsletter – or better yet, more sales of your products and services. So here are a few ideas for writing engaging lead paragraphs for your target audience: A problem: Try to identify with a huge challenge or issue your audience is facing. Most likely you're facing it too. So expose your experiences with this problem. You'll endear yourself to your audience, cementing your status as the authority in your industry. Here's an example of a problem lead: Mistakes. We all make them and no one wants to admit to them. We're all faced with the question, how do we recover after we make the occasional slip-up? When it comes to e-mail marketing there's a huge debate over whether to 'fess up or to make like an ostrich and stick our heads in the sand. I'll offer my solution in four words: Own up to it. A statistic: You'll have to check your specific industry publications for these stats. Even if you see something in the mainstream news, you can always put a twist on it that relates specifically to your industry. Here's an example of this kind of lead/identifier paragraph: What's that sound? You know - that slipping sound you keep hearing. If you're still writing your marketing pieces in-house, you're hearing the sound of market share slowly slipping away from your business. Here's why: A recent survey shows 72% of your col leagues outsource so that they can focus on serving their customers and reducing costs. The news: You can tailor national and even international news to meet your needs with your identifier paragraph. For instance, I just used the SARS epidemic to display the benefits of teleseminars. Too much of a stretch? You be the judge: Picture this: The task of setting up a conference has fallen to two marketing managers in Beijing. One tests the market and discovers his company's client base is ready for teleseminars. Our other marketing manager decides to follow the same road as the many managers before her and sets up a live conference at a hotel in downtown Beijing. The story of the SARS epidemic breaks just days before their events. Which manager gets to keep his or her job? Note: In the example above I also used another extremely effective writing technique called "painting the picture." This is used throughout writing whether it's commercial or creative. Setting a scene for your readers is a wonderful tool for persuasion. You're in control, you can paint the option most beneficial to you as the best option and the one that isn't so beneficial as the worst option. Your readers will think you're great because you're not telling them what to do, you're just presenting them with information they can use. But in the end you've persuaded them to use your products or services - if you paint the picture correctly.

The secret to writing success

I have a friend who has enjoyed a long successful career as a published novelist. More than once we took part in the same panel at a writer's conference. Whenever it came time to field questions from the audience I came to expect -- actually anticipate -- that some bright-eyed, eager novice would direct a particular question at my friend. It wasn't so much the question that I anticipated as her answer. The question would always be some variation of "What is the secret to your success?" We all knew it would happen and we would always sit back and let my friend handle it. Not only because she was the most successful among us, but because she had the best answer. My friend would always play to the audience. She'd lean forward conspiratorially, check to make sure the doors were closed, and swear the audience to secrecy. Then she'd repeat the question and pause for a few dramatic heartbeats and answer: "The BIC Method!" Those of us in on the secret would begin to grin at this point, but it wasn't until she explained the BIC method that the other writers would get the joke. You see BIC stands very simply for Butt In Chair. Yes, her writing success is that simple. Placing her bottom on the chair in front of her computer and writing every day -- whether or not she was in the mood, whether or not she was motivated, whether or not she was inspired, and whether or not she had a paid writing gig. Regular writing improves the quality of your writing by giving you the chance to hone your skills and experiment with new methods. Writing regularly also generates greater quantity -- in two ways. First, obviously simply disciplining yourself to generate two or four or ten pages a day will quickly add up in quantity, but the more disciplined you become about this regular production the easier it will be to achieve your minimum and you can keep step up your daily goal accordingly. Improving the quality of your writing and generating more writing projects gives you that much more to market to the reading and publishing public and therefore increases your chances of writing success. It really is that simple and it really isn't a secret. Most successful writers know the BIC method is key to their success. Of course some of those eager-beaver beginners don't want to believe in the BIC method because it actually involves work and discipline. They'd rather believe it was as simple as dreaming up a catchy pseudonym. But if you have become a writer because you love it then the BIC method is the best possible news. Simply keep on doing what you love and you can make your dreams come true.

5 Ways a reader can respond to your article

When reading your article a reader can get warmed up and react on your article in several ways. A responsive reader will want to: 1) Visit your website link in the resource box This is probably the most common response people seem to go to, even if it is the wrong one. People are so fixated with wanting their readers to go to their websites and buy straight away. Tell me something, how many strangers on the Internet have you brought something from because they just told you a great story? None right? You have to preheat (or presell your readers) the oven before you can ask for their credit card details. Sending your readers to your website will usually result in a lower sales percentage straight off the bat. That is of course if you are selling them anything at all. If you were selling them something, the best bet would be to send them straight to your newsletter signup link in your resource box. But if you are sure you want to send them to your website, the best way to do that is to tell your readers (in your article) that if you go to your website (in your resource box), there is a free gift (of value) they can get, just by visiting your site. Make sure if you do this, it's not a blatant plug for a product and the gift is of real value, or very few publishers will publish your article, and fewer readers will respond to you in the future. No one likes being sold straight off the bat, and by giving them a free gift, or getting them to give you their email address some way is the best way to go. 2) Visit your affiliate link This one is quite tricky. For starters, some publishers don't allow you to put affiliate program links in your article at all, and if you do, they have to be completely in context and it must be one brilliant article, but that's not a problem. You can of course put an affiliate link in your resource box, which would be allowed straight away. 3) Subscribe to your mailing list. This is one of the better options. Why, because when they sign up for your mailing list, they are giving you permission to contact them via email on a regular basis. It would be very hard in your article to announce your mailing list in context of the article, as it would come off as a blatant plug, so the best bet would be to include your subscribe email address in your resource box. Send them to a splash page where you can capture their email address. Or let your readers to send a blank email to your autoresponder/mailing list email address and subscribe from there. Give them a free gift, something of value. 4) Refer your article to others If you want your readers to refer your articles to other people, here is what you do. (This is a good idea if you have affiliate links in your article) You send them to a website, with a refer a friend script. This website also has your previous articles on there as well in an easy to use site. You see how many possibilities there are. By giving them something in return with value, like a free 5-day course, you get them to refer your article/website to their friends. 5) Contact you personally If you want people to contact you personally, don't make them dig through a website to find your contact details. At the very least, put your email address in your resource box, if not your business phone number.

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