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Think of it this way. If you're fortunate, hundreds, even thousands of people may read your piece. You're probably hoping to get lots of new clients from this exposure. Posting or submitting your article is, in a sense, like going for a job interview.
Dot your i's, cross your t's. Make sure there are periods at
end of sentences. Make sure you know how to use commas correctly, that you haven't made any common errors (for example, it's instead of its; there instead of their; your instead of you're). Check for missing words; check
spelling of any unusual words.
If you have even
slightest doubt about your English skills, have a professional proofreader or editor review your article. At
very least, give it to a friend to read. Mistakes are very hard to catch in your own work.
6. Be brilliantly unoriginal. Your promotional article is almost guaranteed to fall into one of these five categories:
Sex Love Health Finance Career
What I want you to understand is that you don't have to have
greatest, most never-thought-of-before idea in
history of
universe before you write your article. In fact, you can't. It's all been done.
That's
unoriginal part.
Yet people are always itching to read, again and again, how they can improve in one of these areas (or about what a terrible time someone else is having in these areas, and thank heaven it's not them this time).
So please, just get over your fear and give us your unique take on
eternal topics. Your unique take - that's
brilliant part.
Brilliant doesn't have to be big. It can be:
- a new system for filing papers -
absolute best way to make espresso -
surefire way to find your G-spot or your Z-spot - a strategy for saving money that only an accountant like you would know
We're talking soft innovations that flaunt your particular expertise.
Your brilliance could be in how you package your experiences. Have you been through a messy relationship, learned how to talk better to your teenaged kids, survived a life-threatening illness, started up a successful small business? Chances are, there are people out there just waiting to hear how you did it. This information is gold.
There is brilliance in your own communication style. Are you kind and patient, buzzy and edgy, witty and ironic? Are you more like a kindly grandfather or more like a visionary CEO? Whatever your qualities, be utterly yourself.
Your brilliance can be
simplicity and clarity with which you give your advice—the way you get your idea across so well, it's like we're hearing it for
first time. The way you inspire. The passion with which you speak.
So don't worry that they've heard it all before. Of course they have. But they've never heard it all from you.

David Roddis, The Writers’ Coach, helps independent professionals write killer marketing copy, promotional articles and information products that attract more clients. Go to http://www.coachdavid.ca/fasttrack1 to join his mailing list and receive a free copy of "12 questions to fast- track your article". For more information, visit http://www.coachdavid.ca