Understanding
rules of correct formatting for online articles will assist webmasters in driving greater awareness of and traffic to their online enterprises.For online marketers, difference between creating a widely-read article and one that ends up in a publisher’s reject pile is often rooted in principles of correct formatting and savvy writing. Therefore, before developing an article designed to enhance your online presence, you should familiarize yourself with few principles of online publishing. Indeed, knowing how to how to format and write a successful article will help to ensure your publication reaches largest audience and maximizes your business’ presence.
Tip #1: Create a Powerful Title
Headlines are critical determinants of how widely read an article will be. Online, titles are important because readers typically find articles through search engines which, in turn, locate articles largely by way of titles. Therefore, use correct formatting to develop a powerful title that captures keyword of your article in its first three to five words.
For example, if your article is about ten ways to have a great family vacation on a low budget, consider a title such as: “Low Budget Family Vacations – Ten Ways to Have a Great Time for Less,” instead of “ Ten Ways to Have a Fun, Low Budget Family Vacation.” The first, more powerful example has most important words- “low budget family vacations” - at beginning of line, location where search engines will most easily find them.
Tip #2: Create an Article Instead of an Ad
Your article should be an informative, useful, well-written piece that simultaneously serves as a showcase for your strengths and expertise in your field. It should not be an advertisement. In fact, publishers will likely reject an article that reads too much like an ad, or includes too many promotional references to author’s website. Correct formatting, then, requires that you simply include a reference to your URL in resource box at end of article rather than directly into body itself.
Tip #3: Understand Rules of Submission
Online directories will often reject articles which do not follow their submission rules. Some e-zines and newsletters accept articles with word counts in thousands, but optimal article length is somewhere between 400 and 800 words. You want people to read your whole article, so keep it concise and focused.
Many e-zines require authors to format their own pieces in HTML, so it’s a good idea to acquire some basic HTML skills. That way, you can include basic text styles and follow correct formatting procedure for whatever e-zine or directory to which you are submitting.
