QUALITY CONTENT WRITING = P + A + G

Here we are at the final part of the equation… the last 1% (but significant 1%) of the Quality Content Writing PAG formula. “G” for…

Grammatical Flow

The Practical Component of Quality Content Writing that is Too Often Overlooked…

You don’t necessarily have to write with impeccable grammar, but the sentences have to make sense! So why is it so imperative in quality content writing? Because it breaks the flow of transmission of YOUR thoughts and ideas to your readers as they are scanning along your writing. That’s enough to break a professional impression.

Ever tried sipping from a broken straw, or speaking with hiccups? Frustrating isn’t it? That’s what broken grammar can do to your content!

So please please please proofread your piece of work! That’s what drafts are for! You can write a first draft, go away, clear some headspace, then come back with a fresher pair of eyes and finish it off.  =)

Paradoxically, the flow in Quality Content Writing is often reached by breaking up the writing process…

Rejuvenation is great for letting those mental knots untie before creativity is returned so it’s actually a more productive way to work!  For myself, I go and meditate for a while, do some stretching, get lost in a book or watch some cool videos…Because aside from making grammatical sense, your ideas should also flow for your audience to receive it like fine threads of silk running through their mind…

So make every word count! They each serve a purpose. If they don’t, get rid of it.  Adding  junk verbiage often takes away from the meaning. At the end of the day, we want to serve our purpose, not our ego. If we can do with less words to achieve more meaning, I say that’s pretty efficient, don’t you think? =)

So there you are – the Quality Content Writing PAG Formula explained in full:

1% Purpose.

98% Authenticity.

1% Grammatical Flow.

None of these are more or less important than the other since together they make the whole! However, it does indicate which aspect will require the most amount of diligence!

J

PS. Hope this Quality Content Writing series has been somewhat helpful and can’t wait to see all your moving and purpose-driven out there!

Quality Content Writing Part I was about Purpose. Here is where we’ll get into the BULK of the PAG formula…=)

Authenticity

Quality Content Writing is being 100% real…

A word of warning here – this is not fairy floss stuff! However, most marketers out there treat it so. It’s sorta like this –  are you frowning but telling people you’re happy? =) Because talking about authentic writing like it’s a third person versus BEING it in first person will attract very different outcomes! Starting to get a feel for what I’m getting at?

Here’s A Small Exercise To Illustrate What I Mean…

Have you ever tried referring to yourself in third person instead of using ‘I’? Give it a go now if you haven’t – where you would say “I”, replace with your name instead… It’s a really odd feeling right? Aside from the fact that it’s not the talking habit of a sane person… just reflect on it for a minute. =) Isn’t it like all of a sudden, you’ve managed to create a weird gap between you and…YOU?

Haha it just doesn’t feel right does it? How strange would it be if we all walked around speaking in a totally disconnected manner like that! So by that same token, let your writing take on your voice and persona in order to connect you to your audience. If you speak from a place of experience such as how you felt/are feeling, what you learnt/are learning etc, that in itself is quality content writing right there! There is nothing more unique and more moving than your own experiential expression!

And Why Is That?

…It’s because emotions will always reach a deeper part of us than rationality ever will. And the best marketers, the best coaches, the best whoever in whatever industry on this planet knows how to deliver from their experience and deliver from their heart in ways that 1% of 1% of people do not know how.

However, it’s not enough to just know how to move others (although this is the main goal in creating quality content writing). Because in order to really do so, we have to master how to be true with ourselves first! And this, my dear readers, is one of the most challenging hurdles to overcome – the scope of which is far beyond what this post can offer. But if you’re an individual who’s interested in fathoming a little deeper and is willing to be guided on how you may take your written expression to a more impactful level, we’ve prepared a neat little introductory e-book which you can subscribe to on the right of this page.

However for the purposes of this post, this is the single most important message to take away:

“Look at Quality Content Writing as simply a physical medium to express your authentic voice to your target audience.”

In other words, 98% of quality content writing lies in mastering the art of  how to paint your unique self-expression to others.  How can you achieve that? Have a read of this insightful post on “The Freedom to Write” to discover what very few writers know but is so crucial if you want write your way to access abundance!

I’ll see ya in Quality Content Writing Part 3 =)

J

Of all Quality Content Writing Tips…what do you mean? Well, sometimes you go to write an article, and suddenly you’re stuck for words yes? Like the hesitation you experience before you jump off the blocks into a cold swimming pool. The purpose of this article is to share with you a how to market using articles tip that you can use as a writing tool to keep your momentum running as an affiliate article marketer.

This is the Art of the Start to Quality Content Writing…

Don’t worry, the water is not cold! Just jump in. Let your writing swim like a fish. At first your article writing will go around in circles, back and forth like a pendulum but eventually you discover a sense of direction and rocket to the finish like a stream-lined torpedo.

The best way to kill procrastination as an article marketer, is procrastinate with the activity you are intending to do. For example, this post didn’t start out this way. I put fingers to the keyboard and started with jibberish on the topic of article writing. Eventually, the act of putting finger to the keyboard somehow opened up ideas within my brain that flowed…and funnily enough they were related to the topic I was trying to articulate! =).

You can see how this might work can’t you? You see it everyday. People do it in conversation, they just talk and clarify what they mean as they go and the words that come out become more refined. So take these article writing tips and start to put them into action:

• Commit to article writing about a topic a day.
• Wake up, put pen to paper (or finger to keyboard) and just write and write for 15 minutes. Slosh the words out as if you were splashing paint on a canvas with the pantone colors.
• You will start to notice that you’re accessing a creative faculty that was screaming to be let loose.
• Look back at what you wrote, and tighten it up for the purpose of your audience.

You’re starting to see how this works already yes? So go out there, dive in and enjoy the journey. I’m excited to see what comes of it.

Cheers,

J

P.S. Still more fun Quality Content Writing Tips to come.

Before I release some quality content writing tips, I’d like you to imagine that you had a lovely idea for a written piece. You structured it as perfectly as a house of cards, and the words…well, they trickled from the ball of your pen as if they had replaced the thought bubbles that floated in your head. A perfect union that allowed your expression to strike a rainbow in the sky.

The creative quality content writing tips formulae

IDEA > PEN > THE WORLD

Often we create a well-written piece and try too hard to reproduce it in our future works without really exploring new bounds. I suppose its rational to think “If it ain’t broke, why fix it?” You know what I mean don’t you? And sometimes it can result in an awkward blend like good curry & tiramisu. Both cut it, but not together!

Past success can get in the way of future success. One of the key quality content writing tips  to remember if you plateau in your writing performance. That it is possibly experience that has gotten the better of you.

So what should we do? Let go! Drop the Anvil, and the rope thats tied to it. Treat it like an endless adventure where your ship of writing exploration is always sailing. You can relate to this yes?

So imagine what your written pieces would be like if you could “instantly transmute your vision, enjoy the creation process, then at the blow of a breath, let it scatter into the winds…” OR, as Lebbeus Woods would say “I only know of moments, and lifetimes that are as moments, and forms that appear with infinite strength then melt into air”.

Know that you can develop the power to call upon your creative faculty. Mastery of article writing is in the process, not the outcome.

Hear more quality content writing from me soon.

J

(PS: More quality content writing tips to come)

But what actually DEFINES “Quality Content Writing?” And HOW do you go about creating consistently high quality articles for your biz that will convert to sales?

See, while all the tips and strategies are helpful, a vital piece of the ‘quality content puzzle’ that’s missing is a simple FRAMEWORK based on fundamental principles.  That’s just like diving in to play a musical instrument without knowing what notes and scales are! Ridiculous right? So what I want to give you in the next three posts are some grounded principles surrounding Quality Content Writing so you can create your own unique quality content in whatever shape or form.

Plant this formula in your mind and THEN sprinkle other tips and strategies over it… =)

So here’s the formula:

QUALITY CONTENT WRITING = P + A + G

What do each of letters in the quality content formula represent? Let’s go through each one by one…

Purpose & Intention

Quality Content Writing Begins With a Clear PURPOSE…

Now I don’t simply mean you want to write it to get some cash and stuff like that! The simplest way to clear the fray is to ask yourself:

“What Specific Value Should My Readers Get?”

Now, they can be multifaced but a primary purpose should be laser clear in your mind. And I really mean LASER CLEAR! The importance of which I’ll explain. =)

For example:

The purpose of this series of Quality Content Writing posts is to hand you an easy mental formula you can apply to whatever article or piece of content you write. And the core of my intention is really to teach and share in the clearest way possible.

A note of introspection here: ask yourself how well aligned your intention is with your purpose. Be honest. The purpose may be easy to identify, but we can often have our intentions off-kilter if we don’t do a self-check first! I’ll explain what I mean:

• Eg 1: It’s 1pm and time to have lunch (the purpose) but you’re conscious of a meeting to attend to at 1.30pm…so you still scoff down something anyway…did you really have a chance to ENJOY your food? In other words…was our intention to RUSH to the meeting or to EAT?
• Eg 2: If you were meant to spend some ‘quality time’ with your partner (purpose), but your head is still in your office space figuring out your team project…

So there are two everyday examples of “purpose-intention misalignment” for you. People are generally very good at detecting some sort of misalignment. Whether they can put a finger on it or not, it’s sufficient to plant the first seeds of mistrust! So it doesn’t take much to turn potentially quality content writing to quality scam! And that is definitely not how you want to begin a relationship with your audience. This is why it is so crucial to ensure the true purpose behind your content is made laser clear to your readers.

BOTTOM LINE - Quality content writing begins with a clear, well-intended purpose. Otherwise, a fuzzy purpose will simply manifest in a fuzzy article!

J

PS. Let that digest and we’ll roll on to talk about the “A” factor in Part 2 of the Quality Content Writing formula =)

Principle 3: Ensure Your Article Titles Please the Search Engines & the Searcher

Search Engines like Google, Yahoo! and Bing receives tonnes of new data everyday. Their primary goal is to make their search function as simple as possible for the end-user. Putting all their complex algorithms aside, they simply want to put the most relevant content in front of YOU, the searcher. In other words, if we want our content exposed via one of the search engines (say Google), then we must cooperate with them on their terms. So how do we do achieve this in our article titles?

Let me explain…

A. Keywords In Your Article Titles: The Long Tail & Short Tail Mix

Google organises its content based keywords and subsequently tries to bring up the most relevant results for the searcher. Keywords are generally grouped into 2 types:

Short Tail Keywords: Broader keywords eg. ‘Article Marketing’

Long Tail Keywords: Includes narrower kewords eg. ‘Article Marketing Writing Tips’

Short tail keywords identifies your broad topic (or target market area). Long tail keywords zooms in on your focus within your topic (ie segments your market towards a niche). Depending on the context in which you title your content, it is usually better to use a mix of short tail and long tail keywords in your article titles. Here’s why:

1. Less competition – try looking up ‘Article Marketing’ and see how many results pops up…138 million! Now type in ‘Article Marketing Writing Tips’…
2. Offers more targeted information for a niche audience who is already on the hunt!

B. Should Effective Article Titles Be Long or Short?

For SEO purposes – longer, more descriptive article titles might be the go. Since the title links on Google’s organic search shows the first 65 characters of your article titles, it’d be ideal to communicate as much of your articles’ essence in that space as possible! So if that means you can find a way to include as many relevant keywords as possible in your reader’s interest…then perfect! =)

So let’s do a simple recap of the ground we covered for writing effective article titles:

Principle 1: Capture the essence of your article in the title
Principle 2: Utilise emotion!
Principle 3: Please the search engines!

That’s it! Keep it simple because ultimately, your article titles has one function and one function only in the context of your business:

“Effective Article titles Are Meant To Draw Eyeballs So Your Audience Will Read Your Content!”

Read from me soon,

J

PS. If you found this info helpful, please pass it along to those who may also benefit from this training. They’d thank you for it! This concludes the “Writing Effective Article Titles” series =)

What is Article Marketing?

Well, online article marketing is a means by which someone can write about a particular niche, recommends a product they know of and receive a commission if the reader makes a purchase. This doesn’t necessarily mean writing sales pages… it’s about good content!

Starting out in Article Marketing?

“Words” means Business. If you’re new to article marketing to this, you may be asking yourself the following questions:

“So what does writing articles have to do with generate wealth online??”
I’ll explain.
“How do written pieces translate to $$??”
I’ll explain.
“Can I really sit in front of a keyboard and mouse, and earn enough to buy a house??”
Yes.

Just sit back and relax. The process of affiliate article marketing starts in the head of the consumer:

• Someone looking to purchase a product will normally want a solution to a problem, an improvement to an existing experience…”ah hah I need a…” they say.
• They will go around looking for products/services.
• They will read, listen, watch review information on the product/service…because they are’nt 100% sure which one to go with.
• They will purchase it if it ticks their boxes

The process in pictures:

So here is what you do to generate wealth, remember, its called Affiliate Article Marketing….

Okay continuing, an article marketer would:

• Acknowledge that people out there are looking for a product or service solution.
• They would write short quality reviews on either the product, the service.
• This review would add value to the reader, pros/cons and dead right honesty.
• At the end of the article, there would be an author’s “resource” box which links out to the product sales page.
• If the reader decides to purchase it, then you earn a % of the $$ (aka affiliate marketing)

The process in pictures:

This should give you the Gist of how you may write your way to generate some wealth…you would be able to conclude that as an article marketer, you’re writing to address people’s concerns, queries, hesitations and objectons…if you look back at the pictures you’ll notice the variable that needs to be managed…

But this post doesn’t give a squat of info about the specific actions you need to take to make this happen. Its simply too much for a single post…

BUT! Good thing is, we’ve developed a free e-book training series on article marketing that will help you go from “No I don’t Know How” to “Writing for Riches..POW!” You just need to subscribe here “Now”.

You’ll read from me soon,

J

P.S. Keep posted on thi blog and you will learn more article marketing tips from me.

Your article titles makes an important first impression upon readers. It’s like starting a new relationship! Let’s not forget that there is always a human being on the receiving end of your writing…which begs the question: well what drives human beings? And when you think about what drives 99% of human behaviour, you’ll probably find that it often traces back to one or more of our emotions – love, joy, anger, sadness, fear etc…

Let me grab my brush and paint you some examples:

• A rush of excitement can keep you awake at night.
• A burst of anger can sometimes trigger irrational actions and hurtful words
• A lurking fear of public speaking is enough for one to avoid raising their hands to voice an opinion.
• A wave of inspiration can land you in a writing frenzy that can last hours but only feels like seconds.

You can’t *snap* it out of existence. It’s ticking away in our neuronal machinary! The part of our brain that strongly ‘feels’ is fathomed deep  in the core…But gladly, you CAN channel it to your advantage…

You see once you are aware, they become powerful allies for generating online business.

It’s a two-way street! The more aware you are of your own emotions and how to skip with them, chances are, you’ll understand what your target audience is going through as well. This is why we can leverage our emotions because it holds period…time & place, you name it and it’ll be there!

…Much like the colourful ways music is strung intricately to stimulate a feeling within your body…

Here’s A Suggestion for Deciding On Your Article Titles:

For any written piece, you may have several article titles drafted down…walk away from them for a few hours then read each one to yourself quickly…then you close your eyes…

• Which title stood out most to you?
• What feelings did it spark?
• Do the article titles address a problem that your audience is likely to be struggling with?
• Do the article titles communicate to their deep-seated desires for their business?
• Do the article titles communicate a solution to help eradicate their most deep-seated fears?
• Do they spark inspiration?…

The list goes on, but you get my drift. =)

So…How Do You Pick Appropriate Article Titles Then?

If you feel the way you wish your audience to feel, then it is likely to be an appropriate article title. Now of course, how anyone responds is beyond our actual control. Besides, it’s not for us to decide! …but I think “ya feel me” =p

Be on the look out for Part 3... where we’ll go through some SEO pointers for your article titles!

Happy writing,

J

Learning to write good copy is much the same. We take an existing skillset and gradually transform it into something useful for your purpose. In this case, making a sale $$!To do this, you must be very clear on your present writing style, so you know how you can adapt it to suit your purpose…

For example, you’re probably able to do a few (or all!) of the following:

• Write a title
• String sentences together
• Spell words correctly
• Paraphrase
• Use analogies etc…

So answer the following questions for yourself:

”

• Do I brain dump first, then piece together the information?
• Do I draw up a map of headings and sub-headings and then fill the gaps?
• Do I wait and let your internal dialogue develop before putting it into words?
• Do I speak in “layman’s” terms first before adding an element of “formality” in my writing?
• Do I love repetition and tautology? =p
• Do I see an image, and my writing is a description of such?
• Do I hear or experience a sound for which my writing is a description of such?

”

EveryONE like YOU, has their own style. There is no wrong or right, but being Crystal Clear on it is imperative.
Write to you soon!

J

However, not everybody who starts will create written-pieces of art. I attribute this to 2 deadly temptations:
1. Email – This thing is always open in another one of our browser’s tabs. Its almost become one of those side jars of jelly beans we must have by our desk.

2. Facebook - As much as I’d like to deny it, I admit to  being a closet facebook stalker and busy body. As long as this baby is open, I’ll continuously be entrained to the news-feed.

Lets flip the cards and let the tower of temptation collapse! There are two ways to make a positive of the above distractions and here they are:

1. Give it a Hug – Why fight the temptation? Most people would say you have to turn it off and resist the urge but that sort of “evasive” behaviour can’t be good in the long-run. So heres a tip that’ll put a smile on your lip:

• Subscribe to mail-outs and facebook newsfeeds that are relevant to what you’re writing about. That way, you’ll turn a temptation to a powerful conduit for good information.

2. Get Sick of It – This reminds me of essay writing in high school. I’d always feel guilty because at the end of the school night I’d go to sleep with the thought “I wish I hadn’t spent so much time doing such and such…that way I coulda gotten some work done!” As exams got nearer, I literally lost my “thrill for procrastination” and buckled down.
At some point, you realise for yourself…that its not worth it! =)

See you in another post,

J