Marketing With Articles: The Different Parts of an Article

Writing articles does take time and effort, but it is certainly doable for the average person. The easiest way to learn how to write online content is to break the article down into parts. Really, no matter how complicated the task before you is, it becomes much simpler if you break it into parts and do it one section at a time.

#1: The title.

Your title should be interesting and tell the reader what your article is about. The title is the first thing that a publisher or reader will look at, so spend some time on it.

You may wish to write your title first, then write an article that fulfills the title.

#2: The Introductory Paragraph.

Every article should have one paragraph at the beginning of it where you tell the reader what the article is about. When your reader is looking at your article, he will look at the introductory paragraph, and if he likes what he sees he will read further. It is important to get right to the point--what is your article about and why should someone read it?

#3: The article body.

The article body is the supporting content that is between your introductory paragraph and your concluding paragraph. This is where you make your points, explain your ideas, and do your teaching.

'How to' articles are big online, so try to write an article that teaches your readers how to do something.

Whenever possible, use numbered lists, such as this article does. Internet readers favor content that has numbered lists and bullet points, because those types of content are easiest to read.

Another tip with online writing is to use short paragraphs. It's okay to have a paragraph that is just one or two sentences sometimes. You want to avoid big blocks of text that don't offer the reader's eyes a break. Short paragraphs are easier for people to read.

#4: The Concluding Paragraph.

Every article needs a conclusion. Your conclusion is a short summary of what the article was about--you can think of it as a place where you wrap up your thoughts on your topic.

A good conclusion tells the reader how to apply what you have taught them in the article. The articles used in article marketing are educational articles, so the vast majority of your articles should be teaching the reader something. What should the reader do with the information you just provided them?

Part 5: Your Article Summary.

When you are submitting your article, you will be asked to provide a short description. Do not phone this in--take some time to craft a summary that will make people want to read the article. This summary will appear in article directories and in Google's results pages.

Part 6: The Resource Box (author bio).

This is the one part in your article submission where you get to talk about yourself and encourage readers to visit your website. You should tell your name, a little about yourself, a little about your business, and give a reason why the reader should visit your website. Of course you would also provide a link to your website--that link is the key to your article marketing success!

Most beginners find the idea of writing an article to be as intimidating as climbing Mount Everest. The key to writing an article (or climbing a mountain) is to take things one step at a time. Break the huge task down into tiny doable parts, and you will start to realize, "Hey, I can do this!"

About the Author:

For more info on how you can use article marketing to reach thousands of potential prospects for your website, go now to www.submityourarticle.com/report . Steve Shaw is an article marketing expert and founder of the popular article distribution service www.submityourarticle.com used by thousands of business owners.