Welcome to Web Content Diva

Why Your Articles Aren't Working

and What You Can Do to Make Them

Bring You Thousands of Visitors

Debra McDougal

Are you a frustrated Internet marketer who outsources your article writing tasks, but you never seem to get what you asked for?  You may have thought the problem is with an incompetent writer who just doesn’t understand your request.  I beg to differ!  I’ve discovered what the problem could be and the problem is two-fold.

There are four different goals for articles.  The same type of article doesn’t work with every goal.  Let’s first define the four goals for articles:

Goal #1 – Website Content

Content is the heart of a website or blog.  Not only do you need a bunch of words to go with your graphics, but you need readable information that engages your readers.  The content must hold your readers’ attention long enough to stay on the site and come back again soon.  You want your readers to place a bookmark on your site because you gave them free information they can use to make their life better.

Good research goes into this type of article.  The content is well-written with good grammar and spelling.  It is also written at a level of about 8^th grade reading ability.  You want your name associated with good content included on your website.  It brands you as an expert in your niche.  This type of content is often used to fill a new website.

Goal #2 – Back Links

The back link article points back to your website or blog from an article directory, Squidoo lens, HubPage or other social media site that has a high page rank.  Google ranks a page according to how many back links it has.  Articles of this type are not of the same quality as content to be placed directly on your site.  It’s not junk, but it’s also not as complete as a good content article.

The sole purpose of the back link is to manually or mass submit it to article directories and to build link pyramids and wheels.  The information is purposely incomplete so that the reader will click to the main site for more information.

Goal #3 – Pre-Sell

The goal of the call for action article is to persuade readers to complete a specific action such as click on a link to drive traffic directly from the article to your site.  Call for action articles are used to present why your products and services are desirable over other alternatives.

They contain resource boxes the point directly to your website or blog. You’ll find them most often in article directories and auto responders to send to a list of customers.  Many times a free report is offered to get the click.  Getting the reader to click a link is the goal.

Goal #4 - Syndication

The "super" content article is used to “show off” your expertise in your niche.  It’s a step above the content article in that it has statistics, quotes, arresting facts or a brief history near the beginning of the article.  These are used to let the reader know that this is not some ordinary article because the author presented information that’s not commonly known.

The average number of words in a content article is 500 to 600 words.  A super content article is much longer—700 to 1,000 or more words.  After one of the added elements listed above, the rest of the article should follow the lead with very helpful information and good writing.  It’s the kind of article that draws bloggers and newsletter editors to include your article with its attached resource box in their next issue.

Guest bloggers need a super content article to make a good impression on readers of high traffic blogs and newsletters.  You should see a burst of traffic after submitting it to a popular blog.

Earlier I mentioned that the problem of not getting what you expect from a freelancer is a two-fold problem.  The marketer’s problem is he or she doesn’t have a goal. The freelancer’s problem is being unaware there are four different types of articles depending on the goal and not asking the customer the right questions.

When you know what you want your article to do and relay that purpose to the freelancer, you should eliminate the frustrating feeling of not receiving what you were expecting.  Even if the article is well-written with good content, if it’s in the wrong form, it will not serve the purpose for which it was intended.

Now that you know what you need your article to do, you can determine immediately if a freelancer can deliver by asking the right questions.  All writers are not aware of the different types of articles, so don’t assume they do.




Let me be of service.

webcontentdiva@gmail.com