Fly on the E-Commerce Cyberwall

Why Most Syndicated Articles Suck and Why Yours Don't Have To
I get a bunch of articles everyday from article distribution services I submit to. Most of the articles I receive are awful. But I saw one today that was so bad I had to describe it to you as an example of why most articles that people syndicate don't do anything but waste space on the article directories' servers.

This one was called "Some Ideas on How to Have a Happy Marriage." Wow, that title really grabs you, doesn't it? Absolutely arouses your curiosity so much. (Yawn) It's boringly generic. If you're desperate for info on improving your marriage and you've found absolutely nothing else out there on the subject, the title MIGHT persuade you to give this one a whirl.

How much better, though, if it had something in the title to arouse your curiosity. What about if it had one of these titles:

• What Successful Couples Know About Marriage That YOU Don't
• Five Secrets to Supercharge Your Marriage
• Revealed: How to Keep Your Marriage Healthier and Happier

OK, OK these titles were just off the top of my head, but don't their implications of secret, inside information tug at you more than "Some Ideas on How to Have a Happy Marriage?" For crying out loud! The title doesn't sound like even the writer himself knows anything about the subject. "Some Ideas on...?" C'mon. It sounds like he's not sure if what he's talking about works!

One thing about the titles I suggested, though. If you imply you have secret inside information, you'd better deliver it. Common knowledge platitudes just won't do.

Unfortunately with the writer's article, common knowedge platitudes are all the writer delivers. The text of the article basically rambles around, using a lot of words to make the following points:

• Both people have to work at the marriage
• Both people have to be willing to sacrifice for the other
• Both people need to have some interests of their own

Nope, nothing groundbreaking there. Basically, the whole article is a waste of time for anyone who reads it.

Oh, wait, though. I forgot the writer's fourth point. He also writes that, along with being nice to each other, wives should buy lots of sexy lingere to please their husbands. And the husbands? They should buy lots of sexy lingere for their wives to show how much they care.

Then we get to the kicker. The resource box basically says, "Joe Writer lives in Anytown, USA. Find out more about sexy lingere at (affiliate link)."

A few platitudes, a quick, and seemingly unrelated, plug to buy lots of sexy lingere, and an affiliate link. Totally ineffective.

So what would have made it work? I've already described the need for an attention-grabbing title. Secondly, the article needs have some actual meat to it. It needs to give useful information and not just recite facts that everyone already knows.

And the article needs to focus on the product being promoted, not just throw it in as an afterthought at the end. What if, instead of simply rehashing common cliches, the writer had written an article about how sexy lingere can enhance a marriage? What if the writer wrote the whole article about the benefits of sexy lingere?

And what if the writer had then described how a certain lingere company was uniquely successful at providing exactly the kind of lingere described in the article? Then the resource box becomes more than just a bare link that the writer hopes someone, anyone, will click. It becomes a bridge that takes readers to a continuation of the information provided in the article.

I'm constantly saddened by how many article I find out there that fail to follow this simple article writing pattern. It's a powerful way to use articles to direct traffic wherever you want it to go. If you're serious about writing articles to promote your website, or your ebook, or some affiliate products, you really need to know how to write so that people slide right into the action you want them to take instead of leaving it to chance.

I've just scratched the surface in this critique. If you want to slide into the driver's seat when it comes to syndicating your articles instead of sitting in the back seat hoping your articles will somehow get your readers where you want them to go, check out Article Announcer.

It not only provides a streamlined way to submit your articles to hundreds of article distribution sources, but it provides extensive training in writing exactly the kind of articles that move people through them to the actions you want them to take. I've found it an essential tool in my marketing arsenal.
Jeff