For many people, the idea of actually sitting down and writing an article for article marketing stops them cold. You may wonder if you have anything worth saying, or if your writing is "good" enough. You should know that virtually every writer - even the professionals - start out with the exact same fears. Here's a five-step approach to begin your first article:

1. Brainstorm topics.

What questions do you get about your topic area? What are the sticking points for newbies to your field? What equipment or specialized knowledge do people need to get started? Make a list of the most typical questions you are asked about your business.

For example, if your niche is freezer cooking, people may want to know:

*How will freezer cooking benefit me?

*What equipment will I need?

*What are the problems I might encounter?

*How much money will it cost to get started?

*What are some basic recipes?

In five minutes, you can have topics for your first dozen articles.

2. Select one to start with.

Pick one of your topics to start with. Forget about choosing the "perfect"topic - there is no such thing. With a pen and a piece of paper (or a computer, if that is more comfortable), jot down everything you can think of related to that topic. Don't worry about complete sentences, formatting, or spelling, just get the points down.

For instance, if my topic is "How freezer cooking can benefit you," I might write,

*Save money

*Healthier diet

*Lose weight

*Fun

*Social - can do with friends

*Helps you be prepared and organized

*Less stress

3. Organize it and flesh it out.

Then take the outline you created in Step 2 and organize it into common themes. You're looking for an article about 400-700 words, so three to five main points is best. If you have more than that, never fear! You can turn that information into another article.

If this is where you start feeling butterflies in your stomach, relax. Visualize you're writing an email to a friend to explain to him or her the topic of your article. Again, don't get stuck on grammar, spelling, etc. Merely get the info on the page - you can continue to go back and edit it.

4. Proofread.

Now's the time when you can go back through the article and edit and polish, making each sentence say what you want it to. Be sure it's cohesive, that the statements flow together, and that it makes sense. Also be on the lookout for places where you can tighten your writing - where you use three words when merely one will do, or when there are redundancies. Let each word, each sentence, each paragraph have purpose.

5. Submit!

After you've written your article and polished it until it shines, it's time to submit it. Many article marketers submit to online directories - clearinghouses where experts post articles and editors find content to publish. While there are hundreds of online article directories, there's no need to distribute to more than a few. Each one has its own pluses and minuses, so take some time to pick the best for your niche.

Article marketing is a valuable free marketing strategy, but it must be used consistently- and often - for the best results. So once you've finished one article, go back to the beginning and start writing your next. Keep the content flowing, and soon you'll see the great results of your hard work. You can't buy much better promotion than that!

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