Five Characteristics of Fantastic Articles

I write articles.  As a marketer, I rely heavily on article marketing strategies.  As a “freelancer”, I produce winning articles for my clients.  This list represents my considered opinion regarding some of what goes into a successful article.  Here are five characteristics of fantastic articles:

Quality writing.  Don’t let those people preaching quantity over quality lead you to neglect the fact that a very good single article will outperform a stack of lousy ones.  There’s definitely something to be said about quantity and it might make sense on some occasions to trade off a little bit of quality for bulk, but “the good stuff” inevitably outperforms the junk.  

Quality is one of those undefinable and wholly subjective concepts, but I’m operationalizing it to mean grammatically solid writing that clearly transmits valuable information while possessing a unique voice and style.

Headlines.  The right headline can be the difference between winning and losing.  When you’re article marketing, a good headline needs to reach a the right balance to serve two distinct objective.  First, it needs to utilize your targeted keywords.  Second, it needs to have serious “click appeal”.  You want people to find your article and you want them to actually opt to read it once it’s been found.  Skimp on either side of the equation and you’re in trouble.

Persuasion.  Good articles are persuasive.  That doesn’t mean they’re opinion essays.  That doesn’t mean they’re sales pitches, either.  In fact, the powerhouse directories probably won’t touch a straight-up sales pitch.  Good articles can provide real information and a perspective in a way that’s carefully constructed (a) to lead readers to recognize the need/value/desirability of whatever you’re marketing and (b) to make that link in your resource box utterly irresistible.  It’s a tough trick to master, but articles that provide the right kind of subtle, persuasive messaging produce sales in ways that “plain info” never will.

Organization.  No, I’m not advocating a certain template for all articles.  Different subjects require different articles and different structures.  What I am advocating is material that’s carefully constructed in order to provide maximum readability and to maintain reader interest.  Wandering rambles don’t do the job.  

Resource box.  If you couple a great article with a weak resource box, you’re hamstringing your efforts.  Your resource box needs to accomplish a few different things.  It should serve as a non-redundant de facto conclusion to the article and it should solicit clicks on your link.  Having the right stuff “up top” won’t be enough if you’re resource box shine.

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Have ideas of your own re: what goes into a great article?  Feel free to comment!