Articles represent opportunity, although for many, article writing is a long, arduous task. Every article you write has the potential to attract perfect prospects to your website every month. But if takes you more than five to ten minutes for a short article, or more than twenty minutes for a long article, chances are you'll write very few of them - despite their long-lasting marketing power.

Below are five quick and easy article writing tips to make you a more productive article writer in less time -- so you can in turn become a more effective marketer through your article writing.

Despite the fact that I encourage people to write articles fast, I don't suggest cutting corners on producing quality content. The kind of articles I want you to write are helpful and informative pieces that are uniquely yours. If you're wondering how to increase your article writing speed and still produce the kind of content readers find value in, this article is for you -- so read on, writer.

Five Ways To Write Articles Faster

1. Invest in is a digital recorder. Since everyone (even the slower, more methodical types) can speak faster than they can type. So "speaking" your articles and having them transcribed after for editing will save you plenty of time with your content creation.

Chances are it will feel a little awkward to you in the beginning. But that's only because you're not used to it. Soldier on and you will reap the significant time-saving benefits once you do this several times over. To save even more time, I suggest grouping your articles in bunches of 10 or 20 before sending them for transcription.

2. Use a timer. A simple kitchen timer will do, or you can search Google for "free online timer" to find a countdown clock that will meet your needs nicely. This method too might seem strange to you at the start. But if you stick with it -- you'll come to love this high-productivity tool as you write more content faster and with greater ease than before.

3. Immerse yourself in your subject matter in advance of writing about it. That only makes sense, doesn't it? When you have a background of knowledge to draw from, it's far easier to write relevant and useful articles. If you need to research your topic in advance of writing articles, ferret out enough facts to provide adequate fodder for 25 articles. This gives you more than you need to produce 20 original works, plus it provides additional article topics, in case you get stuck on one.

With each recording session, your mission is to create 10 new articles - or more. Even if you know your subject matter well, don't shy away from injecting a token gem from any research you may have conducted in the recent or distant past. It can be particularly helpful if you can quote a voice of authority in your market.

4. Create an outline. I prefer the mind-mapping method, but use whatever works for you. All you need is direction (conveyed in your title) and a few supporting points. Armed with this information in a simple outline, you're good to go into writing/recording mode and can crank out a decent article in just a few minutes with some practice.

5. Speed-up the process with templates you can simply "plug-in". Use templates wherever you can for article titles, leads, conclusions, etc. One of the most common title templates is revealed in just two words: "how to". All you do is write how to at the beginning of a line and fill in the blanks. For example, "How to repair a wood fence like a pro" could become an interesting and valuable article and this idea can work in any market.

This quick-writing process works best when you have hundreds of these templates that you can scroll through until one leaps off the page.