Article Writing Guidelines Part 1
Number one reason for articles being declined is:
Company Name/Blatant Ad Article - Article directories are not free ad agency's!
The only time that a company name is acceptable in an article title or article body, is if it is being compared to another company(s) as in a contrast/compare article or done as a third party review/report. Otherwise, this type of information goes in the RESOURCE BOX ONLY.
Suggestion: Instead of using the company name itself, use general terms. This will prevent it from being considered a blatant ad. You can put your company name and active links in the resource box only!
Example: If ' bytepowered articles' are your niche--just use the word 'articles' instead of 'bytepowered articles' in your article body and/or title. Using the company or product name in the article title or article body will result in your article being rejected as a blatant advertisement.
Exception: If your article is a third party review, then it is not an advertisement. In this case, you must mention the competitors company name, as well as compare the product or service to the competitors. This way it is not considered a blatant ad but an informative comparison by which the consumer may make an educated decision.
The most read articles are those that:
* Inform
* Educate
* Humor
* Entertain
If your article does not do at least one of these, then you've not written a work worthy of publication.
What Does Not Go At the End of Your Articles As the Last Paragraph! (Or... What Goes in the 'Resource Box' Only!)
Can't tell you how many times I've been through articles to the last paragraph where way too many authors just CAN NOT resist the urge to plug their product and turn an otherwise perfectly good article into a blatant ad. This is a HUGE mistake that will result in an article rejection. Especially considering just below the last paragraph is the resource box just for such information! ARGH! Yes, on-line editor pet peeve for sure. Just hit the tab and put your plug in the resource box. Not too tough, right?
It is called a 'Resource Box' because it is for your personal 'resource' information and/or any reference links. Again, if you put this information in your article title or article body it will be rejected as an advertisement! The following type of information goes in the resource box""not as your articles last paragraph!
* Author information "" Your name or company name
* Copyright information or year written
* Your personal notations or salutations (goodbyes)
* Any resource information including active links or any other written resource information
Number Two Reason for Article Rejection:
Misspellings
Do I really need to say it again? Use your spell checker and have some one else read it, as some mistakes are only noticed this way!
If there is a word that you feel you must use and yet the spell checker just won't see it your way... put an apostrophe on either side of the word. This shows that it is not in the dictionary as a word and/or not spelled necessarily correctly... but necessary for your use in clarification or work related phrases or words. Dictionaries can not keep up with technological terms, that is for sure.
If you are using a word as a plural and the spell checker does not agree with you... delete the 's', (or added ending) as it simply is not needed""even if it sounds funny to you, it is improper grammar with the added plural because it already is plural without the added ending. This often works. Also some words are singular and plural without changes in their spelling.
Lastly on spell checking, if you submit your articles to a USA article directory, PLEASE use a USA spell checker. Editing daily several articles from the Ukraine (or anywhere other than the USA), are declined because their spelling's are different. Otherwise you may have your articles rejected for misspellings you won't notice and/or are not even aware exists.
European countries use 's' often where we use 'z' or 'c' and also use 'u' where we don't, like in color (colour in the UK) and glamor (glamour in the UK). Smiling... and they put an extra 'me' in program (programme in the UK). Not sure what is up with that or what they have against the 'z'. =)
Continued in Part 2...
Company Name/Blatant Ad Article - Article directories are not free ad agency's!
The only time that a company name is acceptable in an article title or article body, is if it is being compared to another company(s) as in a contrast/compare article or done as a third party review/report. Otherwise, this type of information goes in the RESOURCE BOX ONLY.
Suggestion: Instead of using the company name itself, use general terms. This will prevent it from being considered a blatant ad. You can put your company name and active links in the resource box only!
Example: If ' bytepowered articles' are your niche--just use the word 'articles' instead of 'bytepowered articles' in your article body and/or title. Using the company or product name in the article title or article body will result in your article being rejected as a blatant advertisement.
Exception: If your article is a third party review, then it is not an advertisement. In this case, you must mention the competitors company name, as well as compare the product or service to the competitors. This way it is not considered a blatant ad but an informative comparison by which the consumer may make an educated decision.
The most read articles are those that:
* Inform
* Educate
* Humor
* Entertain
If your article does not do at least one of these, then you've not written a work worthy of publication.
What Does Not Go At the End of Your Articles As the Last Paragraph! (Or... What Goes in the 'Resource Box' Only!)
Can't tell you how many times I've been through articles to the last paragraph where way too many authors just CAN NOT resist the urge to plug their product and turn an otherwise perfectly good article into a blatant ad. This is a HUGE mistake that will result in an article rejection. Especially considering just below the last paragraph is the resource box just for such information! ARGH! Yes, on-line editor pet peeve for sure. Just hit the tab and put your plug in the resource box. Not too tough, right?
It is called a 'Resource Box' because it is for your personal 'resource' information and/or any reference links. Again, if you put this information in your article title or article body it will be rejected as an advertisement! The following type of information goes in the resource box""not as your articles last paragraph!
* Author information "" Your name or company name
* Copyright information or year written
* Your personal notations or salutations (goodbyes)
* Any resource information including active links or any other written resource information
Number Two Reason for Article Rejection:
Misspellings
Do I really need to say it again? Use your spell checker and have some one else read it, as some mistakes are only noticed this way!
If there is a word that you feel you must use and yet the spell checker just won't see it your way... put an apostrophe on either side of the word. This shows that it is not in the dictionary as a word and/or not spelled necessarily correctly... but necessary for your use in clarification or work related phrases or words. Dictionaries can not keep up with technological terms, that is for sure.
If you are using a word as a plural and the spell checker does not agree with you... delete the 's', (or added ending) as it simply is not needed""even if it sounds funny to you, it is improper grammar with the added plural because it already is plural without the added ending. This often works. Also some words are singular and plural without changes in their spelling.
Lastly on spell checking, if you submit your articles to a USA article directory, PLEASE use a USA spell checker. Editing daily several articles from the Ukraine (or anywhere other than the USA), are declined because their spelling's are different. Otherwise you may have your articles rejected for misspellings you won't notice and/or are not even aware exists.
European countries use 's' often where we use 'z' or 'c' and also use 'u' where we don't, like in color (colour in the UK) and glamor (glamour in the UK). Smiling... and they put an extra 'me' in program (programme in the UK). Not sure what is up with that or what they have against the 'z'. =)
Continued in Part 2...
Source...