200,000 Views in SA, But I'm Still Learning
Practice makes ‘perfect’...?
Well not quite – but through writing on a regular basis I have got a lot faster, and the quality of my articles has improved.Article titles matter
This is one of the greatest changes in my writing. When I first started writing I took very little notice of the title. My first article was “Simple Tips for Interviews” . Not a very riveting title, but it has done well. However, if I was writing it again I would have a more exciting title “ 10 Simple Tips for Interviews You Can’t Afford to Miss’. Numbers in titles have been proven to be very popular with readers – that’s why you see so many of them. A phrase like ‘you can’t afford to miss’ invites curiosity and is likely to gain more readers.Offer quality content
Although I always think that my articles could be better, I’m aware that I have a following for my articles because I offer quality content. It’s really important if you want to establish yourself as an article writer then the quality is key to your success.Leave your readers wanting more
There’s a very fine line to be drawn between writing a good quality article that you readers enjoy and an article that also leaves them wanting more. I can’t say that I have always got this right and I think it only comes with experience. You don’t want your reader to feel cheated, but you also want them to be curious to find out more and click on your links.Use links wisely
I always use the number of links I’m allowed. It’s foolish not to, and I always make sure that they are well spread out. Putting them in the same paragraph isn’t good policy.Develop your own writing style
When I first started writing I often wished that I wrote like someone else. However, I quickly learned that I could only write in my own style. I have shortened some of my sentences and the length of my paragraphs, but my style is still my own. Don’t try and ape the style of others.Some articles are more popular than others
Okay, I suppose that’s obvious. However, the fact is that it’s not always possible to know what is going to be popular. Oh I wish I had written the article about Fifty Shades of Grey that has had over 700,000 hits – but I didn’t. I use a lot of keywords that have a lot of small numbers so unless I’m lucky to hit upon a common phenomena such as Fifty Shades of Grey I will have to be satisfied with considerably smaller numbers. But I shall certainly be on the lookout for those that really give me the chance to keep on learning.Keep on learning
I am an internet writer and have no difficulty in saying that. I actually think I’m quite a good one, but I’m very aware that I still have more to learn, so not only do I keep on writing to improve my skills, I also read a lot about article writing to see what is popular and what I can apply to my own writing.Footnote
It’s always nice to have a bit of healthy competition. Kyle said earlier this year that over the next year he’s going to hit 1 million hits in Street Articles. I said that I would beat him to it. I know I will probably have to write twice as many articles as him, because he’s a genius at writing popular articles about current topics – eg Charlie Sheen – but the race is still on and I’m celebrating the fact that I reached the 200,000 first. Onwards and upwards
Recent Comments
52
Do you work within the same niche or different niches? I was toying with the idea of setting up a separate account for a new niche just in case I wanted to sell the site later on that way I could give the street articles account to the buyer and only have article relevant to that author in it. What are your thoughts on this?
I actually write within three main niches for SA - 1. Confidence, self esteem, motivation, time management etc 2. Internet marketing for beginners, including article writing - 3 Fashion. I then also write articles on common news stories. These are all written as me within Street Articles.
I actually do write in different niches elsewhere and I use several pen names. If you want to build your own reputation as a writer, as I wanted to do, I had to use my real name. However, I also write a lot on a completely different niche for which I use a pen name. I do still want to build a reputation with my pen name.
I think you'd need to ask someone with more experience of selling sites, whether you're also selling content which is linked to the site and whether it makes a difference what name is attached to it. That's not my area of expertise.
Very nice, I don't have to tell you to keep up the good work I know you will, your my heroine. Sounds kind of corny doesn't it but that's the word that popped first. I have learned a lot by reading your articles and have a lot more to read. Thanks
Congratualtions, great job Beverley!!
Have you experienced a lower CTR with SA compared to other article directories? Personally I have a lower CTR at SA than at other article directories, the great benefit with SA is that they rank very well within the search engines.
Good luck with your friendly competition :)
Hi Veronica
Yes - the CTR generally is very poor and so I ignore it. In terms of ranking, I find it a doddle. I have a couple of hundred page 1's on Google and many of them in the first three.
See more comments
Thanks Bis, for sharing these tips that we all can use especially beginners like myself.
Thank you. I'm glad you found it useful.