Smart Mosch - Stop Throwing Articles Online!

1. Act responsibly as a writer

and act responsibly as a reader, too

I know there are so many article directories and content submission sites out there and the temptation for writers is huge when you think of convenient revenue options, instant visibility and targeting of the articles you agree to provide. But still, I suggest everyone who is about to start writing online or is already doing this, to re-think this writing method. Nobody forces you to submit your texts to large articles communities, regardless their popularity.

Indeed, it gives you more stability and comfort to know that a certain platform is doing all the job for you, leaving you time and space to do your writing. But before considering joining such a platform, take a minute and analyze it: is it serious? is it professional? does it look professional? Is it a trustworthy environment to work in?

All writers are at first readers, and it’s impossible to separate these two practices. So remember: the better writing, the better reading, and the other way around! Social Networks have the word today and it’s much easier to make something popular over night. That’s the easiest way to build credibility online. But are you easy to foul? I am sure that many people who read this article are smart enough to identify poor form reasonable when judging an article. So why not doing this judgment every time you are online?

Just stop giving credit to all the garbage content out there which has no other quality apart from its clickable existence!

All writers are first readers, and it’s impossible to separate these two practices.

2. Write real articles and not just ordinary content

and read real articles, not just ordinary content

You don’t write something just to get it clicked on. It’s been ages since shiny animated “Click me” buttons were tricking everyone online just to get them click on some crappy link. Things haven’t changed since then, we do the same thing today, but in a more sophisticated manner, building more complex lies, from catchy article titles to creative and expensive video ad campaigns. It’s the same online marketing trickery, but it works better in the article industry because people will always need information.

Be skeptical! If a content submission platform looks unprofessional (has really poor design) and by far promotes extreme quantity writing as a strategy, then it’s surely not worthy. Remember that quantity brings popularity much faster than quality, so these guys are going to resist online many years from now.

Write articles and not just content. There is so much theory going on about how to write articles and the rules get simplified day by day. If anyone can write a couple of phrases, an introduction and a conclusion and then give them a title, this doesn’t mean it’s an article! You may say that readers don’t read anyway, they just scan. But the fact is they scan simply because there’s nothing to read.

So what are you? An article reader or a content scanner?

You don’t write something just to get it clicked on.

3. Remember your actual value as a writer

and your value as a reader, too

You write because you know how to do it, because you have great ideas, because you want to share those ideas, because you like staying online and developing a certain position, and most importantly, you write because you like to. You don’t write for the money! Money is only the natural advantage of your writing skill.

You are not a machine that produces 20 lines of text daily and posts it to sites which have lots of pageviews but no actual readers. And you are not a robot writing and rewriting hundreds of articles to increase a number equal to your popularity on a certain platform or community.

If technical knowledge or time keeps you from managing your own site or blog and you choose to be an “associated” writer, my advice is to always remember your actual value as a writer. Writing is not producing, but it’s rather sharing something valuable with people that are truly interested.

You don’t write for the money! Money is only the natural advantage of your writing skill.

4. Address people and not search engines or stats

read real writers and not writing software

Stay away from the copy-paste rephrasing strategy. This is such an embarrassing way of writing. It does create content (and what an easy way!) but it means zero for your writing skills. Many sites have created their popularity this way by becoming great content owners and providers overnight. But does it seem professional to you?

Prevent yourself from thinking like a search engine! It is a common trap to start thinking and writing with keywords. More popular does not mean better. Yes, you’ll tell me that SEO is a must and an article cannot live without keywords. But hey, I use them myself, but I do not allow this “technique” to overtake my writing style. Indeed, people react better to those “key” words, but keep in mind: you write for readers, who are real people, and not just machines that calculate how many times you used a certain word.

Intelligently approach trendy topics if you want to combine both readers and SEO. Remember that your article is not intended to make that topic even more trendy than it is, but to offer relevant and worth reading information.

Prevent yourself from thinking like a search engine!

5. Promote quality through your articles

and read quality articles

Linking to other articles is already a rule for writers. So why not turning it into a tool for making a statement? If you want to get rid of poor content, stop sharing it! There is so much quality content to be read instead. If poor content propagates so easy, how difficult is it for good articles to become popular? Make this your statement as a writer and promote quality both through your articles and the links you post.

If you want to get rid of poor content, stop sharing it!

(I’ll place my list of good links below right away, stay tuned!)

To summarize, here’s the short list with the 5 guides that will help everyone stop throwing articles online:

1. Act responsibly as a writer
2. Write real articles and not just ordinary content
3. Remember your actual value as a writer
4. Address people and not search engines or stats
5. Promote quality through your articles

If you think these guides are useful, please share! Let’s get more and more readers and writers be aware of their true value.