by Jennifer A. Thieme

I’ve read many marketing articles on the internet. Sometimes I read them because I want the information promised in the title. Sometimes I read them because I want to learn new writing skills from the author. Sometimes I read them because the title grabbed me, and like a magnet, my curiosity pulled me into the article.

Regardless of how I got to the marketing article, I have found that there is a good analogy between marketing articles and food. Sometimes the writer prepared a delicious and satisfying meal. Other times the writer threw some slop on the table, leaving me feeling cold and unwelcome. The “satisfying meal” is when the author delivered on the title, and I walked away from the article learning something new and valuable. Even a tiny bit of information, a “snack” so to speak, delivered properly, can be a good experience.

When the article is not satisfying, I find that the author did not deliver on the title. Or, the author took too much time in the opening paragraphs, and made me wade through too much “story” to get to the information I was hoping for. Like going to a restaurant, when I see a title to an article, it is like ordering from the menu. I want what I ordered, not a lot of filler-story (unless the title clearly conveys that the article is a story). I don’t mind some story in a marketing article, but too much story tells me that:

• the author doesn’t really know what he/she is talking about
• the author is filling the article to meet a minimum word count
• the author wants to tell the story and is couching it in a marketing article

Another distinct possiblity is that the author simply has not honed his/her writing skills to the point where he/she can view the marketing article objectively, reading it as if some stranger was reading it. This is an important skill that I think all authors should strive for. Once authors can do this, many common mistakes can be eliminated before the article goes live.

So I’ve come to ask myself: what kind of an author do I want to be? Do I want my readers to go away feeling full and satisfied, or do I want them feeling hungry and dissatisfied after reading one of my articles? The answer is obvious: I want my readers to walk away from my articles with what they are seeking, usually new information. Perhaps the information was not available anywhere else, or perhaps I was able to make the information easily understood. Whatever the person gets, I want it to be a positive and satisfying experience.

Quality matters. A few high-quality marketing articles are much better than many mediocre ones. Why?

• High quality articles attract high quality readers. Like attracts like.
• High quality articles say, “I’m an authority on this subject.”
• High quality articles are more satisfying to YOU, as the author.

There are a lot of authors who seem to only care about churning out lots of lukewarm-slop articles. Don’t be one of them. Deliver on your title; don’t tell a lot of story; and do your best to make sure your readers walk away from your articles glad they found you.

About the Author: Jennifer A. Thieme is a Certified QuickBooks ProAdvisor who loves to help people with QuickBooks. She brings unique insight, clear instructions, and over ten years of experience to all of her QuickBooks articles. Owner of Solid Rock Accounting Services, Jennifer’s clients enjoy these same benefits on a personal and regular basis. You can too - visit http://www.jenniferthieme.com and contact Jennifer today.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jennifer_A._Thieme