Webupon

Writers do not consider themselves marketers and so they do not understand the value of marketing concepts and principles in selling their work. The result is that many get rejection after rejection or publish articles that no one reads. Here are some simple principles which, if applied, can increase the acceptance of your articles manifold.

Make your article excellent

Marketing people know that you cannot sell a product that isn’t excellent. A good car salesman will test drive the car and examine it all over to ensure that it is a steady car that performs what it says it does.

In your article, excellence refers to content and craftsmanship. That includes a multitude of things that begin with your research and end up with your writing. You will want to do your best when researching your materials. You want to get out and seek all the facts you need. And then you will expertly sift them, discarding those that are irrelevant. Don’t lie on the bed and dream up all the “facts” in the mistaken belief that readers won’t notice.

Simple things will tell readers that you didn’t bother much in your research and presentation. Are you sure that the name you’ve used is spelt properly? Are you sure that your figures area accurate? Are the words correctly spelt? Are your vocabulary and tone appropriate for your audience?

Make your article sparkling and brilliant. If you were selling a car, you would want it to be outstanding in the market place. When what you are selling is excellent, you feel confident. You are proud to be associated with it.

Make your articles useful to your readers

Products that sell in the market place are those that do what they set out to do. They are products that are useful to those who buy them. It’s the same with articles.

Some articles have titles that promise a lot. Yet when you read the article, you don’t find what was promised by the title. The writer didn’t give what he should have. You feel cheated. Next time you come upon that writers articles, you will not be keen to read them.

It is important that your article offers exactly what it promises in the title. As one marketing man used to say, “You should make whatever you are selling so useful that you are actually genuinely sorry when people don’t buy it.” Make that your principle, too.

Target people who have the need for your information

Marketers locate their businesses not just where there people, but where there are people of the kind they target. If you are selling an expensive car, you don’t need high traffic of students and job seekers. . You need well paid executives.

Surprisingly many writers ignore this simple truth. When I edited a psychology-based women’s magazine, I used to get many articles on sports. One day, I asked a writer why she sent me articles on sports. Her answer was typical. She told me that women should also be interested in sports! That’s true. But the ones that read my publication were not interested in sports -which they could read elsewhere.

Be passionate about what you write

Passion is enthusiasm. And self-help writers led by Pastor Norman Vincent Peale have made fortunes extolling the values of enthusiasm. Marketing people know they must be enthusiastic about their products. So they spend a lot of time developing enthusiasm.

You too should be passionate about what you write. Passion comes naturally when we have followed the above three steps. When you are passionate about what you write, it is felt in your article. You write with enthusiasm.

And as they say, enthusiasm is infectious.