ABC Article Directory Blog

The Library’s closed and you need some facts to finish your article and you need them NOW! It’s time to search the Deep Web.

The Deep Web, or Silent Web as it’s sometimes called, is a hidden resource that every writer should know about. It could well be the answer when you want to track down some facts that Google and other search engines can’t.

It is estimated that there may be as many as 500 million web pages that are indexed by Google, MSN, Yahoo and others. The Deep Web is actually not included in these and is reckoned to be many times greater in size!

The visible web is indexed by ’spiders’, small robot programs that wander about from site to site gathering details on links and pages to send back to base from which the search engine’s index is compiled. Read the rest of this entry »

We all hear how important articles are - especially when used as a tool to help boost search engine rankings.  We often read many articles a day about our industry or about something we are trying to learn.  However, when it comes time to write articles to promote our own business - we are stumped.

Let’s break down articles and look at everything you need to know about why they work, how to properly write and syndicate articles and all the other fun details.

Why Articles?

1. It is an opportunity to share information and establish yourself as an expert

2. It creates an opportunity for new traffic to come to your site (when your article gets distributed to various sites on the internet, people can read your article and click on a link within the article to get to your site.)

3. It creates one-way links into your site.  Every time one of your articles is posted, each link in your article counts as a one-way link to your site.

4. When you write an article and post it on your site, you are creating new relevant text for your site visitors and for the search engines (which can result in a boost in rankings).

How Does Article Syndication Work? Read the rest of this entry »

Getting published is tricky. Sometimes getting a publishers approval seems like a lost cause. Why are publishers so picky? Simple. They have to be picky about the content they publish to be successful. The publisher’s job is to attract readers and keep them happy. Your job as a writer is to give publishers what they want to attract readers and keep them coming back.

What Are Publishers so Picky about?
You don’t have to get inside the head of the public to see what they are picky about. A lot of things publishers look for are common sense. Articles that require excess editing are likely to be kicked back to the writer.

Misspelled words, grammatical errors and poor sentence structure will not get you published. Likewise, an article that is over or under the recommended word count will not be accepted for publication. Read the rest of this entry »

If one of your New Year resolutions is to make your business more successful then read on as writing articles could (and indeed should) form a big part in making sure your resolution comes true.

And these 2 tips can turn your article into something people might want to read and publish into a piece of writing that will get you and your business exposure.

Top Tip Number 1: Be different

The internet more so than any other communication tool gives people the chance to air their views and have a voice. The trouble with such a forum is that you are usually competing with hundreds, thousands and indeed millions of other people also wanting their views and opinions to be read or heard.
Read the rest of this entry »

What do you need to do before you even put pen to paper and start writing a press release?

Although writing a successful press release is pretty straightforward, unless you do it correctly your hard work will be rewarded with the STB technique. That is your press release will be Screwed up into a tiny ball and it will be Thrown into the nearest Bin by the person you sent it to. And whilst the STB technique is seldom discussed I am afraid the vast majority of press releases fall foul to its nasty end. However, yours will not.

So let us start with some things you need to think about and so before writing your press release.

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By: Jack Deal

It’s happened to most of us that write and if it hasn’t happened to you yet it will.  It’s only a factor of time and exposure.

Someone has stolen your labor intensive work and put their name on it.  Or, taken your work and rearranged the paragraphs and put their name on it.   Or, taken all your good ideas and reshuffled the words and put their name on it.  Or any combination of the above.

If you publish and distribute on the web you may have hundreds of articles on a large number of websites, blogs and article databases.  That’s a lot of exposure.   If I google the articles name I might find one that has not given proper credit.  Usually they are novices and correct the problem.   This type of plagiarism is easy and simple.

Read the rest of this entry »

 By: Jim Driver

The best writing is ‘clean’ writing. Nothing to do with soap powders or detergents – or even sex. Clean writing is prose that is clear and understandable.

The best examples of the type include Elmore Leonard, George Orwell, Ross Macdonald, Ernest Hemingway, Mark Timlin, Eric Ambler, Raymond Chandler and Dashiell Hammett. It would be unkind to give examples of ‘dirty’ writing, except to say that their ranks include almost all bad writers.

Most amateurs fall into the trap of trying to write too cleverly. They burden their prose with dirt: flowery adjectives, long similes, obese sentences and so on. In the process they obscure what they mean to say and bore their readers. Clean, clear writing is enjoyable to read. And when reading is a pleasure, then ideas are easier to put across.

Read the rest of this entry »

By: Andrew Morris

Is this a silly question? Not really, because while it is possible to learn how to craft a sentence and turn a phrase on your own, can you actually learn how to take that creative spark that dwells within and put it on paper (or on a screen)? Just as there are those who are born an artist, there are others who are born with the talent to write a novel, create a perfect sales letter, compel their readers to come along on a journey to another land, adventure or experience.

But even these authors have learned, studied and applied their talent over time to become better at what they do, the art and craft of writing. While there are certainly writing courses delving into the proper turning of phrase, how to evoke an emotional response from the reader; for me the best writing course of all is “just write”, then learn from you did.
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By: Andrew Morris

An old news pro once told me, “Kid, if it isn’t newsworthy, we’re not going to print it”.  I am dating myself with the above quote that reaches back into the dark ages of the manual typewriter. But I have remembered it over the years.  Another way of stating the same thought I learned from my dad, “When in doubt, play it silent”. My father was commenting on excess dialog in a scene, however, both men gave me a lesson of a lifetime.

If I do not have something to say that is feature worthy, then I do not say or write it.  What is it that you have to say that is lead news material?  That is not criticism since I do not know you, rather advice. But have you adequately researched what you want to write about.? And if you have, do you have an idea of the title, subject and flow of the article?

Are you writing simply because you are inspired, or have you done your homework and discovered if there is a market for your words?  That is not to say you should not have a blog: please do, and write what you will and as often as you like. But in this article we are discussing the business of writing.

Read the rest of this entry »

By: Tiva Kelly

Getting published is tricky. Sometimes getting a publishers approval seems like a lost cause. Why are publishers so picky? Simple. They have to be picky about the content they publish to be successful. The publisher’s job is to attract readers and keep them happy. Your job as a writer is to give publishers what they want to attract readers and keep them coming back.

What Are Publishers so Picky about?
You don’t have to get inside the head of the public to see what they are picky about. A lot of things publishers look for are common sense. Articles that require excess editing are likely to be kicked back to the writer.

Misspelled words, grammatical errors and poor sentence structure will not get you published. Likewise, an article that is over or under the recommended word count will not be accepted for publication.
Read the rest of this entry »