If your parents were like mine, constantly stressing the importance of education, then you know full well that "knowledge is power." Isn't it also true that a whole lot of power lies in the hands of the wealthy? And from watching certain reality TV shows about certain real housewives of a certain citrus-y county, you don't always have to have (ahem) one to have the other. I don't know about you, but I'd sure like to have a lot of both.
On the knowledge front, I've found several ways to learn your craft. Some helpful sites are:
PhantomWriters -- They offer free access to all their articles about writing. If you want to learn about any aspect of writing marketing articles, news articles, or sports, you can find it here. Plus, you get the added bonus of as many different perspectives as you want to read: that way you can weed out the nuts if there are any, and pick up on the tips you start hearing over and over again.
Article Marketer University -- There is a wealth of free information on the Article Marketer site. Click the AMU link, and you will have free access to live classes with industry experts. You can learn about how to make an effective website, article writing tips, affiliate practices and more. The best part about AMU in my opinion is that I can download them to my iPod and listen anywhere. Pretty cool.
Easy Article Marketing -- For a fee of $40, these lovely ladies (and they're all ladies!) will teach you how to find topics, make writing painless, and optimum length. They'll also tell you the traps you might be falling into that prevent you from writing! If you're willing to pay for their audio classes, these girls have got the goods.
Article Writing Tips -- Yep, that's the name of their site. They have lots of free tips on writing articles, plus a whole page full of articles written by experts on this topic. All this is offered free, and they also have a book called "Turn Words Into Traffic," which you can buy through their site for $39.
The point is: It PAYS to educate yourself. You can also do a Google search for "writing articles" or "writing marketing materials" and come up with a wealth of information that I didn't list here. When you become confident in your ability to write, you will find writing articles becomes much easier, and even fun!
One of the ways to build that confidence is by reading about other people's experiences. Have you ever read something and thought, "Boy, I could have written that better myself"? Sure you have, and you can! And it's okay to look for a little help before you dive right in.
