However, writing an article is not as difficult as you may think. It's just a case of knowing a few tricks and shortcuts to make life easier. There must be a sound reason why are you writing an article. It's a fair bet that it's a way of advertising. This is an excellent and FREE way to promote your business.

The following tips will encourage the hesitant writer to make a start.

1. The first thing you will need is a subject. Better still, think of it as a Hot Topic, as this sounds a lot more interesting and fun!

Once you have your hot topic, you will need to think of an original title. This needs to be keyword-rich in order to be picked up by the search engines. Remove all unnecessary words such as 'the' or 'a' or 'with' from your title. They are just bulk and create jumble. A good title needs to be twelve words or less, and it certainly needs to be more than two words.

2. Write your article body in simple language; imagine it being read by a thirteen year old. Most people have a reading age of twelve or thirteen! It's not smart or clever to write like a graduate, in fact it puts most people off. Think about what your readers know, and what they don't know. Also what they want or don't want. Then write in terms of what your readers know they want, and not what you know.

3. If you have trouble finding enough content for your article try writing down some bullet points. Then you can elaborate upon each of these bullet points to make a paragraph. One or two sentences are sufficient to make a paragraph, unless you really have a lot to talk about! Then it might be wise to break up your paragraph into smaller bullets to make it an easier read.

In order to elaborate or to emphasise your point you can always include a story within your article. Search your childhood memories and see if you can come up with something that will lead to a point you are making.

4. Still having trouble? Try a checklist. Take your checklist around with you for a day or two, and jot down any ideas that come to you.

5. Still got writer's block? Try sitting down and just write for about ten or fifteen minutes. It doesn't matter what you write about. A strange thing often happens at this point; the mere fact that you are writing something triggers the brain, and before you know if you are writing content for your article.

6. You will attract more hits to your website if you make your articles pleasurable and entertaining, rather than tedious and lacklustre. Read through your first draft and see if you can liven it up a touch - it's surprising how changing just a few words will make a ton of difference.

7. Remember to include an effective Resource Box, or Author Bio, at the bottom of your article. This acts as your online business card, and should always include at least one, possibly two links to your website which your readers can click on for more information and products they may need.

8. Finally, don't forget keywords. If the search engines are going to find your article you will need to have a relevant selection of keywords. It's essential to use the words in your article title as keywords, then select all the other significant keywords that appear in the article body.

Knowing the right keywords to target is very important because these will provide what your readers are searching for.

Once you have succeeded in producing your first two or three articles writing will suddenly become easier and you'll be able to roll out an article very quickly.

Article marketing is a very powerful and free method of promoting yourself and your website. By submitting them to article directories, your websites, and blog, you will find more people will read them and consider you an expert. It's important to remember the importance of article marketing; people are looking for information and if you are giving them what they want by way of your articles, you should get many more prospects buying what you have to offer on your website.