Great, exceptional writing skills are one of the pre-requisites to excel in the field of article writing. Many people believe that article writing is an overwhelming task and that is it something that is only for natural-born writers. Well, this isn't true. Anyone can write great articles as long as they're willing to learn and as long as they have access to the right information.

You can develop or improve this skill by simply taking these steps:

1. Read and learn. Explore ebooks, blogs, forums, etc. that offer information on how you can develop or enhance your writing skills. It would be best if you read those resources that were written by expert article writers so you can easily obtain effective writing tips and techniques.

2. Practice everyday. Reading relevant resources isn't really enough to hone your writing skills. It's important that you put what you've learned into practice. Make time to write articles on a regular basis until you get the hang of it. If you're just starting out, it would be best if you choose those topics that you're extremely passionate about.

3. Solicit feedback. You're not the best person to check and critique your articles for obvious reasons. Find article writing gurus who can read your articles and give you feedback afterwards. Keep their suggestions, comments, and feedback in mind as these are the elements that you can use to patch up the rough edges of your writing.

4. Attend writing seminars. Due to the number of people who are trying to sink their teeth into the field of article writing, there are now numerous article writing seminars that are being offered in the online arena by those people who have excelled in this field. Take advantage of them and you'll learn everything you need to know about article writing. Although you will need to spend money to be able to do this, be assured that it will worth it.

5. Know your audience. Of all the article writing tips that were given out by writing gurus, I consider this one to be the most important. If you know your target readers inside out, there is a good chance that you'll make your articles highly targeted to their needs and demands. As you know, this can very well lead to their satisfaction.

6. Know your topics. First, choose a topic that you're really interested in. Don't make this task difficult by choosing topics that you haven't heard before. Instead, write something that you're extremely familiar with. You can write about your family, your favorite hobbies, and your favorite subject when you were in school, etc. It's much easier to write articles when you enjoy what you're writing about. Don't waste your readers' time by giving them articles that are full of fluffs and nonsense information. Instead, make your articles really informative by knowing your chosen topics on a deeper level. There is no other way to do this than doing extensive research and by interviewing other experts on your chosen niche.

7. Break your subject into sub topics. It would be much easier to write if you breakdown your topics into manageable chunks. Let me give you an example; if you decide to write about your hobby, you can talk about its history, why you love it, how interested people can sink their teeth into it, etc. Explain these points using short paragraphs with sub headings. To make your content flow smoothly, write as if you're just having conversation with someone you know. Don't be afraid to commit mistakes as you can spend as much time as you need proofreading and editing your articles later on.

8. Plan your content. After doing extensive research, the next thing to do is to organize the information that you have obtained. Arrange them in a logical manner. Put the most important data on top as you will need to make your first paragraph really explosive. Why? This is the proven technique to get your audience to read on.

9. Write your articles. Using your outline, explain each point that you have listed in short paragraphs and present your tips and instructions using numbers and bullet list. Use conversational tone and simple terms to easily promote better understanding.

10. Optimize your articles. You can boost your open and clickthrough rate if you can make your articles appear on the top 10 search page results. This is possible if you properly optimize your articles using popular keywords in your chosen niche.

11. Proofread and edit your articles. This one is something that you shouldn't skip as you'll surely commit common writing mistakes along the way. To become a more effective proofreader, I recommend that you edit your articles at least one day after you've written them. By this time, you have already momentarily forgotten what you have written and you'll easily be able to spot errors.

Sean Mize teaches coaches, consultants, and small business owners how to package their knowledge and sell it at a high price.

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