Lance – It has been several hours since you had anything further to say on this matter. Should we take that to mean you have had your say for now? Or perhaps you are sleeping. No, you are writing, of course. I have enjoyed sparring with you on this issue.

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Lance, the answer is yes.

Chris (and all), one of the things I’ve always appreciated about EA is that when I post an article that I feel answers a question, but the ‘editors’ don’t get “it” they reject it and I get a chance to fix it. Whether it’s a casual mention of a name, plundering rave, or just a simple matter of I didn’t actually answer the question. When I’m sitting here writing an article and I feel it’s got a point, I know the answer, so I don’t always explain it well. With only me editing, I don’t realize I’ve left something out until I view the article from a different perspective. Or someone else views my article and mentions what’s missing.

Funny thing, my son submitted one last week that I felt was incomplete and when I mentioned he needed more info, he balked at adjusting it. When EA rejected it, he didn’t say a word, just fixed it (using mom’s suggestion) and asked me to resubmit it. I’ve done the same thing.

The point is, from a quality standpoint, there are different perspectives. I personally consider Lance, Jeff, Sean, Chris, and several other Article Writers as “mentors” and have recognized differences and variables in all their styles. Chris often fixes my grammatical and spelling errors (THANKS!!!) and I’ve gotten some interesting messages from others who have commented on my writing. Most good, some bad, and I have to say it’s a perspective issue.

Sometimes we have to look at the topic and see if it’s valuable enough to pursue, and if the quality is truly an issue or if it’s personal perspective and simply a concept that needs to be shared.

Jan

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In reading these posts, it seems that one thing that has not been mentioned is the audience. It is my understanding that the articles posted at Ezine Articles are not intended to be academic treatises or even lengthy articles. Each of the many excellent authors at Ezine Articles presents their information in a way that they believe will help their information to reach as many people as possible all over the world. Each style of article writing attracts a slightly different audience. We as authors are fortunate to have a forum such as Chris Knight provides, so that we can share freely what we have to offer the world through our articles.

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Dear Connie Ragen Green,

Yes I have been writing on the Real Estate Industry this morning actually, I might cut down this article and make it into a few 300-400 word articles and post those here.

Hmm? Well you do bring up a good point, I guess those who write, amateurs like me and writers alike have a lot to say, so, I guess I have had my say, and have been casually reading the various posts coming in to my email box. Its interesting, worthy of discussion. Jeff is a good guy, definitely good for this online article marketing venue, etc.

A good healthy debate is always good, it spurs on chemicals in the brain, and the sound and fury gives us a sense of purpose. What more could anyone want in the new year? – Lance

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I am sure Jeff doesn’t really need defending.

His work speaks for itself. Not sure how or why this thread has gotten so… tacky.

Why are we focusing on the quality of this authors work? What is the real motivation here? I can only imagine Jeff reading some of this and laughing his way to another fat bank deposit.

Bj

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I think we are talking about quality because there is an inherent link between volume and quality, and indeed you would not have to go very far back on this blog to 300 posts of comments on the subject. Check it out see for yourself, that 300 posts is probably an understatement. I think Jeff’s articles should be held to the same accountability of anyone else, in fact, now that you mention it, it was not that long ago I was lambasted for quality, merely because I had the most articles. So, I do not believe that anyone should deserve a free-pass and all subjects and topis are up for dialogue here, are they not? – Lance

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Lance, I forgot the original question you asked. But I have a question of my own for you and the rest of this board…

What or who determines what is quality within an article or not? Do the amount of words determine the quality? What about gramor and things lik that their?

For instance, I write for Mortgage Loan Officers. People who aren’t in the mortgage biz maybe bored to tears and not think the articles are quality. Others may think the opposite.

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Andrew,

You just asked a loaded question.

Heck, just the debate about landing page quality scoring caused the temperature to rise a few degrees.

Mechanically speaking, it’s easy to demonstrate what quality is and what it isn’t.

Content speaking, it’s very subjective and difficult to denote what is quality… assuming the content isn’t blatant spam.

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Thanks Chris, I didn’t mean it to be a loaded question, but I can see what you mean.

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Article writing works. Just started and little by little and article after artice works. Listen to Jeff’s teleseminars and pick up jewels of information each time.

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Yes, great advice there, but be sure not to read any of these articles on Online Article Writing:

1.) Sean R. Mize: http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Sean_R_Mize&ecat=Writing-and-Speaking:Writing-Articles (443 articles and it grows daily and also see he writes under “Sean Mize with 116 articles on the subject)

2.) Lance Winslow: http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Lance_Winslow&ecat=Writing-and-Speaking:Writing-Articles (295 articles, also search “L.Winslow” and “Lance W.”)

3.) Indeed, I understand Jeff Herring has over 160 articles on the subject there too:
http://ezinearticles.com/?type=txcat&cat=Writing-and-Speaking:Writing-Articles

***There is more than ample information here and some great advice, its all FREE, and any truly serious online article will spend the time to read ALL these articles and see the world from the different angles needs for any type of online article writing. – Lance..out

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Thanks for the post
Lots of discussion

Simple really

Do you get it?
Do you use it?

Get it.
Use it.

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Chris and all you new communicators, I have two cents left, so here they come. I think history, and some calm inner sense within us, tells us what is quality. We know it when we write it. Or, more likely unless you are a 4 star genius like Abraham Lincoln, we scratch over our first thoughts, even if now that means submit again, until we can look from the depths of our soul into our words and realize we are on the side of right, truth, or justice. Bitter, vulgar or thoughts from the news of the train wreck or uprising in the west, as Emerson, is not great. When Lincoln rode that short train trip to Gettysburg, he had time so say how badly he felt and let us try harder next: or speak to the ages of honor, dedicate and consecrate. That is great. For the rest of us, let us try to be very very good. Derek Dashwood

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For those of you who know me as a quality writer, a year later now I take this opportunity to share my limited observations on writing articles as a way to get your product and your message out there.

-finally in 2007 EZA started giving stat numbers of url links clicked. This the first realistic feedback mechanism maybe

-views of articles mean little or nothing, just like awards, because they are not a measure of reader commitment, which is url visits but especially sales of product or service

-the reality is that there has to be a very high amount of views to get a substantial amount of url clicks. You as author consider whether you can write hundreds and hundreds of articles to get any effective exposure

-the reality is that there has to be a high amount of url clicks to get one or two percent sales from visitors.

-the reality is that the only ones making good money from their writing and distribution efforts are the ones in certain subject areas, or with a very large number of views and web traffic

-Kaplan-Williams Law of Web Marketing states that the only ones making real money for their efforts on the web are those who sell service and product in how to make real money on the web. Marketers sell to would-be marketers. It has always been this way

-Ezine Articles is the big money-maker here through a large flow of traffic generated by thousands of authors who do not get paid, and the hundreds of thousands of browsing people these writers attract who see Google ads

-Ezine Articles makes its money, not through selling the direct value of the information its thousands of authors give the site, but through Google ads. Does that not alert you as an author that the system is flawed since authors do not see any cash for their efforts out of the Ezine Articles profits? The system needs improvement

-thousands of authors give their articles free to Ezine Articles, not for direct profit but because of their ‘lust to be published and read’

-Authors are always taken advantage of by publishers because of this lust. The author has to demand and insist on cash as well as publicity for others using his and her work

-I am still working on these issues for myself and other authors and hope to publish on this in the near future

-publishers have always been the author’s worst enemy, as well as sometimes their best friend

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Hi Strephon,

Hope you are having a terrific day.

I believe I have a somewhat different opinion with 5.6 Million Article Views and so many click thrus, that I could never count them. I think numbers do matter, and the data shows that there is opportunity in numbers. Quality writing is also important, your quality is very, very good, probably the reason you have sold so many books.

Lance

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Hi Lance,

It’s good to have contact with you again.

I can appreciate your 5.6 Million Article Views and so many click thrus that you can never count them.

I thought my points were actually an analysis comparison of writers like you with other article writers and publishers.

You as a big, big article writer represent the few here in this directory who are the evidence for the statement, write a lot of articles and you get a lot of click thrus.

Do you have an estimate of how much cash money you are directly making because of this?

Imagine if your writing efforts now go into writing novels, another form of writing, but one in which you get a cash return for your efforts if people read you.

My point is that the author should be paid directly for his and her services. It is your writing that brings people here. Those are really your Google ads and so you should get a percentage of the income, just like in regular publishing.

There is a point say with Ezine Articles where its best authors get paid half the Google income and then Ezine Articles makes its Google income off all the rest of its authors who do not submit enough articles to qualify.

The Money Machine could be quite simple.

-Over 100,000 views total 5 percent Google Ads Income

-Over 500,000 views total 10 percent Google Ads Income

-Over 1 million views total 15 percent Google Ads Income

-Over 5 million views total 20 percent Google Ads Income

If Ezine Articles keeps touting the benefits of writing more and more articles, then share the profits to those who do so. ‘Put your money where your mouth is,’ is the principle.

Sharing the profits is still the best business policy because it acknowledges a Win-Win Situation.

I have spoken!

We must get over the Wild West, Gold-Digger Days of Internet Development and get down to stabilization based on principles of equality, balance, regard for humanity and fairness, don’t you think?

Lance, my Internet Friend, you said, “Have a good day.” I say also, “Thanks! Have a better day.”

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Strephon,

I did not fully read your last post, just a couple of lines, not interested in your debate, I am still upset with the last time you gave me a hard time, indeed I did not read this last comment of yours either, just the first couple of lines. Either way, I am certain we disagree on most everything, and my new years resolution is not to do any more psycho-babble. Lance…out

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Lance,

Thank you for telling me of your decision and your honest thoughts.

I shall do my best to respect your decision.

Strephon

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OK… I get that this subject has been dropped.

But… I am wondering about it. I get the whole sharing the wealth thing.. and I can totally understand why EA would not want to… why should they at this point? EA thought of the idea, built the business and keep it healthy.

On the flip side, if one writes a book and gets it published, wouldn’t they still need to bring traffic to their website to plug the book, if they were not famous yet and hoped for a future in writing? Wouldn’t writing articles make sense in getting people to find you as a writer besides what the publisher might do for you?

My art is represented by an agent but I still do all I can, which includes writing articles, to get my name out there.

Just curious.

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I have been posting articles on ezinearticles for just under a year but not managed to get to 250 articles.

Nevertheless I have been amazed by the number of views and the impact on sign up to my newsletter. The strange thing is that article marketing is rarely mentioned by speakers at networking events I have been to in the UK (even by those advising on how to get more traffic.)

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