Things To Do Article Template
Here’s a fun article writing template 2-pak called: “Things You Must Do” and “Things To Avoid.”
Your “things to do” articles will mostly be ‘pleasure seeking’ themes while your ‘things to avoid’ articles will cover ‘pain avoidance’ themes.
Article Titles options:
- Use different tenses:
- BEFORE: “9 Things To Do Before You Buy A Hybrid Car”
- DURING: “8 Things To Do To Get The Most Gas Mileage From Your Performance Car”
- AFTER: “7 Things To Do Get The Highest Resale Value On Your Old Car”
- Use adjectives for emphasis:
- “6 Simple Things You Can Do Before You Go On Beach Visit”
- “5 Romantic Things You Can Do While On Vacation”
- “4 Easy Things To Do When You Return From A Trip To Lose The Weight You Gained”
- “3 Things You Absolutely Must Do To Become Rich By Selling Real Estate”
- “11 Things You Must Do To Prepare For Your Next Olympic Competition Event”
What To Put In The Article Body:
The article body should not repeat the article title (as it is with all articles). Be sure to include a simple 3-5 sentence paragraph that explains the benefit of the things to do you’re about to list rather than rolling immediately into the list of things.
Reason why: Because we use your 1st paragraph to help sell your article to potential readers via email, rss, the widgets, etc. that are part of the EzineArticles system.
It looks best on the eyes when you use a numbered list, bolding the thing to do followed by a sentence or two that explains why the thing to do should be done. Most people would say that using the OL & LI HTML tags do make numbered lists look best, but that comes at a price: Incompatibility with TEXT-based email newsletters that syndicate your content.
End your article body with a brief summary of what the reader can experience in their personal or business lives when they do the list of things you’ve just outlined… then, roll directly into your Resource Box call to action.
Things To Avoid Article Template
(polar opposite to the Things To Do template)
EzineArticles Factoid: There are 705 articles that have the “Things To Do” article title in use vs. 143 articles with the “Things To Avoid” title… proving that we seek PLEASURE more than PAIN-AVOIDANCE in a 5:1 ratio.
It’s widely known that people will do more to avoid pain than to gain pleasure, yet there are currently 5x more articles written already with the “Things To Do” template. My theory is that it’s because of the positive vs. negative tone… even when you mean well to help save your reader from future pain… they might not be seeking knowledge on pain avoidance.
One way you can flip the “Things To Avoid” article template so that it has a positive spin: Write articles that helps the reader to understand your credibility by outlining why from your experience they should avoid X number of things having to do with your niche expertise… ie: How can your reader gain pleasure, peace of mind, wealth, etc. by avoiding x number of things.
Lastly, be sure to deliver in the article body on the promises you made in your Things to Do/Avoid article title. If you say here are *21 Things To Do To Win Your Next Golf Game*…there better be 21 items numbered in the article body… :) or you’ll be left on the golf course alone in the rain. Seriously, our readership tells us almost instantly whenever a newly accepted article doesn’t deliver on the promise made in the article title.
Have you ever used this article template, and if so, any additional insights to share?
Hi
March 22, 2012 at 4:17 AMi know i have yet to write for this site, but i thought i would do a little scouting before i began. One way to get a good feel for the arena one is entering is to hear what others are either unhappy about or happy about so i read the posts of others who have been around for a while.
This one grabbed my attention as it is one of my soapbox topics. I have to agree with Audrey, i would like to extend her observation and suggest one can actually takes the negative, and in most instances, through careful thought make it a positive statement.
i.e.
The phrase ‘Keep your site music free” has a negative connotation in that is is a command.
Yet is phrased as a question illicits a response or piques the interest
i.e.
‘How to keep your site music free…”
the Audience once captured is almost negative free… well that’s i see it anyway thanks for all the great ‘stuff’ makes for really good reading
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