Callooh writes:

I think that’s a great idea to get exposure and establish expertise. However, it could backfire if you’re generating articles only to create traffic back to your website and not really adding much new about a subject. As a researcher and writer, I’m just struck by how many articles out there say so little. One more web page with a little content and a lot of ads isn’t really what the internet community needs.

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Christopher M. Knight writes:

Callooh,

I completely agree!

It’s critical to share your unique insight into each of your areas of expertise, but I agree that it adds no value to regurgitate or rewrite your expertise into nearly identical articles and we work hard to detect and stop those types of submissions.

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Chinmay Chakravarty writes:

Very useful, a challenge to take on. Like building your house of reputation brick by brick. Only the quality of bricks needs to be standardized.

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Hope Wilbanks writes:

I really like this idea. I think I’ll try it on my next round of submissions. Thanks!

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Joe Shaw writes:

Chris,

Would you mind clarifying what you mean by ‘subtopics’? I may be the only one that’s not sure.

WHAT I THINK YOU’RE SAYING…
By ‘subtopic’ you don’t mean submitting to a different article categories right?

It sounds to me like your saying is… when submitting multiple articles under 1 category, to make sure to write about different topics within that category.

Am I understanding you right?

Thanks Chris,
Joe

PS: As always, it’s a pleasure to have access to EzineArticles. My thanks to your team. You guys rock!

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Christopher M. Knight writes:

Joe,

Your understanding is correct.

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James Chartrand - JCM Enterprises writes:

Subtopics explained:

I’m a writer promoting my blog (visit our blog today!) so I write about… well, writing, generally. That’s my niche.

However, I also write about the sub-niches, which would be article writing, sales copy writing, writing ebooks, writing tips and tricks…

So Chris is saying to write X on articles, X on ebooks, X on sales copy, and X on tips and tricks, then submit one from each group in rotation to have variety.

It’s a good idea and a good concept. It also forces people to stretch into their own niche a little deeper and quit focusing on the general stuff.

Thanks for the post on writing, Chris; I was missing them! (Now, if I can just keep out of trouble while commenting…)

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Christina Sponias writes:

Chris, I don’t have time to write so many articles all together and I don’t think it’s good to wait until I complete 10 to submit them, but even when I write about similar topics my articles are different. I pay attention to this point.
Even when I repeat a few things I always do that to help people understand better what I’m saying. I give a different information in each article, focus on a different angle, anyhow, there is always something different in each article.

This is why I relate my articles many times. Instead of repeating a few basic points about which I already gave explanations in a previous article, I summarize the previous article in a paragraph, indicating the old article to my readers.

And lately I’m writing for many similar categories, so I don’t think I need to send my articles the way you suggest.
What do you think about it?

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Alex Yeo writes:

It will be good if writers follow your strategy.

Once I saw 5 articles posted consecutively written by the same author and the articles are really short, only around 250-300 words.

Apparently, the author is only interested in getting traffic to his website and it looks a bit like article spamming though his content might be unique.

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Edward Weiss writes:

Excellent post. And it is a problem. For example, I read internet marketing articles frequently. There are many subtopic areas here yet I find I’m always reading articles by the same one or two authors.

Even though the articles might be “good,” I’d still like to see some fresh spins and ideas on the topic.

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Ramon Greenwood writes:

Chris…

Thanks again for sharing your experience and great service.

Your blog and some of the comments prompt me to write re an issue that troubles me a great deal.

I produce a semi-monthly ezine, The Career Accelerator, and e-books focused on career advice. My primary need at this time is building my list, so I try to read everything you pass along on this subject.

I am frustrated because it has been a very long time–months, actually–since I have seen any new ideas. The articles plow and replow the same ground. There are even examples where writers use identical headlines. Many of the headlines over-promise. (The same can be said about other venues.)

With all of the creativity EzineArticles represents, it would seem that there would be some new ideas coming along.

Ramon

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Christina Sponias writes:

I’ve read many good articles in this Ezine. I believe the good articles surpass the ‚¬“low quality‚¬ ones. As a matter of fact I’m impressed seeing how many people write well and say important and valuable things in their articles!

I don’t know if I’m lucky or if I choose well, but whenever I decide to read an article written in EzineArticles I like it very much!

Of course, I don’t have time to read too much because I keep writing!

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Lance Winslow writes:

Mr. Greenwood,

Since we are entering a downturn in the business cycle, I am confident you will see a very robust flow of new people to your websites, those hunting for replacement jobs. In franchising these were the times we most often saw new candidate team member profiles coming in from prospective franchisees.

I have been contemplating this subject of career advancement in employment lately, no I am not coming out of retirement, rather I have been re-reading some old classic books like “What Color is Your Parachute” and “Dealing with Difficult People in the Work Place” thus this subject has been on my mind. I also met, holographic universe moment, a Human Resource computer consultant programmer and we discussed this subject for an hour at Starbucks yesterday.

Interestingly enough, I just read your post and went to your “Great Website” and downloaded your free E-book “How to Get a Raise and Not Shoot Yourself in the Foot” I will be reading this completely tomorrow over coffee and spent 20 minutes scanning thru it this evening; all I can say is WOW. I am thinking of writing some “Fresh Ideas” on this subject, maybe using Chris’ 3X3 strategy.

Since I will be writing these anyway, is there any particular area of career and employment that you would like me to think on, while writing these articles? I would love the chance to think and write and help you help others with their careers to keep their money flowing in. With housing foreclosures up, people really need to pay attention to their advancing their careers and avoiding layoffs, or Chain Saw AL’s axe when it comes to trimming employee payrolls.

Always a pleasure to meet someone who is at the top of their game, and I subscribed to your excellent newsletter, everyone who cares about their career ought to do the same.

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James Chartrand - JCM Enterprises writes:

(*contemplate’s Lance’s slick method of gaining new clients…*)

I think Ramon is right. I discussed the problem of there being an http://www.jcme.ca/jcmefreelancewriting/too-much-information of content on the Internet.

The problem is, everyone’s writing like mad. Everyone wants traffic, success, hits and sales, so they scribble and churn out articles. They say it’s a split-second industry or a potential client is gone, and webmasters and business owners know that. The pace of the Internet is crazy.

That means no one takes the time to read. Sure, you’re all going to tell me, “Hey, hold on, we read each day!” Not effectively. You skim, you scan, you leap and you absorb information at the speed of light – how much time do you take to sit back and do nothing but think on what you just read?

There is too much information on the Internet and it just keeps coming. How can someone like Ramon expect to get a fresh angle when people are churning out so much of what they think is new but has already been done? And how can Ramon get different content when people are focused on driving traffic alone?

Even Chris’s strategy of 10 x 10 shows someone will submitt 100 articles. Considering the number of people who submit articles, the total submissions per day can be a mind-boggling figure. Are you saying that the potential hundreds (thousands?) of articles submitted each day are all fresh angles, different directions and not rehashed content?

Slowing down to think out your strategies for the subjects you’ll cover might help. Do keyword research – see what people are looking for but can’t find. Ask Chris if he knows what areas are lacking and fill them up. Contact business owners; ask them too.

But mostly, slow down. Write if you must, but respect writing enough to quit churning out the same old.

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Christina Sponias writes:

I agree with you James, but you have to consider the fact that usually people that write a lot like also to read a lot and that when someone is interested in certain subject, he or she is going to read everything he can without feeling feed up.

I think it’s so easy to discover something new and interesting to write about in any subject if we simply make a research! There are so many important and interesting things that most people don’t know yet!

Perhaps most authors without inspiration are quite lazy; this is why they keep repeating the same!

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James Chartrand - JCM Enterprises writes:

Heh, you’re contradicting yourself, Christina. First you don’t have time to read because you’re writing, then you do have time to read to write better… Making my head spin!

I don’t agree that authors who lack inspiration are lazy. There are many factors writers burn out their creativity, and laziness is usually last on the list.

Also, EzineArticles is an article directory to promote websites. Many people who hire writers to write articles for them are the ones that dictate the topic, subject and angle of articles. Sometimes creativity is out of the writer’s hands.

But yup, striving to be different is a good thing, I agree. Taking the time to *think* and find those creative angles is a must.

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Christina Sponias writes:

Let me explain! I don’t have time to read now because I have to rewrite everything I wrote in Greek in the English language and much more for the Internet, but I have read more than I have written and I always read when I have a chance.

Besides, I was not talking about me but saying that usually a writer is also a good reader.

Sometimes creativity cannot come without real knowledge. There are more than infinite topics to write about that were never exposed before. If the authors without creativity would look for different information, they would find it for sure!

We need a material to work with. Creativity needs knowledge, facts, opinions!
An author cannot be creative forever based only on his/her own ideas.

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James Chartrand - JCM Enterprises writes:

To be creative means to be original, to express thoughts that are different, to evolve the ideas of the imagination.

Creativity needs no facts or opinions – many great works of art would never have existed were it not for the artist’s pure ability to imagine something no one else had yet. This includes writing and literature. There is no science, facts or figures in creativity.

Creativity is almost solely based in one’s own ideas. Otherwise, we’re talking exposure or discovery, which are completely different concepts.

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Callooh writes:

That’s probably true in an abstract sense, but practically speaking, artists (and I include writers here), don’t live in vacuums. Creativity can be sparked by knowledge/facts. Whether you call the output discovery or something creative seems like philosophical parsing that may not have much impact on the worth of what’s created/discovered. (Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed your parsing.)

I think we’re probably all selective about our reading now because of time pressures – we read in depth articles about subjects we love and skim to find content about subjects we need to learn about.

When writers feed an SEO machine, it seems like all the robot engines and ad sites “care” about is what can drive that initial interest. So there’s a lot of motivation to write light content (present company on this site excluded). We all hang on to our professional integrity and try not to do that. Also, for many of us, writing that kind of content just won’t increase sales of our services. Someone may stumble upon our content by searching, but they’re not a decision maker. Content that’s really useful for branding can’t be fluff.

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Lance Winslow writes:

This is an interesting side subject of the 3X3 strategy in that the best articles that one writes from the reader’s perspective is one which answers a question “OR” makes them think. Sometimes you can do both. I have concentrated on having 2 orginal thoughts per day and having massive intake; reading, experiences, meeting new people, traveling, observing does allow me to make seemingly unprobable connections to things in the abstract.

Once this is done you can flush out the idea using a 3X3 or 10×10 and I have done this with UAVs, vibrational energy theory, laser mining, LED electromagnetic induction inventions, nano-technology, holographic imaging, hoverboard skateboards, aerodynamic design, Hurricane aftermath cleanup, weather modification, etc., etc.

So, knowing a scientific subjects, which takes reading and then to apply it to a new innovation, takes thought. With all the information smog, it is true you have to scan the tsunami of information coming at you and find the anomalies and bits and pieces of information. A person concentrating can devour a full size non-fiction book in a few hours thru scanning. Indeed slowing down helps to fully grasp the subject, and get the author’s POV and understand what they are saying. And yet if you are scanning for anomalies, to be creative, sometimes it is better to not be boxed in from the work, rather to be thinking while reading and then later allow for additional thought.

I would say a good number of my articles have a fresh perspective on the subject. I scan 160 Ezines a day, read 15 articles here, scan a few books (up to 5) a day, probably read 50 news articles online, 2-3 newspapers, occassionally a small stack of magazines. I do scan intensely, more than anyone I know. Still, I can come up with ideas no one else does by finding links to various things I have read, throw in some imagination, experience, observations and you can get to a place with a really awesome idea, then flush it out.

One thing I have found is that if you get too far of the beaten path of knowledge, that your articles are not so popular right away, rather off in the future when someone else in that particular industry comes up with the idea or reads yours.

The eBook I mentioned above about asking for a raise without getting your butt fired is a semi-fresh idea and knowing how to do it is golden information for a reader in a job that really needs to get more money for what they produce.

Having written on the topics everyone writes about and the ones no one writes about but me. I see both as important. I will now write my 10-articles today on a vast array of subjects. Any thoughts on what I have mentioned here? I would appreciate continuing this conversation, I think it is very valuable to use writers of online articles.

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James Chartrand - JCM Enterprises writes:

There’s a difference in creativity and inspiration. Creativity is coming up with something from nothing. Inspiration is coming up with something new from something already created. I think that’s what both Lance and Christina are trying to say – that inspiration matters.

Of course, so does creativity.

As you mentioned, Lance, being different isn’t always a good thing. It can be, and it should be. But it involves the risk of being so different that the opposite of attraction happens, or it can involve a wait so long that the goal of trying something different has poor results.

I would take “different” as a baby steps approach. Using little steps, start leading readers towards the idea or concept you want to tell them about. Have some articles on the first step, get people interested – remember, this first step wouldn’t be too far off from what’s already been stated and accepted, so it would be easy to integrate.

From there, write new articles, each batch a baby step away from the last. Readers acclimatize themselves slowly to the new ideas and concepts. The writer doesn’t get ostracized for being too wild or crazy.

And voila. We have a new niche of information to explore with an audience ready and waiting to know more.

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Christina Sponias writes:

I was at the store previously and now that I came home I have no time to read everything you wrote. (I’m going to read everything in detail later.)

I just wanted to say that I agree with the term inspiration. It suits better in this case, but how is someone going to be creative without inspiration? We need material.

Even an artist needs to read other literature works. One cannot be indefinitely creative without inspiration from somewhere.

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Christina Sponias writes:

I agree with what Callooh said in the beginning.

According to my vision there is no creativity without inspiration and there is no place for a vacuum in the human mind. Creativity cannot come from ‚¬“nothing‚¬ because there is no emptiness in the human mind. Even a fantasy is something. Nobody creates based only on his/her ideas.

Where these ideas come from? From their mind? No. From everything they lived, read, saw, listed! From everyone they know, from every place they went to. Creativity is a quality, not a source.

I know very well how inspiration and creativity work because I write poetry since I was 7 years old. Inspiration seems to come from our mind alone, but as I said before, it comes from our experiences. And since I studied the human psychic sphere like a scientist, I know that we receive inspiration from the unconscious side of our psychic sphere when we believe that we created something alone!

Creativity is the expression of our inspiration; it’s our personal way to transform what belongs to our reality, giving it a different shape and a different dimension.

An author is inspired to write and he/she can create something unique, according to his talent. Some authors have inspiration, but they don’t have creativity. They write as if they didn’t really have any inspiration because their words are banal!

Other authors use their inspiration with creativity, writing something very original, because they have the talent or they cultivated the skill.

Now, I believe one can be different only if he/she has the talent, otherwise it is really dangerous to be different. People only like what is super original; otherwise they prefer what is known, common, acceptable for sure and already very well verified.

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James Chartrand - JCM Enterprises writes:

I won’t expand on the philosophies of the discussion, because to be honest, I’m too tired to think that hard. Philosophy was never really my thing anyways.

I will leave you all with one thought. Creativity isn’t a talent. It isn’t a skill. It’s an ability. It exists in each one of us, from those who struggle with mental challenges to those of genius caliber. And yet, those with genius can be banal, while those with the greatest difficulties have the spark of creativity.

It doesn’t take talent to be different, either. Just dress funny ;)

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James Chartrand - JCM Enterprises writes:

Callooh –

“When writers feed an SEO machine, it seems like all the robot engines and ad sites ‚¬“care‚¬ about is what can drive that initial interest. So there’s a lot of motivation to write light content (present company on this site excluded). We all hang on to our professional integrity and try not to do that. Also, for many of us, writing that kind of content just won’t increase sales of our services. Someone may stumble upon our content by searching, but they’re not a decision maker. Content that’s really useful for branding can’t be fluff.”

I agree. Well said.

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Christina Sponias writes:

Well, I’m a philosopher, besides being a psychologist a writer and I like to define words very well.

It’s very easy to be different, but if you simply dress funny you are not creative, you are a clown. You’ll show your creativity only if you’ll be an original clown.

I believe creativity is very well expressed on decoration. Depending on which motives one chooses to decorate a window in a store or an apartment, his/her creativity will appear or not.

Creativity is an ability but also a talent! I decorate the windows of my store many times and my work is similar to the work of our decorator number 1 because I’m an artist. I draw very well too. Usually though the decorator number 2 does this job because decorator n1 is his wife and now she has kids! He is very good, but his job is technical. He learned how to do it, but he has no talent. His wife on the contrary is a real artist! There is a big difference in their style and they used to work together before marrying, doing similar things. However, decorator number 1 is very creative, while decorator number 2 only imitates the standard patterns. He has no creativity!

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Christina Sponias writes:

PS. Sorry for a few grammar mistakes, but I’m on a hurry, I just wanted to say something.

Have a nice weekend!

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Robert Worstell writes:

Here’s how the brick concept could work – and still have quality articles, not just overlong blurbs:

Have an outline for each area, and have each area handle a different product or subproduct that you produce. Now, these articles can all link back to the same site, but you might consider a separate landing page for each one – just to keep it sensible for your readers.

When you write, keep to that outline, writing a section or so through each article. Each article stands alone, but they add up to a volume of data that makes sense – both individually and together.

Write the articles from every outline for each area.

As you submit, you are then submitting quality articles for everything you are promoting.

Since I have three different product lines, this is a fairly simple procedure – especially since these are all information products (book series, actually) and so pulling articles out is rather simple. For these, I’ve already followed outlines in each area to create those products.

That outline strategy might be useful to execute this “brick” plan.

– – – –

But thanks for the advice on how to keep from appearing as a spammer – since I have quite a volume of work to release from each area.

[Reply]

Nick writes:

I need to know something out there.

Do we have more tools to really analyze who our readership is?
I mean has anybody subscribed to my RSS?
Has anybody subscribed to receive my article notification?

I am not sure how complicated it is technically but frankly speaking what you are saying is in thin air if I don’t know how my articles are taken by the readers. I know one of them is in most viewed category but is that the parameter. I haven’t seen the kind of voting or comments that take place at sites like DIGG or delicious. The voting feature is there but I don’t see anyone using it. I think a better feature might be to put something like digg interface, a logo or image on top of article asking for user vote/rating. Also, as an author I should have more detailed info on who is watching my article.

I think one thing can be provided for sure.. unique visitors/repeat visitors. That will give me a very clear idea on wether I am building some popularity or people are just passing through my posts.

I will be looking forward to your response on this.

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