Select an interesting image for your post graphic. It is the first thing your reader looks at after the title and sets the tone for the rest of the article. If its too wide, you won’t have enough room for copy. About 200 pixels works best.
Make sure the copy in your opening section wraps completely around the post graphic. Your opening section should not be too long: a short bio, a paragraph to set up your story, and a few sentences that make your main point. Three paragraphs seem to work nicely.
Also, look at your post with the sidebar collapsed. In collapsed mode, your copy needs to be at least the same height (or a bit longer) than the height of the graphic. If not, the next section will not look correct when the sidebar is hidden.
The focus for your article should be to educate readers on:
- Selling (finding customers, educating them, closing the sale, or fostering your relationship with the buyer)
- Educating your buyer (strategy, storytelling, showing proof, experiences, or buyer satisfaction)
- Tools that help sellers sell
- Tips and techniques
- Lessons learned
- Success stories
Not an absolute (but close), this is the format to follow:
- A title that grabs attention; use about 40 characters
- Introduction section
- A couple sentence bio — introduce you and what you do
- A brief paragraph to set the backstory
- Make your main point
- Five sub-point sections drill down from the main point
- Two paragraphs per section
- Less than six lines of copy per paragraph
- A closing paragraph to reinforce your main point.
- Five dots (. . . . .) mark the end of the article
- A question or two to solicit comments and generate discussion
Tell them what you’re going to tell them. Tell them. Tell them what you told them. Here’s a few more tips:
- Write a logline — your story in about 140 characters
- Identify ten keywords (or less) from your story
- Insert links only if they add value for the reader
- The article should take about five minutes to read
- Make it fun to read and edgy (but keep it rated G)
- All stuff, no fluff: make it valuable
- Tell a story – entertain, educate, and inspire
- Who, what, when, where, why, how, & how much
- You can bold or CAP words to draw attention
I like pictures. Not too many, just enough to spice up the copy and help make your point. You can use:
- A post graphic (see top of post)
- Thumbnail graphic (front page teaser) – 66 x 66 px
- Feature graphic (see upper right)
- Copy graphics – less than 490 px wide
Images can be in .jpg, .png or .gif formats.
Publishing on the web vs. paper has a big advantage. When you add audio, moving images, or interactive multi-media, your story becomes more engaging and personal for your audience.
If you can add one of the items below, do it! But don’t just add it to be flashy, do it to make your story better.
- Multi-media can be embedded …
- in the feature graphic area
- anywhere in the article body
- You might want to include:
- Audio (.mp3 at 64kbps mono, 128kbps stereo)
- Slideshows
- Slidecasts
- Videos
- Html/Javascript embeds (Google maps, Twitter, …)
. . . . .
Like to write for theideamechanic? Contact me or leave a comment, let’s chat about your idea!
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