Select an interesting image to be your post graphic. It will be the first thing after the title that your reader looks at and it will set the tone for the rest of your article.
Your introduction will wrap around the post graphic you choose. If the graphic is too wide, you will leave too little room for copy. It’s a balancing act, make your graphic wide enough to get attention, but not too wide. About 200 pixels seems to be the best width.
You’ll also want enough copy to completely wrap around your graphic and not end up short. Remember, your introduction will not be long: you’ll have a 1 sentence bio, a few sentences setting up your story, and one or two sentences that make your main point.
theideamechanic is about educating subscribers 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 one sentence bio – introduce you and what you do
- A few sentences 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
- Five dots (. . . . .) mark the end of the five sub-points
- A closing paragraph to reinforce your main point.
- 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 160 characters
- Identify ten keywords (or less) from your story
- Insert links only if they add value for the reader
- The article must take less than 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
- Default text is Verdana 11 pt
- Columns are about 65 characters wide (5.125 inches)
- Line spacing is 17 pt, paragraph spacing 22 pt
I like pictures. Not too many, just enought to spice up the copy and help make your point:
- Image format can be .jpg or .gif
- Feature graphic (upper right) – 466 x 340 px
- Post graphic (top of post) – 200 x 300 px
- Copy graphics (in the post) – less than 450 px wide
- Thumbnail (front page teaser) – 66 x 66 px
There’s a great advantage to publishing on the web vs. paper. When you add audio, moving images, or interactive multi-media your story becomes more engaging and personal for your audience. I strongly encourage you that 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 a better story.
- 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, …)
. . . . .
Writing for the ideamechanic is a great opportunity to give back. You can help others learn from the lessons you’ve learned, become inspired from your success stories, or grow their skills by sharing tips and techniques that have made you a master craftsman in your trade. When you help others, you never know how big a difference you may have in their business or their life.
Was this article and the introduction article helpful? Leave a comment. Would you like to write for theideamechanic? Contact me, let’s chat about your idea!
