Build a mailing list? Want to blog for a living? Then you're gonna need some content. Find out where to get it and the best way to use it here.

Solution to generic articles from writing companies

hammiesink
Posts: 20
Joined: 28 Oct 06
Trust:

Solution to generic articles from writing companies

I've been struggling with this throughout my whole journey so far. It's the reason I didn't get a site up until six months into reading ebooks on affiliate marketing. I've messed around with every shortcut out there.

- I don't trust the PLR duplicate content issue, and having to rewrite PLR articles to me is just as time consuming as writing one from scratch. Not to mention it just doesn't FEEL right to me, recycling information like that. Granted, a lot of the time I do nothing more than rewrite an article from, say, Wikipedia or something, so I don't

- I bought Website Content Wizard, and then learned that I would have to "train" it to change articles. Ug. Again, after spending all night coming up with "phrase synonyms" for every phrase in the article, I realized I could've written five completely original article in the same amount of time. Not to mention the articles I use are very information dense (perhaps too much?) with very little fluff that I could change. I got a refund. Incidentally, David Watson gave me my refund within 24 hours, no questions asked, just like he said. A definite nod to his credit if anyone is interested in trying this program out.

- I bought Instant Article Wizard, which grabs research snippets from articles across the web for the keywords you input, and then lets you rearrange them into an article. Still plagiarism if you don't completely rewrite the article it spits out. Could be useful though for quick research tidbits.

-Dr. Andy Williams released an article-writing course that comes with a high-powered internet browser that lets you put in your keyphrase and then with a click of a button switch to Wikipedia, Yahoo, Google, a myriad of encyclopedias, websites, communities, etc. for research purposes. Great in-depth product, as I'd expect from Dr. Williams, but something just didn't click for me. I think ultimately the whole thing can be boiled down to: do some research, and write an article on it. For something I hate, like writing, I really need SPECIFIC structure with mini-goals. It does come with an article "template" that helped somewhat, but it was still too general for my particular taste.

So...

My current solution? It's twofold.

-Jess Baylon from the Warrior Forum runs an article writers website. $4.95 for a 700 word article. So far, the content I've gotten back has been a lot better than you'd think from the price, and the articles are absolutely information-dense. Grammar needs to be cleaned, they're a bit scatterbrained, but not bad for unique content. I just have my wife clean them up a bit. Do a google search for bestarticles articlealliance and you should find it.

-Another Warrior Forum dude named Andrew Hansen has a $37 ebook called Article Speed Writing. It was the "magic bullet" for me for writing my own articles. I still hate it, I still procrastinate, but after reading it I spit out four articles in a breeze. I NEVER do that. The absurd thing is it's so simple. He has a ridiculously simple formula for article writing that may make some people mad when they see what they spent $37 for. Or not. It's actually a pretty good book with 39 pages of good information. The formula is basically nothing more than "Write a sentence on this. Now write a sentence on that. Then write a sentence on yadda yadda." It's exactly what I needed. If this turns out to be as stupidly useful as I think it is, it could turn out to be of greater value to me than even the great Master Plan and Affilorama. Before website architecture, before on-page SEO, before anything else, in my opinion, is truly unique and useful content. If you have that, however you can get it, the rest is peanuts.

So, I grab my cup of Starbucks House Blend, I sit down at my desktop-that-I-wish-was-a-laptop, and I start to write one of hopefully two articles for the day. Ezinearticles, here I come...
  • 0
PremiumMember
promocode
Posts: 201
Joined: 05 Sep 06
Trust:
:lol: Hammisink , sounds like you and I taken the same article path. I ultimately ended up using Andrew's Speed Writing formula too - in fact I liked it so much I put it in my signature. I just bought rights to another article writing "system" today that I'm going to offer as a bonus for people that buy Andrews book through my link. If you PM me, I'll send you a copy no charge. Use the two techniques together and you'll be an article writing machine. :lol:

PC
  • 0
PremiumMember
cdidcott
Posts: 79
Joined: 23 Aug 06
Trust:
Hey Promocode,

I'm on the brink of buying Andrew Hansen speed-writing formula (via your link). Before I do, I'd like to give you an idea of why I'm buying it, so you can assess whether it will be of benefit to me.

Actually I don't have a problem generating good articles, it's just I'm dyslexic and although I have pretty much overcome dyslexia’s major issues, it has left me rather ponderous and incredibly slow. I tend to, edit, re-edit, rearrange, cut, paste, blah blah etc until I go nuts.

What do you think, is this product going to help me?
  • 0
hammiesink
Posts: 20
Joined: 28 Oct 06
Trust:
Cdidcott,

Actually, the book Promocode is offering as a bonus sounds more like what you need. In fact, it's exactly what you need. There's a little trick in there that's right up your alley.
  • 0
PremiumMember
promocode
Posts: 201
Joined: 05 Sep 06
Trust:
Hi Cdidcott,

I'll do a "mini review" for you, I need to work on a salespage for the offer so this will get me going :)

Speed Writing breaks the article writing process down into steps, so it’s easy formula to follow:
[list]
* First, it includes some tricks to research our keyword topic in only 10 minutes.

* Next, it has some tips for writing a compelling title; if we don’t get people to read the article we don’t make money.

* Third, a formula to avoid getting stuck – no more “does this make sense hereâ€Â
  • 0
PremiumMember
cdidcott
Posts: 79
Joined: 23 Aug 06
Trust:
Thanks for the freebie Promocode,

I've read Write Like A Maniac now and it's got some interesting points. I think it's going to make quite a difference to my article productions, though I'm still absorbing it all and, like it say's, it takes a little practise. I may still get the Speed Writing Formula, but I'm going to knuckle down with WLAM first.

Merry Christmas, Colin
  • 0
PremiumMember
promocode
Posts: 201
Joined: 05 Sep 06
Trust:
You're welcome Colin - glad to help :wink:

*sidenote* Thanks to those of you that took advantage of the offer in my sig but remember you must send me a receipt for your purchase or I don't know who you are and can't send you the bonus book. Any problems just send me a PM :D

PC
  • 0
laterales
Posts: 40
Joined: 17 Nov 06
Trust:
hammiesink wrote:I bought Website Content Wizard, and then learned that I would have to "train" it to change articles. Ug. Again, after spending all night coming up with "phrase synonyms" for every phrase in the article, I realized I could've written five completely original article in the same amount of time.


That is such a shame, Website Content Wizard is on my 'to buy' list, I have been looking forward to getting it!

Does it not come with its own phrase synonyms? I thought that was the whole idea, that it would replace key phrases and words with new ones at the click of your mouse, easy as cake. It isn't the answer to my prayers? Say it ain't so!
  • 0
PremiumMember
chatyak86
Posts: 1085
Joined: 17 Jun 06
Trust:
There is no "easy cake" method to writing. You have to do work in this business if you want to succeed. There are no shortcuts or no do it all programs. You are going to have to write content no matter what you do and no program is going to do that for you - not yet anyways.

WCW is helpful in that you can tell it which words in your article you want to replace with ones from the library that is already in there.... it will take a few articles until you can start changing the article automatically. It is best used to create multiple articles of the same topic.

Adrian
  • 0
laterales
Posts: 40
Joined: 17 Nov 06
Trust:
:shock: Adrian, I'm not looking for someone or something to do all the work for me. I have already done all of the work myself, a lot of it, which is already working for me.

I realise that it is a tool to create mulitiple articles of the same topic. What I wanted to use it for was to change all that I had written already, an ardous task I don't have time for right now, enough to not get stung for duplicate content on a website aimed at a broader niche.

I guess what I was asking anyone who had the software is was it worth the fairly substantial outlay if you have to do most of the work yourself, which I guess you did answer, so, thanks.
  • 0
Moderator
superaff
Posts: 354
Joined: 09 Sep 06
Trust:
What a trip hammiesink!

Good that you found something that is working for you.
  • 0
Did you see the amazing case studies on my blog http://mynetmarketingland.com/blog1/
Affiloblueprint Bonus: http://www.mynetmarketingland.com/mark-ling/affiloblueprint.html
 
PremiumMember
chatyak86
Posts: 1085
Joined: 17 Jun 06
Trust:
laterales wrote::shock: Adrian, I'm not looking for someone or something to do all the work for me. I have already done all of the work myself, a lot of it, which is already working for me.

I realise that it is a tool to create mulitiple articles of the same topic. What I wanted to use it for was to change all that I had written already, an ardous task I don't have time for right now, enough to not get stung for duplicate content on a website aimed at a broader niche.

I guess what I was asking anyone who had the software is was it worth the fairly substantial outlay if you have to do most of the work yourself, which I guess you did answer, so, thanks.


I was referring to hammiesinks questions in my response.

Adrian,
  • 0
laterales
Posts: 40
Joined: 17 Nov 06
Trust:
adrian wrote:There is no "easy cake" method to writing. You have to do work in this business if you want to succeed. There are no shortcuts or no do it all programs. You are going to have to write content no matter what you do and no program is going to do that for you - not yet anyways.


Oh really? Which questions were those. :?
  • 0
PremiumMember
chatyak86
Posts: 1085
Joined: 17 Jun 06
Trust:
Huh? That was my own little contribution for everyone. Just reinstating the fact that work has to be done one way or another?

Adrian,
  • 0
hammiesink
Posts: 20
Joined: 28 Oct 06
Trust:
Laterales,

It's not push-button software, which I knew, and I'm glad it isn't, but somehow it just didn't do it for me.

You have to take an article and highlight a phrase, and type in a "phrase synonym" for it. Do that for the entire article, and then a few more, and pretty soon it will be able to start doing it for you automatically. Problem for me is that my articles were so information dense that I couldn't find that many general phrases in them, and after farting around for an hour with it, I just decided it was stupid to waste time trying to re-write crap instead of just pumping out completely original articles of my own.

That's when i bought Speed Writing, and I haven't looked back since.

Again, the creator of WCW, David Watson, is incredibly fast with refunds and he really doesn't try to "retain" you as a customer. He just told me he was sorry it didn't work out and here's your money back.

So don't be afraid to try it if you think it's something you could use.
  • 0
laterales
Posts: 40
Joined: 17 Nov 06
Trust:
Thanks for your advice hammiesink, I will give it some thought. I actually quite enjoy writing once I get into it but I suffer from the dreaded procrastination monster as well. From what you say I don't think WCW is quite what I thought but I may still give it a try as you say. So thanks again, and glad you have found something that works for you :D
  • 0
cron