Ok, perhaps I was pushing limit just a bit. As I was writing this, I had a picture come to my mind of a movie I once saw, I don't remember name of it, but a young boy said "But...what if I can't" to his teacher and that was how teacher responded.

This does not negate fact that we are ALL capable of writing and if you hang with me for a few minutes I will show you 3 types of articles you can write, with very little effort at all...sound good??

First though, what is all fuss about writing articles anyway? I mean, every guru you see lists writing articles, if not in their top 3 marketing strategies for building success, it's at least in top 5. Let me tell you quickly why articles can be such an effective marketing tool for you.

Writing articles is a fantastic way of creating trust and building rapport with a target audience. Use this strategy consistently and provide good valid information it, eventually, will also peg you as an "expert." It's also a subtle way of getting your message out , well let's be honest here...it's free advertising. (I'll show you how that works in a sec).

Ok...so you know why articles are an effective marketing tool what about how?? Glad you asked (lil grasshoppa).

3 Types of Articles

Tips List

If you subscribe to a few newsletters you may notice (and if you haven't you will now...) that many of articles are made up of a tips list. This is most widely used form of all article types.

15 Things You Wish Your Wife Knew About Football, 12 Ways to Losing Weight Fast, 101 Off Wall Marketing Ideas...and so on.

The "Tips List" is easiest article to write, which of course is why they are so popular. Each tip consists of around 2-4 sentences, nothing too earth shattering, just good quality information. All you need is a basic knowledge of subject on which you wish to write. From there you write a sentence outlining tip and 2-4 sentences to explain each tip.

Once you write a tips list that is current and focuses on a new idea or new concept, well champ..."you're in there" because everyone will be interested in reading it.

Step-By-Step Tutorial

In theory, if your target is an engineer type, you provide all possible information about how your gizmo works. He or she will decide whether or not it will work well. And if your target is impulsive type, load your copy with words that grab emotionally, that trigger impulse to buy.

People Don't Fit Nicely Into Categories

The difficulty with categorizations is that no matter how carefully drawn, people don't obligingly fit into a single category without some serious squeezing. The most devoted engineer type may buy after only a glance, thus behaving impulsively. Yet one who tends to grab first thing that "looks good," may surprisingly want to study every detail about your gizmo before even considering purchase.

I've studied dozens of categorizations constructed by really bright people. I've never seen one that worked worth a hoot in practice. In designing a website I continue to recommend providing whatever any visitor may need to make buy decision. That is, ignore types and seek to meet needs of all.

Having said this, here is ...

A Categorization Scheme That Works

Roy H. Williams in a recent "Monday Morning Memo" (a brief free must-read newsletter) pointed out that potential customers can be divided into two types: Transactional and Relational. He quoted Bill Bergh as follows.

"Shoppers tend to be either transactional or relational. Transactional shoppers are focused only on today's transaction. They're willing to deal with a supplier they don't trust because they've spent a lot of time investigating product and consider themselves expert.... Transactional shoppers enjoy negotiating and are looking for lowest-cost provider.

"Relational shoppers ... consider today's transaction to be one in a series of many. Relational shoppers don't enjoy comparison shopping or negotiating. They are looking for a supplier who is an expert they can trust.... Consequently, relational shoppers are far more likely to be repeat customers."

A Practical View