Hey Buddy, Whatβs the Big Idea?
Read More: I write a lot of articles. That’s a fact. I’ve been doing internet marketing now for over 10 years, have had some success if I say so myself, and have come to rely on articles for a big part of that.
I write some articles myself, and I outsource some. But even when I do that, the article comes from me—it’s my idea and my voice. Sometimes it just makes sense for somebody else to write it. We call that outsourcing and if you want to make it into the big leagues, you’ll need to outsource too.
Regardless of whether I write my own article or somebody else does, there’s always one specific thing I focus on. Copywriting pros—which I am not, even though I’m pretty good at it—call this the Big Idea. And it’s a term you need to become familiar with.
The Big Idea is what your article is about. It’s the framework around which your article is formed. Most importantly, the Big Idea is the value in what you wrote.
Here’s the thing. Like anything else in business, an article is an equal exchange of value. It’s your good information for their precious time. And make no mistake about it—time is precious. When you think about it, it’s probably our most precious resource. We’re all going to die sometime, so what we have is all we’re ever going to get. Time is not to be wasted.
So why then, if an article sucks, would anyone want to read it? The answer is simple—they wouldn’t. For that reason, the only way to make sure your article doesn’t suck is to make sure you have a Big Idea in place, and that you focus on that.
For example, guess what the Big Idea is in this article? It should be pretty easy to spot—the Big Idea here is just that. The Big Idea.
The problem with the internet is that people hear about Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and think that publishing article is just a matter of stringing together words and putting them out there. The truth is that if SEO is your only objective in publishing an article that might be true.
But the reality is that an article should do a lot more than serve as Google fodder. If the Google monster is the only entity that you want to read what you wrote, go ahead and just throw darts at the dictionary. Get your keywords in there enough (about 5% of the total) and put it out there.
I think that’s a waste of time, though. If you’re going to write an article, even a crappy one, you are going to spend time doing it. My advice is to make the most out of that time investment and write something that people will want to read.
The only way to do that is to come up with a big idea that interests them. Write about something that you know and they don’t. That’s why people read stuff online anyway. Internet marketers are always interested in the latest and greatest.
We want to know what’s going on. We need to know what else is happening out there. So tell me something I don’t know, and I will invest some of my valuable time to read what you wrote.
How do you come up with a Big Idea that interests people? Well, you can start by thinking about it. Too many people just sit down and try to start writing. Don’t.
Put some time into figuring out what you want to say. Come up with something that shocked you when you heard it, or that you found interesting. It will probably shock or interest others as well. Only then, only when that Big Idea is crystal clear in your mind, only then should you start writing.
Views: 2,394
| 
Comments: 23 In Only 2 ½ Minutes You Can Quickly Create A Letter Guaranteed To Sell Your Business Opportunity.
WARNING: This is only for people VERY SERIOUS about becoming killer copywriters.
Sneak Away With Every Single Trick The Internet’s #1 Most-Celebrated Copywriter Uses
About the Author: Michael Force
Member Since: 12/19/2009
Company: CarbonCopyPRO
Industry: Internet
Primary Web Site: http://www.MichaelForce.com
VERY TRUE
In internet marketing I see the same stuff over and over. When you write your content articles or video it should be interesting. I like to use stuff that most people have never heard of before.
Deagan Smith does this very well. Everyone talks about generating leads he talks about never calling a lead. This make him different and stand out.
Respectfully,
Chris Brown
http://prostarprofits.com
PPC is Dead?
What's up Big Mike?
Glad to see you finally made it over to the Organic side of SEO. Welcome and good luck.
Rick Shoop
It's all about the Value!
Michael Force is one of the guys I am watching and learning from @ Carbon Copy Pro. This community is great!
Cheers for all the help and advice.
www.irobotnot.com
Article Marketing Comment Is So True!
I've been doing Article Marketing for a short time now and I've noticed that your comment, " Write about something that you know and they donβt." is right on! I scan lots of articles to see what others are writing about and many have no apparent "Big Idea" behind them...thanks Mike for the reminder to give my articles some thought before writing 'em!
Article Marketing is Key
Michael Force is one of the great leaders in Internet Marketing and his comments on Article Marketing are what makes him so successful.
I met Michael at the CCPro event in Las Vegas and he is one of the most honest and caring individuals I have met and this is refelcted in his articles. I will start putting his ideas to work in my articles.
Thanks Mike.
The Force is in the House...
Hey Michael,
It was great to meet you in Vegas and it's great to see you over here at BN...I was wondering when you were going go get on over here and get set up.
As you have put such a large focus on articles, how many do you and your writers post on a weekly basis? Do you have a magic number you try to reach and where do your folks post 'em? I'd really like to read 'em.
I've recently started focusing on article marketing as well and would love to hear the details of your teams strategies.
Here's to making 2010 our best year yet! We'll see you in Houston.
Mitchell Dillman
http://mitchelldillman.com/partner-with-mitchell/
Article Marketing Success
Michael, as my sponsor into CCP your first comment to me was to write Articles, Press Releases and do Videos. With your training and the training at CCP I'm shocked as the eaze, response, visibility that these forms of Free social marketing provide. You always talk value, which I adhere to. You practice what you talk about each Sat. in team training. I wish you and your family continued success, and, as always, thanks for the on-going lessons.
Penelope Cox
Great piece
I agree with Penelope the CCP training and the use of the big idea concept in writing does work. Visits to my Blog doubled since I have been helped in my group to write articles that are more focused. The same concept applies to video marketing. I jot down the big ideas and three main things I want to draw out, it works for articles, posts and videos
Excellent Advice!
Michael, I admire your tremendous work ethic, knowledge and leadership! You are someone that we can all learn from! I think a lot of us get writers block because we jump into the task of creating content when in reality you are better served developing some passion for a "big idea."
This suggestion of yours to focus on the main topic or "big idea" invites us to write the article from the readers perspective. By focusing on answering questions or providing information that is useful you are sure to generate an audience.
Thanks for sharing your helpful advice!
Thanks
That's a great tip to create Focus, Michael.
Thanks
Darag
Article Marketing
Mike,
thanks for the great post. so true too. The articles that were the best ones I wrote were the ones thought out, and had some meat to it. Not just SEO juice, but tastey SEO juice!
thanks
Joe
A Force For Good
Thanks Michael,
It seems obvious, but the knuckleheads out there need to hear it. Great Stuff.
Kim
Great advice from an expert
Thank you for the great advice.
In Los Vegas CCPro event, after Michael getting all the prizes and the Beemer for being the top earner, I went to him and said, 'you look larger than life' for which he said, 'no I am only 6 foot 3 inches'.
Thanks,
Sekhar Gurugubelli
www.Path2Millionaire.com
Love it
Thanks Michael, for this great piece of advice. It's great to have a question in mind when writing. Without focus and direction you could end up anywhere and nowhere fast.
Great article!
The Big Idea
Thanks Michael for the simple and concise article on writing effective articles.
Mary
I made it wrong
Yes, I did it, like Michael wrote, I posted articles only with SEO in my mind.
And yes I did it, I deleted them if it was possible and I can strongly recommend it.
ItΒ΄s never to late to change the strategy and give real value.
Best regards
Volker
Thank You For Insight
Hey Michael,
Enjoyed your article. I've been hammering away at articles for a while and love it when I come across some new insight/ideas. Keep up the great work.
Thanks,
Josh Paiva
http://joshkpaiva.com
Make the most of our time invested in writing
That is so true. If we are going to take the time to write something, we NEED to write something that other people are going to be interested in reading; if it's not interesting, why bother investing time in writing it? We need to focus on writing an article that will make others WANT to go to the next paragraph and finish reading the whole article.
Another thing to keep in mind is that it should not be too long because most people don't want to take the time to read something that is real long. It must be short and to the point, without beating around the bush.
It's all about the value
The network marketing industry moves so fast at times that it's absolutely impossible to keep up with all the information being disseminated over the internet.
But if you take you time and think about what people need and what by providing information that's valuable and relevant to there business needs you'll find that people will respect you and your writing.
Article marketing is a fantastic way to build your brand which in return attracts people to you and your business. Just always make sure that you provide people with information that's educational,enlightening, or entertaining.
You Are the Expert
Michael: Great advice! Most of us forget that the majority of people do not know what we do. Even if you know just a little more than the person reading your article, you are the expert. Keep writing and keep providing value and people will start looking for you.
I couldn't agree more
I totally agree with your point. Often people forget the purpose of the article is for it to be read by a person. SEO is a wonderful way to gain exposure but you should want the exposure to serve as a positive reflection of you and adequately portray the point you are trying to express not just serve as a method of online trickery.
Great Idea
Hi, Michael. Very well put! It puts a divider between duplication and being different and unique. Now I think I need to tweak some articles and spruce them up with some shocking value. LOL! All the best!
So True Michael
I quite agree write articles that are interesting to read and make sure they have a querky catchy title. I have been looking over my articles and the most reads are from the articles that have a great title and personal passion to them.