How to Write an Article in 9 Minutes

How to Write an Article in 9 Minutes
If you can develop content that is informative, provides a
solution, and is unique, you've solved a lot of problems that
come with making money online.

And unless you have some capital to play with, you probably
won't be able to outsource "content creation" for a while. So you
have to learn how to do it on your own.

First, let's strike down some myths. You don't have to be a good
writer in order to write good articles. Especially articles that will
get visitors to your website. Second, your articles don't have to
be comprehensive. Often times, you only need to make three
points in a 400 word article. You're not aiming to give them a
thorough education.

No.

You're aiming to give them enough information to where they
want to go further into your website... and further into your sales
funnel.

If you want to learn how to write an article in 7 minutes, you
don't need to know how to write well, only how to follow a
formula well. Let's cover that formula now.

1) Research
2) Writing
3) Proof Reading

When I'm at the top of my game, I can constantly write articles
in 7 minutes. I've tracked over 140 articles, and broken down the
time it takes me in each area. Usually, 1 minute for research, 4
minutes for writing, and 2 minutes for proof reading.

1 minute for research!? How is that possible?
Let's simplify. For almost all articles, I only need to consult
three different sources. They are:

1) Ezinearticles.com
2) Wikipedia.com
3) Google.com

So before I begin to write any article, I will open up each of
these three pages. Let's say I'm writing an article on the benefits
of breast feeding a child. Now, since I'm a 24 year old single
male, I have no personal experience or knowledge about this
topic. So I first plug in the topic to ezine articles. I'm looking for
three different articles that seem most relevant.

The best articles are ones that are a list of tips, contain "how to" in the title, or seem to indicate it will be easy to pick up somequick facts from.
For most articles, I only need three main points. I find them as
quick as possible. If I can't find them in ezine articles, I then go

All articles have three phases: go to wikipedia. And finally google.

For each main point I find, I then jot down two or three single
words/short phrases for each point. These are reminders of the
things I will cover to support the main point.

Once I get two or three key ideas from each point I go to work
on writing the article.

I won't lie. It might take you a while to get good at being able to
grab the right key points right away. But not as long as you
think. It took me about a week to get really good at it. That's it. I
used to spend 8 minutes researching a topic, and after only a
week of writing articles, I cut it down to one minute. Are you
willing to put in a week's worth of effort to see this
improvement?

If not, you're hopeless.

Moving on.

The writing process is next. Before you write ANYTHING, you
should have your three main points, and two to three sub points
to back each point up. Now it's simply mechanics. We're aiming
at around 400 words per article. Here's how the articles break
down. One paragraph for the intro, one paragraph for each main
point, and one paragraph for the conclusion.

Each paragraph will be about 70-85 words apiece.

Let's start with the introduction. Here's how it works. Start with
an opening sentence. I usually like to use a generic IF/THEN
approach. For example, "If you're looking for 3 amazing health
benefits of breast feeding, then you will want to read this
article." Almost every article I write starts off like this. Unless I
have a better or more creative way, that doesn't require any
pause for thinking, then I will use an IF/THEN opener.

Next, I describe what my three main points will be in one to two
sentences. Then I sum it up with what the reader will be able to
do after reading this article. Something simple like "After
reading this article, you should be able to breastfeed your child
with peace of mind." You don't have to get crazy here.

Now we move onto main point number 1. Here's our aim for our
three main points. Write without having to stop. After about a
week of practice, you should almost never have to stop to think
about what you're going to say next. Think about it. If you type
at 80 words per minute, in order to write the content in your
article in 4 minutes, that means 320 words is the best you can
do.

The best.

Which leads us to our next point. If you can't do over 80 words
per minute, you either need to become faster at typing, or get
voice recognition software.

Now here's a misunderstanding. Voice recognition software is
not a magic pill. I use it, and I can get about 170 words per
minute with 95.1% accuracy.
(http://www.typequick.com/ttest/start.asp). However, I do find I
pause more to think. This is because when I am typing an
article, I can think while I go throw the mechanical process of
typing. I'm thinking of my next point while I'm typing. Can't do
that as easily with voice recognition software.

The second caveat is that instead of taking 4 minutes to write,
and 2 minutes to proofread, it usually takes 3 minutes to write
and 3 minutes to proof read. I have to correct more mistakes
when I use voice recognition software.

To bring it back to our main point. Voice recognition software is
NOT required in order to write a 400 word article in 7 minutes.
But, good touch typing abilities are required. I would
recommend that you start your first week or two typing your
articles, and timing yourself. This way you can get better at the
process, and realize how much of your time is going where.

Then you can decide whether you want to invest in some voice
recognition software. I use dragon natural speaking, it's probably
the best on the market and only costs about $75. You can get it
at http://www.nuance.com/naturallyspeaking. WARNING: It
will take you a bit to get used to the software, and to get your
accuracy up to 95% or higher.

So back to the formula. Your goal when writing your whole
article is to never pause to think. That's why you created your
outline, and wrote down you main points and sub points. Just
keep them by your side and glance at them, and keep writing.
After working this formula for a few days, you'll pick up some
stock phrases you can use ANYTIME you're stumped on what
to say next.

You'll develop your own "swipe file" so to speak
.
So after your introduction, you write on your first main point.
You make a general statement about it. Then you make a more
specific statement about it, as it relates to your sub points. Then
you simply communicate each of your sub points. And you
close out the paragraph with a summary of the points, and/or a
transition to the next paragraph.

This gives you 4 to 5 sentences per main point. since the average
sentence is around 15-20 words, you'll get about 85 words per
paragraph. Which is perfect for an article around 400 words in
length.

Then you close the article out. Make a closing statement about
your subject. Then sum up each of your three points. Now tell
you reader what they should be able to do after they have
finished reading your article.

Now, I want you to know I don't always follow this formula to a
T. If I come up with a unique way to present the article, while
I'm doing the research, then I'll go that route. However, if I am
in doubt, or have to pause and think, then I will stick with the
formula as a back up.

Either way, almost all well written articles follow the paragraph
breakdown. Main point introduced. Specific point made about
the main point. 2 or 3 items to back up the main point. Next
paragraph.

Let's be realistic now. Will you write an article in 7 minutes
after you read this guide? Not likely. But when were you able to
do things perfectly the first time you tried them?

Heck, as a kid it took me two months to learn how to tie my
shoe, and I didn't get my drivers license until I was 22.

When I first decided to start writing articles, I would take more
than 1 hour to write an article. My articles were a bit higher in
quality, but not enough to make a difference in the marketplace.
That's when I decided to sit down and study the whole process.
And that's when I mapped out the formula I outlined above.

The first time I put it to use, it took me 30 minutes to write an
article. Not bad, 100% increase in productivity! I was actually
aiming for a goal of 15 minutes per article, and figured it would
take me a month to achieve. But with a bit of discipline and
focus, I achieved 15 minutes in 3 days!

So learning this formula intuitively didn't take near as long as I
thought it would. And literally, within 7 days I wrote my first 7
minute article.