If you don’t consider yourself a writer then sitting down to easily write an article may seem like a very daunting task. However, there are several methods you can use when writing and if you have all the tools that you need in place you will soon find that it becomes quicker and easier each time. Here I’m going to share with you what works for me and it’s quite simple.

A few must-haves to have in place before you start to write are:

An article ideas file. Any time you think of something you can write about, jot it down. Make sure you always have a pen and notepad on you because inspiration can hit at any time and once that moment has passed it’s difficult or impossible to get it back.

Research notes. Gather all the supporting info you need. You may have already jotted down some notes when the idea struck. Great!

A format to follow. There are any number of templates that can be used to easily write an article but the first thing you’ll need to have is a simple structure to piece your ideas together. Here’s one:

*Title – Write an attention getting title.

*Introduction – Write a strong introduction paragraph that describes your topic.

*Body – List at least 3 examples that support your main point including facts and opinions, about 4-5 lines each.

*Conclusion – A brief summary of your article restating your main point with a call to action for the reader.

Now let’s get started:

1. Set an alarm clock or timer for one hour.

2. Grab an article title or article idea from your ideas file. Just choosing what you’re going to write about can be time consuming so having an ideas file to pick your topic from is a great time saver.

3. You may need to do some research to gather more info. Spend about 15 minutes researching your topic and making notes.

4. Start writing. Spend about 5 minutes structuring each piece – Title, Introduction, Body and Conclusion. Lists work great for the body of the article. Numbered lists or bulleted lists are easy to construct for the writer and appeal to readers as they are easy to read or quickly scan and understand. I often leave my title for last when the article is complete. There might be a catchy phrase within the article that can serve as your attention getting title.

5. Aim for 500 words. If working with Microsoft Word you can check your word count by clicking on ‘Review’ and ‘Word Count’ (or something similar, depending on what version you are working with). Add or subtract content as needed.

Follow this process to easily write an article and within an hour you will have a completed piece. Review your article the next day and look at it with fresh eyes. Another 15 minutes to refine your article, correct, edit and a final proofread and you are ready to use and reuse your article in your newsletter, on your blog and in the article directories. These are only a few of the ways your article can be repurposed. Just think, if you set aside an hour a week to write you will have around 50 articles in one year and enough content to put together a free report, an ebook, or an ecourse to sell. What are you waiting for?