Different ways to think of content for articles.. Books!!

Discussion in 'Copywriting' started by ErikJ, Sep 23, 2008.

  1. #1
    I was reading Dale Carnegie's "How to Win Friends and Influence People" and I suddenly had several ideas for articles.

    Marketing is all about influencing human behavior, who better to get ideas from than Dale Carnigie? So I took his original ideas and quoted him of course, to share the information with people in my own words. Now I suddenly have many new ideas for articles.

    Marketing online still is all about human interaction. Computers do not buy things and build organizations by themselves. There is always a person you are dealing with. So write to humans not computers.

    This can get your articles red by more "PEOPLE"
     
    ErikJ, Sep 23, 2008 IP
  2. peeter

    peeter Peon

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    #2
    Very good idea :D
     
    peeter, Sep 24, 2008 IP
  3. ThoughtPunk

    ThoughtPunk Active Member

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    #3
    That's an older book correct?

    Yes, always remember that someone is reading on the other end.

    nice reminder!
     
    ThoughtPunk, Sep 24, 2008 IP
  4. ric482

    ric482 Peon

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    #4
    I have to agree, if i'm getting what your saying that is!

    I think that in these SEO dominated times, it can be a real effort to find articles that are tailored for human readers and not just for the sake of Google, et al.

    If i'm stuck for articles, i often refer to old magazines and write something about the past. The internet is too concerned with the now, therefore its more unique, and (hopefully) interesting to the reader!
     
    ric482, Sep 25, 2008 IP
  5. xInd

    xInd Notable Member

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    #5
    Very good points. Books have been a great place to get information since well before computers were dreamed of. There's no reason to ignore them now. They can be very helpful in generating article ideas, whether you are quoting somebody's works, or just jotting down topic ideas as you read...
     
    xInd, Sep 25, 2008 IP
  6. ErikJ

    ErikJ Peon

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    #6
    It has helped in my article writing allot

    glad to hear others can use it too
     
    ErikJ, Sep 25, 2008 IP
  7. cd928

    cd928 Peon

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    #7
    Reading books is generally ignored by most 'web writers', opting instead to read and re-hash content on the net. So if you're a writer worth your salt, invest on books. Read as much as you can. You'll not only have a wealth of information at your fingertips, you can also generate ideas far easily if you're well-read. :)

    - Ced
     
    cd928, Sep 26, 2008 IP
  8. SandorVerebi

    SandorVerebi Peon

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    #8
    Hi Friends,:)

    You are saying this well.

    If we think into this deeply, what refreshing is to stop for several minutes and read something different in this running times. Thanks God, we may learn from our predecessors like Dale Carnegie, Napoleon Hill, Joe Girard, Jay Conrad Levinson (just name a few).

    But we have to keep pace with the todays' world. So we need to remind ourselves that in our life and our business

    - Tools are changing

    - Principles are NEVER changing

    - Strategie RARELY changes

    - Tactics are OCCASSIONALLY changing

    We need to keep these in our mind and make actions according to them. This leads near to the success.

    Have a nice day,:)

    Sandor
     
    SandorVerebi, Sep 26, 2008 IP
  9. biz2bee

    biz2bee Peon

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    #9
    Hmm.. true this.. we have to look at history to predict the future. Erik J - I absolutely agree with you, someone said garbage in is garbage out - but if you are inspired by a good book the output is often excellent.
     
    biz2bee, Sep 26, 2008 IP
  10. SimonRiver1

    SimonRiver1 Peon

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    #10
    I agree, always source from expert material such as textbooks and not from rehashed material.
     
    SimonRiver1, Oct 1, 2008 IP
  11. ErikJ

    ErikJ Peon

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    #11
    Dealing with people in business is the same today as it was back in the 30's and 40's so why not learn from the best?
     
    ErikJ, Oct 2, 2008 IP
  12. webmarketjournal

    webmarketjournal Peon

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    #12
    I totally agree, but I am also shocked by the amount of blogs that I come across that are barely literate...it's really easy to tell the difference between articles written by WRITERS, who take the craft of writing seriously, and articles written by people trying to make a buck...

    If you're a writer, take some pride in your work...and read a few books!
     
    webmarketjournal, Oct 2, 2008 IP
  13. cd928

    cd928 Peon

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    #13
    Those that are downright unreadable are most likely automatically generated by a software.

    Yep, reading is the best way to write better. Buy reference books to improve your technique and read books from good authors to pick up styles that you can add to your own.

    - Ced

     
    cd928, Oct 3, 2008 IP
  14. pipes

    pipes Prominent Member

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    #14
    Although its people looking for whatever, we all still have to jump many computer generated hurdles, of course put in place by people.

    Lets not look at it like its as simple as just writing to appeal to humans.

    Its similar to how people say content is king, not quite, because theres lots of tripe content out there, filler content basically.

    I find it best to follow none of these so called experts, i dont follow blogs claiming to give tips on how to do well, same with books, they are the ones making money.

    One thing ive discovered is theres a huge number of naive people out there.

    All you will be taking from books is recycled content, will result in poorer results than expected.

    Its easy to tell the same story differently, but at the end of the day its just the same old story.
     
    pipes, Oct 3, 2008 IP
  15. webgal

    webgal Peon

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    #15
    NLP books are good, too. I hear they have these things called books at libraries! <grin>
     
    webgal, Oct 3, 2008 IP
  16. corporate.holiday.gifts

    corporate.holiday.gifts Peon

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    #16
    in addition, one good source for online articles are old, offline magazines. depending n your niche, you will find timeless articles and you just have to write the articles in your own style and put your own spin. it will also not harm if you site your offline source.
     
  17. amazingalex

    amazingalex Peon

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    #17
    Very good advice! thanks
     
    amazingalex, Oct 4, 2008 IP
  18. pinch-penny

    pinch-penny Active Member

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    #18
    When I start writing for a new niche I rely heavily on books and magazines to learn the subject and give me ideas for article topics. I'll go to the used book store or to flea markets and stock up, then I "speed read" the books and use a highlighter to mark the parts that give me good information or ideas. Even really old books can have relevant information for certain popular niches today.

    I bet I'd get a lot of strange looks if people saw the number of "relationship" and "divorce" books I have on my shelf, because I'm actually a happily married woman!
     
    pinch-penny, Oct 6, 2008 IP
  19. msdebra

    msdebra Member

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    #19
    I agree with using books to generate articles. I am an avid reader and when I get writer's block or just run out of good ideas for articles, a good book will jumpstart my creative ideas.

    Thanks for the reminder!
     
    msdebra, Oct 9, 2008 IP
  20. oblivion19

    oblivion19 Well-Known Member

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    #20
    yeah, i do often use books.. actually its very relavant to my site and i can probably not do with out it...

    since my site deals with dental health, i cant take a random article on the net for inspiration and risk it being inaccurate

    i rather take the books published by esteemed authors on dental health..

    But overall it does apply well to most to use books for article ideas!
     
    oblivion19, Oct 9, 2008 IP