Becoming an article writer can be both creative and rewarding, for some people it’s the perfect job. But the fact of the matter is, the more you write the more you will earn. For an article writer, being able to squeeze every last drop of writerly juice out of yourself is the route to financial success.

Being a writing machine does not mean you write without emotion or creativity, it simply means you focus on speed, accuracy, and quality. It means not having writers block, not having a problem getting started and being able to keep to deadlines.

Over decades of writing experience I have discovered 3 simple steps.

• Write every day, at least 5 or 6 days a week.
• Get a routine, find the best time you work and keep the rhythm
• When not writing, think about writing. Always carry a notebook to capture those little thoughts and ideas.

1. The great thing about writing is that you can do it part time or full time and need very little resources to get started. But you do need to get started. You need to flex those wordy muscles. Writing every day will help you do that, it helps build stamina and enforces a rhythm in your writing day.

I have used this system very effectively over the years. When sitting down for the first time of the day do a word dump. Open up a new document and force yourself to start writing, even if it’s “I’m really not in the mood to be writing right now, I would much rather be fishing……..”

Just write it, it doesn’t even have to make much sense. Fill up about 500 words minimum. Don’t try to write, just the words flow, make mistakes, ignore grammar and spelling rules. What you will find is that this excercises the part of the brain which does the writing, and at the end of limbering up you should be more in the mood to write.

Plus, you will have blown off any excess thoughts by putting them into words and uncluttering them from your mind, leaving your brain free to be filled with the important stuff.

You may also find that this free association method of writing produces some interesting writing which you can use later.

Save the document, knowing that the next day you start to write you will crank out another.

2. I absolutely need a routine, as my mind can wonder as easily as a goose in a granary. Make a specific period of time for writing only, and by writing I don’t mean twitter, which I am sure you realise by know is a huge eater of time.

Develop a routine, the brain has its own internal clock and will know when it is time to start writing and prepare. The brain is an amazing thing and the subconscious can do a lot of the heavy lifting if we allow it.

If you are new to being a writer explore the best time for you to write. For some people it can be afternoons or late at night. For me it’s 5.30AM till about 1pm. The afternoon for me is a writers dead zone, I pick up again after 7 and can write till late.

Everyone is different and don’t try to follow other writers habits, find your own way and create your own habits.

When you have a routine you find you can get all those distracting jobs done in the down time. Your friends and family will know that you will be working. And just a quick word, not that I need to. Turn the IM, the twitter client, and the email off. They are not needed for the goal of writing.

3. I’m amazed at how many ideas I get when doing something else, and sometimes they happen on the rare occasion when I don’t have my notebook and pen with me. Fortunately my iPhone can act as a back up and has an excellent voice recorder and notepad.

Always carry a notebook and when you have a thought, write it down, don’t trust your memory.

Walking is a great aid to the thought process of writing, but it can be so hard to unshackle yourself from the computer and the Internet and let your mind wonder. Discipline is required and to be a writer you must have it.

Think about the articles you are writing and different ways you can approach the same subject. Think about future articles and problems you can solve. Most articles are about solving a problem, as you go about your daily business keep your eye out for problems and instead of having a moan about them think about how you would approach it in an article.

For example, you could have a problem with your phone company and have to spend hours on the phone to a foreign call center. Think about writing an article about how foreign call centers have affected business. You don’t necessarily have to be in that niche as it helps excercise you writerly muscles, plus one day someone may ask you to write such an article and wouldn’t it be great to simply reach into your file and say, “Already done”.

Picture credit

I haven’t updated the list on the blog so it is quite chunky. The newsletter goes out about twice a month with new and fresh headlines. If you wish to request headlines and receive the newsletter you need to be a member.

Members also get access to an exclusive list of writers who can turn words into online magic, sprinkling fairy dust all over your website.

Headline examples available to members

Cosmetic surgery
Dating
Australian travel
Luxury travel
Broadband
Finance
Information technology security
Holiday
Physiotherapy
Stag night
Environment
Positive Thinking
Swine Flu
Food and Beer
Blogging
Communication
Business
Hot Tub
Car
Adventure travel
Celebrity
Underwear
Fashion
Office plants
Mobile phones
Nanny
Voip
Credit Cards
Books/bookshops
Poker
Woodworm
Hotels
Salesmen and training
Tea
Office
Money
IT Hardware
Curtains

If you are interested in the Forex Newsletter, drop your email and you will be informed when it happens.

Drop your name and email and I will get back to you when the newsletter launches.

Membership comprises mostly of publishers who are hungry for linkalicious content. I priced the content at the low price of £500 and crafted it to appeal to both those on social tagging sites and those who link.

After a few days the content sold, proving that such a market exists and establishing a price point.

More see before you buy linkbait will be created only for members of my “Headline and Content Ideas“, newsletter. Membership is only $50 a month which allows you to get access to a regular stream of headline ideas.

If you are a writer you can advertise for free in the writers forum

Don’t be an asshole and give everything away for free.

Found by @skinner
at http://copywriterunderground.com

The linkbait is slightly edgy, not something that would appear in the Daily Mail but would be fine in FHM or Maxim. Can’t really tell you much about it at this stage else it will give the game away.

I’m afraid the offer is only open to members of the site which only costs $50 a month. And of course you get access to hundreds of headline examples.

This is an experimental move and if popular I will allow others to sell their linkbait and articles to the publisher members. If it falls like a wet sponge on an expensive rug, no problem, I can simply use the content on my own sites.

If you want a social push for the content, we can talk about that.

The price of the linkbait is £500

Look forward to hearing what you think about the latest idea.

Everyone one knows, or should know the benefits of guest blogging. If not you should really check out these articles which explain why you should be guest blogging and why you should allow guest blogging.

• Why Guest Blogging is a Powerful Way to Gain Exposure for Your Blog
• Increasing Your Exposure With Guest Blogging
• Why being (or having) a Guest Blogger is A Good Thing

A big problem is finding blogs to post on and other guest bloggers of high enough quality to post on your site. I think I have a solution for you. You can now access the guest post exchange forum on the Magnetic Web Content publisher forums.

It allows members to request blogs to post on and to request articles for their own blogs. This is a service that people have been asking me about for a while and a number of current members are very keen to trade content.

If you are already a paid up member of the publisher forums then head over there now and get some cracking content for your blog and find somewhere to post your tasty content.

Those who are not yet members can join right now for $50 a month. Click here to subscribe.

You will also get access to the headline and content idea newsletter I regularly publish.

You also get access to over a hundred writers, who are advertising services on the forum.

See you in the forums.

Hopefully they can meet in the middle and agree on a price that works for both parties.

But what is a fair price?

Having been a writer and publisher myself I know that payments vary considerably. If you have a sniff around the web you can find ridiculous prices quoted on forums like Digitalpoint for $5 an article. I doubt the buyer and seller of such articles could stay in business for long.

But writing has always been low paid, as there is a lot of competition and entry to the market is low. Get a good reputation and deliver results and your price can rise. Some sales copywriters charge thousands for a few days work.

I want to know what you think.

How much should you charge for writing?

Any member can ask for headlines in a specific area and I try to come up with some exciting stuff. Members also get access to the writers directory which lists around 30 writers offering their services. Any writer can advertise for free.

I will only be publishing the one sample newsletter. Hope it’s useful to you.

Newsletter No.1

Welcome to Magnetic Web Content’s first newsletter. A service designed to give you headline and content ideas straight from my desk.

The headline ideas I will be sharing in my newsletter are aimed at a specific niches, sometimes a very narrow niche. They are intended to attract and cause the reader to read on. But they also set the tone and make a promise to the reader. Hopefully content will deliver on the promise.

One way to learn how to write effective headlines is to digest as many examples as you can and tinker with them. Headline ideas for one niche can sometimes be transposed to another niche. By doing this you will help learn and understand what works and why.

Not everyone is after the same thing. Some of these headlines will be irrelevant to you and your niche, but even if that is the case it may spark an idea and send you in the right direction.

You can can suggest niches for me to generate some headlines, go to the public blog or the members only forum.

Make sure you introduce yourself on the forum, you may make interesting contacts. Every member has the same goal….. to create killer headlines.

I will be adding extra reports and tutorials over the coming weeks, these will be the things I don’t talk about on the public blog.

Headline Ideas

Long Distance Running Headlines:

20 Endurance races of the world.
How much fat can you burn in a one mile run?
How to avoid runners nipple.
What to eat before a marathon.
Why running is so much better than the gym.
Do runners have more sex?
A look at a fashion victim runner.
7 Best stretches before a run.
Ultimate guide to long distance running.
10 negative issues about cross country running.
Is there a running gene, all my family can run?
What you must never do the day after a marathon.
Drinking before a run, how much is too much?
10 fit celebrity runners.
Why spending $300 on running shoes will save you money.
How a treadmill can injure you.
How to develop the running mind set.
10 best road routes in the world.
What marathon time is a good time?
Why people who do not run don’t get it!
How to survive being a long distance runners’ widow.

Slippers:

Historical figures who would have benefited from wearing slippers.
Liquids you do not want to find in your slippers.
Why running the marathon in slippers is not advisable
Slippers are the new black.
The newsreader who wore slippers under the news desk.
“Slipper Gate”, how soon before it happens.
10 things you wouldn’t want to find in your slippers if you live in Australia.

Food and diet:

Columbian farmers turning from drugs to farming ants.
10 of the weirdest foods to eat.
Why chocolate is a great substitute to Viagra.
Why evolution likes us fat.
The great thing about saturated fat.
Is it possible to lose weight and only eat at MacDonalds?
How porridge can help you live longer?
Can fat make you fit.
How fish can make you fit.
Are there foods out there to stop baldness?

Property:

How to spot a bad removal company.
How to keep working from home, whilst moving house.
How to deal with a nudist neighbour.
Why moving house is such a stressful time.
Is it possible to get addicted to moving house?
Can an Estate Agent be too cheap?
What can you tell about people from the colour they paint their house?
10 Power tips when negotiating to sell property.
10 things you wouldn’t expect to lower the price of a house.
Is it illegal to sell a house that’s possessed?

Debt:

How debt firms can screw you over.
History of loan sharks.
Why pawn brokers are cheaper than a bank overdraft.
10 Celebrities who have gone bankrupt.
Why banks give credit cards to the unemployed.
7 things you can do right now to decrease your debt.

Snoring:

How snoring has ruined my sex life.
I like to record my snoring and play it back to scare cat off my runner beans.
10 things you should never do if you snore.
10 insane ways people have tried to stop snoring.

Football (soccer):

Why Football was really invented by the Germans/French/Americans

(delete where applicable).
Why you should never call football “soccer”.
Why some people call football “soccer”.
10 footballers not worth the money they earn.
10 best own goals.
What do goalies think about when not on the ball.
Was Brian Clough the best England manager we never had?
Why football is the Worlds’ Sport?
Why a rugby player can never play football.

Random ideas:

10 Weird things sold on ebay.
Why cars should be illegal and we all should use trains.
Why do the English drink so much tea?
Celebrities who will never have sex with each other.
10 Hardest countries to get drunk in.
Heaviest wrist watches of the world.
Psychological reasons men find fishnet stockings exciting.
Can an MP claim SEO on expenses?
Why you are more likely to do cocaine if you go to Eaton?

Topical headlines:

10 mistakes Obama has made so far.
Why Susan Boyle should not stand as a Member of Parliament.
Why North Korea should export beer and call it, “The Bomb”.
10 Reasons Susan Boyle would fail at a job interview.

Using these headlines.

Feel free to use these headlines in your blog posts and websites, I am giving permission for you to republish, but only as headlines. I will take
action if any of the contents of this newsletter is used in any other way.

If you want to republish parts as an example of what I do, get in touch and I am sure we can work something out.

How to use these headlines.

Headlines are a funny thing. When you need them they are never there, but walking down the streets eating fish and chips - and they come in waves.

If you were my apprentice I would make you write the top 1,000 headlines ever published, because knowledge must be allowed to seep down into the
sub-conscious. Eventually, good headline writing simply becomes instinctual, as discussed in Malcolm Gladwell’s book “Blink”.

If you are lazy, and I know I am, you can simply take a headline, send it to your writers and ask for one thousand words. If the niche you need is not
listed, the headlines here may trigger an idea for one that can be used in your niche.

Obviously you can request a niche on the blog or forum.

Copyright Lyndon Antcliff 2009.
Permission is giving to republish the headlines as headlines for online
articles. Any republishing of the headlines as part of online body content will be viewed as breach of copyright. Any republishing of this newsletter will be seen as breach of Copyright, except as a headline for online articles.
The headlines presented can be copied in full only if used as a headline.
Sub-headlines and lists are not allowed

Advertise your writing service for free to publishers who are members of Magnetic Web Content.

My members are desperate for writers. They are constantly asking me to introduce them to great writers. So I thought, why not put the two groups together at no extra cost to anyone.

Are you a great writer? If so, you are desperately needed.

You can communicate direct with the publishers through the forum. Simply sign up here and write a forum post to advertise yourself to publishers.

This service is absolutely free to writers and you can sign up right now.

Post a notice on the forum and include information to help the publisher hire you, such as:

• Experience
• Writing Sample
• urls of work done
• Pricing
• Website or blog link
• Availability

Be prepared to enter into long term or short term contracts, if you are good you will be snapped up. My members are all successful online publishers who are in constant need of good writers.

The information you enter will only be viewable by paying members of Magnetic Web Content. No other writer will see your advert/notice/details.

As a writer you will not be able to see any other writers post.

Publishers will be able to post in your forum threads to ask questions.

You can create any number of threads, and receive messages through the private mail system. This allows you to build relationships and trust with a prospective publisher.

It is up to you to set your pricing and how to market yourself. Although I may post a few helpful pointers.

If you need writers you will be able to view their posts in the forum by signing up to the Headline Newsletter for only $50 a month. Sign up here and hopefully get to hire some great writers/

Ask questions in the comments.

Note: Please do not advertise services or drop links in the comments as they will be deleted.

Instead you get direct access to our publisher members.  This allows you to market to a select bunch of successful publishers who do not have the time to find good writers, but are very happy to connect in a moderated environment.

Disclaimer
I take no responsibility for any work or contract taken out through the Forum. Please seek legal advice before signing any contract. Make sure the person you are dealing with is who they say they are. It is up to you to perform due dilligence.