Top 5 Tips to Write Persuasive Articles

Add a Persuasive Edge to Your Articles

Persuasion drives action and growth. To be persuasive is to have the ability to persuade or convince someone to do or believe something through reasoning or temptation. To write persuasively, the author convinces the reader to perform an action by presenting evidence that supports an opinion.

Why You Should Be Persuasive

Readers come to your articles in search of facts, tips, and solutions to help them reach their goals - but they still expect to be entertained, engaged, motivated, and informed. Essentially, you want your reader to finish your article and arrive at your Resource Box thinking: "Okay, you've convinced me. So, what's next?"

Top 5 Tips to Writing Persuasive Articles

Use these tips to give your articles and your calls-to-action a persuasive and engaging edge to convince readers!

1. Don't Keep Readers Waiting

Teasers (i.e., the reader has to click away to gain the full benefit they were promised) are not persuasive; they're irritating and untrustworthy. Be up front in your article's title, summary, and introduction. In the article, deliver on everything you promised elsewhere and treat your Resource Box's call-to-action and links as the next logical step in your reader's search.

2. Provide Evidence That Supports Your Topic

What is true and valid is often the most persuasive. Back up your claims by showing your readers facts, data, etc. you've gathered in your niche. Should you quote other sources to support your topic, limit quotations to no more than 5 lines (total) of properly cited content.

3. Lead With Originality Every Time

Readers crave new, top-of-the-line information that gives them value. Whoever delivers fresh, unrepeated information has a competitive edge because of this value. Be the leading expert known for value: Provide 100% original information 100% of the time.

4. Be Personal Without Giving Away TMI

Find the perfect balance between formal and informal writing by avoiding stuffy formalities where it counts, but know when a personal anecdote is and isn't appropriate. The key is to be relatable by placing yourself in the piece and providing information that doesn't convey TMI (Too Much Information).

5. Edit to Be Specific, Direct, and Persuasive

Write using active voice (subject performs action) to be direct and concise. Rigorously edit your articles to remove any signs of verbiage; check for the following:

• Remove needless words (e.g., "the reason for this is" = "because")
• Use emphatic words at the end of a sentence to drive the point home
• Add emotive language (e.g., health, anger, joy, frustration, passion, urgency, etc.)
• Stress nouns and verbs which are more powerful than adjectives and adverbs

Use these tips to add a persuasive edge to your articles and convince readers to act!

Publishers CTR: More clicks from Opera and Safari Users

Your browsing habits say so much about you, but the browser that you use also gives some powerful insights into who you are a person. Firefox users for instance, are heavy customizers and like to make things their own; Internet Explorer users are very parochial and stuck in their ways; Chrome users are lovers of simplicity—I could go on but I am sure you get the point.

Advertisers tap into these idiosyncrasies in order to make money and the latest findings into how much the different browser user clicks on ads will some fuel to the debate over browser CTR and ad-efficiency. Online advertising network, Chitika compiled some handy which gave some surmising insights into which browser gives advertisers the most clicks for their buck when targeting both mobile and regular users.

The big surprise

If you had to guess which browser was most efficient at delivering clicks, you’d probably go with Internet Explorer or Google Chrome on the strength of their tremendous market share. But you’d be wrong—very wrong. According to the data compiled by Chitika, the most efficient browser for delivering ad-clicks is Opera.

According to Chitika, hundreds of millions of impressions were looked at for US and Canadian users and from every perspective, Opera led the field with a 2.12% CTR. It was followed closely by Safari mobile with a CTR of 1.54%. Third was Internet Explorer (1.14%); followed by Android browser in fourth place with 0.81%. Safari figured twice in the compilation and showed up again in fifth position with a CTR of 0.80%. Perhaps the biggest surprises on the list were Firefox and Chrome which took 6^th and 7^th position respectively with CTRs of 0.68% and 0.54%.

Safari browser users have a penchant for the complex

I say ‘complex’ because Chitika also took a look at the average query length—i.e. the number of keywords that made up a search. On average Safari users typed in 5.08 words per query WPQ); this number went up even further for Safari mobile with an average query length of 5.17. Safari’s closest competitor in this regard was Firefox with an average query length of 5.05 WPQ; it was followed closely by Chrome on iOS with a query length of 4.84.

The larger question here I suppose is why despite having such a small share of the browser market, does Opera have such high CTRs? The answer is not straightforward or scientific, but one suggestion is that the fact that Opera has fewer integrated ad-blockers, more and more advertising is able to get through. One other possible explanation being bandied about is screen size; some people believe that users are more likely to ‘accidentally’ click on a banner or text ad on their smartphone as opposed to their desktop computer.

Whatever the explanation, the Chitika study will almost certainly anchor the efforts of advertisers and web developers. Opera and Safari are in a way, niche browsers but more and more they are becoming mainstream. Developers and advertisers therefore will ride the wave of use until they become too cluttered and inefficient—much like the large mainstream browsers.

Do you click on ads depending on the browser you are using at the time? Share your thoughts on the Chitika findings using the comments below.

http://www.sitetrail.com/2012/11/12/chitika-more-clicks-opera-safari-ctr-publisher/

Bringing the World of Web Closer to You with PositiveProjections

Every company needs web presence. Whether you are selling a service, a product, or are an avid blogger, your website is your vehicle for “getting out there.” This means not only does your site need good content, visual appeal, and have ease of use, but it should remain meaningful to you while distinguishing you from your competitor. In a day and age where nearly everyone turns to the Internet to find out more, you do not want to remain obscure or hidden from your viewers.

For over 17 years, PositiveProjections.com has been helping people—individuals, small business owners, not for profit organizations—establish their web identity using successful web design. There are a several elements of Positive Projections’ approach to web design that clients have come to appreciate. For example, by “matching” the site to the industry or type of business, visitors can more easily relate. A restauranteur’s website will have a different look and feel to that for a hardware store. An entrepreneur will require a different approach than a charitable foundation. Making it personable is an important part of the design process.

Websites created by Positive Projections are also self-manageable, empowering the site owners to update the text and images easily. To ensure this ease of use, the company includes training screencasts with an optional support follow-up service.

It is also essential to design the sites to be user friendly. Visitors to a Positive Projections’ website find the site easily through the company’s strategic “ranking” method with search engines. Once there, navigation is simple and sensible. For the smartphone users, the sites feature a mobile web function. To remain sociable, Facebook and Twitter sharing is established, and to further engage visitors, site owners can also consider YouTube.com or Vimeo.com additions.

What if you already have a website, but it’s time for a facelift? Change is good. Change can inspire not only the site owner, but visitors too. This is why Positive Projections assess websites to determine possible improvements. It could be one or two minor areas, or perhaps an entire overhaul. Areas of considerations include:

• how attractive is the site?
• is it easy for visitors to use?
• is the site organized efficiently?
• has the site’s outcome(s) met its purpose(s)?

Positive Projections also evaluates the site’s SEO techniques to asses whether or not optimal ranking is achieved.

Website remodeling also considers the speed of the web host. Inefficiency here can drive visitors away. To ensure reliable and efficient web hosting, Positive Projections also established its own web hosting service. For more than a decade, the company’s own websites, along with clients’, run off a server of optimal performance. The reliability is something clients have come to depend on. A server hosting 300 sites as compared to the same server hosting 2,000 means not only do the sites maintain expected operation, but security benefits are in place.

Bringing personalized service and dependable results has allowed Positive Projections to build an impressive portfolio of web design and web remodeling projects. For this company success is about helping you find your place in the world of web

http://www.sitetrail.com/2012/11/13/web-hosting-positive-projections-news/