I get asked all the time about ways to put articles on your site without having to write them. With that I first advise my clients to write their own articles. Doing so will then reflect their personality and expertise, thereby soft-selling their skills and giving folks a reason to want to do business with them over their perceived competitors.

That said, there are always those who would rather buy than produce and when it comes to buying articles one has to be very leery about the source. There are tons of shiesters out there (just as with most things online) who are trying to tap into those who want short cuts.

Many of these services are selling articles that are either very poor quality (which will reflect on you), or they have no right to sell the articles because they do not have the author’s permission and have just copied them from other sites and modified them slightly.

By not seriously investigating who you get your content from, you risk copyright infringement complaints if the original author finds out. And, believe me — they can find out. Being an author myself, I have Google alerts setup to notify me if my writings show up online without my knowledge.

Your best bet is to make the time and to write your own material based on what you know your customers want and what you know about best. That way you can’t go wrong and it is time well spent!

If you want a credible and reliable resource for articles, check out EzineArticles.com. They do a great job of making sure legitimate and quality articles are provided for you to use (as long as you give credit to the authors per their instructions.) You can also learn a great deal about article writing dos and don’ts as well as how to get yourself motivated to write your own articles at the EzineArticles Blog. Check it out and get writing!

At your service,
Judith

ex·plic·it –adjective

1. fully and clearly expressed or demonstrated; leaving nothing merely implied; unequivocal: explicit instructions; explicit language.
2. clearly developed or formulated: explicit knowledge; explicit belief.
3. definite and unreserved in expression; outspoken: He was quite explicit as to what he expected us to do for him.

Now that we are clear on the above, apply this to your e-mails. If you receive an e-mail that asks several questions — answer each one, point-by-point. Don’t just hit reply and type a general statement at the top of the e-mail that doesn’t cover all the issues presented.

Explicitness in your e-mail communications helps to avoid misunderstandings and confusion. If you top-post, (the bad habit of just typing a cryptic reply at the top of an e-mail without including any e-mail etiquette) you are taking the lazy way out and showing the person who e-mailed you that you are not capable of succinct replies.

Learn how to, and practice, the down-editing of your replies to avoid unnecessary back and forths for clarification. Down-editing will also show that it is important to you to be a clear communicator and will speak volumes as to what it will be like to communicate with you. PIA or joy?

Don’t just reply with what point or info you want to relay — reply to the specifics of the e-mail that was sent to you. Not doing so will demonstrate a lack of courtesy for those who e-mail you causing them to have to send an additional e-mail for clarification. In business, replying without displaying this level of attention to detail will undermine your potential for success as well as show your lack of professionalism.

At your service,
Judith