Article Weblog

Years ago, as you know, runner Jim Ryun dashed what was thought to be an unbreakable record.

He ran the mile in less than four minutes.

History would reveal that the four minute mile was more of a psychological barrier than anything else, because after Ryun’s achievement, literally hundreds of runners joined Ryun by clocking less than four minutes.

Once a leader shows that something can be done, in sports, business, the sciences, or even in writing, others quickly follow suit.

One of my armchair sports is tracking the numbers that article writers reach at certain Ezine sites.

At one, there are some far and away leaders, with more than 1,000 pieces to their credit.

Probably, within four to six months at his current pace the top dog will log his 10,000th!

He is about 500% more prolific than his next rival, so no one will be challenging the leader any time soon.

But what’s interesting is to see what is happening in the 500-1,000 article range. A few months ago, at a site with about 30,000 writers, about a handful of people were above 500.

Now, there at least double at that number or beyond, and the range between 200 and 500 is bulging.

About six months ago, you only needed about 100 articles to break into the top 100 which means your name would appear on the front page of contributors.

Soon, you’ll need 200 or more articles to get that exposure.

Anyway, don’t let this discourage you.

In fact, I infer that the Ryun Effect is operating here. As more people contribute more articles at even higher volumes, still more folks will be motivated to follow in their footsteps.

You can be one of them, so go for it!

Best-selling author of 12 books and more than 800 articles, Dr. Gary S. Goodman is considered a foremost expert in telephone effectiveness, customer service, and sales development. A top-rated speaker, seminar leader, and consultant, his clients extend across the organizational spectrum, from the Fortune 1000 to small businesses. He can be reached at: gary@customersatisfaction.com.

Share This

Now, with nearly 1,000 Ezine articles to my credit, I think I’ve learned a few things that might be valuable enough to pass on to you.

Here are five insights which you can rank in terms of importance to you:

(1) You should write what you care about, not what you think will be popular or widely read. This presumes you are a genuine writer and not a marketing hack whose only goal is to attract and to cash in on clicks at his or her web site. If you stick to what you like you’ll have fun no matter how many or how few readers you garner.

(2) Don’t stop to judge the quality or the appeal of a given article. If you keep writing, which I always advise, you’ll undoubtedly craft some that exceed and which fall short of your earlier achievements. More writing will cure most of your blues and help you to gradually reduce your defects and shortcomings.

(3) Don’t compare yourself to other writers. One person emailed me and asked me how I was capable of crafting such a large volume of quality pieces. Though she complimented me, I sensed she silently chastised herself for having produced a lot less. Hey, I simply made the time to do it. It was my commitment more than anything else. If she makes the same commitment and sets aside an equivalent time, she’ll do it, too.

(4) Try writing in different styles and make yourself write in new categories. I just posted a piece under the heading, Military, and nobody has tried to shoot me, yet! Ezines won’t make you rich, directly, unless you own one, but the flip side of that coin is they are risk-free. You can count on being published, in most cases, even if you’re an utter novice to a field. That’s one of the few “sure things” you’ll ever find in a commercial setting, which is remarkable, really.

(5) Don’t worry about articles that don’t gain an immediate audience. Some take time to catch on, and in other cases you might want to alter their titles or re-post them in different categories. A small adjustment or simply being patient may be the answer.

I hope this helps. Again, no matter what, keep writing!

Best-selling author of 12 books and more than 950 articles, Dr. Gary S. Goodman is considered “The Gold Standard” in sales development, customer service, and telephone effectiveness. Top-rated as a speaker, seminar leader, and consultant, his clients extend across the globe and the organizational spectrum, from the Fortune 1000 to small businesses. He can be reached at: gary@customersatisfaction.com.

Share This

Countless articles purport to teach writers how to write, and I’ve contributed my share.

Some, like those matchbook covers that are trolling for artists ask: Do you have what it takes to be a writer?

In other words, do you have the “write” stuff?

It wasn’t until the other night, when I was watching one of those quirky TV channels with a lot of drug advertising that I stumbled upon something quite pertinent to answering this question, but often overlooked.

It might unlock the secret about who can crank out a ton of work and who will have to settle for coming up with dribs and drabs.

The commercial zooms in on people’s legs and it more or less asks: DO YOU HAVE NERVOUS LEG SYNDROME?

That’s not the malady’s real name, but close enough. Apparently, there are people who actually have, what moms and dads have, for eons, derisively called, “Ants in the pants.”

Literally, they can’t sit still..

Their legs seem to have minds of their own and they shake, rattle, and maybe even roll.

If you have this problem, please forgive me.

A while ago, I read a self-congratulatory, “How I Did It!” article penned by an Ezine writer that has thousands of titles to his credit.

He said he just bangs out umpteen items every day and they add up.

No, that’s the second thing he does,

The first thing is accepting that he’ll be indoors, stuck in front of a word processor for great lengths of time.

And he’ll either have calm limbs, or he’ll be taking lots of pills!

Dr. Gary S. Goodman is the best-selling author of 12 books, over 600 articles, and the creator of numerous audio and video training programs, including “The Law of Large Numbers: How To Make Success Inevitable,” published by Nightingale-Conant-a favorite among salespeople and entrepreneurs. For information about booking Gary to speak at your next sales, customer service or management meeting, conference or convention, please address your inquiry to: gary@customersatisfaction.com.

Share This