Writing short articles should be your rule of thumb when putting together any piece for Web publication. Unlike print publications such as newspapers and magazines, short article writing is a sought after craft, to the point where writing long articles is frowned on.

How short should your articles be? On the Web 500 word articles are probably the norm. If you're putting together a newsletter or e-zine the rule of thumb for the short articles you're writing is 500-800 words, and no more than 15 short paragraphs.

The short articles you're writing for the e-zines or newsletters must have short paragraphs, divided by an extra line of white space. Online readers have short attention spans and scan rather than read the articles. They want to see at a glance whether they need to peruse further down the short article you are writing.

Here are some tips to make sure the article you are writing is short.

First, use that Web headline to get the users attention. That is where your benefit should first be written. What's in it for me should be clarified or at least alluded to in the first three sentences. This is the introduction to the short article you are writing.

Two things you must do and know before you start writing your short article are the audience you are writing for, the purpose of writing the short article and the outline for the piece. Knowing your audience will allow you to focus on and narrow the slant of the article, and keep your writing detailed, concise and short.

The outline you prepare should note the four of five key points of the article you are writing - before you write it. Once you have your outline then each paragraph will be about one point listed in your outline.

You may very well have several underlying points for each key point. These underlying points would then make up the short sentences in the article you are writing. No paragraph should include more than five sentences, nor should there be any convolution in those sentences.

Once you're finished writing your short article then go back and make a game out of shortening it even further. In this day of Internet growth, writing short articles can be your freelance bread and butter.


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About the Author

Peter Morgan is the CEO and founder of "J.V. Members" - a new article writing business - that enables people to make money online, by writing short articles. If you're looking for more information about how to earn money working from home please visit Make Money at Home Writing Articles.