Article Writing Tips from SpongeBob SquarePants

Wisdom can be found in the most unexpected places. Today, wisdom bubbled up from a pineapple under the sea. I suddenly realized that everything you’d want to know about writing articles for your website can be taught by SpongeBob SquarePants and his friends.


When you write for your newsletter, blog, or website, which character are you most like?

Mr. Krabs: This crustacean is focused on one thing and one thing only, making more and more and more money. Only a cartoon could actually have dollar signs drawn in his eyes. He thinks of no one, only how he can benefit. Are your articles focused on you or on the reader? Are you providing information or do you have blinders on, thinking only about how you can make money from the article you are writing? If your article reads like an ad or is self-serving or full of affiliate links, you might write like Mr. Krabs.

Plankton: The smallest creature in the sea is also the sneakiest. He’ll do anything and hurt anyone to steal someone else’s work (the Krabby Pattie secret formula). Write your own material. Don’t be Plankton. Don’t copy and paste someone else’s work, edit it, and try to pass it off as your own. You will be caught, and it just isn’t worth it. Take the same amount of effort and work on your own thoughts and ideas. Plankton never gets away with his schemes, either. He’s on Plan “Z” and is still pathetically failing at his attempts to steal the secret formula.

Patrick: SpongeBob’s best friend, the starfish, has a good heart, but isn’t the brightest creature in the sea. Do your articles make you sound like an expert? Are you providing valuable content or just pushing out sloppy articles as fast as you can? Always double check for typos and grammatical errors. If you’re challenged by spelling and grammar, hire a Virtual Assistant or Copywriter to proofread and submit your article for you. Or slow down, set your article aside for a day and then reread it before you click the “submit” button.

Squidward: Squidward is B-O-R-I-N-G. When writing articles, are you a Squidward? Do you just get the words down on paper or are you finding a fun twist to entertain your audience and keep them coming back for more? Take time to make your articles stand out from the thousands of other dull articles out there by including personal stories or just having fun while writing. For instance, this article could be entitled “How to Write a Good Article”, but would it stand out from the hundreds of other articles about article writing? Probably not.

SpongeBob: This little guy always tries to do the right thing, and is a hard worker. He may not always end up getting the results he hoped for, but he bounces back and tackles his work with a renewed vigor. SpongeBob works very hard, he’s a good friend, he always thinks of others, and tries to have fun no matter what he is faced with. Hardworking, friendly SpongeBob is the guy to be when writing articles.

Although this is a silly lesson in article writing, I hope you’ll remember the important messages our underwater friends have taught us.

1. Write articles to help others, not with dollar signs in your eyes.

2. Write your own material. Don’t copy others.

3. Proofread your articles carefully, and provide valuable information.

4. Be entertaining. Not boring.

5. Be a SpongeBob! Hard work and persistence pay off.

Before you know it, you’ll develop a following for having informative and entertaining articles and you’ll be King or Queen of the sea.

Author Resource – Nicole Dean is published all over the web, under numerous pen names. She welcomes you to visit Easy Article Marketingto get started using article marketing to boost your business today.

Affiliate Program: Easy Article Marketing

The Virtual Assistant Transcriptionist/Translator

The Virtual Assistant Transcriptionist/Translator

Audio and video media are becoming commonplace in online business. It is easier to record this way for later use. Businesses will need the services of a virtual assistant to turn the recorded media into print.

Medical professionals have used Dictaphone and dictating services for a long time. Doctors later have their notes transcribed for patient and hospital records. The same goes for legal proceedings. It is more convenient to use a recording device and later create a written copy.

The Market

Online businesses have found ways to market their products with audio and video. Tutorials, how-to's and interviews are uploaded to websites for viewing and hearing. But, we all know that sometimes you can’t always understand what is being said. That requires the need for a transcribed record of the recording.

Just like movies, audio and video can be translated into other languages to increase your marketing efforts. Many business owners would like to do that but they don’t know how to transcribe or translate. They need the help of a professional like a virtual assistant well versed in transcription and translation.

Transcribing recordings is not as easy as you might think. As a virtual assistant transcriptionist your clients will not have to struggle with this issue. Using your transcription software you will be able to handle all sorts of recordings for them using the format that they choose for the written copy.

Some of your services can include:

• Medical Transcription
• Legal Transcription
• Video Transcription
• Podcast Transcription
• Transcription Translation
• Audio transcription for business meetings

Clients can email their work to you as audio or video files according to what file extensions you accept. They may even want to mail CDs or tapes for non-rush jobs. Depending on their needs, you can provide verbatim transcription or cleaned-up transcription that is grammatically correct.

For the virtual assistant transcriptionist who is also fluent in another language, you can offer translation services to your clients. This gives them the opportunity to expand their customer base with products for non-English speaking customers. Each area of transcription can become a sub-niche if you want to specialize further. Medical or legal transcription alone can turn into a lucrative business.

Transcription services are one area that a virtual assistant can specialize in as a business idea. As more and more online businesses use other media as marketing tools, they will need the skill of a transcriptionist and even a translator for their work.

Discover How Starting Your Own Virtual Assistant Business Can Give You The Freedom You Crave With The Skills You Already Have. Visit here to learn: How to Become a Virtual Assistant A business that is perfect for moms.