My first ezines were required to highlight a domain in 1997. It followed my degree in archaeology, anthropology and linguistics and before I wrote a book in 2000. I was commissioned in 1983 by the Spirit of the Universe to do a job and inform the world of what you want to know. Three visions followed the commission that showed me as a teacher on a mountain and my face in a browser, like a computer.

Teaching me about it continued during the intervening years. Then the Internet arose. In 1992 he sent me to the university to confirm the visions that were part of the required information. It was there that the use of a computer was essential.

Without the extended education from both sources, the story would never have come together. When my first domain went online, the information was like an overdue birth where the fetus had grown to such an extent that my body couldn’t contain it. Writing it helped. All that knowledge needed to be told.

However, my domain cried out for help, and email marketing emerged as a way to get the message across. Writing about the Spirit was easy and week after week the information I was given flooded people’s addresses. As time went by and more websites were added, my attention turned to articles to spread the word.

Writing them down has proven to be a blessing as people tune in to what Spirit wants them to know. The mountain is the Internet and it gave me a teaching position on it. Speaking with the commission in mind, there are important things to know about publishing in this way.

1. Write so your audience knows what you’re talking about. That sounds obvious but many fail to take into account that the reader has no prior knowledge of her experience.

2. Write in a way that they can understand. Don’t use big unfamiliar words and phrases. Most people have the reading ability of a 12-14 year old, so that’s the goal.

3. Don’t talk about yourself unless it’s relevant to your story. This is unpleasant and the article may not make it past the editors.

4. Don’t talk. Beating around the bush is exhausting and readers tune out very quickly.

5. Put your main points in the first paragraph and expand on them as you write.

6. You have about six seconds to present your audience, so make sure the title is catchy and relevant.

7. Read other people’s articles for information and as a test for yourself.

8. Go through everything and remove unnecessary words, even paragraphs, if they can be excluded.

9. Be sure to use a spell checker and correct any mistakes.

10. Avoid the use of qualifiers, such as ‘always’, ‘great’, etc. Most are unnecessary and will lead to bad writing habits.

11. Use one word instead of several when possible.

12. Keep the article short but interesting enough for the reader to finish it.

When you’re done, post it right away because things change and news is worth holding back. If one follows these tips, writing articles will become easier with practice.