If you hate writing articles, relax. It's a skill you develop with practice, so if you keep writing, eventually you'll enjoy it. Let's look at three easy tips to improve your skills.

These tips are my favorites. I've been writing content for promotional purposes for over a decade, and these are the ones which have helped me, as well as my students, the most.

1. What's Your Goal? Know What You Want Your Reader to Do

When you know what you want your reader to do, you know how much information to give to achieve your goals.

If you're posting an article on your own site, and want others to link to it, in-depth content works best. Shorter pieces of content work better on article directories.

2. Create an Outline: It Saves Time

I like to create outlines for a batch of articles on one day, and then leave the writing for another day. By "outline", I don't mean the rigid outlines you learned to write in English class. My outlines are just simple lists: a reminder of what I intend to cover.

You'll find that if you separate outlining and writing, you'll be able to write more, and more quickly.

If you find creating content a challenge, here's what I advise my writing students to do: get away from your computer. Try using pen and paper for your outlines, or use your smartphone or iPad.

3. Promote Your Articles

Don't omit this step. Each year, the competition for attention increases online. Give your articles a little help, so that they get more attention.

Try social media marketing on sites like Twitter and Facebook. Encourage readers to subscribe to your RSS feed, or create a newsletter.

These article writing tips are simple, and they work. Try them.