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News writing with quotes for quality blogs – five-paragraph rule

By: Nazvi Careem

News writing using quotes is ideal for bloggers who need regular material to fill their blogs. The best part about it is that you don’t need much information to write a quick 100 to 200-word post.

All you need is one newsworthy quote from any recognized news source and you can simply write around it. You can do this in a minimum of five simple paragraphs, or sentences.

News writing is the forte of journalists, who are trained to write sharp, incisive copy, sometimes from scraps of information. An experienced journalist could take a slender thread of information, usually a quote, and spin it out to up to 300 words or more. That is what he or she is trained for.

The method they use is not rocket science and anyone can learn how to write like a journalist. It is simply a case of learning a set format and sticking to it. For blogs, though, you don’t need long articles. 100 to 200 words is fine.

Suppose you operate a website selling auto equipment. You could build a blog into your site and easily write one decent and informative blog post a day with minimal effort. As an auto expert, you know where the news is. Simply look for any good car-related news, whether it is about parts or new models, find out what the experts are saying and turn that into a five-paragraph blog.

You find the boss of a famous manufacturer is quoted in a news outlet as saying their new Petrolite model will cut gas costs by 30 per cent. That is all you need for your newest blog posting. Here’s how.

First paragraph – ABC Wheels is the latest carmaker to boast about a new model that saves on petrol, according to news reports.

Second paragraph — The company’s managing director, Dan Driver, is telling anyone who wants to listen that the sleek Petrolite 1.8 model can outperform its rivals when it comes to saving on gas without affecting performance.

Third paragraph (quote) – “We can guarantee that the Petrolite will save consumers at least 30 per cent in fuel costs,” Driver was quoted as saying in their website (provide a link to the website or news source).

Fourth paragraph – The Petrolite 1.8 is expected to be on the market next month at a cost of $50,000 a unit.

Fifth paragraph – If what Driver says is true, motorists can fill up their Petrolite gas tanks for just $10.

There you go, a little more than 100 words in five minutes, and you wouldn’t have to do any research at all. With your intimate knowledge of the industry, you could easily write longer with added information about other cars, trends, ABC Wheels’ past products … anything you want.

Once you get the news out of the way in five paragraphs, you can write anything you think is relevant. That is the beauty of using quotes in news writing.

[Article Source: http://www.positivearticles.com]

Use standard news writing practice to write a blog posting in just five minutes. All you need is a simple quote.

Nazvi Careem is an experienced journalist, writer and news writing coach who has written for newspapers, magazines and global news agencies such as Reuters. To download a free chapter of his book on news writing secrets, check out his site dedicated to the art of news writing.

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