Article marketing is a form of advertising in which businesses write short articles related to their respective business. These articles are made available for distribution and publication on the internet. Each article contains a bio box and resource box that include references and contact information for the author’s business. Well-written content articles released for free distribution can definitely increase credibility and attract new clients.
For example, a landscaping firm may market itself by writing an article entitled “The Top 10 Ways for a Greener Weed Free Lawn” and similarly, a dental practice may write a concise article entitled “How to Avoid Tooth Decay” shortly before Halloween.
With the rise of e-commerce and internet marketing, article marketing has made a meteoric move to the online world. Online article marketing has served the dual role of providing publishers with what amounts to free content, and advertisers with similarly free advertising.
The website where an author can post an article is known as an article directory. The primary reason an author can post an article without cost is that the directory owner places advertising on each article page and collects the revenue generated from the advertising. The article directory site gradually increases its own search engine popularity as more articles are posted, benefiting both the author and the directory owner with increased visitor numbers and therefore article page views.
Articles are an ideal vehicle for search engine optimization. Articles are written to target particular keyword niches, and distributed to content publishers that service those markets. Authors are able to target their audience with informative content, sent to an already-interested group of readers.
Many online article marketers enjoy the low cost of this type of advertising and so have written hundreds of articles. These productive article authors also enjoy abundant backlinks (i.e., links pointing back to the business’ website). When the articles are distributed via RSS, the exposure to the authoring business and number of backlinks is increased greatly
Article Marketing is a simple, effective and very low-cost method to attract very high quality visitors to your website. You can establish yourself as an authority in the industry, and build trust with your audience through articles. You don’t have to be an expert writer to have an effective article campaign.
Once you write an article, there are many places to distribute your content online, so that you have the largest audience possible, reading your articles. You can optimize your articles for specific keywords so that they appear in the search engines results when prospects search for your keyword.
Basic Steps to Writing an Article
1. Define Your Target Audience
Defining your target audience is the first step in writing effective articles. The more clearly you can define your target market, the more this audience will relate and respond to, your articles. For example: “People who want to make money” is too vague and should be further refined in order to be effective as there are many different types of people looking to make money, all for different reasons.
The following list of questions will assist you in defining your target audience:
1. What do they do for a living?
2. What problems do they face?
3. What is important to them?
4. What are their values?
5. What is their current income?
6. What are their income goals?
7. What types of activities do they enjoy?
8. What is their definition of success?
9. Do they use any industry specific terms or expressions?
2. Select Your Keyword
Since your articles can show up in the search engines for specific keywords, you’ll want to “optimize” each article for a long-tailed keyword.
| Long-Tailed Keyword: |
Short-Tailed Keyword: |
| Sleek Cabin Cruiser Sleeps 4 |
Cabin Cruiser |
| Extravagant Manhattan Penthouse |
Manhattan Penthouse |
| Online home based business opportunity |
Online business |
Choose one long-tailed keyword for your article.
3. Select Your Topic
Step One:
Once you have selected your long-tailed keyword, choose a topic specifically related to that keyword. For example, if your long-tailed keyword is “best online home based business opportunity” then your topic could be:
“How to Find the Best Online Home Based Business Opportunity” or“How to Know If You’re In The Best Online Home Based Business Opportunity.”
Here’s a quick and easy formula for coming up with article topics:
1. Write down the top 5 concerns you had about starting a new business
2. Then, write out the solutions provided by the organization you decided to participate with to each of the concerns.
Keep in mind the people who are reading your articles probably have the exact same concerns that you did before jumping into the unknown. By addressing these concerns in your article, prospects will feel that your article was written just for them and they will feel drawn to you.
Whenever possible you want your article to have an emotional aspect to it as you want to trigger an emotional response from your readers. Think about the problems that your audience faces and what emotions are tied to those problems.
For example, frustration: “Are you frustrated with MLM’s that pay tiny commissions and take years to build?”
4. Select Your Article’s Perspective
Every article has its own unique perspective. By simply changing your article’s perspective you can construct five different articles based on your one keyword and topic.
- A how-to article
- A review article
- A problem, then solution article (define a problem, provide the solution)
- A personal experience article
A comparison article (compare your former profession to your new profession).
5. Write Your Article
Writing articles is easier than you think! Your goal will be to complete this step in 20 minutes or less. Don’t worry about making your article perfect. The best thing you can do is just sit down and start writing.
Here’s a guideline to do this quickly:
Step One: Make a list of 3 main points you want to get across in your article (one sentence each).
- Main Point #1:
- Main Point #2:
- Main Point #3
Your three main points will be the first sentence for your three paragraphs.
Step Two: Write down 3-5 sentences that support each of your three main points.
Main Point 1. 3 – 5 sentences
Main Point 2. 3 – 5 sentences
Main Point 3. 3 – 5 sentences
The 3 to 5 supporting sentences you wrote will make up the body of each paragraph.
Step Three: Write Your Introductory Paragraph
“Tell your audience what you’re about to tell them.”
Write 3 to 4 sentences that sum up your three main paragraphs.
Step Four: Write Your Closing Paragraph
“Tell your audience what you just told them.”
Write 3 to 4 sentences that sum up your three main paragraphs and then provide them with a solution.
6. Write Your Article Title
Once your article is written, create a compelling title by following these key points:
1. Include your entire keyword in the Title whenever possible.
2. Move your keyword as close to the beginning of the Title as possible.
3. Remember, questions make great article Titles as the human brain does not like it when a question goes unanswered. Your readers will be compelled to do what it takes to get that question answered, including reading what you have to say and clicking through to your website.
7. Distribute Your Article
Distribute Your Article To Directories such as:
Tips and Tricks
- Articles should be written from the view of assisting your reader, not as a cleverly disguised sales pitch. Sales pitches turn people off.
- If you are writing a “how to” article never be afraid to give away your “best stuff”. If you give your reader great quality content for free they will be more prone to listen to you and, ultimately, spend money with you.
- If you are writing a “problem/solution” article you will want to clearly define and restate your reader’s problem. This strategy is effective because your audience will subconsciously decide that you, the author, “really know what I’m thinking and what problems I have. I want to listen to what they have to say and take a look at the solution they are offering me!”
- If you are writing a “review” or “comparison” article, don’t reveal “the end of the story” or your final opinion in the Title. People will be less inclined to click on your article and read the rest if they believe they already know how the story’s going to end.
- If you have some keywords from pay per click (PPC) that are converting well for you then use these as a basis for new articles.
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For examples of several of my articles please visit Ezine Expert Author
