Entries Tagged 'article marketing' ↓

Article marketing remains one of the most effective ways of boosting your search engine presence. Not only do you begin to ‘own more of the web’ you also generate those oh so important back links to your website.

But it is only effective if you produce quality content that:

• Is well written
• Addresses the needs of your readers
• Gives value

Many companies are more hung up on quantity rather than quality. They’d rather pay a few pounds per article from writers (who are frequently based abroad and for whom English is not their first language) who churn out dozens of articles, than pay a decent fee and hire a professional copywriter.

It’s not a numbers game

Yes you need a lot of articles to build links. But submitting quality articles that are well written over a period of time is far more effective than bulk submitting sub-standard ones.

Many companies out there do value good quality writing (and are prepared to pay for it) but too many don’t.

Putting a good article together isn’t about scanning the internet and cutting and pasting bits from other articles.

It’s about taking time to discover:

• What topic is to be discussed
• The focus of the discussion
• Who your audience is
• What they are looking for
• What tone should be used
• What do you want to achieve with the article

It’s a pretty safe bet that writers willing to create your articles for a couple of quid a throw won’t ask any of that.

It’s your neck on the line

You might think that it’s only article marketing so it doesn’t matter what you submit.

Wrong. It matters a lot.

If you are putting your name to it, it’s your reputation on the line. You are using these articles as a way of establishing yourself as an expert in your field. If you submit poor quality articles you’ll come across as a cowboy and not someone people want to deal with.

Articles are not just about link building—people do read them—can you really afford to be that careless with your brand?

SEO nightmare

You will need an element of SEO within your articles so they are found by your target audience.

But cheap articles often lead to shoddy SEO resulting in complete nonsense that’s unreadable. Many of the cheap outlets will just stuff your article with your keyword. The result is gibberish.

A professional copywriter understands SEO and knows how to craft your article so it is search engine friendly and reader friendly. In fact, done well, you’d be hard pushed to spot the keywords.

You get what you pay for

As with all things in life, you get what you pay for.

If you want high quantity you’ll get poor quality.

But if you are more interested in your reputation, traffic and quality you’ll pay more but the end result will be far superior.

Every company wants to get the most out of its marketing budget, it’s only natural. But investing in quality copywriting will pay dividends in the long run—to your bottom line and your reputation.

Have you wasted valuable time and money trying to promote your online business? If you’ve spent hard-earned cash buying ads on ezines or on websites, you may have been disappointed with the results.

There’s a better way to advertise your business or website – article writing – ideal for those who want great benefits that don’t cost anything. That’s just about everyone!

By submitting quality articles you’ll get lots of exposure and publicity without a financial investment. You’ve probably realized by now that the internet is about information, so content brings visitors to your site. That’s a no-brainer.

Consider the possibilities of regularly writing for the internet:

• Your work may be seen by millions.
• Your articles can quickly appear on over 100 websites.
• Search engines are constantly looking for new content – make it yours.
• Your targeted traffic will increase.
• By writing regularly, you can reach affiliates or joint venture partners who can help your sales’ potential.
• Your articles can be permanently displayed on the internet.

Your reputation can spread all over the internet and beyond. Think of the reach just one article can have!

As you submit your work to ezines and article directories (such as ezinearticles), keep in mind that top-ranking sites are crawled by Google more often than other sites. When these sites publish your writing, you’ll soon see results.

With each article you submit, your reputation will grow. An author’s work is often kept permanently on websites, so one keyword-rich article can bring thousands of hits for years to come. Plus Google will love the one-way links you’ll achieve.

Your published works prove you’re an expert – at least in the eyes of readers who view you as knowledgeable. You also establish credibility and trust. Your words can create your own brand for your website and business.

So there you have it –

Writing articles can open surprising doors to success!

Article writing can be seen as one of those boring tasks that are a throw-back from school and university days. But in business the writing of article is an effective marketing strategy to deliver targeted visitors, increase your rankings and boost sales.

If the thought of it still fills you with dread, the good news is that after learning a few simple steps, writing your own articles isn’t as hard as it appears.

What to write about?

This is probably the biggest hurdle most new writers face. The easiest way to begin is to write about things you are interested in and preferably passionate about.

Once you have decided on a general area, a good way to narrow the topic down is to focus on the problems that people have. Typically, people read articles because they want to be entertained or they want information.

A guiding principle is to expect the readers to be looking for “What’s in it for them?’ You may already know the common problems that people have in the particular field, but if not, a good source of information is to look at related online forums and note the most common questions asked.

Chunk it

Most people don’t like to read large documents from the Web, so articles tend to be around 400 words long. If you break the article into an introduction, a small number of sub-headings and a conclusion you may only have to write about 50 words in each section.

For your eyes only

The first draft should be for your eyes only. Don’t try to produce a final copy as you write. It tends to be much quicker to get your thoughts down and come back to edit later. The final, and most important step in the writing process, is to proofread your article.

Get it out there

Once you have written your article you may want to add it to your own website as an item that search engines love – a piece of original content.

By adding an ‘About the Author’ section with a link to your website, you can also submit it to article directories. As other websites publish your article you receive another thing that search engines look for, one-way back links.

After writing your first few articles you will find it is not as daunting as it first appears. You never know, you may even want to offer your services as a freelance writer on the Internet as a way to make some extra income.

See also: 4 Ways to Make Your Article Creative and Interesting

The 5 Benefits of Article Writing You Might Miss

Article Writing – How To Write Quality Articles Quickly

Can Article Writing Help Me Get More Newsletter Subscribers?

More often than not, puff or hype and copywriting go about as well together as oil and water.

But hype can atually be good. You see there are 2 types of hype:

• hype that will always convert
• hype that will NEVER convert

The piles of junk mail waiting to be recycled are full of the latter type. They are stuffed with words such as biggest, fastest, easiest, greatest, amazing, unique, etc., and unblievable claims such as “Your skin will be transformed overnight”.

These examples stand out as hype because they are recognized as less than believable and are quickly discounted and ignored by most consumers.

But there is nothing wrong with using these words if they are accurate descriptions.

Turn bad hype good

If you are writing an ad and used this either in the headline or body copy:

All your wrinkles will miraculously disappear overnight!

The chances are it won’t believed and it won’t convert.

It won’t matter if the rest of your add can actually prove the claim – by kicking off with it ruins any chance of getting a sale.

If you are going to use a claim such as the one above, you need to place it wisely within your ad.

Avoid the ad-killing claim

How? Simply by making it an unavoidable conclusion.

Before making any claim to unparalleled excellence—prove it first.

Assemble and present your evidence; this proof will lay the groundwork for what is to come by creating a strong and overwhelming direction and momentum.

In other words…

Turn hype into an undisputed conclusion

So when you finally do present your hype it will be seen as a descriptive and accurate statement of the obvious and the proven (hype of the good kind). If executed skillfully, your hype will also have the added benefit of becoming sustainable and actionable.

Frequently, when it comes to article writing, the end result can be pretty mundane. I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve started reading an article in anticipation of being entertained and enlightened, only to be bored to tears.

I hope you won’t feel that way about this particular article! But if you struggle to be creative here are some pointers that will be helpful to you. By understanding these tips, you will end up making your article writing more useful and powerful.

Words

Yes I know, articles are made up of hundreds of words, but it is the choice of words that can make all the difference. Don’t stuff your article with big, impressive words that no one understands when something more concise will do. Also try to use interesting words whenever possible.

Structure

The structure of your article can also have an effect on its interesting-ness. Long blocks of text can be a complete turn-off. Go for short sentences and paragraphs to create an article that is compelling. Don’t use five words when one will do.

The simple way to achieve this is to write a ‘How to’ article. This way you are specifically dealing with exactly what the title indicates, and you are meeting a need of your reader. As long as you stick to the topic and teach them how to do it, you will succeed at writing an interesting article, well, for them at least.

Tell ‘em a story

Another to generate interest is to include a story of how what you are writing about has helped someone else. Everyone loves a story or anecdote so exploit it, use it and entertain with it.

Offer information

Finally you can keep your article interesting by offer information that is rarely found elsewhere and quite possibly information that you alone can offer.

There you go, now you can go forth and be creative with your articles.