Article Writing Blog

Anyone who’s been in the business for 2 or 3 months certainly has a lot of information that he or she can share with others, especially newbies. So why don’t you take advantage of it?

Here are the 4 reasons why YOU too should start writing articles in Ezines to attract more visitors to your website:

1. It’s FREE!

Do you know that most of Ezine publishers don’t write their own articles? Most of them are always searching for good articles to be published in their Ezines! That means, you can submit your articles for FREE.

2. You can reach TARGETED people

It’s easy to attract as many people as possible to your website. The problem is, eventhough you have thousands of visitors (or even more), you still can’t increase your profit! Why? Because no one purchase your products/ services. Why? Because they are simply not interested in your business offer! Why? Because you don’t have targeted visitors! So, end your effort to bring just as many people as possible to your website. Instead, concentrate on how to bring targeted visitors! By writing articles in ezines, you will certainly reach targeted people. For instance, submit articles to Health Ezines in order to expect new members to your health therapy class.

3. The more articles you write, the more credibility you gain

Yes, people would think of you as an expert in your field! Think of the positive effect of this phsycological factor. This would certainly make them ‘comfortable’ to make business deals with you!

4. The more articles you write, the bigger the opportunity for you to get well posted on search engines

So, start writing articles! Choose the topics that you master. Remember to always make archives of your articles. Who knows, maybe later on you could make an eBook from those articles!

About the author:

Farid Aziz is a full-time Internet Marketer. Reveal more of his FREE tips and strategies on Internet Marketing and get a FREE Course on How to Make Money Online with Your Hobby at Internet Marketer Sells

This free way to promote or publicize your book or business online will be successfull if you follow these tips:

1. Open your short introduction with a hook. Connect with your audience with where they are now. Ask a few questions in just a few sentences to pull them in.

2. Include a benefit or two for following your how-to suggestions, your solutions, or tips.

3. Make all of your paragraphs less than three or four sentences. People online will turn away when they see a long paragraph. They want their information short and useful.

4. Write an article that serves your audience, not you. When they see your ideas and how to’s, they will respect your as the savvy expert, and be more likely to look at your signature file and even visit your web site.

5. Write a number of solutions for a particular problem. Online readers want numbered tips or how to’s. This format is easy to read and gives a lot of specific information fast.

6. Write a tip with a consistent format. Start each tip with a command–do this. Follow it by the advantages of doing that action or show the consequences of not doing it. In your third point include some resources such as books to read, teleclasses to attend, or web sites to visit.

7. Leverage each article to make two or more new ones with little effort.. “Three Promotion Tips for Small Business People” or “Three Promotion Tips for Authors,” or “Three Traditional Promotion Tips” or “Three Online Promotion Tips.” The possibilities are endless.

8. Focus on only one topic per articles. If you don’t your article will wander around and your reader will wander away.

9. Include under each article a 5-7 line signature file. Include your name, your concept-marketing tag, your web and email, and your local and toll-free number. 80% of sales are made from the 800 numbers. Always include one free offer to draw people to your web site.

10. End your article with another three or four line conclusion repeating the benefits and great results you’ll get if you follow the article’s tips.

When you write a thoughtful article, you will get noticed and realize not only new free targeted visitors to your site, but sell much more of your products and services.

About the author:

Judy Cullins, 20-year Book and Internet Marketing Coach works with small business people who want to make a difference in people’s lives, build their credibility and clients, and make a consistent life-long income. Author of 10 eBooks including “Write your eBook Fast,” “How to Market your Business on the Internet,” and “Create your Web Site With Marketing Pizzazz,” she offers free help through her 2 monthly ezines, “The Book Coach Says…” and “Business Tip of the Month” at http://www.bookcoaching.com/opt-in.shtml and over 155 free articles. Email her at mailto:Judy@bookcoaching.com.

Online publishers, ezine subscribers, and Web visitors want short, useful information. Use this “500-Word Article Formula” to create trusting, confident, and lifelong clients and customers.

How to Write this Short Article

1. Create a benefit-driven title so people will open your email. Put pizzazz into your title. Dare to be outrageous!

2. Create a snappy one to three-sentence introduction preceded by a hook. Include what’s in it for your audience. How will your article improve their lives or business?

3. Know your article’s purpose and specific audience and narrow your slant or focus just for them.

This article’s audience includes business people who want to promote their product or service through a short article. It appeals to small business people, professionals, coaches, or consultants who have a book or service to sell. It appeals to Web site publishers and opt-in (no spam) ezine publishers who want free articles to attract new customers.

4. Write an outline with four to six major points you want to make before you write.

My outline and headings for this article include the seven ways to write this article:

1. Write for Your Targeted Market.
2. Write an Outline First
3. Write Each Paragraph to Support Your Outline Headings
4. Write An Outline With Four-Six Sub Points
5. Write Two- Four Sentences for Each Paragraph
6. Create Four-Six Paragraphs from Each Heading
7. Revise Copy Looking for Ways to Tighten Your Article

Remember each sentence must support the thesis statement, that’s the one major benefit of how you will solve your reader’s particular challenge. In this one, I give you 7 solutions for writing a short article.

Break down each paragraph into three standard-length sentences (15-17 words each). For drama, write one or two shorter sentences. One paragraph contains around 100 words. Five paragraphs of five sentences of 20 or less words will equal close to 500 words.

6. Create Four to Six Paragraphs From Your Outline

All sub points must also support the thesis. Write concise, compelling paragraphs that explain and give examples.

If you write over 100 words, tighten your copy. Leave out stories or analogies. Shorten examples. Cut redundant sentences, phrases, and words. Drop most “is” verb forms and “ands.” They slow the copy and the reader down, a cardinal sin in writing. Bored readers will leave. Instead, use vital, action verbs and colorful nouns.

7. Revise Looking for Ways to Tighten Your Article

Use bullets to clarify and shorten copy

Reduce or eliminate quotes and anecdotes.

Replace -ly adverbs and adjectives with picture or feeling power verbs and nouns.

Let go of superfluous words like “that.”

Use one or two-syllable words for readable, direct copy.

For your conclusion, write only a sentence or two to either sum up or point out benefits. When you write under 500-word-articles of about one page, Online publishers, Web Masters and potential clients will read them, pass them on, and eventually buy from you.

About the author:

Judy Cullins, 20-year Book and Internet Marketing Coach works with small business people who want to make a difference in people’s lives, build their credibility and clients, and make a consistent life-long income. Author of 10 eBooks including “Write your eBook Fast,” “How to Market your Business on the Internet,” and “Create your Web Site With Marketing Pizzazz,” she offers free help through her 2 monthly ezines, “The Book Coach Says…” and “Business Tip of the Month” at http://www.bookcoaching.com/opt-in.shtml and over 155 free articles. Email her at mailto:Judy@bookcoaching.com.

Write for the Non-Human Reader

Articles should be written to cater to two dissimilar types of readers - humans and search engine spiders. Each responds to information in their own ways. How one attains the best of both goes to the heart of your article strategy.

People want articles they read to be useful, timely, and relevant. Writing quality (with wit, persuasion, emotional images, etc.) matters to them. But that’s of no concern to the spiders. Readers who like what you’ve written are likely to come to your website - maybe even buy something. Yet, the benefits received from search engines are just as important.

Search spiders are attuned to links, keywords, and Page Rank (the popularity of sites that link to yours). Decide which keywords or recurring theme to build every article around before starting to write. That amplifies your search engine optimization (SEO) and pay-per-click (PPC) efforts. Multiple articles can draw attention to a wide array of pertinent terms.

• What Search Engines Do for Your Articles
• Track your keywords as they appear in posted articles
• Deliver links to you in response to relevant queries, thereby sending targeted traffic to the site
• Find your site through links from posting sites - particularly important for a new or low-traffic website
• Show the places that publish your articles
• Increase your Page Rank as high-quality links are established
• Raise your site in the rankings as more and more articles appear
• Decide Where to Submit your Articles

Who (human) are you writing for? Narrowly defining appropriate interest groups will dictate what spin to use. Unless that’s clear, blasting out articles is too hit or miss. For example, if writing about electronic games for children, your emphasis will be very different if written for parents, schools and institutions, or the kids themselves.

Clarity about your audience determines where to send your creative output. Article Marketing Academy http://www.promotewitharticles.com/howto.html offers extensive lists of where and how to post your articles.

You’ll soon learn which sites actually publish your contributions, and which drive traffic to your site. Your submission list keeps growing with every completed article (becoming more valuable to you all the time). At some point, your name-recognition and expert status kick in.

Watch Out for Contradictory Messages

Maintain a consistency of message from one articles to the next, that is also in synch with your website personality. If your article promises a mother lode of answers, make certain they can be easily found, once a reader visits your website. Confusing navigation or a sour note can quickly undo whatever good your article accomplished.

Recycle Your Articles to Work Harder

Posting your articles online is just the start. Even before you’ve written them, plan off-line ways to recycle that same information. When I write articles for clients, I encourage them to use it in as many ways as possible. Don’t neglect your customers who aren’t Internet savvy.

• Re-package Articles Multiple Ways
• Send to local publications as press releases or PR
• Submit to trade journals
• Create handouts to be provided at your store or with services
• Collect them into handouts or flyers to sell or give away
• Reformat them as hints, booklets, tutorials
• Incorporate them into speeches or classes
• Monitor the Results

A strategy only makes sense if you also keep track of what’s working. How many websites actually publish your article and link back to yours? (That’s easy to determine. Conduct a Google or Yahoo query with your article title in quotes. Continue to log where it appears for several months after posting.)

Spelling out an article promotion strategy makes your Internet and traditional promotions work smoothly together. And it assures that the needs of both search spiders and readers will be satisfied. The right time for planning is before starting to write any articles. I can help you with that. http://www.promotewitharticles.com/consult.html

Your carefully-crafted strategy assures that a steady flow of articles supports your multiple business goals. Best of all, you don’t have to wait long to see people and search engines responding to what you’ve written. That’s bound to pay off, and keep paying off…

Dr. Lynella Grant http://www.promotewitharticles.com - Article Marketing Academy - Promote yourself, business, website, or book with articles posted online. Author, Yellow Page Smarts, http://www.yellowpagesage.com/smarts.html (719) 395-9450

Article Marketing Connects you Directly to Readers Even brilliantly-written articles can’t “toot your horn” unless they get in front of people who’d care enough to read them. And widely posting articles online is the most direct way to make that occur. Posted articles bring a business many benefits

http://www.promotewitharticles.com/benefits.html.

Keyword-focused and information-rich articles appeal to both human readers and search engines.

Your List for Article Submissions is the Crucial Link that Makes it Work

The quality of your submission list determines how many people get to read your message. Unless places you submit to are in synch with your message, products and services, most of your efforts are wasted. It’s worth your time to customize and polish your list.

1. Expanding the List

I spend at least as much time each week tweaking my list as writing articles to post. As I travel the Internet, my antenna stays tuned for suitable websites and ezines.

Assessing Websites

Is this a quality, visitor-friendly site? - That’s totally subjective - but if not, I won’t send articles there

• Does it reach the readers I write for?
• Does it use articles? If so, are they by authors unaffiliated with the site?
• Is there a submission form or author guidelines?

Their authors are considered. Am I familiar with their work? Is it worthwhile? Sometimes I Google an author’s name to see what else they’ve written and where it appears. Often I discover a slew of appropriate websites unknown to me.

I regularly query search engines for targeted keywords, or the group I want to reach (chiropractors). From those results, I use Google’s “Search within Results” feature and type in phrases like, “Submit Article” or “Newsletters.” That links me directly to possible candidates. I won’t include a site without visiting a website and feeling that it’s a match.

Whenever someone requests permission to post an article of mine I offer similar (and future) ones also. They found me! That’s another emotional payback from posting articles.

2. Culling and Upgrading Listed Sites

Starting a week after posting an article, I query Google with the title (in quotes) in the search box. I notice where it shows up, then re-check regularly. Results are logged for each article. When it appears on websites not already on my list, they’re added.

Requests to be removed from the list are honored immediately. Addresses for undelivered submissions are updated or removed.

3. Organizing the Addresses on the List

I consider Ezine Announcer, http://tinyurl.com/53wo9 invaluable for posting articles. Its auto-fill feature completes online submission forms easily. And it does a good job sending customized email submissions. But I find its most important use to be mailing list management.

My own submission list exceeds 1000 addresses, so it became too difficult to keep organized and updated. Ezine Announcer comes with 1700 addresses included (plus purchasers receive future up-dates). That’s a good start if you haven’t developed your own list already. However, I found that my own tested list was much more extensive for topics where I submit the most. By merging my list with that one (and eliminating overlap) I’ve now got the best of both. And they’re arranged logically.

Customized Categories Save Posting Time

Ezine Announcer has several general categories (like Article Directory) and numerous narrow topics (like Finance or Health). It’s a simple matter to move an address from one category to another, or to add additional categories.

• I split the Article Directory into several parallel
• directories, which simplifies posting. Reorganizing
• categories further streamlined the posting process - saving
• hours on each article.
• New Directory Categories
• My A list (and high Google Page Rank)
• Password required (which tend to have more complications)
• Submit by email
• Must exchange links
• Special requirements
• Many topics (not primarily business)
• Troubled sites (below)

When I encounter a site with problems (temporarily down, weird error messages) I move it into the troubled category. They can be checked or removed later. But such irregularities no longer delay the posting process. And I can deal with them when convenient.

Speed up your Learning Curves

Article marketing is a potent method to promote yourself, your business, your website, and your book. However, there are plenty of tricks to achieving the most mileage from your efforts. Discover in-depth how-to for every step of the process at http://www.promotewitharticles.com - Article Marketing Academy. You’ll get better with practice, and more momentum with every article you send out into the vast Internet. But you have to get started…

© 2004, Lynella Grant

Dr. Lynella Grant http://www.promotewitharticles.com - Article Marketing Academy - Promote yourself, business, website, or book with articles posted online. Author, Yellow Page Smarts, http://www.yellowpagesage.com/smarts.html (719) 395-9450

Article Marketing Builds Momentum and Traffic

When I started submitting articles to ezines and directories I was happy just to get an occasional article written and widely posted online. I assumed that was the point. But I’ve since learned about equally important considerations–like the Page Rank of the site where it appears.

Each article was written to inform and appeal to the human readers. Search engines were incidental in my mind. I wasn’t systematic about submitting new ones on a regular basis so they built momentum. Nor was I careful to emphasize my website’s keywords and principal theme. But I do now–it matters. Despite that, the articles already posted have been hard at work for me.

My list of places for submitting keeps expanding. And it’s further refined with every article posted. After a year and a half, that’s a large list (nearly a thousand). And I’m a known quantity with sites and ezines that consistently post my contributions. My best-received article to date shows 181 Google mentions (with their related incoming links).

Starting from Zero Online Visibility

I launched a new website mid-June, 2004, using article marketing as the primary traffic-building strategy (Yellow Page Sage, getting your Yellow Page ad and website working together). The first article was a strong one, getting 135 Google cites.

Over the next three months I wrote and posted seven articles related to Yellow Pages or Local Search. The website also provided extensive information about Yellow Page advertising by other authors–making it very sticky and content-rich.

Creating an Article 12-pack

After they were submitted to my list, I combined those seven articles with five of my prior marketing articles - twelve in all (with a link to each article). Instead of offering them as onesees, I now send the whole batch (letting the receiver pick what they want).

I prepared a letter offering the 12-pack, asking if they want to receive similar future ones. That letter is only sent to websites I’ve visited. I’d never offer it to a site unless there’s a good fit. Sending out the 12-pack is an ongoing activity, and another way to expand my list. Some websites have posted the whole set - twelve return links from one letter!

Surprise! Google Noticed me!

Since I was busy getting the site polished and launched, it caught me by surprise that in two months my Google Page Rank was 3/10 (the first time I checked). And the following month it had climbed to PR 4/10 - without doing anything but post seven articles. I didn’t yet realize it was getting extra mileage because of the strength of my list. So moving to PR 5/10 can’t be too far off, can it?

Then I started paying serious attention to Page Rank–the posting site’s AND mine. Page Rank shows the extra importance that Google gives to the number and popularity of websites linking to yours. Links from higher Page Rank pages elevate your Page Rank.

Two Things I didn’t Know When I Started Posting Articles

First - I posted my articles to get website traffic and incoming links (via the Sig at the end of each article). I treated every article appearance as equivalent. But Google doesn’t. All those articles appearing in high-Page-Rank directories were giving an extra boost to my score.

So I’ve re-assessed my list. Websites with higher Page Rank are now my “A List.” Articles that they publish are doing my Page Rank way more good than other places. Of course, I still need to post widely and pursue both types of links.

Second - I didn’t realize that the “Page Rank of a website” doesn’t exist. Every page on a site has its own Page Rank. (Although there are ways to make every page on the website share the same Page Rank, it’s not widely done.) So a home page with PR 7/10 that links to mine from a PR 3/10 interior page only provides a PR 3/10 link. That awareness influences who and how I link with other websites anymore. And it dictates the way I organize external links on my own websites.

Get a Free a Page Rank Tool

To assess other sites, you need a Page Rank tool. You can compare multiple sites at

http://www.phplivesupport.com/google_pagerank.php

Lilengine.com provides a free Page Rank Tool. Use theirs, or you can post it on your own website.

http://www.lilengine.com/tools/pagerank-tool.php

Articles Give your Ideas a High Profile all Over the Internet

The benefits of article marketing are well documented. And if it can build your Page Rank as well, it’s even a better use of your time. Start writing and posting articles that show your expertise. And start getting the traffic and attention you’d been wishing for.

Dr. Lynella Grant http://www.promotewitharticles.com Use posted articles to build your business Expert in the “body language of printed materials” Author, The Business Card Book and Yellow Page Smarts grant@promotewitharticles.com (719) 395-9450

Adsense is a program designed by Google to help publishers monetize their websites using high contextually-accurate ads. Adwords is the other side of the coin which allows any person to create an account with Google and bid on keywords or key phrases to have their ads appear in either the search results ad placements, or in content sites that display Adsense ads.

Over the past few months I’ve identified a group of authors, writers, and publishers that I call: “Adsense Authors.”

My definition of an Adsense Author: Any author that uses article marketing as a strategy to drive traffic to their website in order to drive their adsense ad revenue sales.

These “Adsense Authors” really understand how to fully leverage article marketing as a strategy like no other group of authors.

Here are the commonly shared traits of these authors:

• Their articles are short, between 200-600 words.
• The quantity of articles they produce are typically from 25-300; around a tightly focused niche topic.
• The TITLE of their articles are very keyword rich: the first two, three, or four words are the most important in rank. You won’t find these authors wasting the first 4 words of their title with non-keyword-rich words (such as “a” “how to” “top” “the” “of” etc).
• The BODY of their articles has high keyword density for the terms they are targeting.
• The KEYWORDS they use when submitting their articles are intelligently selected based on the overture or other keyword research tools; they are not haphazardly selected.
• They do not load up and bloat the guts of the BODY of their articles with links back to their sites; they know this slows down the acceptance of their articles for reprint by other publishers.
• Their articles are fun, fast, and easy to read. Often they will use bullets, numbered lists, and quick sub-heads to make the article easy to visually digest.
• Lastly, their RESOURCE BOX is brief with only one or two links in them: one link to their full website URL, and one anchored text link to a keyword of importance to their niche. They know that big, ego driven resource boxes slow down the viral nature of article marketing strategy.

Conclusion on Adsense Authoring

Adsense Authors have discovered the secrets behind fully unlocking the power of article marketing to drive enormous storms of organic traffic to their websites. They accomplish this with dozens to hundreds of tightly-focused niche articles, all reflecting high keyword value and research intelligence.

You won’t find any 3,000+ word articles or ego driven article content from an Adsense Author. They have only one purpose in mind: To drive massive amounts of traffic to their Adsense-based business model using article marketing as a key strategy.

Even if your goal in life has nothing to do with Adsense, you can definitely learn from today’s Adsense Authors on how to take Article Marketing to the next level of possibilities.

About The Author:

Christopher M. Knight invites you to submit your best articles for massive exposure to the high-traffic EzineArticles.com directory. When you submit your articles to EzineArticles.com, your articles will be picked up by ezine publishers who will reprint your articles with your content and links in tact giving you traffic surges to help you increase your sales. To submit your article, setup a membership account today: http://EzineArticles.com/submit/

First, Define your Bulls Eye

If you’re going to write and post articles on the Internet, be unambiguous about what you expect them to accomplish. Don’t start writing just yet. Think beyond the mechanics of writing an article or deciding where to post it.

It’s one thing to spin out an article or two. It’s quite another to incorporate them into a strategy that builds your website traffic, reputation, and business. All your marketing methods should work together - online and off.

Your Strategy Clarifies:

• Who you’re trying to reach
• How to find them
• What you want them to do next (does your website support that aim?)
• Your primary goal and message
• How articles (with particular titles and keywords) mesh with your other marketing

Article marketing is nothing more than a way to get information (not advertising) broadly distributed on the Internet. It can’t compensate for a muddled or dull message. And it won’t build your site traffic unless it connects to readers in an interesting way.

Write Articles that Trumpet a Unique Business Message

A frequent business error is treating each customer-attracting activity as though it stands alone. Yet each method works better when echoing a common message that links to the others.

To quote Roy Williams, the Wizard of Ads, http://www.wizardofads.com “It’s hard to tell a powerful story badly. But it’s easy to tell a weak story well. I’ve never seen a business fail because they were “reaching the wrong people.” But I’ve seen thousands fail because they were saying the wrong thing… It’s amazing how many people become the “right people” when you’re saying the right thing. Believe it or not, it’s advertising third, customer delight second, strategy always first.”

Maximize your Customer-Attracting Methods

Last year I wrote an ebook showing how to make the business website and Yellow Page ad work together to bring new customers. It made the point that each promotional method has its own strengths, and reaches different groups http://www.yellowpagesage.com/smarts.html By them working together, each approach does a more persuasive job.

As an example, the directory ad should display a website address. A recent study found that over 60% of people surveyed only call Yellow Page ads that show a website (even if they don’t intend to visit it). Besides, the website lets the business provide information that won’t fit within the dimensions of an ad.

A single approach can’t cover all your bases. The same applies to article marketing.

• Article Marketing Strengths
• Ability to deliver an interesting “sample” of your expertise
• Long enough to be informative (600-800 words)
• Reaches and speaks to tightly focused interest groups
• Quickly delivers the message throughout the Internet
• Long shelf life - some websites keep articles posted for years
• Builds on the keywords that your website uses
• Incoming-links from websites that post your articles
• Plan More than One Article at a Time

You can’t develop much momentum with one article. That’s like shooting a gun with a single bullet, or a PPC (pay-per-click) campaign for just one term. The odds of hitting your mark aren’t too good. Several articles written to reinforce each other generate more mileage. As you get more articles out there, people start paying attention, and you can target more keywords. Repeated publications develop a personality that readers recognize.

Plan a number of titles in advance, with a theme building from one to the next. Keep each one tightly focused, but related to the others. In that way, you develop the in-depth “voice” of an expert. And your information won’t lapse into ho-hum generalities. Write first-rate articles when you rely on the extensive free resources http://www.promotewitharticles.com at Article Marketing Academy.

Try writing some in a series (like, Part 1 of 3 parts) to build anticipation for future segments. Also, your message won’t be confined to the 600 to 800 word article limit. Since each article in the series resides on your website, readers needn’t wait to read them all (giving them an incentive to visit your site). Later, the whole series can be offered as a special report or ebook (once related material is added).

Write with your keywords in mind. Maintain your primary message, with a different twist for parallel niches. Go to the extra effort to say something new. That’s easy when you provide stories, examples, case studies from your own experience. As you dish out practical assistance in your articles, readers will be eagerly watching for your next ones.

© Lynella Grant

Part 2 includes posting articles, writing to please the search engines, and ways to re-use articles. Part 2 of 2, http://www.promotewitharticles.com/strategy102.html

Dr. Lynella Grant http://www.promotewitharticles.com - Article Marketing Academy - Promote yourself, business, website, or book with articles posted online. Author, Yellow Page Smarts, http://www.yellowpagesage.com/smarts.html (719) 395-9450

Many online marketers have crowed about the value of writing and publishing articles for branding and credibility. A few have mentioned the effects articles can have on the links to your site and therefore your search engine rankings.

None of them, however, have made a distinction between what I see as the two article marketing methods. In this article we’ll look at both “the fast way” and “the thorough way” of article marketing as well as something crucial that no other article I’ve read includes - a complete list of the 82 article directory submission sites that pass PR.

The fast way focuses solely on link building and should get you a decent number of links to your site - I estimate at least 12 per article - in a relatively short period of time - about three and a half hours for writing and submitting to directories plus a month of waiting for the next update.

The thorough way focuses on understanding your industry’s media as a whole and establishing relationships with the key players there. Getting your article published in the right place will not only give you a great link from a high PR site - it can give you a level of perceived expertise and credibility that can increase your company’s sales in short order.

The thorough way is a long process though and requires a significant amount of time up front. Whether or not it’s worth it really depends on the quality of the publications that cover your industry and the amount of time you have to spend.

There are also ways to add some “thorough” tactics to the fast way, which I’ll cover at the end of the article.

For those who have articles written already here’s a list of 12 PR passing general directories that accept any type of article and here’s a list of all 82 PR passing article directories I’ve found so far. Disclaimer: I have not submitted to these directories yet. In a later article I’ll publish more info about each one.

Article Marketing The Fast Way (Linking Oriented):

a) Write an informational and helpful 250 word article that you think will appeal to your audience.

b) Submit this article to these 11 general interest article directories.

c) Repeat

The key of article marketing is the link you get back to your site in your author bio. If you have more useful information that relates to your article on your site then you can link back there too.

Do use the keywords you’d most like to rank for in the text links to your site, where text links are an option. (Scroll down to this guy’s author bio in Jorbins for an example of link text in bio.)

Since this is a linking initiative don’t worry about optimizing the article as a whole. Just write naturally and solve your audience’s problems, preferably in ten easy steps.

If you service the small business or B2B industry then consider writing a business advice article as the majority of directories out there relate to this sort of content. If you sell concrete mixers though is it worth it to have links from 40 different marketing sites from your “concrete mixer’s guide to better marketing” article?

If you’re having trouble coming up with article ideas then check out my guide to article writing or send an email to GFrench at gmail.com.

Article Marketing The Thorough Way (Branding and Linking Oriented):

a) Research the online publishers (includes directories, email newsletters, informational websites and blogs) of your industry’s media.

b) Discern how your specific industry knowledge fits with each publication’s apparent editorial agenda (should you write an article or present yourself as an expert for answering reader questions?)

c) Pick the top site you’d like to write for and make sure they accept freelance and that when they do they provide PR-passing links (if their article pages show a gray bar in Google’s PR tool then don’t fool with them).

d) Check out the publication’s existing and current articles and see what’s missing. In other words, how can you make a valuable contribution to your industry’s knowledge base?

c) Query your top site’s editor with your suggestion for an article (PR whiz Pete Larmey suggests crafting and sending a 2 sentence summary before sending the whole article) and negotiate whether or not/how long this publication has exclusive rights. Don’t go exclusive for more than a week or two unless this is a major publication and you really think it’s valuable.

e) Write the article and submit. Edit as needed/directed.

f) Give your publisher the agreed upon exclusivity and then begin submitting your article to other publishers who don’t care so much about first publish rights.

g) Finally, submit to the relevant article directories, as well as these general article submission directories.

Building Some Thorough Method Elements Into The Fast Way

If you’re interested mostly in links but wouldn’t mind trying to build a little brand then here are a few things you can do that may help your industry credibility.

a) Mention in your author bio or article that you answer questions by email… so long as you can publish the discussion in another article. This will help you begin to develop a relationship with your readers.

b) Mention in your author bio that you welcome suggestions from editors for article requests. This will help you to begin establishing editorial relationships, which can turn into further opportunities for you to help readers, build credibility and boost sales.

c) More research: spend more time looking around and seeing what’s out there in regards to current articles. This will ensure that you’re writing something likely to get published by ezines and websites, and linked to from blogs. I wrote this article without querying editors. I did, however, research the existing article marketing articles. I also know that the majority of those article directories out there accept marketing-related articles and so will be able to build lots of links to my article marketing site.

Want to build links to your site and enhance your brand? Send article marketing questions to GFrench@gmail.com for free article marketing brainstorm, including article topic suggestions and key industry media identification. Garrett French is a search engine marketing copy writer for Websourced and conducts branding and link building research on his article marketing blog. If you wish to publish this article, please retain all links.

Online readers love information, but be sure your information is crisp, clean, clear and concise. Internet writing is different from print.

1. Keep your paragraphs short, even a line or two. Online readers will ignore long batches of words in long paragraphs, whether in an ezine or at a web site. That costs the author a lot of book sales. Respect readers who want material short and sweet.

2. Write tips in consistent format. First, use the command form of a verb. Follow it by the cost of not doing it, or benefits from doing it. End with a positive comment. Use this three or four-sentence formula to bring the curious to you. One tip I sent out in 2004 landed me an offer from a large print magazine to write a longer article on the same topic.

3. Make your heading compelling. If you haven’t tested it on associates, or haven’t edited it at least three times, it may say “lackluster.” People will delete it or click on to something new. Which one will you read? ” Write an Article,” or “Sell More Books by Writing a Short Article”?

4. Get to the point quickly-in the title and the first line. Keep your introduction down to a few sentences.

5. Tell your readers what you want them to do. They are waiting for your magic formula to make them richer, healthier, or enjoy great relationships. Use numbered points for this if possible. Make your copy strong, clear, and direct.

6. Target your article to your preferred audience. Not everyone will want your information, so include your audience in the title or introduction. When you focus your information, you write more compelling, focused copy that your readers will love. They will reward you by clicking to where your book is sold in your signature file.

7. Reduce superfluous words such as adjectives and adverbs like “ly.” Allow only 2-4% passive verbs. Because of a lack of effort, novices ruin their work with sentences full of “is” and “was” linking verbs. Use strong verbs instead, by starting more sentences with a subject, followed by a verb and object. Neither books, nor articles will sell with these “slugs.”

8. Focus on your readers’ needs and wants. Keep the “I” out of your copy unless you are telling a success story. If you do use “I” consider couching it like this: “If you are like me, you?. Remember to give what’s in it for your readers.

9. Contact an editing buddy who is above average at writing. It’s best to get a bookcoach or professional Internet editor to give your first 3-4 efforts some feedback, so you are on the right track-and will get published. Online sites and ePublishers will not publish your article if it isn’t well organized; reader centered, easy-to read and doesn’t offer something new.

10. Include a powerful signature file that will attract other publishers and web masters to your other articles listed on your web site. Once they start posting you, your message will be seen by your targeted audience who want your service or book information. Include the basics of name, benefit of book or business, free offer such as an ezine or report, your web, email address, and a local and toll-fre.e number.

Keep these ten tips in mind, so that your Internet article will bring potential book buyers to you, your service, your Web site, and your products.

Judy Cullins, 20-year Book and Internet Marketing Coach works with small business people who want to make a difference in people’s lives, build their credibility and clients, and make a consistent life-long income. Author of 10 eBooks including “Write your eBook Fast,” “The Fast and Cheap Way to Explode Targeted Web Traffic,” and “Create your Web Site With Marketing Pizzazz,” she offers free help through her 2 monthly ezines, “The Book Coach Says…” and “Business Tip of the Month” at http://www.bookcoaching.com/opt-in.shtml and over 165 free articles. Email her at mailto:Judy@bookcoaching.com.