Article Writing Blog

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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

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.