All Entries Tagged With: "marketing"

Do You Twitter? Follow Me.

If you are a Twitter user then you might be interested to know that I now have my own Twitter account. Follow me.

Here’s a quick way to promote your articles on Twitter. Write the article and distribute it to your favorite article directories the way you do now. Then, in 140 characters or less (because that’s all you have on Twitter), promote it. All you have to say is something like this:

Cool article: (copy/paste permalink here).

If your permalink is so long that your message goes over 140 characters then you’ll have to shorten the message. I’ve gone so far as to simply say

Nice.

then listed the URL. That’s OK.

Twitter will automatically turn long URLs into short URLs. TinyURLs to be exact. But your message still needs to be 140 characters or less even with the long version of your URL.

I’m learning that Twitter is a cool promo tool. Of course, I’m just getting started. More Twitter tips (Twips?) are on the way.

An Article Distribution Tip I Highly Recommend

For every article you distribute I recommend having a list of your favorite article directories on hand and target those directories first. For instance, if your niche is gardening then try to find an article directory that focusing on gardening articles. You can also add a general and popular directory like EzineArticles to your list. Choose 5 or 10 good directories that are perfect for your kind of article and distribute your article to those directories first.

After that, send your article through iSnare for a wider distribution. iSnare will send your article out to thousands of websites and directories at once. Of course, many of those sites will reject your article because it won’t fit into their niche. That’s OK. There will be some that will take your article and that just gives you more coverage online and distribute your article in places you might not have thought of.

The reason you want to send your article to your favorite directories first is because if iSnare sends your article first and your favorite directories accept it then the directories will place your article in a file categorized for all iSnare articles. It won’t go into your own profile. While it will have your name and author resource box attached, you won’t be able to track any results from the article whereas if you submit the article yourself to the directories then you can log into your account and view how many people have clicked the links in your resource box, how many publishers have published the article, etc. You have greater visibility on your article that way.

By distributing your article in two waves this way you can take advantage of tracking capabilities and see your article get a wider distribution. You have the best of both worlds.

Do Your Articles Build Rapport?

Article marketing is one of the most effective online marketing tools available. But to do it effectively you’ve got to build rapport with your readers. Are you doing that?

Article marketers have been preaching the message of rapport building for years. But how do you do it? I recommend doing these three things to effectively build rapport with your target audience through articles:

• Write conversationally – Don’t be stuffy. Too many people think that if you use fancy words enough and write “with authority” then people will respect you more. You’ll do better with article marketing if you speak to people just like you were at a back yard barbecue. Be conversational, not stuffy.
• Be authoritative – It may sound like I’m contradicting myself, but you can be authoritative without trying to sound authoritative. Don’t put on airs. Just be yourself and write as if you really understand your topic. If you do then your audience will know that it is genuine and you’ll gain more respect.
• Be empathetic – Let your readers know that you care about and relate to their problems. They will trust you more if they feel like you’ve been there with them. Write as if you understand their problems and offer a practical solution based on experience. That’s what they really want.

These are the three most important rapport-building principles I can offer you. Take these and run with them. Let me know how it turns out.

Give Your Articles Away For Free

One strategy that some Internet marketers have found to be successful is to package their articles into an e-book or free report and to give it away on their website for free. There are several reasons why you might want to do this:

• You want to encourage people to subscribe to your newsletter or e-zine
• You want to capture e-mail addresses for future marketing efforts
• You want to build trust and credibility for your brand
• As an effort of good will and to keep your marketing in front of their eyes when they leave your site
• You’re nice guy/gal and it just feels good

No matter how you look at it, giving away your articles for free is a good way to build trust, credibility, and good will. And it keeps people coming back to your website because they want more.

Article Writing Style: The Key To Success

One of the most important, and most overlooked, aspects of article writing is writing style. Writing style is important because it helps establish you as the expert and build credibility. If people do not trust what you have to say then you likely will not get much traffic to your website. It’s important to win their trust and gain credibility.

The most important thing about a successful writing style is to write in a conversational way that brings out your personality. When people see you as a real person they will trust you more. They don’t want to be battered with incessant marketing messages online. They want to read and learn and that’s what article marketing is based on.

If you’re one of those people who doesn’t like to write or you’re not confident of your writing ability then a ghostwriter can help. We can help you achieve the right writing style for your business.