All Entries Tagged With: "writing"

Article Marketing Secret: Who Is Your Target Market?

Many people question as to what topic they should choose to write their articles… Fortunately, the short answer is simple… Write articles that appeal to your target market. But what does that mean exactly?

I always pose this set of three questions, when I am talking to clients about what they should write about:

1. What do you sell?
2. Who is most likely to buy what you are selling?
3. How can you “answer a question” or “solve a problem” to help those people who are likely to buy what you are selling?

What Do You Sell?

Maybe you sell widgets, cell phones, car parts, or marketing services… It does not matter what you sell… There will always be a topic that you can write your articles about.

Do keep in mind that the point of article marketing is not to directly sell your products, but rather to educate, inform, or entertain your reading audience. So long as you stick to the idea of educating, informing, or entertaining your readers, you will never have a shortage of people who want to read the articles you write.

However, if you keep your focus on trying to overtly sell your products or services in your “article” copy, then it will be difficult to find publishers who WANT to publish what you have written.

This is important to note, in that publishers NEED content, but publishers tend to be very picky about the content that they want to share with their readers. In order for a publisher to become or remain profitable, he or she must always serve the desires of his or her readers. And readers do not want to be sold to, preached to, or criticized. Instead, readers want to improve their lot in this life and solve the problems that they face.

If you keep the needs of the publisher foremost in your mind, and the wants of the reader, then article marketing is a great tool that can help you to earn thousands of dollars.

If you lose focus of what publishers and readers want, then all you can hope for is a few links from your articles, from a few websites that very few people visit or read.

Who Is Most Likely To Buy What You Are Selling?

Just because you sell cars does not mean that anyone who has a drivers’ license is in your target market. Let us put this statement in perspective.

• If you sell $2000 cars, most of the people in your target market are the poor – including those in poverty and students.
• If you sell $10,000 cars, your market is mostly families in middle-class America. Occasionally, you will find the college kid coming to your store to buy a car for college, and sometimes you will see a bunch of tire kickers who can only pray to get financed.
• If you sell brand new cars, your target market will again differ by what kinds of vehicles you sell. A Cadillac-buyer is different from the SUV-buyer and the economy-car buyer.

There is not a car dealership anywhere in the world that tries to target its advertising to everybody with a pulse and a drivers’ license. It just does not happen. Either the dealership talks about its available cars and the benefits of owning a specific car, or the dealership points out that they can finance anyone.

Once you understand who is most likely to buy what you are selling, then figuring out what to write about has been made much easier.

Help Your Readers Solve A Problem

Before you start writing your article, you should try to get into the heads of the people most likely to buy what are selling. Those people as a general rule have common problems for which they seek solutions.

One way to get a handle on what those problems might be is to review the email correspondence and phone calls you have taken from your clients. If you read that email all at the same time, certain questions will be asked over and again. In fact, you might even have a FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) page on your website that you can reference at this point in the brainstorming session.

Your email and phone correspondence and the FAQ page on your website can lead you to a better understanding of the kinds of questions your customers are always needing to be answered for them.

Once you have achieved the understanding of what problems your customers seek to have solved for them, then you have to come to the magic formula for writing articles that find wide publication and a large readership.

In your article, present your readers with the questions that people have, and then present answers to the questions and show people how to solve their problems.

In doing so, publishers who have heard the same questions you have heard will be strongly inclined to publish your articles. And when publishers agree to publish your articles, you will be able to reach the publishers’ readers and a huge network of already targeted people who are very likely to buy what you are selling.

Understanding The Mechanics Of Article Marketing

When you write your articles, it is important to remember a few key points while writing the articles. Those key points are:

• The title serves to get your article opened, so it needs to be good.
• The body of the article answers questions and sells readers on your credibility in the marketplace.
• The article should be easy to read, and it should easily carry the reader to your About The Author information at the end of the article.
• Once at your Resource Box (About the Author information), the role of the Resource Box is not to sell your products or services, but to get the reader to visit your website, where the real selling will take place.

Using the formula that I have outlined here, you are sure to find success with your article marketing endeavors.

Sure, I know some people might be thinking that the only reason for article marketing is building links, so all this extra effort would be unnecessary. But let me tell you something that I learn from time-to-time…

Did you know that if you write an article that gets published in a large newsletter that you can in fact earn $10,000 plus in sales from that single article? This is a lesson that I have learned more times than I can count. And to be honest, it is a lesson I like to learn.

Consider this… You can spend a few dollars and very little time to create an article that will generate a few back links, hopefully helping you to rank in the search engines for your target keywords. Or, you can spend a few more dollars and a little more time and create an article that could generate back links for the search engines AND find a wider audience for your article in newsletters – newsletters that could potentially deliver thousands of visitors to your website and generate thousands of dollars in sales in the next couple weeks. Which strategy makes more sense to you?

If you are wondering if I practice what I preach, then read this article again and then see my resource box below. I provide article distribution services to my customers, and my customers frequently ask me what they should write about in their articles and how to best construct those articles to reach a wider audience, and more specifically, their target audience. If I have answered these questions to your satisfaction, then visit my website and let me help you to promote your articles too.

About The Author

Bill Platt has been writing about article marketing and SEO for a number of years. If you have written an article that you feel is good enough to get publication in a major newsletter or website, then you owe it to yourself to use Bill’s article distribution service at http://www.thephantomwriters.com/ If you are interested in learning about coop article marketing, then visit Bill’s newest website: http://www.sponsorarticles.com/

Keep Article Marketing Simple (And, No,
You’re Not Stupid)

Bill Kirkpatrick demonstrates that he understands article marketing basics. You don’t have to write a perfect article every time. As Bill says below, 1 hour a day can produce 2-5 articles each day. Then you can take the time you need to distribute them.

KISS Article Marketing

By Bill Kirkpatrick

“K.I.S.S. Article Marketing” is my way of explaining the “Keep It Simple Stupid” principles of article marketing and how anyone can use them to help get their business or website noticed and how to do this as inexpensively as possible. When you keep things simple you in turn learn how to save time, money, and frustration.

Many people I talk to make article marketing out to be something more complicated than it really needs to be. As with most things in life it’s just not. I mean we are not talking about Brain Surgery here are we? Definitely not!

Article marketing is by far the best free way to deliver your advertising. Writing articles and submitting them to article directories should be a part of every person’s marketing efforts. The biggest problem that people tend to have with writing, however, is not having a logical, simple approach. All too often, they will spend days trying to write that one perfect article.

1. First, you need to have a regular article marketing schedule. Set aside an hour or so of quality writing time each and every day and write at least 1 – 2 articles. Doing this each day for a couple of weeks will give you plenty of articles to begin your campaign.

Imagine how many articles you will have after doing this for one year. Even if you only averaged one article a day that would give you 365 articles providing you traffic to your website.

If you only average 50 clicks per article throughout the course of the year (some producing more some less) that would give you 18,250 FREE CLICKS PER YEAR!! So, spending at least one good quality hour per day writing articles can pay off great dividends in the end.

2. Focus on “How To” information. The best types of articles are those that focus on “How To” information. After you have decided on a niche subject, break it down into smaller parts to make sure you’ve covered everything.

First – State the problem.

Second – Give some information on how to resolve or overcome the issue. Be as precise as you feel is needed.

Third – Be interesting and informative.

3. The Title – make it eye catching and enticing. Make your reader want to check your article out. Nothing could be worse than writing a wonderful article that would help all of your readers, but doesn’t get read because of a boring title.

4. Finally, keep your resource box informative and compelling. Your readers are your customers, as well. You want them to ultimately visit your website because of your article.

In following these “Keep It Simple Stupid” principles of article marketing you will be able to develop a large collection of well written, logical articles for your campaign.

Bill Kirkpatrick assists people with finding the best web host, offering software solutions, and helping with advertising. He always strives to keep things simple. Check out what he can do for.
http://www.advertiseyourbiznow.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Bill_Kirkpatrick

Article marketing is not a magic pill, but it is a great way to market your business. Learn more about article marketing right now.

Five Steps To Writing Great Articles

I love an article that gives good advice – like this one from Deb Allen.

How You Can Write an Article in Five Fast and Simple Steps

By Deb Allen

Article marketing is probably the most widely used form of promotion on the Internet. The reasons are many, including the fact that it can be done for very little or no cost at all. And the results can be amazing; it is possible to see profits from an article years after it has been written.

That is a huge plus because when compared to most other forms of promotion article marketing outshines them in regard to the long-term benefits that can be achieved. Articles can in effect provide a passive income to the Internet marketer.

This knowledge has brought about a resurgence in article marketing popularity. In reality, if you are not using article marketing to promote your services, your products, your website and yourself you are essentially leaving money on the table, and that is money that should be in your bank account.

It really is easy to get started using article marketing. The first thing you must do is learn to write articles, unless of course, you can afford to outsource that task. But for most of us writing the articles ourselves seems to be the quickest and most doable plan of action.

Writing articles is not difficult but there are certain key components that must be remembered. Please look over the list below:

1) Sufficient research
2) Catchy title
3) Great opening paragraph
4) Quality content
5) Effective resource box

If you are writing about a topic that you already know a lot about then little or no research will be needed. But if you are only slightly familiar with the subject matter then research will be the backbone of your article. The secret is to do complete research before you begin writing.

stem that works for you. Then research until you are ready to explode with information. This means that you simply cannot wait to put your thoughts and ideas into article format.

Find a title that uses your keywords. Keywords are the terms that people would use in a search in order to find your subject matter. A good tip is to go into a well known article directory and see which article titles seem to be working well for others. It is not necessary to re-invent the wheel. Find a title that is working for an article and tweak it to make it relevant to your topic; but remember, you should not use a title straight from another article.

Your first paragraph should be an opening to the rest of the article. Use your keywords in this paragraph where they fit in. This paragraph will entice the reader to read the rest of the article. It basically tells the reader what the article is about.

Your content should be informative and entertaining. You must keep the attention of your readers. Again, use your keywords where they fit. Keep in mind that you want to build up a need or want for what you are offering in your resource box. It is a good idea to end with a summary of what you have told the readers in your article.

The final step is your resource box. I suggest that your first sentence in the box reads like a continuation of the article. If you can provide a special offer for the readers you are more likely to get click-throughs to your desired site. Many people offer a free report or ecourse. Some offer a discount on a product or service.

Use your imagination to entice your readers and remember that the goal of the article is to get the readers to click on your link. Through the use of article marketing you will see increased traffic that will result in increased sales. You will also be establishing yourself as an authority in your field.

Get a free report about article writing at: http://www.articlemarketingplus.com

To skyrocket your Article marketing profits visit: http://www.article-marketing-plus.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Deb_Allen

Article marketing has been around a long time. It’s still around because it works. I like Deb Allen’s five-step plan so much I’ll repeat it:

1) Sufficient research
2) Catchy title
3) Great opening paragraph
4) Quality content
5) Effective resource box

All good article marketing begins with good research – keyword research and information research. Do good research and you can write a good article.

A catchy title is necessary to get your audience to read your article. Without that catchy title you can say goodbye to readers.

A great opening paragraph must do two things: Snag the reader’s interest and keep them reading, and use the targeted keyword at least once, preferably twice (once in the opening sentence and once again before the end of the paragraph), so you can gain organic search traffic and get the search engine benefits you deserve for your work.

Quality content means not confusing your reader or watering down your content with unnecessary information or stuffing it with keywords. Make your readers happy and they will read more of your content, visit your site more often, and eventually make a purchase.

An effective resource box is one that drives traffic to your website. Does yours do that?

Article Content Provider has been following these five steps to writing articles since 1995. ACP found Chris McElroy has been doing business online since then. His partner, Allen Taylor – me – has been playing around online since 1995 and has been actively engaged in Internet marketing since 2001. Everything we have done to be successful online has been taught to our article writers. They follow this five-point plan because it works and our article marketing results prove it.

Article Marketing Killers

The following article marketing practices, if you engage in them, can kill your article marketing efforts. Engage in these practices at your own peril:

1. Write articles that are obviously blatant advertising messages. Articles are not to be straightforward advertising articles. If they are, many article directories will reject them out of hand.
2. Include links within the body of your articles. Some directories are OK with this, but most are not. You shouldn’t promote websites within the body of articles, particularly if those sites are yours.
3. Don’t include too many links in your author resource box. You’ll be rejected for sure.
4. Excessive profanity. Profanity, if used, should be very sparingly, but you should probably stay away from it altogether. Some article directories will not publish articles with even light profanity and for most businesses just a little bit is too much. Think family friendly.
5. Trashing the competition. There’s no need to go negative. Trash talk might work in politics, but in business it will just give you a bad reputation.
6. Articles too short. If you go below 300 words, and 400 words for many directories, then you’ll be rejected.
7. Writing too long. Many directories will reject articles if they are too long. 700 words is usually enough, but you should never write more than 1,000 words for an article for mass distribution.
8. Excessive HTML. Some article directories frown on any HTML, but those that do allow HTML in the body of article will only allow so much of it. Don’t go overboard with your HTML.

Article marketing should be about what you know, not getting the sale. You are not offering a sales pitch, you are offering your knowledge. Give it away and they will come. Article marketing builds trust.

Promoting With Articles:
Now That’s One UGLY Website!

Rarely do I ever agree with everything in an article I find at an article directory. But this article is pretty doggone good (and, yes, it IS one ugly website):

Article Writing – Writing Great Content When You Don’t Have Anything to Say

By David Hardin

So, you would love to write great articles, product reports and e-books, but you don’t have anything to say?

Don’t worry about it!

The “talking heads” on TV earn megabucks giving us more news than we can handle and they don’t know anything. They are reading words written on a teleprompter, probably by someone just like you.

So, how do you write an article, report, or product review without really being an expert? Do what reporters do.

• Ask questions.
• Find the answers.
• Write them down.

I am not being silly here. I am dead serious. On any given day, reporters on every newspaper in the world face this same dilemma. They must cover stories on subjects they know nothing about.

They have to:

• gather information,
• separate fact from fiction,
• put the facts of the story into a logical sequence,
• write the article so a sixth grader can understand it,
• submit that article before the deadline,

and do it all over again the next day.

How do they do it?

First year journalism students learn about the 5 Ws”

• Who?
• What?
• Where?
• When?
• Why?

Answer those five questions and you will have written a terrific article, review, or report.

Here is exactly how this applies to your niche market.

Information seekers – and that includes pretty much everyone online, are not looking for eloquence. They are looking for easy to understand answers to their questions. Don’t try to dazzle them with your vocabulary, just talk to them in plain English.

If you are writing to your subscribers, ask them what they want to hear. That may sound obvious, but a lot of marketers seem to have ego problems, or insecurities that will not let them admit that they don’t know everything.

You can ask your subscribers what they want to learn, even if you have a list of thousands. You don’t have to go to each one, individually. Send an e-mail broadcast to some, or all of them, asking for their help.

Another, even better way is to send them a survey. There are several survey programs available including an excellent, FREE one on GOOGLE docs.

Just type in http://docs.google.com . Not only can you ask your subscribers questions, you can analyze the results, just like the big boys do.

Your subscribers will respect you for it. They will appreciate the fact that you are interested in them as real people, not

just names on a list.

Here is what you will probably find…

You will find that about 50% of the people will all be asking the same question. 25% will have another question and 10% will have a third. The remaining 15% will be coming from left field, but will still have some interesting questions.

Now, go to work. Do your homework. Research the top question and respond to your subscribers. Then research and answer the second question and then the third.

By answering your subscribers questions, you will look like a genius. You will build incredible loyalty among your followers.

Then, organize all of those questions and answers and you will have the basis for a lot of good articles and product reports.

Put those articles and reports into PDF format and you will have an e-book entitled “The Answers To Your Top 10 Questions”, that you can sell, or give away.

Everything you write can be recycled this way. You don’t have to start from scratch every time. You can even “steal” from other sources.

Here is how I do it.

I do a lot of Google research. I don’t read every word on every page. If the information looks promising, I highlight, copy and paste it into a word document.

I do this until I think I have enough information to write my article.

Then, I go to the page where all of the clips are stored. I start moving the segments around until they are in a logical order.

Then I rewrite, using my own words. It is easy. Try it, you’ll like it.

Free web design, free audio/video programs and free list building tools are some of the subjects David Hardin covers in his “Write Yourself Rich” program at The Ugly Web Site at http://www.davehardinonline.com Go sign up for his FREE “Not Just A Sales pitch” newsletter.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=David_Hardin

Our ghostwriters employ these same techniques to write articles for our hundreds of clients every day. If you don’t write your own articles then we’d like to write them for you. Find out how to save yourself oodles of time by having a ghostwriter write your articles for that ugly website of yours.