The Basics Of Article Marketing

Posted by Nick Niesen on November 1st, 2010

Writing articles is a very good way to promote the product or service you sell from your website. By writing an article about your product or service, you can stress the benefits of using your product and any extra value they provide their users. These types of articles can also help your potential customers properly evaluate your product or service, to determine if it suits their particular needs.

Using articles to promote your product or service can also help drive traffic to your website, establish you as an expert in a particular field and build your online credibility. If you do a search of the internet for article directories, you will see just how popular this form of advertising has become.

Everybody who is anybody in online marketing knows the power of this type of advertising. So if you want to enjoy any type of success in online marketing you will need to take full advantage of this powerful free marketing tool.

Because these types of articles are displayed in article directories that are indexed by the search engines regularly, you will need to write your articles properly in order to reap the full benefits of this type of advertising.

Title: The title of your article is very important. First it should attract potential readers and draw them to click on it and read your article. You should use your article?s major keywords in the title if at all possible. This will help it get better search engine rankings and drive more traffic to your website.

Keywords: To achieve a top search engine ranking and stay there you need to use the right keywords. Keyword enriched articles will help you reach the top of any of the major search engines. So before writing your article think of the keywords someone would use to find the product or service your promoting and include them in your article.

Word Count: The size of your article is also very important. Most article directories have specified a minimum and maximum word count for articles submitted to them. In most cases the minimum is 400 and maximum is 1500. So always make sure your articles contain a minimum of 400 words in order to avoid submission problems do improper article size.

Spelling Grammar Punctuation: These three areas can make or break your article. The main purpose of your article is to promote your product and establish you as an expert on a given topic. So you need to make sure your articles are written properly. After writing your article check it for both spelling and punctuation errors. After correcting any errors you find, read it again to make sure it flows smoothly and contains words that can be easily understood by almost any reader. It also helps to let someone else proofread your work before submission to insure there are no errors you've missed.

Bolding and italicizing: This is a very important technique used to force the search engines give more preference to particular words contained in the text of your article. Always bold your main keywords in the body of your article. You can also italicize your secondary keywords in order to get them noticed by the search engines too.

Internal and External Hyperlinks: You can create links to your website in the article. It is also wise to incorporate links to other articles you have written that would be helpful to the person reading your article. However, you should not include affiliate links in your article because most article directories frown on this practice.

Next we will be discussing the author resources box located right below the body of your article. Most authors include unnecessary information here in an effort to impress their readers. If you really want your articles to sell, only include information in your resources box that is relevant to the product or service your promoting in your article. Also don't just put a long list of all the websites you own because it will only dilute your credibility.

Here is a list of the essential elements of a properly written author resources box. I will also include some optional elements you can choose to include if you like.

Your Name: You would be amazed by how many people don't include their name in their resources box. Your name and title if applicable should be on the first line of your resources box.

Your Contact Info: Your business address, phone number, email address and any other information that would help your potential customers locate your business if necessary

Your Web Address: The next line should contain your web address in valid URL form.
Your USP: Your USP or unique selling position is 1 to 3 sentences that encapsulate the essence of what makes your offering unique.

Your Call To Action: You warmed them up with your article now its time to lead them to buy from you or visit your website. Your call to action is where you ask for the sale.

Here is the list the list of optional elements you might want include in your author resources box.

A Newsletter Subscription address: Getting your potential customers to visit your website is very important. But capturing their email address is even more important to you. If you can get your potential customers to provide you their contact information, it will provide an opportunity to build an ongoing relationship with them based on your expertise in your chosen field.

A Free Report: Providing a link to a free report you have written that provides more information the topic of your article is also a very powerful tool you can use to convert visitors into paying customers.

An Anchor URL: If you want to build search engine relevance for a keyword or phrase you target in your article. Link that keyword or phrase to your website in your resources box. But be careful not to over do it.

Now that you know what you should include in your resources box and some options that will help your article sell better. Let?s look at what you shouldn't include because it will only dilute your credibility with your potential customers.

A List Of Every Website You Own: The quickest way to dilute your credibility with potential customers is by providing them with a long list of irrelevant URLs. If the site is not relevant to the topic of your article don't include it. A good rule of thumb is to include only one URL that is related to the topic of your article.

A list Of All Your Accomplishments: Your readers aren't as concerned with your accomplishments as they are your ability to provide them with highly competent information on the subject matter contained in your article.

Advertisements: You should not include ads or pitches for products that aren't relevant to the topic of your article. It is also wise to limit the number of relevant offers to the bare minimum.

Now that you know the basics of article marketing you should put this powerful marketing tool to work for your business today. Choose a product or service you offer and write an article about it and submit it to several article directories. By doing so you will start to build a reputation as an expert in your field and make more sales due to the increase in traffic your website receives from your article.