The Marketing Message Blog

Is Article Marketing Hard To Do? Part 2

In case you missed Part 1, the checklist and mind map are here

Step 3—After you’ve decided what purpose the article will serve, you need to look at your “action information."  Those are your keywords, resource box and article length. 

Determine:

-Which keywords am I promoting?

-How long should the article be? —No less than 400 for most newsletters

-What should I put in my resource box—your name and company name; website address; and blog address; the call to action that relates to the purpose of this article. So if it’s lead generation for a specific product, you need to have the call to action say something like—

"Email us today to get a discount coupon for our new line of audio speakers"

Step 4—What type of article will serve my purpose best?  Five common ones are: Tip lists; Question and answer format; Problem and solution; Industry trend; Research article

Step 5. —Submit your article

Use an article submission company so you spend the time writing and working on your business. 

And don't forget!

Repurpose the content you alredy have:

-Create a mind map outlining the content on your website and see which topics lend themselves to articles

-Take your white papers and rewrite them as a consumer article

-Take the questions your customers ask you and turn them into an article

-Take the questions you find in forums and use them in an article

-Poll your customers and ask them what business problem they struggle with and use that

-Start to blog and use a blog post as a jumping off point for an article

Technorati tags: article+writing article+marketing internet+marketing articles search+engine+optimization web+traffic

Is Article Marketing Hard To Do?

Do you find article marketing hard to do? If so, here's a five step process that will help you write plenty of articles.  It helps you approach article marketing in a mechanical way so you won’t have to suffer the anxiety of writer’s block.  First, I created a worksheet that lets you figure out what kind of article to write and then how to match your business purpose to it.  This way you’re not staring at a blank screen wondering what to do. To help you follow the process I also created a mind map. If you want the checklist and mind map click here 

Then follow these steps:

Step 1—Start by focusing on how to think about article marketing

Understand that article writing is marketing; not writing-- it has to serve a business purpose.  It’s not the great American novel.  Don't worry about all the things you fear about writing. Remember, you are writing these articles for a reason.  Focusing on the business purpose should help you get over your fear.

Step Two—Decide which of the three main business purposes you are focusing on

a-Branding-To promote the company’s image and expertise

b-Lead Generation-To demonstrate that you have the knowledge to solve a particular problem

c-Improved search engine ranking and increased site traffic-The key here is not the article you write but the amount of articles you write.  5-10 articles isn’t enough.  Article marketing takes time so you can’t be discouraged.

Check back tomorrow for steps 3-5.

Technorati tags: article+writing article+marketing internet+marketing articles search+engine+optimization web+traffic