Why You Need an Article-Marketing Strategy before Posting a Single Article Online I

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, 2005

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