Making Money With Article Marketing - An Unwritten Rule
If you want to make money online, you will probably have tried your hand at article marketing. Whether or not you think of yourself as a writer, this is one of the simplest and most effective forms of internet marketing. The basic formula is very simple: just write an article on your subject area, add a hyperlink to your site, and submit to article directories.
But there is one thing you must do before you start writing, and it is easily overlooked. If you do not take a few moments to consider how your article fits in to your overall marketing strategy, you could be wasting your time. And time is money in article marketing!
The first thing to consider is why you are writing your article - from two very different points of view. Firstly, what is the article’s main point for the reader? And secondly, how is it going to make you money?
Maybe from your point of view, your only reason for writing an article is to make money. But if you do not appear to have any motivation that helps or informs the reader, they will be turned right off. The benefit to the reader must be very clear, and your make-money motives should be well hidden.
So keep in mind that the main reason for writing an article is always to inform or assist the reader. Nobody should have to guess what they are being helped with - this should not be hidden at all!
While you do not want to give away too much information, you should have at least one clear and useful point to make in your article. Preferably this will be something that most readers will not have heard or thought about before. This way they will feel that the time they spent reading your article has been worthwhile, and they are very likely to click through to your website for more.
Keep in mind that there are some article writers submitting to directories who have no money-making motive at all. They simply want to put across their point of view. This applies particularly to people writing about subjects they strongly believe in, such as religion or politics. So imagine how you would write your article if you had nothing to sell. Then simply add a link to your site at the end.
However, do not try to stuff your article with all the information you can think of. This only confuses the reader. One point is enough if you can develop it well; three points is certainly all that you would need. Remember that the aim is to leave the reader wanting more.
Meanwhile, your hidden reason for writing the article will be in the back of your mind. This may be branding (building awareness of you as an authority on the subject, e.g. through a blog), lead generation (sending readers to a squeeze page), or, if the article is very closely related to your product, direct selling where your resource box links to a sales page.
So before you go ahead and submit your article, take a moment to think about whether it serves its dual purpose in the best possible way. Does it give readers what they want, but still leave them wanting more? And does it link to the most effective kind of page on your site - squeeze page, sales letter or a blog?
Rosie Cottis on September 8th 2008 in Business