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How to Use Articles as an Internet Marketing Tool

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Why Use Articles as Your Internet Marketing Tool

 

Writing articles is a great internet marketing technique.

Most people use the internet to search for information on many different things such as news, business, health, and personal development just to name a few. The list is unending as new discoveries are added each day.

Even those who go online for entertainment like playing games, listening to music or watching videos are engaged in looking for information such as what games are available to play, the best sites to listen to or download music, and what cool new videos have been added in the last few days.

So, basically the way it works is that people who have information share it with others on the internet either for free or for a fee. Reading articles is one of the best ways to get information for free. But if you write articles and let others read them for free, how do you make money? That's a good question, and you'll learn the asnwer as you continue reading :)

Write articles to establish yourself as an authority 

Write articles that relate to the product or service you want to market on the internet

One of the most common questions is what should I write about? The most obvious answer is that you should write articles about the product or service that you're promoting on the internet. That way you give your potential customers a preview of what you're selling. Another term for it that's commonly used in the internet marketing world is pre-sell.

Just remember that you don't want to give out too much information about what you're marketing in your articles. Otherwise, why would anyone spend extra money on information that they already got for free? However, you need to give enough valuable information in your articles so that your readers want more.

Since you'll want to write more than one article pertaining to your product or service, you should think of other things you can write which are still relevant to what you're marketing on the internet. Writing an article that's completely irrelevant would not be very effective.

For example, if your product is about golfing, you can write articles about golf balls, golf clubs, or how to improve your golfing techniques. However, you should not write an article about how to make the best barbecue chicken. Save that one for another product or service related to cooking.

Once you have written several articles on one particular topic (e.g. golfing), people will regard you as an authority on that subject. This is important so that you will gain their trust, and they will be willing to spend money on additional information or service you provide or promote.

Write articles to help create your product or service 

This is sort of reversing the technique. In the previous case you already have a product or service in mind and you use article marketing to promote whatever you're trying to sell online.

In case you don't already know what to sell, you can first as yourself a few questions such as

  • What are you knowledgable about? This can relate to your current or previous job or profession, the type of education or training you have gone through, or certain skills that you have.


  • What are your interests or hobbies? There's nothing better than creating a product or service to market on the internet based on something that you have a strong interest in. That way everything will always be fun instead of a drudgery. This is essential because you don't want your internet marketing business to be like another job that you do just because you need the money.


  • What interesting event did you recently attend? Was it a concert by your favorite musician or band? Was it an inspiring personal development seminar? What did you learn? How can you share your experience with others and help enhance their lives?

I could go on and on but you get the idea. After you jot down the answers to the above questions, write a few articles about them and see which ones you like most or better yet, submit them to the article directories (more on this later) and see which ones are the most popular, and then create your product or service based on that.

What if you're not good at writing or simply just don't want to write articles? 

Get someone else (a ghost writer) to write articles for you

Writing articles may not be for everyone. Some just don't enjoy it or find it difficult or time consuming to get their ideas written down. I used to be that way myself but have gotten better as I wrote more and more articles. Don't despair. There are at least a couple of ways you can submit articles with your name on them even if you didn't write them yourself!

Your first option would be to hire a ghost writer. They would write articles for you which you can claim as your own, attach your name to them, and do whatever you like with them such as using them as an effective internet marketing tool ( e.g. submitting them to article directories or posting them to your blog). A good place to find people to write articles for you is Elance.com

Your second option would be to get private lable rights (PLR) articles. These are also articles written by ghost writers but they're distributed to many other people besides yourself usually through a paid membership site or given away by internet marketers as an incentive or bonus for joining their list or purchasing their product. There are web sites where you can get free PLR articles. Just do a search. However, the quality of those articles may not be very good. You get what you pay for.

One thing you need to remember is that these PLR articles are not unique since a lot of people have the same ones. If you want to submit them to article directories and use them as internet marketing tools, you need to change them quite a bit. In fact, you should completely re-write them to make them unique. Well, at least it will be easier than starting from scratch since you already have the basic idea.

If you want to join a PLR article membership, I strongly recommend Article Underground. You get 400 PLR articles per month on various topics. But that's just the beginning. There's tons of training material to help you establish and grow your internet marketing business, great tools to promote your web site including numerous high quality blogs you can post to, and a fantastic forum where you can seek help and support with article marketing as well as other things related to running an online business.

So, check out Article Underground right now!

Where to submit your articles 

There are lots and lots of article directories where you can submit your articles. Following are a few of my favorites. Fell free to add yours to the list and share them with others.

Ezine Articles

One of the best, if not THE best. Recommended by m more...2 points

Article Dashboard Directory

Currently has a Google page rank of 61 point

GoArticles.com

I heard Yahoo loves this article directory.1 point

Free Article Directory: Find Articles, Submit Articles - ArticleSphere.com

Article search engine directory for writers and au more...1 point

Free Website Content Articles - Free Article Publishing & Syndication, Expert Articles, RSS Feeds - Adzines.com

Submit your article for publishing on our free ser more...1 point

Health Articles

Weight control is a very important part of overall more...1 point

Artipot Article Directory

Free reprint articles for your ezine, newsletters more...1 point

SearchWarp

What I like about this directory is people can com more...0 points

Isnare.com

You have the option to submit your articles to tho more...0 points

Idea Marketers Article Bank

Find free web content, free newspaper articles, fr more...0 points

Article Directory

ArticleSlide.com is Article Directory.Find free bu more...0 points

Writing articles to drive traffic to your site 

At the end of each article you submit to the article directories there is a resource box (create your own if it's not already provided by the directory) where you can tell your reader a little bit about yourself and your product or service, and include a link to your website.

Whoever reads your article can directly click on your link and go to your web site where they can either join your list or purchase whatever you're marketing online.

Most of the article directories are ranked highly by the search engines. So, placing your link on their sites is very valuable in terms search engine optimization (SEO). Besides, when other people use your articles on their web sites, that gives you additional incoming links (through your resource box) which is what the search engines love. That way you will eventually get plenty of free search engine traffic to your site.

Now you can see why writing articles can indeed be a great internet marketing tool. Start writing those articles!

One last word 

The secret to long term success

To be successful in internet marketing you need to have the right tools (like writing articles). However, there is something else you need to know that is just as essential (if not more) than having the right tools and knowing the best techniques and strategies.

I recently discovered this secret to being successful making money online (or offline for that matter) and become financially free, and I want to share it with you. For a limited time I have arranged for you to get a FREE MP3 and CD worth $47. There's no strings attached. Just click on the link below and learn the secret now:

My Million Dollar Key To Success

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Joan4

Great information! and a reminder to get busy on those articles!

Posted September 01, 2008

NancyOram

I think this information is worth 5 stars. Good info.

Posted August 07, 2008

mulberry

True, very true. Nice job on this lens!

Posted June 28, 2008

SteveMarketer

Great tips, help, and content. I'm rushing off to write the BBQ chicken idea!

Posted June 06, 2008

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aidenw

About aidenw

My name is Aiden. I'm fun loving and free spirited. I love life and celebrate it everyday. I enjoy internet marketing since it allows me to work from home, set my own schedule, and do the things love.

I recently discovered one essential thing you need to know in order to be successful in making money online (or offline, for that matter). Get The Million Dollar Key before you read another ebook or try another money making program. It's FREE with no strings attached.

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