Articles on your web site are looked
 upon
favourably by web visitors because articles are seen as informational, not just
sales oriented.
And your articles can even work harder for you by being
published on 100?s of other busy web sites to build your traffic and reach a
much wider target audience.
Setting up an article marketing program as part of your
Internet marketing program has the following benefits:
?
You position yourself as an expert and valuable resource for your
readers.
?
You reach new audiences, benefiting from the marketing work of
100s of other sites.
?
Traffic from other busy sites will come to your web site.
?
Your search engine ranking may improve since many search engines
prefer content rich sites with lots of inbound links.
?
Print magazines may pick up your articles. This happened to my
client, Johanne Yakula of
From Times Past. Her web site articles on antiques and decorating were
picked up by a print magazine on the other side of the country after they
visited her site and loved her articles.
?
Providing ?how-to? articles can result in increased sales of your
product or service because visitors understand better how to use them.
?
Your affiliates can use your articles as content on their own
sites and in their own newsletters, helping both you and them.
Here are some steps to setting up an article marketing
program:
- Pick a target audience to write for.
- Understand their needs.
- Write articles to appeal to your target audience. Keep
them short, usually 300 to 1,000 words long. Include a short paragraph (I put
mine at the end) that introduces the author and links to your web site. At the
end of this article, you can see the one I use.
- Publish the articles on your web site. Include a notice
that other sites may use the article in its entirety with the last paragraph
and link intact.
- Publish the articles on article repository sites such as
www.ideamarketers.com.
- Publish articles in discussion groups and online networks
that allow articles such as
Ecademy.
- Submit articles to e-zines and newsletters that reach
your target market.
I find that the time I spend writing articles is a great
investment because each article works for me far beyond my just posting it on my
web site or sending it in my newsletter.
Even years later, older articles I?ve written still show up
in search engines. By writing articles, I?m never short of content to add to
the online communities I am a member of or to send to prospective clients.
Many of my new clients come to me from articles I?ve
written. What better introduction could I have than an article where I have the
opportunity to help readers and show my expertise?
Garland Coulson, ?The E-Business Tutor?
is an acclaimed speaker, author and coach in the field of Internet marketing for
small business and home business. For more information, visit The E-Business
Tutor web site at
www.ebusinesstutor.com or call toll-free in North America at 1-866-413-0951.
Last Updated Sunday, December 26 2004 @ 02:01 PM CST 
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