Article Marketers: How Do You Systemize Article Marketing?

[Lance Johnson]

Hey Guys,

Seems like there's a lot of Article Marketing stuff going around out there. Apparently some people have phenomenal results, and others don't.

Well, I'm not the writing type, so I tend to stay away from article marketing, and realized that I might be neglecting a mondo traffic source by doing that.

But I still don't enjoy writing. And don't know a whole lot about article marketing.

So I'm sending a shout out to all warriors.

What kind of steps do you have to take to get results with article marketing? I'm not talking the "n00bs guide." What are the hardcore steps you'd take to promote your website or an affiliate product with article marketing?

Who knows, maybe we'll hit some gold and we'll be done with Article Marketing questions for a while (jk)

Thanks in advance,
-Lance

[RebeccaL]

If you really hate writing - outsource it. Its just time wasted contemplating doing something, rather than actually doing it.
Its too powerful a method just to ignore.

[Lance Johnson]

Exactamundo Rebecca!

That's just what I plan on doing, but just outsourcing article writing won't do anything, and outsourcing all the article marketing will end up costing a boat load more than a process I could setup a VA with (I think).

So I'm just trying to get a feel for

• What are some characteristics of effective articles?
• What are the top sites to submit to? (I know EZA is up there, but other than that I'm clueless)
• How do you get memberships to those sites, and what should you do to get your stuff approved?
• What kind of bio boxes convert well?
• Is the whole point to get DoFollow backlinks or direct traffic?

Hope that isn't as confusing

-Lance

[dndoseller]

Mechanical Turk for the articles and ArticleMarketer com for distribution. For about 100 US using these tools you can flood the market.

[Benjamin Eddy]

Your a war room member, check out the great post there on article
marketing.

You can find the popular articles through

http://www.ezabulldozer.com

.

Outsourcing is definitely the way to go. You can get a good writer from
the Philippines for about 300 a month.

[pharris1]

Originally Posted by Lance Johnson

Exactamundo Rebecca!

That's just what I plan on doing, but just outsourcing article writing won't do anything, and outsourcing all the article marketing will end up costing a boat load more than a process I could setup a VA with (I think).

So I'm just trying to get a feel for

• What are some characteristics of effective articles?
• What are the top sites to submit to? (I know EZA is up there, but other than that I'm clueless)
• How do you get memberships to those sites, and what should you do to get your stuff approved?
• What kind of bio boxes convert well?
• Is the whole point to get DoFollow backlinks or direct traffic?

Hope that isn't as confusing

-Lance

Hey Lance:

Doesn't sound like you want to do the writing yourself but here's some pointers:

Effective articles - make sure you are delivering quality content that people can use. Answer a question, tell them how to do something, etc. Write the article as if you were talking to a friend. Be sure to use your main keyword phrase in the title, first paragraph, fourth paragraph and resource box.

Sites - I submit to 10 different directories but the ones I get the most traffic from are EZA, GoArticles, ArticleDashboard and Article Alley.

Memberships - just sign up. Be sure to follow their editorial guidelines (i.e. some directories accept affiliate links, some don't, etc).

I use article marketing to drive traffic to my site. I think the key is to provide quality content and submit a ton of articles. The longer you can do this the more consistent your traffic flow will be. Backlinks will develop in time.

Peter

[Lance Johnson]

You know Benjamin, I'd completely forgotten about the whole war room gig.

When I'd gone inactive for a bit was just when the War Room was starting out, so I haven't fully gone through it. After just taking a glance, it seems pretty packed!

Thanks for the resource I was missing (right in front of my nose!).

Does the english from a non-native speaker cause problems with article acceptance?

Thanks,

-Lance

[kendrickyi]

Originally Posted by Lance Johnson

Does the english from a non-native speaker cause problems with article acceptance?

Thanks,

-Lance

lol i guess as long as the grammar and spelling is fine it doesnt matter whether you are a native eng speaker or not.

and even if the writer is a native eng speaker, you should proof read the article once it is done just to make sure that there arent any typo errors (even the best of us humans make mistakes sometimes)

[LilBlackDress]

Short easy to read articles.

Quality content but leave a little something out - to be found at your website

Keyword rich content within the boundaries of the article directories.

Good titles that are compellng and include the keyword at the start where possible

Break up the content.

Resource box that continues the article ie "Now that you have done blah blah why not do blah blah visit....."

I often try to use my full hyperlink in articles also in case the link gets stripped out.

[edmltw]

A good keyword-tized title (first step)

Summary just put in the the first 2~3 phrases of the article. (make sure there is at least a keyword inside there...

Content-wise:

At least 300 words, keyword density around 1~1.6%(safe side), Every three lines input in a break. Let the content flow from 1 to 2 to 3. Near the conclusion put in two or three lines that will do a "quick pre-sell" to the readers to click on your links below

Resource box:

An anchor tag with your keyword to your site. And a "click here" tag. Try to offer a freebie, that raises conversion rate around 10~15%.

Hope that helps!

Edmund

[freudianslip27]

Here's a piece of advice, don't just get someone to write the articles for you, have them submit them for you to. Many experienced writers are happy to include that as well. This can make it almost completely hands-off for you.

Also, make sure you track your stats carefully, and build upon what's working and cut out what's not.

Matt

[Lance Johnson]

@kendricki Very good point to bring up! Humans will be humans, and we'll all make mistakes.

@LilBlackDress Hadn't thought of the "hook" element of leaving just a little bit out... I'm guessing would seriously help CTR.

@Edmund Thanks for the template! That's going to come in handy.

@Matt, you're getting to the heart of what I'm really after. I'm not looking for just someone to write the articles, but also submit them. The thing is I just need to be able to tell them what to do and how to do it clearly and concisely.

How do you track article stats on a 3rd party's website? I get that you can track the link so you'd know which article sources are converting, but what about CTR on the article. How do you track individual article views? That'd be extremely useful information.

Thanks for all the feedback everyone!

-Lance