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To Ezine or Not To Ezine

by svborgman
30 replies
I've read advice to "write one ezine article a week" at the minimum.

Then, use that article and post it to your email list, submit it to publishers and directories, post to your site for SE spidering, bundle into viral reports and a variety of other things.

Is that outdated advice at this point, or is there a hybrid approach that will help me get the most "bang" for my writing "buck"?
#ezine #ezine articles
  • Profile picture of the author Kalyken
    Banned
    I'm curious to know this as well.
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  • Profile picture of the author AmandaT
    I normally post 2-3 articles to EZA a week. I pick a few out of the ones I have posted to my blog to submit.

    The purpose of posting to EZA is to get those articles syndicated. You want high quality, attention grabbing articles that people will want to repost to their blog. If you aren't writing content for syndication, you are unlikely to get much of anything by posting to EZA.
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  • Profile picture of the author Jerryl
    Yeah, why not get the most bang for your buck? I usually use articles I write as posts, submitted to directories, anything that will help the cause.
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  • Profile picture of the author robp12
    I wrote a few EZine articles for a banklinking strategy, but found that I'd rather spend time writing content for my own sites and concentrating on building relationships..
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    • Profile picture of the author svborgman
      Originally Posted by robp12 View Post

      I wrote a few EZine articles for a banklinking strategy, but found that I'd rather spend time writing content for my own sites and concentrating on building relationships..
      I tend to agree with you. With the new Google algorithm, it seems that my time is better spent providing quality content to my readers and also guest posting on a consistent basis on a few high quality blogs.
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    • Profile picture of the author Mike Putt
      Originally Posted by robp12 View Post

      I wrote a few EZine articles for a banklinking strategy, but found that I'd rather spend time writing content for my own sites and concentrating on building relationships..
      This sounds like a better strategy too me
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      • Profile picture of the author Alexa Smith
        Banned
        I have about 1,600 articles in EZA. I submit one there, most days.

        EZA is the last place I submit them, after publishing them on my own site first, and having them syndicated to a variety of other places first.

        I'm using EZA as an article directory, i.e. putting my content there for further syndication by webmasters and ezine publishers using EZA for its intended purpose of supplying available content for syndication.

        I'd hate my potential customer traffic to find the EZA copy rather than the copy on my own site, obviously: with a 25% click-through rate from EZA, I'm losing 75% of my traffic there!

        And EZA's backlinks (as is true for backlinks in other article directories) are only non-context-relevant PR-0 backlinks, so there's no SEO value there.

        The EZA copies of my article are there for people searching inside EZA to find (publishers, in other words), not for people searching inside Google. Fortunately, Google 2011 algorithm changes have made it very much harder for article directory copies to rank at all, which (as so many of us have been saying for so many months now) was a huge advantage to article marketers, because it makes it easier for us to rank our own site, and we don't have to worry so much that potental customers might find those copies rather than our own.

        There's no point in using article directories for their own traffic or their own backlinks. That's not their purpose, and it's an unproductive attempted use of them. As explained in this post.

        Using article directories for backlinks is a fallacy, as explained here. And here.

        The threads just posted above by Anne are well worth a read-through, to appreciate the current position with article marketing (actually including "how to use article directories").
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        • Profile picture of the author sgoerger
          Originally Posted by Alexa Smith View Post

          And EZA's backlinks (as is true for backlinks in other article directories) are only non-context-relevant PR-0 backlinks, so there's no SEO value there.
          I would argue that this, even today, still isn't true. There is some, a little, a tiny, bit of SEO value there, isn't there? I do niche building in niches that I research and determine to be 'easy' to rank in, and this is about the only type of backlink my sites end up with...yet them climb the rankings anyways. So, there must be a little value there, right?

          Still I agree with everything else Alexa said and she obviously knows EZA in and out.
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          • Profile picture of the author NicoleBeckett
            Originally Posted by sgoerger View Post

            There is some, a little, a tiny, bit of SEO value there, isn't there? I do niche building in niches that I research and determine to be 'easy' to rank in, and this is about the only type of backlink my sites end up with...yet them climb the rankings anyways. So, there must be a little value there, right?
            At the end of the day, your goal (at least from an SEO perspective) is to have more inbound links than outbound ones. Will those PR0 links help you? Well, they're legitimate links, so they're certainly not going to hurt you in any way. Can having a bunch of them help you rank for a keyword with low competition? Probably. Are they strong enough, by themselves, to get you over the hump for a tough keyword? Probably not.

            Here's how I think of it - those PR0 article directory links are a little "bonus", but the real "meat and potatoes" will come in the form of higher-quality links that I'll get once my article is syndicated onto other websites and blogs.
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        • Profile picture of the author svborgman
          Originally Posted by Alexa Smith View Post

          I have about 1,600 articles in EZA. I submit one there, most days.

          EZA is the last place I submit them, after publishing them on my own site first, and having them syndicated to a variety of other places first.

          I'm using EZA as an article directory, i.e. putting my content there for further syndication by webmasters and ezine publishers using EZA for its intended purpose of supplying available content for syndication.

          I'd hate my potential customer traffic to find the EZA copy rather than the copy on my own site, obviously: with a 25% click-through rate from EZA, I'm losing 75% of my traffic there!

          And EZA's backlinks (as is true for backlinks in other article directories) are only non-context-relevant PR-0 backlinks, so there's no SEO value there.

          The EZA copies of my article are there for people searching inside EZA to find (publishers, in other words), not for people searching inside Google. Fortunately, Google 2011 algorithm changes have made it very much harder for article directory copies to rank at all, which (as so many of us have been saying for so many months now) was a huge advantage to article marketers, because it makes it easier for us to rank our own site, and we don't have to worry so much that potental customers might find those copies rather than our own.

          There's no point in using article directories for their own traffic or their own backlinks. That's not their purpose, and it's an unproductive attempted use of them. As explained in this post.

          Using article directories for backlinks is a fallacy, as explained here. And here.

          The threads just posted above by Anne are well worth a read-through, to appreciate the current position with article marketing (actually including "how to use article directories").

          thanks so much for all your input: it's making me think that the best use of my time, really, is to be spent on guest posts, podcasting, and making YouTube videos, versus spending too much time publishing for Ezines
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        • Profile picture of the author AdwordsMogul
          Originally Posted by Alexa Smith View Post


          ...

          I'd hate my potential customer traffic to find the EZA copy rather than the copy on my own site, obviously: with a 25% click-through rate from EZA, I'm losing 75% of my traffic there!

          ...
          It's not so obvious, but you're assuming 100% of that traffic would end up on your site if that article wasn't on EZA .
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          • Profile picture of the author Alexa Smith
            Banned
            Originally Posted by AdwordsMogul View Post

            It's not so obvious, but you're assuming 100% of that traffic would end up on your site if that article wasn't on EZA .
            I'm assuming (and I make quite sure) that the one on my site is the one in Google's main index, rather than the EZA copy. (Fortunately, this is easily done).

            The situations are directly equivalent and comparable.

            In one case, people finding my article by putting one of its keywords into Google find the EZA copy and out of those who click the link, if I have a CTR of 25%, that means I'm losing three-quarters.

            In the other case, they do exactly the same thing but find listed instead the article on my own site, and out of those who click the link, I therefore get 100% at my site instead of 25%. Call me a questionable mathematician, but to my way of counting, that's four times as many, Benny.

            That's just the theory            : in reality, it works out considerably better than that, of course, because there are always some people who will choose not to click on an EZA link anyway, whereas my url will attract them more easily.
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  • Profile picture of the author Abby Gibbs
    I used to write articles at Ezine and post it to my websites. But i never submit it to any article directories.
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  • Profile picture of the author WebPen
    To keep it simple, I think what everyone is saying is that posting your articles to EZA helps, but should NOT be your main business model.

    Instead build up your own site.
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    • Profile picture of the author svborgman
      Originally Posted by Justin Stowe View Post

      To keep it simple, I think what everyone is saying is that posting your articles to EZA helps, but should NOT be your main business model.

      Instead build up your own site.
      I totally agree. If I'm using the 20/80 rule, it's not part of the 20.
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  • Profile picture of the author Daniel Wilson
    EZA was fine for direct traffic but nowdays I hardly get any clicks from the articles.
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  • Profile picture of the author plongmire
    I hate responding because Alexa already did, she is about three years ahead of me, and I have learned tons from her...

    I do exactly what she says, except for I add a little bit to the mix...
    • I add to my site--once indexed i...
    • Send to my list of Ezines
    • Go to other ezines that I have to submit online and do that
    • Create a video out of the article and post to youtube
    • Send my site to the bookmarks I have through onlywire and a couple others
    • Create a FB page out of the article and post article and video-bookmark
    • Tweet FB and Own site
    • Send link to linkedin
    • Post article on forums that allow it and match niche
    • Then send it to Ezine articles

    Once I have a healthier Ezine list I will scale it back somewhat...but it is all about traffic to me...I just get a whole lot more traffic out if each article I produce...and no they are not spun and they are all original...

    And no you don't get a penalty for duplicate content...

    Duplicate content is when you have the same info on your site...
    Syndication: which is what Ezine is...is what you want...legs placed on your articles.
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  • Profile picture of the author valdonatas
    I think, everybody has started writing these articles - this means it's harder and harder to get attention to your own article. I think that's a yesterday's activity. If you want to be ahead, you have to do things that others (the majority) don't
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    • Profile picture of the author TiffLee
      Originally Posted by valdonatas View Post

      I think, everybody has started writing these articles - this means it's harder and harder to get attention to your own article. I think that's a yesterday's activity. If you want to be ahead, you have to do things that others (the majority) don't
      Just because everybody "has started writing these articles" does not mean they are good at writing "these articles."

      ... and this is definitely not "yesterday's activity." My ClickBank account certainly suggest otherwise.
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      • Profile picture of the author Alexa Smith
        Banned
        Originally Posted by TiffLee View Post

        this is definitely not "yesterday's activity." My ClickBank account certainly suggest otherwise.
        Indeed ...

        ... the people regarding it as "yesterday's activity" are those struggling (or previously struggling) to use article directories for their own traffic and/or their own backlinks (sometimes imagining that what they're doing is/was "article marketing"). That - admittedly - is yesterday's activity. In fact the day before yesterday's.
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  • Profile picture of the author Benjamin Ehinger
    Originally Posted by svborgman View Post

    I've read advice to "write one ezine article a week" at the minimum.

    Then, use that article and post it to your email list, submit it to publishers and directories, post to your site for SE spidering, bundle into viral reports and a variety of other things.

    Is that outdated advice at this point, or is there a hybrid approach that will help me get the most "bang" for my writing "buck"?
    Slightly outdated, but not completely.

    First, always post the article to your own site or blog and let Google index it before you do anything else with it.

    Second, DON'T EVER SPIN your article. Keep it in the original form and use it on directories, submit it to publishers, and spend time learning how to use it for ARTICLE SYNDICATION.

    Third, if you write one very good article a week you can do quite a bit with it. I, personally, write about 20 a week, but they are for different sites and I have really fast fingers. However, I know people that write one a week and make a good income by syndicating it correctly.

    Remember, ARTICLE SYNDICATION not ARTICLE MARKETING!

    Benjamin Ehinger
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  • Profile picture of the author Jim2131
    This method is outdated.
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    • Profile picture of the author TiffLee
      Originally Posted by Jim2131 View Post

      This method is outdated.
      Seriously?

      ... it is painfully obvious that you have absolutely no clue what you are talking about.
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  • Profile picture of the author Marhelper
    Used (over 1,000 articles) to do it but found it not as effective as putting it on my own site.
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    • Profile picture of the author JohnMcCabe
      Originally Posted by svborgman View Post

      thanks so much for all your input: it's making me think that the best use of my time, really, is to be spent on guest posts, podcasting, and making YouTube videos, versus spending too much time publishing for Ezines
      For the benefit of those new to these discussions...

      "versus spending too much time publishing for Ezines", I believe means spending time publishing articles on EzineArticles.com and its lesser brethren. These are article directories. Ezine, or EZA, is just a shorthand for Chris Knight's directory.

      Getting your articles published in actual ezines (emailed publications sent to people who requested, and in some instances, paid to get them) is a horse of another color. Getting your articles placed in front of a targeted audience, with the implied endorsement of the publisher, is something you definitely want to keep working at.

      Even if email clickthrough rates ran ~10%, your article placed in front of someone's 100k subscriber base means ~10,000 targeted visitors. Plug that into your normal conversion rates, then wipe the drool off your chin and get busy...
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      • Profile picture of the author Zane236
        I think if you have lots of articles you can try to submit them to ezine. It's one way of backlinking.
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        • Profile picture of the author HatKing
          I have heard a lot that Ezine is outdated and old. Looking at its traffic, it went down 1/4 since the start of the year. Any thoughts on who will be the next "Ezine" in its prime time?

          Also, what is everyone's thought on the best way to SEO a site to bring high conversion traffic?
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  • Profile picture of the author rooze
    I can't think of anything that I could write which would attract syndication. If I knew enough about something, anything, I wouldn't have the ability to present it with sufficient grammatical integrity, wit, or stylish prose, to attract syndication.
    Therefore I continue to write my articles, using my 5th grade English skills, in the hope that the PR0 backlinks will do something for me and/or my poorly written article will attract maybe 50 views and perhaps 2 click-throughs.
    I'm a realist, a cynic and a slouch, they're the only real tools that I have at my disposal.
    So where does that leave me?
    Should I continue to write for my ego and PR0 backlinks, farm out the project to an article writer, who probably has the same impediments but without the realization, or do I go off and do something else?
    (think about it).
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