Article Marketing Sucks And Is A Waste Of Time.

[Andyhenry]

Originally Posted by Allen Graves

The fastest route is not always the best.

Please don't deceive newbies by trying to make them think that the quickest routes are the best. I made that mistake years ago and got slapped a few times.

Also, I want to make the point that if you take shortcuts or cut corners with your article marketing campaigns, that you will fail. Then you'll end up right here on this forum telling people that it doesn't work or that it is not profitable, not realistic, etc...

I don't mean to step on toes...just keeping it real.

AL

Hi Al,

I must've missed something. I can't work out why you replied to my post (quoting it) with those comments.

I never made any mention of taking shortcuts, cutting corners or anything along those lines - I agree. Getting a sound business model is more important than anything else.

I've done very well using articles over the years and I've tested just about every variation of the ways of doing it, so I would never tell anyone NOT to use them, or do use them in a sloppy way.

I do however believe that we're all different and for some people their golden goose may be from article marketing but for others it's a waste of their time and maybe not even relevant to their business.

That's my whole point here - there is no one answer - different answers are right for different people.

That's what I was hoping would become apparent from people responding to this thread.

We see so many people talking about specific strategies as though you can't run a business without them, or even recommending that they're a business in their own right that many newbies get sucked into a false world and don't realise that the generalised information about what works, is often as likely not to work for them - especially if they don't already have a clear idea of what they're doing and why.

Andy

[Allen Graves]

Sorry, I thought I was quoting the post where YOU quoted Kyle. For some reason it only quoted your part of the post and not the part that you also quoted.

AL

[econos]

Informative thread.

[Andyhenry]

Since so many people are looking at article marketing, it's something that a lot of people can learn - but learn it wrong and it can cost you a LOT of waste time and money.

[Hardi Wijaya]

I dunno why... but I think I should say it again.

I put myself in the shoe of a newbie. I still won't feel cheated if... the article inspires me to skip dinner, and read again and again --- although the article talks about certain thing that I already knew.

So, relevant info isn't just the only key. It's just part of the whole picture. The article also needs to offer new revelation.

Puritans are likely to disagree with this, btw.


Hardi

[MADMONEY]

I don't know about anyone else here, but as for me, I have spent thousands of dollars in learning copywriting.

I believe the real question may be ... "Is article marketing or article writing a necessary skill?"

It seems to me that the Internet so far is about written communication.

Until video dominates the Internet to a greater extent than it has, there will still be a need to communicate by writing.

You still need to create sales pages, Squidoos, hub pages, noles and a plethora of other things that require some skill in writing.

If you're going to be an Internet marketer, then you need to learn how to write effectively. Whether you choose to market your articles that's irrelevant.

Of course, once you have the writing skills, you can use them to generate free traffic. Article marketing is great for that, but let me stop myself for a moment.

It's not really free traffic, it requires your time. So we are really trading time for traffic.

At some point, it's cheaper to outsource. But in the beginning, you may have no choice.

That's just my opinion.

Mad Money

[Barry Walls]

Originally Posted by Michael Dominic

Article marketing is very valuable in every aspect.

What more can you ask for than FREE traffic?!

Its only free if your time is worth $0 per hour.

[Asher]

Hi Andy,

In my opinion, article marketing is but a tool that we can use. It's not a fix-all tool but it's a tool that generally fits well with a lot of ways to make money online.

It really depends on what the person wants to achieve. This applies to all sorts of marketing because like you shared before, information is like a tool - you need to have the right tool to fix the problem.

Choosing the right approach to the problem will give better results rather than giving a fix-all method.

Asher

[Max Ramocsai]

Article Marketing is definitely one of the best ways to generate targeted traffic when you don't have the option of paying for traffic. I just recently started a blog about IM (in my sig) and by using article marketing I've been able to generate around 40 uniques a day in a very short period of time. It's just a great way to get the ball rolling and build yourself a foundation.

[Andyhenry]

Originally Posted by MADMONEY

I don't know about anyone else here, but as for me, I have spent thousands of dollars in learning copywriting.

I believe the real question may be ... "Is article marketing or article writing a necessary skill?"


Mad Money

That's an interesting question.

The answer is obviously - NO!

Because there are many different types of business model that can be run using the Internet and they don't all require writing skills. I know that's not "normal" IM speak, but if you honestly think that making money is all about 'copywriting' then that's just a reflection of what you consider to be your options for running a business.

There's no doubt that in most situations having great writing skills is a valuable asset - but it's definitely not a requirement or a necessity - in the same way that you don't ever need an article, a lense, a hub, a blog or anything else to run a successful business - they're just some of the many possible ways to focus.

Andy

[Mike Hill]

Article marketing has really worked well for me, but I don't write normal articles. I structure it differently and include information that 99.999% of people do not and they are pulling very well.

I just started this NEW process a few weeks ago and already they are generating buyers.

Mike Hill

[firemanks098]

Originally Posted by Simon_Sezs

No, that is a great post, Allen and considering your expertise, I would have to say you know your weight in salt. The problem is that most new IMers expect instantaneous results not really understanding basic marketing principles.

They pop off 20-30 articles in unresearched niches and then expect something to happen. Some get lucky. Most don't. It is kind of like trying to hit the bullseye with the lights off.

I am pretty new to article marketing myself. I used to write articles at associated content for their measly pay. Then I discovered that I could do affiliate sales with this and read up on bum marketing (travis sago style) and several other books. I think the biggest problem with many of the ebooks touting AM is that they do not make it clear enough for some people that it will take time. Now some people wouldn't get it if you dangled a big sign with red letters that said "it takes time" in front of them. Some get the idea that they simply put up a few articles and bam in comes thousands a month. But that is what some marketers of this kind of material want the newbie to think. (BTW Travis Sago is not one that tries to lure you in this way, I have found all of his advise very helpful and true.) So I have invested some time in submitting to ezinearticles and will continue. Will also submit to some others soon too as I am re-working some of my articles to submit to other directories. I hope it all works.

[firemanks098]

Originally Posted by mdunn123

Agreed 100% with you Steve!

I love article marketing, and while I don't exactly LOVE writing articles I don't exactly mind it far too much either. I think the biggest problem with most people that take the route of article marketing is not even so much in how well or poor their writing is, but how they market those articles. There is far more than just submitting your article to ezine and waiting.

So what else is involved in the process besides submitting? I am a newbie anxious to learn. I have been writing articles and I know I am a good writer, was published several times in print way before article marketing was a buzz word. So what are us newbs missing?

[Andyhenry]

Originally Posted by firemanks098

So what else is involved in the process besides submitting? I am a newbie anxious to learn. I have been writing articles and I know I am a good writer, was published several times in print way before article marketing was a buzz word. So what are us newbs missing?

You need to have a bigger picture than just focusing on you and your article.

For example - BEFORE you write your article it's important that you do some research to see what people are actually looking for.

If you find the main elements of what they want and include the keywords they're using to search - that's a good start.

However, there's another perspective that most people leave out - PURPOSE!

What is the purpose of your article?

To raise awareness of your site/product(s)/service(s)?

To get traffic to your website/squeeze page/blog/ezine/affiliate links/hubpages/lenses/membership site etc.. etc.



Until you have a clear purpose for your article - even the best research won't be enough to bridge the gap you create in your business.

So - make sure that you're addressing what people want, including relevant keywords/phrases and that your article has a purpose.

If you do this - you will get targeted traffic that converts into your desired action.

Andy

p.s. - of course then there's the issue of increasing distribution and which sources are best for the desired outcome you have in mind, and how else you might reuse the content as part of a bigger strategy.