Article Marketing: Time for action

by Yellowcake

Posted: 11 years ago 6 replies

INTERNET MARKETING

Hi folks hope you are all well.

I've posted on here before about starting a freelance article writing service. I work as a UK-based magazine editor in my day job and I'm hoping to expand my horizons and do bit of freelance work.

Now I really am starting from scratch on this. I'm going to build myself a simple Wordpress site; I've got a domain and the intention is that I can use the website to simply advertise my services.

Obviously the challenge at this stage in the game is that no-one knows about me! I want to keep my business and freelance work totally separate so I'm not even on the starting blocks yet - yet alone out of them!

What I'm looking to do is write/load some articles onto my website and then submit them to a number of 'selected' article directories. The aim of doing this is simply to get my name out there. I'll include backlinks back to my own website and hopefully blog owners and the like will use my articles on their own sites. This will mainly be a brand building exercise in effect.

So my question is, with the plethora of article directories out there, are all still credible in light of the wealth of Google updates that we've had over the past year or so? Can you guys recommend any that still hold weight?

Am I right in assuming that some directories won't allow posting on any other sites? The site that springs to mind is Infobarrel who won't even allow you to post any articles submitted to them on your own site let alone others!

I'll also probably offer my services in the Warrior For Hire section here. I'm not looking to compete at the lower end of the market and you certainly won't see me offering my services for $5 an article but for those people wanting decent quality articles written by a native English speaking writer, I'm hoping I can get some business there.

Sorry guys I've rambled a bit. In a nutshell - am I doing this the right way by writing articles and submitting them to my own website first and then offering them to article directories? If so, which directories would you recommend?

Finally, in the context of the above, can someone enlighten me how/if social bookmarking sites like Reddit, Stumbleupon, Digg and Squidoo could help me in my quest here (or not)? I've never really understood the benefits of say setting up a Squidoo Lens for example and what it's supposed to do. I'd certainly appreciate your thoughts on social bookmarking per se!

Many thanks for any advice/help you can give me.

YC

#action #article #marketing #time

MissTerraK 11 years ago

Hi Yellowcake.

First off, I'm glad to see "Time to take action" in your thread title and I offer that up as the best advice for you. According to your post history, you've been stating that you are thinking about starting up a writing business or service since November of last year.

That's a whole year that you've been in the planning stages and quite frankly at this point, you just need to jump right in and do it or else you could quite possibly be back next November asking the same thing!

Sometimes, the best way of learning is just by jumping in the water and learning how to swim. I mean, one can ask questions about learning how to swim and read up on every angle of it, but until they get in the water, they really don't know for sure what they have the ability to do in the pool.

So, I think you just need to dive in and I hope you make a big splash!

Terra
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tjaysen70 11 years ago

yeah yellowcake, cool man. Ok so you seem to have a grasp on the article marketing thing. But your goal is to make money writing articles? Or have an article writing service? Is that right?

Well you will want to brand yourself then, could be a pen name, and set up a website that accepts orders.

To drive traffic to your site, which offers article writing services, you will use PPC and article marketing and blogging, and press releases and twitter and fb and web 2.0 and on an on. PPC (pay pre click) costs money, but it can bring you fast and qualified leads.

Set up your capture page and have a sales funnel to build up a business. Hire more writers and expand from there.
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Alexa Smith Banned 11 years ago

Originally Posted by Yellowcake

Am I right in assuming that some directories won't allow posting on any other sites?

No; that's not right at all.

I think (from this question and actually quite a few other comments in your post above) that you may not quite be clear about what article directories are, and how they work?

This thread will help you a lot, I hope: http://www.warriorforum.com/main-int...ml#post5068872

Originally Posted by Yellowcake

The site that springs to mind is Infobarrel who won't even allow you to post any articles submitted to them on your own site let alone others!

No, of course they won't.

But that has nothing at all to do with how article directories work.

Infobarrel isn't an article directory.

Originally Posted by Yellowcake

am I doing this the right way by writing articles and submitting them to my own website first and then offering them to article directories?

Certainly one would always do things that way round rather than the other way round. But I'm not clear exactly what you're trying to do, here. I appreciate that you want to promote yourself as an article writer, and attract clients who want to buy articles to use for their own article marketing businesses, but I don't quite understand how you're planning that article marketing, yourself, is going to help you to find them. :confused:
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- Yellowcake 11 years ago
  
  OK let's clarify things a bit.I may be way of course here but ...
  
  The main thrust of the exercise is to promote myself as a freelance writer. The only reason I'm considering using article directories is simply as a shop window to get backlinks to my own site where I'll be promoting writing services.
  
  I do understand how article directories work (I think) - someone needs a particular article for his or her own blog/ezine and scours the article directories for suitable content. If they choose anything I've written it'll have my backlink on it which will follow it around wherever it may end up. Someone reading the article just may have a need for a freelance writer - that's my thinking here!
  
  Does that make sense?
  
  YC
  
  Thanks
  
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  Alexa Smith Banned 11 years ago
  
  Originally Posted by Yellowcake
  
  The only reason I'm considering using article directories is simply as a shop window to get backlinks to my own site
  
  "As a shop window" and "to get backlinks" are two entirely separate functions.
  
  Your own site should be your shop window.
  
  Backlinks from article directories have no value, for all the reasons explained in this and many other "article marketing" threads: http://www.warriorforum.com/main-int...ml#post5068872
  
  Even for a year or so before all the Panda updates of 2011 devalued article directory backlinks so much, SEO textbook writers were saying that you'd need literally tens of thousands of those "backlinks" to give you same linkjuice as that arising from one good backlink on a quality site specifically relevant to your niche.
  
  "As a shop window" refers - I think - to the possibility of people reading your articles in an article directory and going from there to your site (traffic that you ought to want to go straight to your site). The people comprising your market as a writer ("article buyers") are not people looking in article directories for writers.
  
  I take your point that some webmasters looking in a directory for content to syndicate might happen to notice your article, and your link, and "discover" you that way, but your articles will have to be on the subjects for which they're looking for content, for that to happen. How would you decide on which subjects to write articles for that purpose? Please excuse me if I sound something of a skepchick, but it all sounds a little far-fetched, to me.
  
  If you want to earn money from writing articles, I think it's possible these threads will assist you ...
  http://www.warriorforum.com/main-int...ml#post6507084
  http://www.warriorforum.com/main-int...ml#post7079815
  http://www.warriorforum.com/main-int...ml#post6829400
  http://www.warriorforum.com/main-int...ml#post6794793
  
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Kevin McNally 11 years ago

Hi YC

I wouldn't bother submitting articles, simply get your website up and running and link to some samples. The best way to promote your services is to find forums where webmasters hang out.

It's only $20 to post in the Warriors for hire section and you can promote your site also via your sig file.
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