[lianwei]

One of the best ways that I found is really useful for promoting PIPs is to use article marketing. It has a good viral effect to a large extent but many dread it because it takes quite a bit of effort in submission and writing an article.

So I would like to share some tips with you pipsters here.

What are some common mistakes that people make with article marketing?

1. Not being clear on who the target audience is.

A lot of writers and publishers make the most common error of not defining first what their target market is before writing out their content.

This differs them from the more successful article marketers who already have a clear idea on what their niche market is even before the thought of the article is conceived.

The two aspects needed in targeting your niche is to be narrow and profound. It is preferable to choose an audience with a specified and foremost interest in a certain topic.

2. Making use of spam out of sheer desperation.

In their desperate need of getting to more than the usual number of consumers, authors tend to target just about everyone.

They do get published in all category of newsletters or ezines but not for long. In the long run, the owners of those publication will remove their articles from the copies in the assumption that they are spam.

So instead of saving time and resources, you actually get nothing and have to start over from scratch. What’s more, your reputation is the one at stake. Think of the credibility that you suddenly lost by doing something you thought people will not notice.

3. Inappropriate titles or headlines.

If your headlines do not grab the attention of your readers instantly, it will not matter if you are best writer in the Internet. You will end up a loser.

Authors should spend some time thinking up titles that will work. This simply means that titles should attract the attention of visitors the instant they set their eyes on it. That is why the time spent on the content of the article should be the same as the time you have to put in thinking of a good title.

Which would you rather have? An outstanding article that has lame words for a title or an ordinary article with an eye-catching one?

In case you are not aware of it, the ordinary article will probably make more sales than the better one. Ask yourself why.

4. Think of your readers first before you think about yourself.

Most writers may have passed the first stages with flying colors but this is where they blow it. All because they think of themselves first and foremost.

In article marketing, you are not writing for yourself. You are writing for your readers. You cannot just go about and write topics you want. On the contrary, you need to write about the your market’s topic of interest.

To be an effective article marketer is to give your audience what they want. Your audience does not really care if you have won an award in writing or if you are a well known author. All they care about is that your articles should deliver what they need. And that they should have a use of your articles.

Do as they say.

5. Check you spelling and grammar.

Ok, granted that you have just written one of the best article ever read by people. But one thing you did not notice is that one word was spelled incorrectly above. Once your readers have spotted this, all admiration and awe is immediately erased. Your article will then be classified as one of the low class ones.

If you do not want your articles to be disposed as something not worth reading, have them spell checked first before publishing. What is a minute or so of checking out for errors. Even if you blame them on machine typos, readers will always think it was you.

Once you understand the essence behind article marketing, you will never think of other means of generating traffic again. Just do not go overboard and start abusing your position as the author.

[John Atkins]

PERFECT!

You couldn't have explained it better. To all of the people that are getting started in Article Marketing, "Take a note of this" "If you follow these steps wisely, then you will succeed in article marketing for sure."

Originally Posted by lianwei

One of the best ways that I found is really useful for promoting PIPs is to use article marketing. It has a good viral effect to a large extent but many dread it because it takes quite a bit of effort in submission and writing an article.

So I would like to share some tips with you pipsters here.

What are some common mistakes that people make with article marketing?

1. Not being clear on who the target audience is.

A lot of writers and publishers make the most common error of not defining first what their target market is before writing out their content.

This differs them from the more successful article marketers who already have a clear idea on what their niche market is even before the thought of the article is conceived.

The two aspects needed in targeting your niche is to be narrow and profound. It is preferable to choose an audience with a specified and foremost interest in a certain topic.

2. Making use of spam out of sheer desperation.

In their desperate need of getting to more than the usual number of consumers, authors tend to target just about everyone.

They do get published in all category of newsletters or ezines but not for long. In the long run, the owners of those publication will remove their articles from the copies in the assumption that they are spam.

So instead of saving time and resources, you actually get nothing and have to start over from scratch. What’s more, your reputation is the one at stake. Think of the credibility that you suddenly lost by doing something you thought people will not notice.

3. Inappropriate titles or headlines.

If your headlines do not grab the attention of your readers instantly, it will not matter if you are best writer in the Internet. You will end up a loser.

Authors should spend some time thinking up titles that will work. This simply means that titles should attract the attention of visitors the instant they set their eyes on it. That is why the time spent on the content of the article should be the same as the time you have to put in thinking of a good title.

Which would you rather have? An outstanding article that has lame words for a title or an ordinary article with an eye-catching one?

In case you are not aware of it, the ordinary article will probably make more sales than the better one. Ask yourself why.

4. Think of your readers first before you think about yourself.

Most writers may have passed the first stages with flying colors but this is where they blow it. All because they think of themselves first and foremost.

In article marketing, you are not writing for yourself. You are writing for your readers. You cannot just go about and write topics you want. On the contrary, you need to write about the your market’s topic of interest.

To be an effective article marketer is to give your audience what they want. Your audience does not really care if you have won an award in writing or if you are a well known author. All they care about is that your articles should deliver what they need. And that they should have a use of your articles.

Do as they say.

5. Check you spelling and grammar.

Ok, granted that you have just written one of the best article ever read by people. But one thing you did not notice is that one word was spelled incorrectly. Once your readers have spotted this, all admiration and awe is immediately erased. Your article will then be classified as one of the low class ones.

If you do not want your articles to be disposed as something not worth reading, have them spell checked first before publishing. What is a minute or so of checking out for errors. Even if you blame them on machine typos, readers will always think it was you.

Once you understand the essence behind article marketing, you will never think of other means of generating traffic again. Just do not go overboard and start abusing your position as the author.

[alloke613]

Yeah, for a newbie like me, I always face problems with the 5 mistakes Lian Wei said. It is quite a hard thing for a newbie. Need some times and coach to know better about article marketing.

Thanks for the threads. It does help a lot.

[i24hrs]

A very good guide for a starting Article Marketer like me.

Gonna save it as reference. Perhaps re-write it for a future blog post. Hope Ben Pei wouldn't mind Just kidding!

[Matt Helphrey]

Great advice Ben!

Practice makes perfect so don't be scared to write articles. Just do it and you'll get better the more you write.

Matt

[Jeff Casmer]

Hi Ben,

Well written article

Nice tips..

Jeff Casmer

[jblack]

You gave alot of great info in this post. Thanks for taking the time. Everyone who writes articles has the same struggles.

[chanano]

The best thing to do when writing an article is to 'relax'. Think you are talking at leisure to some people. Imaging you are telling some thing useful to them in an interesting and absobing manner. Then you can feel and see in your immagination that your audience becoming receptive and listen intentively.

That is a hint for article writing. When you relax in writing and relating some thing of interest, effortlessly good ideas will come to your mind to guide you on what to write and how to write.

[Easy Cash]

How about - not having a call to action at the end of your article.

It is no good having an article when no one clicks through to your link.

You need to be persuasive and persistant - make them WANT to click or miss out.....

[Alan Mater]

Hi Ben,

These tips are a great reminder even for myself. It's sometimes easy to lose focus even as you gain a little more experience with writing articles.

Chanano - Great tip. That's how I try to write because it makes the article more personal.

Easy Cash - A call to action is a very good point. Just make sure your article is getting read and they get to the call to action.

Article marketing becomes easier with practice. The more you write, the more it will become natural to you. Don't get discouraged in the beginning because it may be hard for you. I was never a writer and actually hated writing.

[talfighel]

Articles are good but just writing articles and submitting them will NOT get you too far. I have written close to 300 of them and if I were to stop PPC, I would not make money. Don't forget that writing work at home and home based business articles is a very competitive field. There are so many people who are writing the same titles that you are writing about too.

I am not saying that writing articles is useless, but it will take you a lot of your time for very minimal results.

Tal

[Alan Mater]

I usually don't write articles in hopes of having someone click through my link, although that's a plus. The main purpose I use article marketing is to generate quality backlinks to my site. The better the content, the more chance you'll have people publish your articles and create even more backlinks for you. That's the main benefit I get from it.

[Damodar]

Nice Tips Ben!

Articles having fresh content and useful information can increase click rates and draw in readers from all walks of life.

[KT52]

Hi Ben,
Until now I still have trouble writing article and It takes me a lots of time to complete one. I always check spelling & grammar after finishing writing, Great advice.

Thanks
KT52

[lianwei]

Welcome guys. I am glad it received some good responses here

[Matt Helphrey]

Hi Ben,

Great information as always!

Thanks for sharing.

Matt

[gussie789]

Great post thanks for the advice!

[markcarraway]

Thanks Ben,

Article marketing takes a lot of patience and attention to detail, I really haven't seen it put better anywhere else!

Mark