Article Syndication Questions... again

Major companies still spend millions of dollars in market research trying to answer that very question. There usually are market/industry reports available (often at considerable cost) with demographic profiles of consumer buying habits. And once you can answer that question and are able to deliver relevant content accordingly, you will have reached the epitome of article syndication marketing.

For those with somewhat of a limited budget, a general indicator of demographics within a market are recurring ads in online/offline publications that have a readership comprised of paying subscribers. Consider also contacting the advertising departments of trade publications or association newsletters - they usually are quite eager to provide the demographic profile of subscribers/readers in hopes of selling ad space.

Having said that, in an attempt to answer your question, the fact is it's very difficult and can be costly to find a more practical actionable answer. Unfortunately, efforts to determine demographics of a given market is a common mistake IMO, and is exactly the wrong question to ask, on many levels. Poor conversion rates is a leading cause of marketing failure, which almost always is the result of methods that lead with products in search of markets.

On the other hand, top marketers (at least the ones of whom I am aware) are those who are familiar with their prospects' needs and have developed an affinity towards them. For example, rather than chasing after markets, I have always searched within broad networks or groups of people. This can span hundreds of highly profitable markets or niches, virtually unlimited publications, and marketing then becomes a matter of matching relevant products to an engaging funnel system. People are multi-dimensional, and have a wide variety of interests which can often be monetized with effective online/offline list segmentation.

Typically, people with common interests, vocation, members of organizations, clubs, etc tend to have similar and often predictable buying patterns. For me, this single marketing method has worked astoundingly well for over 16 years. I targeted medical professionals, legal specialists, accountants, mechanical/electrical/aerospace engineers, managers in business/industry, academia faculty/researchers, trade associations, churches, civic groups, etc.

I covered this in several previous threads; the idea idea behind this marketing concept really does come from an "affinity approach" used for many decades among marketers, also known as "market basket analysis". Purchase behavior was analyzed for cross-promotions and capturing new buyers who share similar demographics. In more recent years, it has evolved into "data mining" - using advanced statistical analysis.

A superb example of data mining and market-basket analysis is Amazon's ingenious algorithm for suggesting "other" products, which has no readily apparent similarity to the original search or purchase. This is a common experience for Amazon affiliates, where the cross-over purchase is made in addition to (or sometimes instead of) the original product being promoted. Amazon keeps a history of purchases made (and even interests from search results) which is used in their data-based marketing algorithm and rigorous email promotions.

Using this "affinity approach", the article syndication model becomes a very formidable marketing machine. Essentially, when used in the most highly leveraged manner, what this does is establish relationships with other peoples' lists so you can build lists of your own. Then you can promote (ie recommend) progressively higher end products on the strength of your affinity and relationships with your subscribers. Mega fortunes have been built by those who understand and use this rather simple concept.

Exactly. For an example, when former President Bush (#41) went skydiving earlier this year at age 90, it was all over the internet, magazines, newspapers, the media, etc. And notice the ads in these publications had hardly anything at all to do with skydiving. This is one of the best illustrations of massive article syndication and marketing by demographics at its finest.

This is perhaps one of the best illustrations of poor affinity marketing and exactly what not to do. The mindset of skydivers does not work that way, and most likely they would dismiss such a new safety product with a hearty guffaw.

FYI, sport skydiving is highly regulated for safety, and statistically is many magnitudes safer than driving a car.

What I meant by "search within broad networks or groups of people" was to find or develop a connection with networks or groups where your potential customers are most likely to be associated. If you have no idea who your potential customers are and don't know their needs, then perhaps you can begin testing with advertising such as classifieds, solo ads, or PPC.

If you have a specific line of products you're promoting, I would suggest try to identify the more common characteristics of inquiries and buyers. Address these characteristics with relevant verbiage which demonstrates an affinity and credible experience. The article syndication marketing model can not be effective without understanding your reading audience, and writing in an engaging style that meets their expectations.


The basic (although simplistic) fundamentals of "market basket analysis" are that the buying patterns of people who share common interests and/or purchase histories have strong statistical similarities. This premise is what powers the generation and sales of leads, a multi-billion dollar industry encompassing virtually every conceivable market.

It is also a fundamental concept in the article syndication marketing model, in the sense you are writing to drive traffic (ie leads) directly to your conversion/sales funnel. How closely your writing style resonates with your reading audience will correlate with the quality of traffic.

In my experience, nothing is more effective than syndicating feature articles, but news releases (aka press releases) can provide additional sources of traffic. This method is also an excellent way to find publishers for later syndication of your articles.

Editors of online/offline publications are always hungry for quality, relevant, and timely content. However, because of the highly specialized nature of the news release format, I have always outsourced it. There are many providers of this service, but the only one I have ever recommended for its broad publication network, range of contacts and professionalism is PRweb.com.

The example you gave for a "news release" actually is a common mistake by marketers. What happens is editors are far more inclined to get their new product information directly from manufacturers' sources and websites (ie media kits) rather than unsolicited "product review" type articles, which often are considered to be blatantly self-serving.

Such euphemistically labeled "news releases" seldom are run by publishers, who are characteristically skeptical, publicity savvy, and particularly averse towards this widespread and annoying marketing gimmick.

What I would do with news releases about skydiving (as with all of my articles) is to completely avoid writing about products. Focus instead on the unusual but relevant industry news, solutions, the people, places, events, etc. Except as noted above, however, there is a limitation on wording and practical use of news releases.

On the other hand, article syndication has much wider applications and less formatting restrictions than news releases. Articles containing keywords that figuratively tug on ripcords will have greater impact for response than what any "news release" can provide.

Use broad strokes in writing to appeal to as many publications as possible for syndication, yet with a subtlety in style that steers the attention of your target audience like an approaching dropzone.

Readers who are not your direct targeted audience often will share your engaging article(s) with those whom they know to be enthusiasts - friends, colleagues, fellow members of church groups, civic/professional organizations, clubs, etc. This is the epitome of article syndication, as I alluded in earlier posts (#6, #9) - when articles go viral.


I know what you meant, but perhaps my answer was not clear. My style as mentioned many times is to write for targeted demographics, not niches. Once you are able to connect with a reading audience and understand their many interests, then "niches" can be added progressively.

For example, by targeting the "middle aged" demographic you can write articles about how to strengthen relationships, which could include walking and perhaps hundreds of other activities (ie niches). By taking the demographic approach you can even expand continuity for article syndication beyond "relationship" publications.


For any given commercially viable niche, there are virtually unlimited online/offline publications available. If some are not interested in using more of your articles, then move on to the next. What I have always done in addition to cold marketing articles was to send my latest articles on a weekly basis to all previous publishers. Not all were accepted, but it is well worth it to establish and keep an active working relationship with your syndication network partners.