I don't care what you say... Article Marketing Sucks

491 replies
If you are a new marketer and you are
thinking about article marketing...

Here's some advice (Hopefully you'll
read this before the article marketing
cult gets a hold of you):

Stay away from article marketing

If you can spare the same amount of
time it takes for an article to get approved,
learning how to use Pay-per-click - do
yourself a favor;

Learn how to use PPC.

One hundred bucks goes a long way
with PPC when you find the right clicks...

Article marketing will burn you out
and possibly turn you off from wanting to
be a marketer.

Personally, I don't even think article marketing
is worth spending the money outsourcing it.

If you are new to marketing... do yourself
a favor early on - don't listen to anyone that
tries to convince you that article marketing
is a viable source of traffic.

And don't listen to anyone that tries to prove that
what I am saying against article marketing is false.

Sure, you can go out and write 20 articles
everyday... you may even make a few dollars
doing it.

However, if you submit to the daily practice of
writing a bunch of articles - you will stunt the
growth of your business.

In other words - you will plateau!

Marc Anthony
#article #care #marketing #sucks
  • Profile picture of the author indexphp
    I agree that Article Marketing kinda sucks... but I wouldn't go as far as saying to 'stay away' from it. Article Marketing is a good way to build links.

    PPc is the way to go though if you're serious.
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    • Profile picture of the author rightattitude
      WOW... what you're saying about article marketing on this forum is pure heresy.

      I have to admit that I'm a bit afraid of losing money with ppc. I've heard more than once that the learning curve with ppc is usually very expensive. I'm not into wasting money.
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  • Profile picture of the author John Taylor
    I never listen to people who tell me what I should
    and shouldn't do; and I advise everyone else who
    reads this thread to think for themselves.

    Pitting article marketing against pay per click is at
    best a false argument.

    Article marketing and pay per click can work well
    in tandem.

    Choosing one over the other could very easily mean
    leaving money on the table.

    The best way of determining the best traffic source
    for your business is to test everything and select
    those that work for you.

    John
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    • Profile picture of the author marcanthony
      Originally Posted by John Taylor View Post

      I never listen to people who tell me what I should
      and shouldn't do; and I advise everyone else who
      reads this thread to think for themselves.

      Pitting article marketing against pay per click is at
      best a false argument.

      Article marketing and pay per click can work well
      in tandem.

      Choosing one over the other could very easily mean
      leaving money on the table.

      The best way of determining the best traffic source
      for your business is to test everything and select
      those that work for you.

      John
      I hear where you are coming from... I really do!

      And you are right - pitting PPC against
      Article marketing is a false argument because
      there is no comparison.

      PPC is much more effective...
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      • Profile picture of the author John Taylor
        Originally Posted by marcanthony View Post


        PPC is much more effective...
        That's the kind of response I'd expect from someone
        who doesn't understand leverage.

        Pay Per Click gets you one click.

        Articles can get you thousands of clicks over a long
        period of time.


        John
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        • Profile picture of the author stevecl
          Originally Posted by John Taylor View Post

          That's the kind of response I'd expect from someone
          who doesn't understand leverage.

          Pay Per Click gets you one click.

          Articles can get you thousands of clicks over a long
          period of time.


          John
          Here's an example of article marketing done the right way. Look at the page views.

          Free Reverse Cell Phone Lookup Websites - Do They Exist?

          Steve
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          I started with nothing and still have most of it left!

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        • Profile picture of the author marcanthony
          Originally Posted by John Taylor View Post

          That's the kind of response I'd expect from someone
          who doesn't understand leverage.

          Pay Per Click gets you one click.

          Articles can get you thousands of clicks over a long
          period of time.


          John
          PPC can get you thousands of clicks everyday...

          And, there are other things you can
          do for leverage that are much more effective

          Such as:

          • Finding affiliates to promote your products
          • And, doing JV's
          The last time I checked - each of those activities were
          considered leveraging.

          So, I understand leveraging a little John!
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          • Profile picture of the author John Taylor
            Originally Posted by marcanthony View Post


            So, I understand leveraging a little John!
            But clearly you don't understand maths.

            With PPC you pay for every click, the more clicks, the
            higher your costs. 1,000 clicks at $0.25 per click will
            cost you $250.

            With articles the cost per click diminishes over time.
            When a $25 article gets 1,000 clicks, your CPC is much,
            much lower.

            Bring in affiliates and JV Partners is just a lame attempt
            to muddy the "discussion".

            John
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            • Profile picture of the author marcanthony
              Originally Posted by John Taylor View Post

              But clearly you don't understand maths.

              With PPC you pay for every click, the more clicks, the
              higher your costs. 1,000 clicks at $0.25 per click will
              cost you $250.

              With articles the cost per click diminishes over time.
              When a $25 article gets 1,000 clicks, your CPC is much,
              much lower.

              Bring in affiliates and JV Partners is just a lame attempt
              to muddy the "discussion".

              John
              Yeah... I don't understand math.

              You're right!

              Now... let me get back to muddying
              the discussion by mentioning that finding
              JV partners and affiliates are ways to use
              leveraging in business.

              How lame of me!
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              • Profile picture of the author Tom B
                Banned
                Originally Posted by marcanthony View Post

                Yeah... I don't understand math.

                You're right!

                Now... let me get back to muddying
                the discussion by mentioning that finding
                JV partners and affiliates are ways to use
                leveraging in business.

                How lame of me!
                I agree with John that JV and affililates are taking the discussion away from the original OP.

                Now if you would have had someone manage your ppc campaign than that would have been a better use of leverage in regards to your argument.
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                • Profile picture of the author marcanthony
                  Originally Posted by Thomas Belknap View Post

                  I agree with John that JV and affililates are taking the discussion away from the original OP.

                  Now if you would have had someone manage your ppc campaign than that would have been a better use of leverage in regards to your argument.
                  O.K. then I will use that...

                  I most definitely wasn't attempting to muddy the discussion though.

                  Anyhow... thanks Thomas
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            • Profile picture of the author Lance K
              Originally Posted by John Taylor View Post

              But clearly you don't understand maths.

              With PPC you pay for every click, the more clicks, the
              higher your costs. 1,000 clicks at $0.25 per click will
              cost you $250.

              With articles the cost per click diminishes over time.
              When a $25 article gets 1,000 clicks, your CPC is much,
              much lower.

              Bring in affiliates and JV Partners is just a lame attempt
              to muddy the "discussion".

              John
              Who cares about CPC? Give me cost per action.

              You gotta factor conversions into the equation unless you just want to have an irrelevant pissing match.

              Not saying one's better than the other.

              If PPC gets 3% conversion on a $47 product and AM gets a 2% conversion on a $47 product and both get 1,000 visitors...

              PPC = $1,410
              AM = $940

              Difference of $470. Difference in cost is $225 ($250 for PPC and $25 for article).

              You are $245 ahead with PPC.

              And if you're promoting an affiliate product with a mere 50% commission...

              PPC = $705
              AM = $470

              Difference of $235. Difference in cost is $225 ($250 for PPC and $25 for article).

              You are still $10 ahead with PPC

              I'M NOT SAYING PPC IS BETTER. THIS IS JUST AN EXAMPLE!!!

              Just to demonstrate that without taking conversions into account, the entire argument is irrelevant.

              The example could just as easily show articles coming out ahead. You have to consider what affects conversions.
              • AdWords doesn't allow pop-ups
              • Page linked to in resource box may not speak to readers' core desires
              • etc.
              • etc.
              • etc.
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              • Profile picture of the author John Taylor
                Originally Posted by Lance K View Post


                If PPC gets 3% conversion on a $47 product and AM gets a 2% conversion on a $47 product and both get 1,000 visitors...
                Yep, it's easy to skew the argument by using a better
                conversion rate for PPC than for Article Marketing.

                Why not assume that the conversion rates will be the
                same?

                Using dedicated landing pages for article marketing is
                equally effective as using them for PPC. In fact the
                right type of landing page will dramatically increase the
                sales/optin conversion rate from article marketing.

                John
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                • Profile picture of the author Lance K
                  Originally Posted by John Taylor View Post

                  Yep, it's easy to skew the argument by using a better
                  conversion rate for PPC than for Article Marketing.

                  Why not assume that the conversion rates will be the
                  same?
                  May I assume that you stopped reading my reply at the point that you have quoted?

                  My point is...don't make assumptions about conversion rates. Track them. Especially if you want a definitive answer to which method sucks less. Just know that your test results could very well be different than the next guy's/gal's. Do what works for you.
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                  • Profile picture of the author John Taylor
                    Originally Posted by Lance K View Post


                    My point is...don't make assumptions about conversion rates. Track them. Especially if you want a definitive answer to which method sucks less. Just know that your test results could very well be different than the next guy's/gal's. Do what works for you.
                    You're preaching to the guy that wrote
                    the first ebook on Testing & Tracking
                    way back in 2003.

                    John
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                    • Profile picture of the author Lance K
                      John, I apologize if it sounded as if I was preaching to you. That was not my intent. I know that you get it. I was just throwing it out there for any newer folks who may not think of it.

                      Originally Posted by John Taylor View Post

                      You're preaching to the guy that wrote
                      the first ebook on Testing & Tracking
                      way back in 2003.

                      John
                      Signature
                      "You can have everything in life you want if you will just help enough other people get what they want."
                      ~ Zig Ziglar
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                  • Profile picture of the author Brandon Tanner
                    As a few others have already pointed out in this thread, neither article marketing or PPC "suck" in and of themselves. Proven methods only "suck" if you don't know how to properly implement them (or are just not interested in them for whatever reason).

                    The truth is, BOTH methods have the potential to generate a good income, *IF* you know what you're doing. But these 2 methods are very different from each other, so obviously for many people one method is going to play to their current skillset (or interest) better than the other.

                    Whenever someone flat out says that a particular method sucks, it's usually best to take it with a BIG grain of salt (ESPECIALLY if it has been proven that others are making good money using said method).

                    Much better to get out there and figure out what YOU'RE best at, and what works best for YOU, and then focus on that.

                    And of course outsource everything else.
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                • Profile picture of the author Lance K
                  Originally Posted by John Taylor View Post

                  Using dedicated landing pages for article marketing is
                  equally effective as using them for PPC. In fact the
                  right type of landing page will dramatically increase the
                  sales/optin conversion rate from article marketing.
                  I don't dispute that, John. Good point.

                  My only point was that trying to crown a winner with only half of the data (traffic) doesn't make much sense.

                  But if people use identical landing pages, then yes the conversion rates are likely to be similar if the traffic quality is similar.
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              • Profile picture of the author adamv
                There are a lot of things in this thread that I think are just flat out wrong and a lot of others that are right on the money. I don't feel like taking the time to address every single point that has been made but I will say this,

                I don't get this argument!!!
                Both can be very effective if done correctly and both can be a big waste of time and resources if done incorrectly. I have no problem with people expressing their opinions but I think it's irresponsible to say that something sucks when it's clearly working very well for a lot of people.

                I tried ppc in the past and lost money. I tried article marketing and made money. But I'm not about to tell anyone that ppc sucks and if you do it you're wasting your time. That's crazy. Same goes for article marketing. It doesn't suck for me and now that I'm finally making some money I certainly don't think I'm wasting my time.

                When I build up my income a little more I will eventually try PPC again and probably a whole bunch of other techniques as well.

                Find what works for you and run with it. Everything has pros and cons but for me, article marketing does NOT suck.
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                • Profile picture of the author richdirtygirl
                  Hi

                  lololololol all this reminds me a soccer game in UK or South America... OMG

                  you guys have the shirts on and the faces painted... I'm only waiting for someone to through something to the referee...

                  Marc, dear... I was going to offer you a lollipop to sooth the tantrum when I first saw the thread...

                  After going over all the lil details, I changed my mind... so, bonito, now you have your controversial thread...

                  You already have the positions in place, so if you didn't do it yet... it is time to contact the like-minded people and offer the jv or whatever you have in mind and retire with all the class you are able to show...

                  If you are interested in my lil experience... maybe you don't

                  this is what i do:

                  I use ppc at the beginning in all markets to test the waters.

                  After i have my winning keywords, I add to the mix the basic organic side: articles, press releases and web 2.0.

                  If a market doesn't worth the effort... then it doesn't worth my time...

                  If the niche really worth it i go even further...

                  Each method alone is risky from my point of view... if you don't have diversified sources of traffic you are in a very fragile position...

                  ppc will bring you back to square 1 if you pause your campaigns...

                  article marketing might bring browsers and not buyers if you are not a careful.

                  but ppc and article marketing are just 2 traffic streams... they have pros and contraries like the others.

                  In each niche you will look at your toolbox and find the set of tools that work best. And if you are not good with one tool and fix everything with another... well so be it honey...

                  In my case... I don't give my back to any of them... you know... the more the merrier...

                  RDG :p
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                  • Profile picture of the author marcanthony
                    Originally Posted by richdirtygirl View Post

                    Hi

                    lololololol all this reminds me a soccer game in UK or South America... OMG

                    you guys have the shirts on and the faces painted... I'm only waiting for someone to through something to the referee...

                    Marc, dear... I was going to offer you a lollipop to sooth the tantrum when I first saw the thread...

                    After going over all the lil details, I changed my mind... so, bonito, now you have your controversial thread...

                    You already have the positions in place, so if you didn't do it yet... it is time to contact the like-minded people and offer the jv or whatever you have in mind and retire with all the class you are able to show...

                    If you are interested in my lil experience... maybe you don't

                    this is what i do:

                    I use ppc at the beginning in all markets to test the waters.

                    After i have my winning keywords, I add to the mix the basic organic side: articles, press releases and web 2.0.

                    If a market doesn't worth the effort... then it doesn't worth my time...

                    If the niche really worth it i go even further...

                    Each method alone is risky from my point of view... if you don't have diversified sources of traffic you are in a very fragile position...

                    ppc will bring you back to square 1 if you pause your campaigns...

                    article marketing might bring browsers and not buyers if you are not a careful.

                    but ppc and article marketing are just 2 traffic streams... they have pros and contraries like the others.

                    In each niche you will look at your toolbox and find the set of tools that work best. And if you are not good with one tool and fix everything with another... well so be it honey...

                    In my case... I don't give my back to any of them... you know... the more the merrier...

                    RDG :p
                    Whenever I see your Avatar - I feel like I'm being hypnotized!
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        • Profile picture of the author Dean Shainin
          Originally Posted by John Taylor View Post

          That's the kind of response I'd expect from someone
          who doesn't understand leverage.

          Pay Per Click gets you one click.

          Articles can get you thousands of clicks over a long
          period of time.


          John
          From my point of view and just like John said here it's about leverage.

          There is no way I can afford to go after many of the niches I want to using PPC without some major risk. I have a PPC coach and it's a slow process to do things the right way and it takes work just like article marketing takes work to do things the right way.

          How much do you think it would have cost me using PPC to get this many views? This article has been viewed 76848 time(s).

          Let's say that this article really sucks and only got 10% CTR from its bio. It would still be a little over 7,000 clicks to my squeeze page.

          Here's the stats from one of my articles at EzineArticles.
          This article has been viewed 76848 time(s).

          That's just a single article.

          Hmm?

          Well, I did some simple math and research and I would actually have to pay .48 to .65 cents per click using Google AdWords (for the top 3 spots in the particular niche of the article example).

          These days I'm doing my best to try and understand were someone is getting their point of view from because in 'their reality' it must be true for them from their 'own past experience'.

          Cheers & Happy New Year,
          Dean
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          • Profile picture of the author Ron Douglas
            Originally Posted by Dean Shainin View Post

            From my point of view and just like John said here it's about leverage.

            There is no way I can afford to go after many of the niches I want to using PPC without some major risk. I have a PPC coach and it's a slow process to do things the right way and it takes work just like article marketing takes work to do things the right way.

            How much do you think it would have cost me using PPC to get this many views? This article has been viewed 76848 time(s).

            Let's say that this article really sucks and only got 10% CTR from its bio. It would still be a little over 7,000 clicks to my squeeze page.

            Here's the stats from one of my articles at EzineArticles.
            This article has been viewed 76848 time(s).

            That's just a single article.

            Hmm?

            Well, I did some simple math and research and I would actually have to pay .48 to .65 cents per click using Google AdWords (for the top 3 spots in the particular niche of the article example).

            These days I'm doing my best to try and understand were someone is getting their point of view from because in 'their reality' it must be true for them from their 'own past experience'.

            Cheers & Happy New Year,
            Dean

            That is a spectacular accomplishment Dean. It's also a bad comparison. Lets not give people the impression that those results are typical for article marketing.
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            • Profile picture of the author Dean Shainin
              Originally Posted by Ron Douglas View Post

              That is a spectacular accomplishment Dean. It's also a bad comparison. Lets not give people the impression that those results are typical for article marketing.
              Good point...

              That's why I say PPC takes work just like article marketing takes work to do things the right way.

              PPC ROCKS!

              ARTICLE MARKETING ROCKS!

              When you know how do them properly.

              PPC SUCKS!

              ARTICLE MARKETING SUCKS!

              When you don't know how to do them properly.

              Here are the typical results for article marketing. Lots of wasted time.

              Here are the typical results for PPC. Lot's of wasted time and money.

              Those are typical results. The idea here it to master your craft whatever it might be.

              I've mastered article marketing so it's a bad comparison for sure. I'm still working on mastering PPC but I know I'll get there very soon.

              Cheers,
              Dean
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            • Profile picture of the author cloudchaser22
              Finally, I've reached reading the last post.
              I've just spent about an hour reading this entire thread...

              So let me get this straight as a newbie.

              PPC involves more money, while Article Marketing involves more time.

              This is interesting to me because I've started out with Article Marketing, and since then, I've lost both money, and time.

              To make things more clearer, here are my results starting out with Article Marketing (estimates):

              Money:
              1) $200 on website designer
              2) $150 on social bookmarking service
              3) $100 on various domain names and hosting services
              4) $100 on e-books/WSO's teaching you about effective Article Marketing strategies

              Time:
              1) 4 months doing article marketing campaign
              2) 150 hours researching, writing articles, creating websites, writing reviews, backlinking
              3) 90 articles written and published

              Article Results:
              1) 5000 Views
              2) 500-700 URL Clicks

              Total earned:
              1) $180.00

              That's it. The reason I didn't do PPC was because of the fear of investing and losing a lot of money. But I've already invested a lot of money, as well as time in AM.

              Now I'm starting to wonder, could the time and money I have spent in AM, show me better results if I had spent them 4 months ago on PPC?
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    • Profile picture of the author Charles E. White
      Originally Posted by John Taylor View Post

      I never listen to people who tell me what I should
      and shouldn't do; and I advise everyone else who
      reads this thread to think for themselves.

      Pitting article marketing against pay per click is at
      best a false argument.

      John

      Absolutely John! I'd hate to think of all the money I would have left behind if it wasn't for article marketing.

      In my opinion, this was very poor advice and like comparing apples to oranges!
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    • Profile picture of the author Charann Miller
      I'm always losing my shirt with PPC. I can't stay in the game long enough to really master it because before I know it, BAM!, my budget and then some gets blown.
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      • Profile picture of the author Tom B
        Banned
        Originally Posted by Rannie1 View Post

        I'm always losing my shirt with PPC. I can't stay in the game long enough to really master it because before I know it, BAM!, my budget and then some gets blown.
        Seems you might not be learning from your mistakes.

        You might want to post for some help in the PPC portion of the forum.
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      • Profile picture of the author zerofill
        Originally Posted by Rannie1 View Post

        I'm always losing my shirt with PPC. I can't stay in the game long enough to really master it because before I know it, BAM!, my budget and then some gets blown.
        Play with it on lower priced PPC places like 7search.com etc...first...

        Then on AdWords I recommend you stay away from the content network at first...and stick strictly to Google search only...

        Target only a few phrase match keywords at first...

        Then move on from there...to the content network etc...target the sites in your niche you want your ads to display on. You can do that in AdWords no a days...

        Although I am no PPC Guru...but had success with Amazon products...they are rather easy to target with AdWords... It was kind of like...I would spend $100 and make $150... But anymore I don't have enough time to spend on it...

        Especially with so many ways to drive traffic these days...

        Some people enjoy PPC a lot...because they can pretty much manage everything pertaining to their traffic from one place. They will sit their and watch their AdWords account like a day trader sitting at home with the stock market 8)
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    • Profile picture of the author TheAtHomeCouple
      Originally Posted by John Taylor View Post

      I never listen to people who tell me what I should
      and shouldn't do; and I advise everyone else who
      reads this thread to think for themselves.

      Pitting article marketing against pay per click is at
      best a false argument.

      Article marketing and pay per click can work well
      in tandem.

      Choosing one over the other could very easily mean
      leaving money on the table.

      The best way of determining the best traffic source
      for your business is to test everything and select
      those that work for you.

      John
      BANG BABY! Took the words right out of my mouth... It's all about utilizing as many sources as possible.. test, and sift out what doesn't fit within your business model..

      Dude thinks article marketing sucks.. good for him. I have close friends online clearing a few g's per month ONLY from their article marketing efforts (with outsourcing of course)... and these dudes only spend about 2-3 hours per day maximum managing this stream of revenue...

      It took them time to get to that point, but my point is each person will experience things differently - depending on what their goals are, how their plan looks on paper and how far they are willing to go without calling it quits..

      For the guy who wrote this, article marketing sucks because he probably sucks at it... it's the only thing I can think of, because he looks like a smart guy.

      Another thing, you can't be telling noobs to start off with PPC.. because both you and I know people loose familys and blow college funds chasing the adwords dragon... article marketing is a much SAFER and feasible way for noobs to get some commish moving through their accounts...

      my 2 cents..
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  • Profile picture of the author stevecl
    Have you just started a controversial topic to promote your Sig?

    Steve
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    I started with nothing and still have most of it left!

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    • Profile picture of the author marcanthony
      Originally Posted by stevecl View Post

      Have you just started a controversial topic to promote your Sig?

      Steve
      Are you kidding me?

      I'm going to remove my sig right now because of you.
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      • Profile picture of the author Steven Wagenheim
        Marc, here's what I have to say to your post.

        If I listened to you...I'd be broke right now instead of being a 6 figure earner.

        Of all the sanctimonious, crap infested, bull cookies I have ever heard in my
        life.

        There are just no words for how irresponsible what you just posted is.

        I'm going to leave it at that because if I really go off on this load of clap
        trap you'll be ducking for the nearest bomb shelter.

        Un-freakin-believable.
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        • Profile picture of the author marcanthony
          Originally Posted by Steven Wagenheim View Post

          Marc, here's what I have to say to your post.

          If I listened to you...I'd be broke right now instead of being a 6 figure earner.

          Of all the sanctimonious, crap infested, bull cookies I have ever heard in my
          life.

          There are just no words for how irresponsible what you just posted is.

          I'm going to leave it at that because if I really go off on this load of clap
          trap you'll be ducking for the nearest bomb shelter.

          Un-freakin-believable.
          That's why you shouldn't listen to me...

          This is my opinion... if you don't like it -
          that's fine with me.

          And please, send me off to the nearest bomb
          shelter... don't hold back.

          I am in no way afraid of you or your reputation
          here.

          You are nothing more than an egotistical forum
          poster to me that likes all the attention.

          I've seen you bully many people here that you
          disagree with... you won't bully me.

          If you don't like what I have to say - just
          ignore me.
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          • Profile picture of the author Steven Wagenheim
            Originally Posted by marcanthony View Post


            If you don't like what I have to say - just
            ignore me.
            I don't ignore people who give members bad advice.

            Did you ever hear me knock pay per click advertising?

            It is a fine method of promotion if you know what you're doing.

            But if you don't, it can eat a hole in your pocket the size of the Grand
            Canyon.

            Article marketing is a way to test your squeeze pages, sales pages, etc.
            without burning a hole in your pocket and if done correctly, can generate
            a substantial income.

            As far as your comments about me personally, I'm just going to ignore them
            as it's obvious that you've been taken over by a pod person today.

            Talk about rude.
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            • Profile picture of the author marcanthony
              Originally Posted by Steven Wagenheim View Post

              I don't ignore people who give members bad advice.

              Did you ever hear me knock pay per click advertising?

              It is a fine method of promotion if you know what you're doing.

              But if you don't, it can eat a hole in your pocket the size of the Grand
              Canyon.

              Article marketing is a way to test your squeeze pages, sales pages, etc.
              without burning a hole in your pocket and if done correctly, can generate
              a substantial income.

              As far as your comments about me personally, I'm just going to ignore them
              as it's obvious that you've been taken over by a pod person today.

              Talk about rude.
              You gave your opinion about me... I gave mine
              about you.

              And don't give me that rude crap either.

              You have been rude on countless occasions here...

              You just don't get called on it much.

              And so what if you did choose to crap on PPC...

              I can assure you that I wouldn't take it personal.

              I don't think that my face should show up next
              to PPC in the dictionary like you think yours
              should show up next to article marketing.

              So bull cookies to you!
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              • Profile picture of the author dwshoup
                This is getting ridiculous.
                We come to the forum to learn and maybe pick up new ideas. NOT to see two people argue back and forth. Advising newbies to avoid article marketing is bad advise. Newbies don't generally have a budget to allow for a bunch of paid advertising methods such as ppc. The main purpose of article marketing as I understand it is for SEO get links to your site so google ranks you higher.
                IM is work no matter what methods you use. You still have to put in the time to make it all come together. That is what newbies should be informed so they don't lose heart over not striking it rich just because they have a website up.
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                • Profile picture of the author marcanthony
                  Originally Posted by dwshoup View Post

                  This is getting ridiculous.
                  This got ridiculous over a month ago.

                  Advising newbies to avoid article marketing is bad advise.
                  This is your opinion... I disagree!

                  Newbies don't generally have a budget to allow for a bunch of paid advertising methods such as ppc.
                  Not having a budget is an excuse. People come up with money for stuff they can't afford all the time.
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            • Profile picture of the author Lance K
              Originally Posted by Steven Wagenheim View Post

              Article marketing is a way to test your squeeze pages, sales pages, etc.
              Personally, I find that statement to be ass backwards.
              Signature
              "You can have everything in life you want if you will just help enough other people get what they want."
              ~ Zig Ziglar
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          • Profile picture of the author mdunn123
            Originally Posted by marcanthony View Post

            That's why you shouldn't listen to me...

            This is my opinion... if you don't like it -
            that's fine with me.

            And please, send me off to the nearest bomb
            shelter... don't hold back.

            I am in no way afraid of you or your reputation
            here.

            You are nothing more than an egotistical forum
            poster to me that likes all the attention.

            I've seen you bully many people here that you
            disagree with... you won't bully me.

            If you don't like what I have to say - just
            ignore me.

            You've done it now! Go for it Steve! lol

            Having an opinion is one thing...hurting other new comers to this business by dishing out this type of "advice" is another...


            Oh by the way...USUALLY Steve has plenty of experience with the things he disagrees with, and just like you has the right to voice it.
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            • Profile picture of the author Steven Wagenheim
              Originally Posted by mdunn123 View Post

              You've done it now! Go for it Steve! lol
              No, I'm done with this moron.
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              • Profile picture of the author marcanthony
                Originally Posted by Steven Wagenheim View Post

                No, I'm done with this moron.
                Moron?

                I guess that makes you feel like we are even.

                Hell... I should be the one that's done with
                you.

                Who do you think that you are?

                Just because you have over 10,000 posts
                doesn't make you a forum god.

                You are not above being disagreed with.
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          • Profile picture of the author Hanuka
            Originally Posted by marcanthony View Post

            That's why you shouldn't listen to me...

            This is my opinion... if you don't like it -
            that's fine with me.

            And please, send me off to the nearest bomb
            shelter... don't hold back.

            I am in no way afraid of you or your reputation
            here.

            You are nothing more than an egotistical forum
            poster to me that likes all the attention.

            I've seen you bully many people here that you
            disagree with... you won't bully me.

            If you don't like what I have to say - just
            ignore me.
            Aye aye m8! xD
            I'm tottaly with ya on this one.
            Signature

            ~Good Brother~

            Advertising is 85% confusion and 15% commission.. ROFL! xD

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            • Profile picture of the author Eric Lorence
              You are nothing more than an egotistical forum
              poster to me that likes all the attention.
              A little ironic considering this is below your avatar...

              I'm always right!
              Oh and this...

              One hundred bucks goes a long way
              with PPC when you find the right clicks...
              Now you've demonstrated that you know little about PPC.

              Most newbies will be lucky to earn $110 off that $100.

              Article marketing will burn you out
              and possibly turn you off from wanting to
              be a marketer.
              But you failed to mention the hours per day of tedious research and testing required to build a business out of PPC
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              • Profile picture of the author marcanthony
                Originally Posted by Eric Lorence View Post

                A little ironic considering this is below your avatar...



                Oh and this...



                Now you've demonstrated that you know little about PPC.

                Most newbies will be lucky to earn $110 off that $100.



                But you failed to mention the hours per day of tedious research and testing required to build a business out of PPC
                Eric... what I have under my Avatar is a joke...
                But, I will take that on the chin.

                I can appreciate you having Steven's back though.

                And, you are right - most newbies would be lucky
                to keep from going broke with PPC.

                But, that lesson needs to be learned sooner rather
                than later.
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          • Profile picture of the author melanied
            Originally Posted by marcanthony View Post

            You are nothing more than an egotistical forum
            poster to me that likes all the attention.
            Hi pot, meet kettle.
            Signature
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            • Profile picture of the author marcanthony
              Originally Posted by melanied View Post

              Hi pot, meet kettle.
              Hi Warrior, meet 2 month old thread that continuously gets resurrected by new warriors trying to get their post counts up--while simultaneously confusing older warriors into thinking that this is a new thread that hasn't been beaten into the ground already.

              Nice to meet you!
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        • Profile picture of the author NewbiesDiary
          Originally Posted by Steven Wagenheim View Post

          Marc, here's what I have to say to your post.

          If I listened to you...I'd be broke right now instead of being a 6 figure earner.

          Of all the sanctimonious, crap infested, bull cookies I have ever heard in my
          life.

          There are just no words for how irresponsible what you just posted is.

          I'm going to leave it at that because if I really go off on this load of clap
          trap you'll be ducking for the nearest bomb shelter.

          Un-freakin-believable.
          haha - Steven it's really unhealthy for you to keep your feelings all bottled up like that - you really should let some of it out.
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        • Profile picture of the author lgibbon
          Banned
          Originally Posted by Steven Wagenheim View Post


          Of all the sanctimonious, crap infested, bull cookies I have ever heard in my
          life.
          Now that reminds me of someone................
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        • Profile picture of the author cypherslock
          Aww come on Steve tell us how you REALLY feel. Don't be wishy-washy (that's a technical term folks!)
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          • Profile picture of the author Steven Wagenheim
            Originally Posted by cypherslock View Post

            Aww come on Steve tell us how you REALLY feel. Don't be wishy-washy (that's a technical term folks!)
            Actually, Marc and I have had a civilized communication through PM and
            have patched things up. I was out of line and he was pushing buttons on
            purpose.

            All is well in Warrior land now.

            And who knows what may come from this.
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            • Profile picture of the author cypherslock
              Solid. Of course the trick is to do a bit of everything. AND SCHEDULE IT. That's the hardest part. Much respect.
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      • Profile picture of the author Eric Lorence
        Article Marketing is work, simple as that.

        And not everyone is cut out for it.

        But PPC can put you in the poor house if you don't know what your doing.

        PPC is just not a viable option for most new people, one major reason being that it is not a level playing field.

        A new person could copy a PPC veterans campaign to the letter and still end up paying several dollars per click more just because they have yet to establish a reputation.

        Don't fool yourself, learning PPC is work just the same.

        Just because someone has made some money at it, certainly doesn't mean they've mastered it.
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      • Profile picture of the author Asher
        Originally Posted by marcanthony View Post

        Are you kidding me?

        I'm going to remove my sig right now because of you.
        Ha, this made me laugh. Missed it earlier
        Signature
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      • Profile picture of the author Louis Raven
        Originally Posted by marcanthony View Post

        Are you kidding me?

        I'm going to remove my sig right now because of you.
        Fist of all I don't agree with your original post.

        Second of all, Sir.. please put your sig back as you had done nothing wrong. We're all allowed sig files and starting threads based on the niche's we specialize in is brilliant forum marketing which everyone does.

        Get your sig back in there son.

        Have you just started a controversial topic to promote your Sig?

        Steve
        I love giving an infraction to a troll.

        Louis
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        • Profile picture of the author marcanthony
          Originally Posted by Louis Raven View Post

          Fist of all I don't agree with your original post.

          Second of all, Sir.. please put your sig back as you had done nothing wrong. We're all allowed sig files and starting threads based on the niche's we specialize in is brilliant forum marketing which everyone does.

          Get your sig back in there son.


          I love giving an infraction to a troll.

          Louis
          I am going to keep my sig empty for now Louis...

          It will return another time...

          Thanks
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  • Profile picture of the author stevecl
    Don't hold back Steven. Didn't think it would be long before you popped up.

    Steve
    Signature

    I started with nothing and still have most of it left!

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    • Profile picture of the author marcanthony
      Originally Posted by stevecl View Post

      Don't hold back Steven. Didn't think it would be long before you popped up.

      Steve
      I knew that he would pop up too.

      No one can have anything to say against
      or in favor of article marketing without
      him being involved.
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    • Profile picture of the author JamesFraze
      Originally Posted by stevecl View Post

      Don't hold back Steven. Didn't think it would be long before you popped up.

      Steve

      I clicked just to see what Steven would say haha.

      Although I agree that there are much faster ways to market (PPC is instantaneous), article marketing is good for free, fire and forget traffic. I have written several articles that each get up to 4,000 visitors each month, free. Not all of them do so good though - and this is without doing all the tricks and book marking bots that people do.

      I think it comes down to a choice of how to spend your resources (time versus money).
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  • Profile picture of the author lstoops
    I totally agree with John. The biggest reason I write articles is to get backlinks. That doesn't suck, does it?
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  • Profile picture of the author Hanuka
    IMO article marketing sucks -- if you do it manually.
    Outsourcing it is just another way to generate traffic(and backlinks if you're
    SEOing ur site - in this case Article Marketing ismuch better than just for raw traffic)

    All-in-all, article marketing is just another source of income, and if you can
    get other people to spend their time on this troublesome work, why not do it?
    Signature

    ~Good Brother~

    Advertising is 85% confusion and 15% commission.. ROFL! xD

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  • Profile picture of the author milamber
    I 100% agree on you marc.. Article marketing really sucks.. More people go on looks than reading..
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  • Profile picture of the author Asher
    (looks at the thread title)

    Article Marketers - Take Up Arms!
    Write this bugger to death
    Signature
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    • Profile picture of the author marcanthony
      Originally Posted by Asher View Post

      (looks at the thread title)

      Article Marketers - Take Up Arms!
      Write this bugger to death
      Bring it on!
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  • Profile picture of the author mdunn123
    Originally Posted by marcanthony View Post

    If you are a new marketer and you are
    thinking about article marketing...

    Here's some advice (Hopefully you'll
    read this before the article marketing
    cult gets a hold of you):

    Stay away from article marketing

    If you can spare the same amount of
    time it takes for an article to get approved,
    learning how to use Pay-per-click - do
    yourself a favor;

    Learn how to use PPC.

    One hundred bucks goes a long way
    with PPC when you find the right clicks...

    Article marketing will burn you out
    and possibly turn you off from wanting to
    be a marketer.

    Personally, I don't even think article marketing
    is worth spending the money outsourcing it.

    If you are new to marketing... do yourself
    a favor early on - don't listen to anyone that
    tries to convince you that article marketing
    is a viable source of traffic.

    And don't listen to anyone that tries to prove that
    what I am saying against article marketing is false.

    Sure, you can go out and write 20 articles
    everyday... you may even make a few dollars
    doing it.

    However, if you submit to the daily practice of
    writing a bunch of articles - you will stunt the
    growth of your business.

    In other words - you will plateau!

    Marc Anthony
    Really?

    You ever stop and think...."crap...maybe I suck at this article marketing thing?"

    Obviously not...it's not worth your time of course.

    Yes, PPC, and paid advertising methods are the bomb...I love them, and make more use of them now than I do article marketing or SEO in general....

    But...

    Since I started article marketing a year and half ago I've put an extra $40K in my pocket and it helped launch me into marketing. So....I guess it must have been fake, not real, and can't possibly have been worth a couples months of work...because...well...

    You said it....it's sucks, it's stupid, and it just doesn't work...and boy will it burn you out and push you out of IM. :/


    P.S. By the way...just some stats from Ezine articles alone....

    I have 186 articles

    260,735 views on them total

    they have been published on other sites with my links and content intact 2,220 (that I know about)

    My links in the articles themselves have been clicked on 72,524 times.

    All this took me about two months of work setting everything up, and while I don't really pay much attention to it now...A LOT of my articles and blogs are still ranked very high and make me easy sales on a daily basis...on TOP of my businesses that I grow on a daily basis.
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    • Profile picture of the author marcanthony
      Originally Posted by mdunn123 View Post

      Really?

      You ever stop and think...."crap...maybe I suck at this article marketing thing?"

      Obviously not...it's not worth your time of course.

      Yes, PPC, and paid advertising methods are the bomb...I love them, and make more use of them now than I do article marketing or SEO in general....

      But...

      Since I started article marketing a year and half ago I've put an extra $40K in my pocket and it helped launch me into marketing. So....I guess it must have been fake, not real, and can't possibly have been worth a couples months of work...because...well...

      You said it....it's sucks, it's stupid, and it just doesn't work...and boy will it burn you out and push you out of IM. :/


      P.S. By the way...just some stats from Ezine articles alone....

      I have 186 articles

      260,735 views on them total

      they have been published on other sites with my links and content intact 2,220 (that I know about)

      My links in the articles themselves have been clicked on 72,524 times.

      All this took me about two months of work setting everything up, and while I don't really pay much attention to it now...A LOT of my articles and blogs are still ranked very high and make me easy sales on a daily basis...on TOP of my businesses that I grow on a daily basis.
      Congratulations!

      I don't doubt that there are tons of
      exceptions. You being one of them.

      I generalize on purpose! You are not
      the majority.

      Take care
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      • Profile picture of the author mdunn123
        Originally Posted by marcanthony View Post

        Congratulations!

        I don't doubt that there are tons of
        exceptions. You being one of them.

        I generalize on purpose! You are not
        the majority.

        Take care

        Why the hell do people still think that there is some sort of "exception" or "luck" involved with article marketing...or seo...etc?


        P.S. I really don't mean to keep posting in response to other posts...sorry about that guys!
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        • Profile picture of the author marcanthony
          Originally Posted by mdunn123 View Post

          Why the hell do people still think that there is some sort of "exception" or "luck" involved with article marketing...or seo...etc?


          P.S. I really don't mean to keep posting in response to other posts...sorry about that guys!
          Because part of it is luck... no matter how much
          you think that you have article marketing or SEO
          mastered - Google can still come along with a
          new change that wipes you out.

          I personally know of a few marketers that lost
          $2,000 a month incomes from article marketing
          due to a search engine shift.

          When that happens with PPC - it's easier to adjust.
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  • Profile picture of the author Asher
    Marc,

    Article marketing doesn't suck - far from it, it
    has lots of advantage compared to using PPC.

    PPC, however, has lots of advantages as well.
    I'm not saying it doesn't.

    But it's all about marketing, isn't it? Who
    markets the most (which results in most traffic),
    wins.

    Asher
    Signature
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  • Profile picture of the author Asher
    Hi Marc,

    I'm curious though, why do you think everyone
    should just learn PPC and forget about article
    marketing?

    What's backing your point of view?

    For me, I feel that both methods have to be
    used. But for newbies who are on a budget,
    I recommend article marketing.

    However, once the "newbie" has moved on
    from being on a tight budget, it's a good
    time to learn PPC. Since PPC shortcuts a
    lot of written work.

    I say, use both. Neither method suck

    Asher

    (yes, I'm very politically correct! )
    Signature
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    • Profile picture of the author marcanthony
      Originally Posted by Asher View Post

      Hi Marc,

      I'm curious though, why do you think everyone
      should just learn PPC and forget about article
      marketing?

      What's backing your point of view?

      For me, I feel that both methods have to be
      used. But for newbies who are on a budget,
      I recommend article marketing.

      However, once the "newbie" has moved on
      from being on a tight budget, it's a good
      time to learn PPC. Since PPC shortcuts a
      lot of written work.

      I say, use both. Neither method suck

      Asher

      (yes, I'm very politically correct! )
      Thanks for asking me... my intention
      was to stir up a real discussion about this
      by being controversial.

      Not a knockdown, drag-out argument.

      This is what I mean...

      PPC provides more flexibility to marketers
      when it comes to testing keywords.

      It's much easier to pinpoint what you
      are doing write and wrong.

      If your getting impressions - but not
      clicks - you probably need to write a
      better ad.

      If you are getting tons of clicks and no
      conversions - you probably need to
      pick better keywords.

      With article marketing it works much
      differently.


      Sure... you can test out keywords - but,
      what if you have to write 20 articles to
      conduct a solid test.

      What happens if a keyword gets stale
      and stops converting.

      You can't alter an older article without it
      possibly loosing it's authority.

      Now... if you are writing articles for
      back links, there are many other ways
      to get back links that are much easier
      than writing articles.

      For every article written - I can
      contact other site owners in my niche
      and get a back link from a site with more
      Page Rank than any article directory
      that you can think of.

      I can really go on and on about this...

      Ultimately, I think that article marketing
      is a big waste of time when you consider
      the amount of time that goes into it.

      And if more people were less intimidated
      by the idea of actually learning how to use
      PPC - I truly believe that they would be better
      off...

      And, they would find that they have the
      potential to make much more money

      Again, thank you for being open - and actually
      questioning my view. Rather than assuming
      that I was attacking you.

      Take care
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      • Profile picture of the author 1medic
        Originally Posted by marcanthony View Post

        For every article written - I can
        contact other site owners in my niche
        and get a back link from a site with more
        Page Rank than any article directory
        that you can think of.
        Hey! You've never actually done this have you? I'm an SEO pro and be aware, that statement is a *bit inaccurate. Damn! (I'm being kind).

        I don't really care about any opinions about PPC vs Article marketing (it's like comparing hammers and drills - who cares). So I was reading the thread with bored interest but that statement jolted me. It's so off-target.

        Isn't it kind of fairer and better (to other forum members) to post about things you have actual experience of? Most of us have been mislead in the past by nice sounding forum posts that came from people's imaginations.

        Luke
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        • Profile picture of the author marcanthony
          Originally Posted by 1medic View Post

          Hey! You've never actually done this have you? I'm an SEO pro and be aware, that statement is a *bit inaccurate. Damn! (I'm being kind).

          I don't really care about any opinions about PPC vs Article marketing (it's like comparing hammers and drills - why bother). So I was reading the thread with bored interest but that statement jolted me. It's so off-target.

          It's kind of fairer and better (to other forum members) to post about things you have actual experience of. Most of us have been mislead in the past by nice sounding forum posts that came from people's imaginations.

          Luke
          No... I haven't actually done that before.

          I was being mildly sarcastic when I made that comment
          and I wrote it wrong.

          I should have said that I would have a better chance at
          pulling that off.

          So, you're right.
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    • Profile picture of the author Tom B
      Banned
      I think Marc has a point.

      I don't necessarily think article marketing is crap.. well I don't and will not do it but I do think that it kills the interest of new people when they continue churning out article after article with very little results.


      I doubt if most people can write the quantity that is needed to make a living unless they have been doing it for a long time. I still think you can make more money by using PPC so why would you put money into outsourcing.

      PPC can give you immediate results. It does cost money but you can flesh out conversions pretty quickly.

      Let's face it, most people don't have a lot of time. PPC is work but not like article marketing.


      I have to agree with a lot Marc is saying.
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      • Profile picture of the author John Taylor
        Originally Posted by Thomas Belknap View Post


        I doubt if most people can write the quantity that is needed to make a living unless they have been doing it for a long time.
        Who says you have to write them yourself?

        I very rarely wite my own articles, I have a team of writers
        and I use submission services such as iSnare to distribute
        my articles.

        Hence my earlier point about leverage.


        John
        Signature
        John's Internet Marketing News, Views & Reviews: John Taylor Online
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        • Profile picture of the author lakshaybehl
          Originally Posted by John Taylor View Post

          Who says you have to write them yourself?

          I very rarely wite my own articles, I have a team of writers
          and I use submission services such as iSnare to distribute
          my articles.

          Hence my earlier point about leverage.


          John
          Exactly,

          This IS LEVERAGE!

          And we all need to understand it better... Most people think that Youtube traffic is all about YOU creating videos and trying to drive traffic over to your website. Where a smart marketer would actually go out and BUY the accounts that are getting a lot of views on Youtube... EASY!

          Great piece of advice John!

          @OP:

          Articles work... PERIOD. And no, I never burned myself out of writing these.

          Yes, I love PPC too... But both PPC and Article Marketing work well.

          -Lakshay
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        • Profile picture of the author Tom B
          Banned
          Originally Posted by John Taylor View Post

          Who says you have to write them yourself?

          I very rarely wite my own articles, I have a team of writers
          and I use submission services such as iSnare to distribute
          my articles.

          Hence my earlier point about leverage.


          John

          HEHE, I knew you would say that which is why I added a few more things.

          This is what I got out of Marc's op. A new person will have a better chance at success by putting their efforts into PPC (I do believe that myself).

          Most people don't because they are limited on cash. That is why most go towards article marketing.

          It doesn't mean these people have more time but more than likely less because of family and full time work. PPC is tricky but can be learned. You can even use free coupons when opening up accounts with adwords, yahoo and msn.

          I do think people will see more results faster and can scale the traffic more if they do find a winning campaign. It is much harder for article marketing, even when you hire others to write. You will see the results faster and can tweak much faster than waiting for articles to send you traffic.

          BTW, I don't think article marketing sucks. I am not personally interested in it.


          Just my opinion of course.
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          • Profile picture of the author lakshaybehl
            Originally Posted by Thomas Belknap View Post

            HEHE, I knew you would say that which is why I added a few more things.

            This is what I got out of Marc's op. He believes, and so do I, that a new person will have a better chance at success by putting their efforts into PPC.

            Most people don't because they are limited on cash. That is why most go towards article marketing.

            It doesn't mean these people have more time but more than likely less because of family and full time work. PPC is tricky but can be learned. You can even use free coupons when opening up accounts with adwords, yahoo and msn.

            I do think people will see more results faster and can scale the traffic more if they do find a winning campaign. It is much harder for article marketing, even when you hire others to write.



            Just my opinion of course.
            Actually it works out that PPC can be equally easy to learn as Article Marketing. Really depends upon what you want to do... I leanred both. I work on both.

            -Lakshay
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            • Profile picture of the author Tom B
              Banned
              Originally Posted by lakshaybehl View Post

              Actually it works out that PPC can be equally easy to learn as Article Marketing. Really depends upon what you want to do... I leanred both. I work on both.

              -Lakshay

              You get feedback faster from using PPC, IMO. I am all for people adding article marketing after they tweaked out conversions but I want my site converting the best it can as fast as possible.
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              • Profile picture of the author lakshaybehl
                Originally Posted by Thomas Belknap View Post

                You get feedback faster from using PPC, IMO. I am all for people adding article marketing after they tweaked out conversions but I want my site converting the best it can as fast as possible.
                That's right... testing is definitely through PPC.

                But from many other points of views... Articles are REQUIREd. Especially branding... PPC ads do not brand you anywhere (unless of course you know some sneaky tactics)

                -Lakshay
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                • Profile picture of the author TheMagicShow
                  Originally Posted by lakshaybehl View Post

                  That's right... testing is definitely through PPC.

                  But from many other points of views... Articles are REQUIREd. Especially branding... PPC ads do not brand you anywhere (unless of course you know some sneaky tactics)

                  -Lakshay
                  you need to look at adwords more closely if you don't think it can't be used for branding.
                  Signature

                  " You can either give a man a fish and feed him for a day OR teach him how to catch a fish and it will feed him for a lifetime"

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          • Profile picture of the author John Taylor
            Originally Posted by Thomas Belknap View Post

            Most people don't because they are limited on cash. That is why most go towards article marketing.
            So, when people have limited cash to spend on PPC what do
            they do while they are waiting for their income to arrive?

            If you promote other people's products as a Clickbank affiliate,
            it can take anything from two weeks and upwards before you
            receive your commissions.

            PPC requires a significant amount of working capital, otherwise
            known as cash flow.

            Writing and distributing your own articles can help you to build
            that vital cash flow. Then, when your business funds allow, you
            leverage other people's time.

            John
            Signature
            John's Internet Marketing News, Views & Reviews: John Taylor Online
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            • Profile picture of the author Tom B
              Banned
              Originally Posted by John Taylor View Post

              So, when people have limited cash to spend on PPC what do
              they do while they are waiting for their income to arrive?

              If you promote other people's products as a Clickbank affiliate,
              it can take anything from two weeks and upwards before you
              receive your commissions.

              PPC requires a significant amount of working capital, otherwise
              known as cash flow.

              Writing and distributing your own articles can help you to build
              that vital cash flow. Then, when your business funds allow, you
              leverage other people's time.

              John

              Waiting on income?

              I guess that depends on what they are selling through PPC. If they are selling their own products then they won't have to wait for their income. They can recycle their profits back into PPC scaling it with more traffic once they figured out their best conversions. It shouldn't take too much money to do that.

              Like I said, starting out they can use the free coupons for starting an account at the major 3. That can be seed money that they can use to test, tweak and learn.

              The problem with most people is they are afraid of losing money. I am more afraid of losing time rather than money. I can make the money back but my time will forever be lost.


              Cashflow is important, not just at a business level. Working a full time job and having family duties will kill a business as well. Sometimes you need to put your time as a major factor when deciding what is easier.

              Most of the stories I have seen on here when dealing with article marketing involves an enourmous amount of work with very little income. I do think for the same effort they would be making more money in ppc.

              At least, it was enough for me not to do article marketing and to concentrate on ppc.

              I suspect that people do have enough money to invest into ppc if they got rid of a few trips to McDonalds or passing the beer aisle.
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            • Profile picture of the author naruq
              My suggestion is include article marketing as a part of your marketing mix. Examples, ppc, offline marketing, direct mail, postcards etc.
              Signature

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            • Profile picture of the author saysanta
              i don't agree bum marketing(article marketing) still works,if you go about it right you are guarantee of some cool traffics.just take your time to study the pros and cons of article marketing and you will see its fun all the way.
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            • Profile picture of the author James Clark
              Hey Marc,

              The object is find the traffic,and stand in front of it. Ezine Articles has 15,000,000 visitors per month. Just in case,you are a little slow out of the hut,that is 500,000 a day. If you write a few articles,and get a few click, keep on writing. You don't have to got to Harvard!

              Jimmy.
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            • Profile picture of the author Dayne Dylan
              Banned
              I know one thing is for sure, Marc you have an attitude problem and having something that says, "I'm always right" under your name just solidifies that.

              I feel for you. Karma my friend...karma.

              Lastly, its not about throwing up hundreds of crap articles. It's about quality and where you get them posted. ;-)
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              • Profile picture of the author marcanthony
                Originally Posted by Dayne Dylan View Post

                I know one thing is for sure, Marc you have an attitude problem and having something that says, "I'm always right" under your name just solidifies that.

                I feel for you. Karma my friend...karma.

                Lastly, its not about throwing up hundreds of crap articles. It's about quality and where you get them posted. ;-)
                If you actually got to know me - you would have a different opinion...

                Personally, I don't know how Karma plays a role in any of this.

                The silly quote under my avatar seems to have rattled a lot of people.

                That's strange to me...

                What I find even stranger, is that people can't just disagree with me without being so angry.
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                • Profile picture of the author marcanthony
                  I really think that some people are misunderstanding my reasons for being against article marketing...

                  As I've said before - it has nothing to do with my success from article marketing or lack thereof.

                  There are many positive things that can be said about article marketing... I chose to mention what I believe to be the negative things.

                  Should I only start threads about things that everyone will agree with?
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                  • Profile picture of the author Steven Wagenheim
                    Originally Posted by marcanthony View Post

                    I really think that some people are misunderstanding my reasons for being against article marketing...

                    As I've said before - it has nothing to do with my success from article marketing or lack thereof.

                    There are many positive things that can be said about article marketing... I chose to mention what I believe to be the negative things.

                    Should I only start threads about things that everyone will agree with?
                    You know what gang? I finally get it. I understand why Marc started this
                    thread and what he's actually saying.

                    He accomplished what he set out to accomplish.

                    This thread will probably go on into 2009 and beyond.

                    Who knows, it may turn out to be one of the most viewed WF threads
                    ever.

                    Just goes to prove...be controversial and outrageous and you'll cause a
                    stir and get your posts read.

                    Marc...my hat's off to you on that much.

                    This is a real gold mine in your social networking pocket.

                    I just hope it works out in your best interests.

                    Sometimes stuff like this can come back to bite you on the butt.

                    Just saying.
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                    • Profile picture of the author marcanthony
                      Originally Posted by Steven Wagenheim View Post

                      You know what gang? I finally get it. I understand why Marc started this
                      thread and what he's actually saying.

                      He accomplished what he set out to accomplish.

                      This thread will probably go on into 2009 and beyond.

                      Who knows, it may turn out to be one of the most viewed WF threads
                      ever.

                      Just goes to prove...be controversial and outrageous and you'll cause a
                      stir and get your posts read.

                      Marc...my hat's off to you on that much.

                      This is a real gold mine in your social networking pocket.

                      I just hope it works out in your best interests.

                      Sometimes stuff like this can come back to bite you on the butt.

                      Just saying.
                      Here's the deal Steve... Aside from the tiff between the two of us - I haven't lashed out at anyone here.

                      If anything that I've said here comes back to bite me in the butt - that's fine with me.

                      My intentions were to provoke a heated discussion - nothing more.

                      Obviously, if I really didn't care about what people thought - I wouldn't have started the thread.

                      This wasn't an "everyone look at me post."

                      I even removed my sig 3 minutes into this...

                      I am not here to make enemies at all...

                      But, what good of a forum would this be if we only brought up issues that everyone agreed with?

                      I have been crucified, in my opinion unnecessarily considering the fact that my OP didn't say that "whoever uses article marketing is stupid."

                      I stated my opinion... it was controversial... it started a conversation... people disagreed.

                      In fact, the vast majority disagreed with me... that's A-O.K. with me.

                      I'm of the opinion that it can be very monotonous to always say things that people want to hear - and, for that matter it can also be just as monotonous to always say things that people don't want to hear...

                      That's why I don't start threads like this all the time.

                      Overall, I think that people who read this will award the victory to article marketing as being a viable source of traffic and sales.

                      And if this does happen to go down in to the archives as the most viewed post - people will be able to learn something from this thread and see it for what it is.

                      Some people will understand my motives... others won't.

                      Unfortunately, some people are trying to paint me out to be a bad guy which totally redirects what the focus of this thread was about - and places it on me.

                      Personally, I think that this was an awesome thread - and not because I started it.

                      At least I'm not spamming the forum with MaverickMoneyMakers.com in my sig.

                      Marc
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                      • Profile picture of the author Eric Lorence
                        Unfortunately, there was no real value gained from this thread.

                        You could have demonstrated the purpose of your convictions with well thought out facts and logical reasoning.

                        Everything else is just opining.

                        Leave the emotions and ego at the door.

                        :rolleyes:
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                        • Profile picture of the author marcanthony
                          Originally Posted by Eric Lorence View Post

                          Unfortunately, there was no real value gained from this thread.

                          You could have demonstrated the purpose of your convictions with well thought out facts and logical reasoning.

                          Everything else is just opining.

                          Leave the emotions and ego at the door.

                          :rolleyes:
                          This is your opinion...

                          And yes... I could have demonstrated my purpose the way you would have if you were in my shoes...

                          But, I'm not you...

                          I do things differently!

                          I am completely o.k. with the backlash I've received - minus the slurs.

                          You don't think that there was any value here right? I disagree with you.

                          Peace
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                        • Profile picture of the author Tom B
                          Banned
                          Originally Posted by Eric Lorence View Post

                          Unfortunately, there was no real value gained from this thread.

                          You could have demonstrated the purpose of your convictions with well thought out facts and logical reasoning.

                          Everything else is just opining.

                          Leave the emotions and ego at the door.

                          :rolleyes:

                          Funny, because I think there is value in this thread if you open your eyes and let your ego go.


                          I think Marc's op caused some ego's to get stirred as well. Instead of seeing what exactly he is talking about they went on the defensive.


                          He could have worded it more politically correct by why should he if he thinks that type of marketing sucks.



                          I would suggest that some of the people leave their egos at the door and think about the conversation that was just created. Personally, this thread should have given people alot more to chew on instead of the constant threads I see posted everyday.
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                    • Profile picture of the author Magic Johnson
                      Originally Posted by Steven Wagenheim View Post

                      Sometimes stuff like this can come back to bite you on the butt.

                      Just saying.
                      What the heck are you threatening Marc?


                      I just can't believe all the anxiety on this board from time to time. Most time when critics is pointed out. There is something in it that's right.

                      Why get all fuzzy about article marketing not working? Too save the newbie from cruel death??


                      There is more ways to skin a cat than one way. And every time article marketing gets the slightest bash, some gets out of the caves and get all heated.

                      Geez, personally I would vote SEO and real business building for the #1 spot. But hey, that may come to close to the truth so I keep it at SEO only, just to save some heat.

                      Learn to take some critizism folks, it's the difference between being okay off. And a gazillionaire and well educated. Validate and reflect on all options and opinions pointed out from different people.

                      No need to get blue-eyed, unless it's really aimed at u as a person.

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                  • Profile picture of the author lazavas
                    Originally Posted by marcanthony View Post

                    I really think that some people are misunderstanding my reasons for being against article marketing...

                    As I've said before - it has nothing to do with my success from article marketing or lack thereof.

                    There are many positive things that can be said about article marketing... I chose to mention what I believe to be the negative things.

                    Should I only start threads about things that everyone will agree with?
                    been reading this thread, and for one i respect u for having balls, i agree with some things u say, and people shouldnt attack u just because u voice ur opinion, good for u
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                • Profile picture of the author adamv
                  Originally Posted by marcanthony View Post

                  What I find even stranger, is that people can't just disagree with me without being so angry.
                  People are getting angry because of the way you expressed your opinion. People are taking it personally because you're saying their chosen business model sucks and that nobody should waste their time on it.

                  Statements like that are interpreted as "you are stupid if you do article marketing." That's why people are getting defensive, irritated, and angry.

                  But you did succeed in getting a lot of people to express their view point in this thread.
                  Signature

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                  • Profile picture of the author marcanthony
                    Originally Posted by adamv View Post

                    People are getting angry because of the way you expressed your opinion. People are taking it personally because you're saying their chosen business model sucks and that nobody should waste their time on it.

                    Statements like that are interpreted as "you are stupid if you do article marketing." That's why people are getting defensive, irritated, and angry.

                    But you did succeed in getting a lot of people to express their view point in this thread.
                    Well... I certainly don't think that article marketers are stupid.

                    Just believe me on that one!
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            • Profile picture of the author JaniG
              Article marketing should be part of your marketing plan, aswell as doing PPC.

              you don't have to just do Article Marketing and nothing else.

              The fact is that Article marketing DOES bring trickles of traffic
              through your bio box.

              Maybe you are not doing article marketing rite? or you have to high hopes.

              Maybe you have been fed lies by other marketers.

              The fact is that when you do article marketing, still focus on other types of marketing, as multiple streams of traffic IS the key to success.

              Jani G
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            • Profile picture of the author nuthowz
              This thread reminded me to check the status of some articles I had pending and my ppc campaigns
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            • Profile picture of the author armin1810
              i totally agree with u....article marketing suck
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            • Profile picture of the author pavondunbar
              Hi marcantony:

              Being that you are from the same "neck of the woods" as I am (Long Beach, CA) I would like to comment on your post.

              I would have to respectfully disagree with your notion that "article marketing sucks".

              Here's why...

              PPC is a great way to promote your site...that I agree with you...

              But like many on here have said, if PPC is not done correctly...

              It can send you to the poor house. Period.

              Article marketing, however, is a FREE way of generationg traffic to your website.

              Why?

              Because 99.9999999999% of people come to the Internet looking for one thing...

              Information.

              And by finding your article...

              If that person feels that you have something of value to offer...

              Guess what will happen?

              They will click on that little link at the bottom of your article, blog, whatever....

              To see what you have to offer...to solve their problem.

              You see, article marketing is an EXCELLENT promotion tool for the newbie and experienced marketer alike.

              Because it doesn't cost a thing...

              It's very resourceful...

              Your articles can get a TON of backlinks...

              And...

              You'll be ranked high on the search engines.

              When people look up, say, dog training, on Google...

              They will see two things...

              Organic Results and Sponsored (Paid) Results...

              Most people look at the organic results first.

              So if article marketing doesn't work for you, I'm sorry to hear that.

              But don't knock a method because it may work well for others.

              Just try to find the method that works best for you.

              Have a great weekend, marcantony, and take care.

              Pavon
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            • Profile picture of the author Loren Woirhaye
              Wow - this got ugly fast.

              I've been around for a bit and I agree with the OP about article
              marketing mostly. It's generally a PITA and will wear a lot of
              folks out... plus the traffic is sporadic.

              For some niches however it can be much more appropriate
              than others.

              A lady wants me to help her improve her marketing. She sells
              beef jerky. She's terrified of PPC from bad experiences in the
              past and has an idea that she'd like to double her already
              6-figure online business this year... using these free marketing
              methods she's been hearing about...

              Now - how much can you write about beef jerky?

              With this product niche the way to scale the business from where
              it is to where she wants to take it is to improve the website
              performance for paid advertising.

              Article marketing for something like this is a joke...


              ------------

              If you sell YOURSELF though in some way, for instance, it can
              be beneficial... showing some expertise.

              Until recently with the internet all businesses had to contend
              with the COSTS of advertising. Times have changed and with
              the net many business owners basically feel as if they are somehow
              missing out if they aren't getting all their traffic for free...

              Yet we find that depending on free traffic sources often stunts
              growth... and it's labor-intensive for many niches as well... real
              burn-out stuff.

              I could go on. In a nutshell I believe, sinscerely, that learning
              how to run paid-ads and turn a profit with them is the single
              skill that will do more than any other to help marketers grow their
              businesses.
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            • Profile picture of the author Shane F
              As a newbie, article marketing is probably the only almost zero cost, low risk way to get introduced and actually make money in IM. I tried PPC first and was in way over my head. Article is a great way to build my skills.
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            • Profile picture of the author Helithium
              I can definitely relate to the ops frustrations, and ppc is probably the single best way to advertise online, but...

              I use to be in mlm and I worked with a guy named Brian Garvin who single handedly built his businesses from ppc. Around 2006 he told me that he was going to hit articles hard in the form of reviews, and outsource all the work.

              He owns mlmreviewkings.com, and imreviewkings.com and get TONS of traffic from free articles.

              Im not saying this will be everyones experience, but there is two sides to the coin
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            • Profile picture of the author Fraser
              I m also agree with u ppl.it is the most knowledge sharing post.everyone clear their doubt for Article marketing.
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      • Profile picture of the author Collette
        Originally Posted by Thomas Belknap View Post

        I think Marc has a point.

        I don't necessarily think article marketing is crap.. ...but I do think that it kills the interest of new people when they continue churning out article after article with very little results.


        I doubt if most people can write the quantity that is needed to make a living unless they have been doing it for a long time. I still think you can make more money by using PPC so why would you put money into outsourcing.

        PPC can give you immediate results. It does cost money but you can flesh out conversions pretty quickly.

        Let's face it, most people don't have a lot of time. PPC is work but not like article marketing.


        I have to agree with a lot Marc is saying.

        Tom, I usually agree with you, but I have to disagree with you about the "quantity" problem.

        I don't believe the quantity is the problem. It's the quality.

        Because a quality article gives you a long-term ROI that PPC usually can't match.

        Don't get me wrong - PPC is great for driving new traffic, fast. But unless you've got everything else in place, your PPC dollars will burn fast and hot and leave you with a fistful of ashes.

        Article marketing, on the other hand, is a slower, quieter way of driving traffic. But, like PPC, if done right, article marketing can be very effective.

        And either way, you're exchanging time for money.

        When I started freelancing I wrote about 6 articles, and posted them on (I think) EzineArticles and maybe a few other sites. Took me a focused day of w.o.r.k. to "churn" out those first articles, but I wanted to be sure they were quality.

        A couple of them got picked up in just a few places. The others went viral beyond anything I had anticipated. They are STILL getting picked up by other web sites - 6 years later. And I haven't done a darn thing to them since I originally posted them.

        My tracking stats tell me that those articles are still sending traffic to my web site, directly from the article being posted on someone else's site. Some of them have wound up being published in places I didn't expect. In particular, I've gotten quite a bit of copywriting business from one particular article on design that was picked up by a bunch of design sites.

        I've also written articles to drive traffic to my other (non-writing-related) sites, and tracking tells me that about 30% of that traffic results in a conversion of some sort.

        So I believe that, when people get no response from their article marketing, the problem is either:

        a) they have no market for their article subject or,
        b) they have posted a crappy article.

        Unfortunately, crappy articles abound. And it's been my experience that a crappy article usually leads to a crappy landing page. So.....

        Article marketing is not crap. It has its place in any well-conceived marketing plan. As long as your articles are not crap.

        BUT...

        Article marketing won't generate traffic within minutes. For that, nothing beats PPC. And PPC, directed to the right landing page, will make you a lot of money, fast.

        OTOH, PPC, directed to a crappy landing page, will decimate your bank account faster than the Big 3 can beg for another handout.

        The key thing is... article marketing can work to drive both traffic and sales IF your articles are not crap.

        Ay, and therein lies the rub.
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  • Profile picture of the author stevecl
    Marc,

    Why exactly are you so against article marketing? Free traffics gotta be good hasn't it?

    Steve
    Signature

    I started with nothing and still have most of it left!

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  • Profile picture of the author Solidsnake
    Banned
    Article Marketing is for link and not for traffic... a totally different from PPC...
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  • Profile picture of the author Hanuka
    All things that generate traffic for free are "good"(for your pocket that is)..
    Thing is; alot of people do manual article marketing which is ALOT fo waste
    of your possible precious time. Marc just points out that you can use your
    time on different(better) things than article marketing.
    Signature

    ~Good Brother~

    Advertising is 85% confusion and 15% commission.. ROFL! xD

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  • Profile picture of the author Jason Pereira
    As a new marketer, article marketing is far better than PPC, because there's no financial risk apart from time. With PPC, you screw up, you could be $100s down by morning with no benefit whatsoever to yourself. It takes time to understand PPC, build a solid account and start getting cheap enough clicks to turn a profit.

    Different things work for different people. I personally wouldn't do article marketing myself, but I have outsourced it in the past because it's an easy way of getting my other sites to rank high in G through the high powered backlink.

    Saying that it sucks though... completely foolish.
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    • Profile picture of the author marcanthony
      Originally Posted by Jason Pereira View Post

      As a new marketer, article marketing is far better than PPC, because there's no financial risk apart from time. With PPC, you screw up, you could be $100s down by morning with no benefit whatsoever to yourself. It takes time to understand PPC, build a solid account and start getting cheap enough clicks to turn a profit.

      Different things work for different people. I personally wouldn't do article marketing myself, but I have outsourced it in the past because it's an easy way of getting my other sites to rank high in G through the high powered backlink.

      Saying that it sucks though... completely foolish.
      The fact that there is no financial risk is what I
      have a problem with when it comes to article
      marketing.

      Everyone is always looking for the easy way out.

      I think that people get blinded by the hype of
      losing money with PPC and don't really give it
      a chance.

      PPC get's you more traffic today, which means that
      you will build your list faster, and make sales
      sooner.
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      • Profile picture of the author Asher
        Originally Posted by marcanthony View Post

        The fact that there is no financial risk is what I
        have a problem with when it comes to article
        marketing.
        100% agreed.

        Sometimes, in order to succeed, a person needs to
        have something as a goal.

        And avoiding financial risk is ALSO a goal.

        When it comes to article marketing, as John Taylor
        stated, it's all about leverage - and that's why I
        stand on the side of article marketing.

        However, EXACTLY because there's no financial
        risk, some people tend to get lazy and not churn
        out the "magic number" of articles... which I believe
        to be around 200-300 articles.

        There are the lucky people who get sales after a
        few articles but it's not that common for others.
        So, in article marketing, if quality is lacking, anyone
        can make up for it with quantity (of course, quantity
        + quality is the best combo).

        There's a lot of advantage for PPC which you have
        posted before in response and I also agree with
        them - a lot of results is gotten very quickly because
        you paid for it.

        As for advice for beginners in PPC, you've answered it
        in the very first post... "learn to use PPC". Keyword
        is learn and I always recommend people to get a good
        PPC product from people like Perry Marshall.

        And yep, I recognized that you were aiming for a
        discussion very early on - that's why I didn't think you
        were "attacking" me

        Asher
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  • Profile picture of the author indexphp
    With PPC, you can TEST which keywords convert so you can THEN write articles and do all that other stuff. You can test headlines, calls-to-action, the whole shabang.

    I think article marketing is okay, but I would never put my best content on another site; I would put a "whatever" article on the directories for a link, which should be part of your SEO strategy.
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  • Profile picture of the author lakshaybehl
    An Article A Day Keeps the Recession AWay.
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  • Profile picture of the author JasonKing
    Originally Posted by marcanthony View Post

    Stay away from article marketing

    If you can spare the same amount of
    time it takes for an article to get approved,
    learning how to use Pay-per-click - do
    yourself a favor;

    Learn how to use PPC.

    One hundred bucks goes a long way
    with PPC when you find the right clicks...

    Article marketing will burn you out
    and possibly turn you off from wanting to
    be a marketer.
    Hi Marc,

    I am intrigued by your post.

    Could you please share your data to support your position?

    Jason
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  • Profile picture of the author raydp
    Article marketing can seem like crap for someone who writes articles that can be viewed as antagonistic or bombastic. One wonders...

    Ray
    Signature

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  • Profile picture of the author Bev Clement
    I think people are missing out on one very important point here. Marc says he is always right, so he isn't looking for a discussion he is stating a fact as he sees it because he is right which makes everyone else wrong.

    PPC can put you in the poor house if you don't know what you're doing. Article marketing can put you in the poor house if you don't know what you're doing. Running a hobby as a business can put you in the poor house if you don't know what you're doing.

    The method isn't the problem, it is the way people execute it which is the problem. All have a place in the business, once you learn how to use them.
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    • Profile picture of the author lakshaybehl
      Originally Posted by Bev Clement View Post

      I think people are missing out on one very important point here. Marc says he is always right, so he isn't looking for a discussion he is stating a fact as he sees it because he is right which makes everyone else wrong.

      PPC can put you in the poor house if you don't know what you're doing. Article marketing can put you in the poor house if you don't know what you're doing. Running a hobby as a business can put you in the poor house if you don't know what you're doing.

      The method isn't the problem, it is the way people execute it which is the problem. All have a place in the business, once you learn how to use them.
      Bev, how is it that you are always offline...Even immediately after having made a post?
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      • Profile picture of the author Tom B
        Banned
        Originally Posted by lakshaybehl View Post

        Bev, how is it that you are always offline...Even immediately after having made a post?
        She is in Bev Stealth mode.
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    • Profile picture of the author marcanthony
      Originally Posted by Bev Clement View Post

      I think people are missing out on one very important point here. Marc says he is always right, so he isn't looking for a discussion he is stating a fact as he sees it because he is right which makes everyone else wrong.

      PPC can put you in the poor house if you don't know what you're doing. Article marketing can put you in the poor house if you don't know what you're doing. Running a hobby as a business can put you in the poor house if you don't know what you're doing.

      The method isn't the problem, it is the way people execute it which is the problem. All have a place in the business, once you learn how to use them.
      I understand that clinging on to my "I'm always right" quote gives you ammo. That quote was made to be silly.

      The fact is that I don't think that I am always right. I like to hear what everyone has to say. I want to be proven wrong.

      I like that people disagree with me. It would be pointless to have a discussion with a bunch of people that all agree on the same things.

      The truth is that I was looking for a discussion... and that's what I've gotten.
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      • Profile picture of the author Bev Clement
        Originally Posted by marcanthony View Post

        I understand that clinging on to my "I'm always right" quote gives you ammo. That quote was made to be silly.

        The fact is that I don't think that I am always right. I like to hear what everyone has to say. I want to be proven wrong.

        I like that people disagree with me. It would be pointless to have a discussion with a bunch of people that all agree on the same things.

        The truth is that I was looking for a discussion... and that's what I've gotten.
        With time zone differences I'm only just coming back to this.

        You say you want a discussion, no you didn't because in your OP you said this.

        And don't listen to anyone that tries to prove that what I am saying against article marketing is false.
        You want people to agree with you 100%.

        It seems that the comment under your avatar and your OP go hand in hand, because you are stating a fact that you are right and the rest are wrong.

        And if this has been covered further on in the thread, I'm still reading.
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        • Profile picture of the author marcanthony
          Originally Posted by Bev Clement View Post

          With time zone differences I'm only just coming back to this.

          You say you want a discussion, no you didn't because in your OP you said this.



          You want people to agree with you 100%.

          It seems that the comment under your avatar and your OP go hand in hand, because you are stating a fact that you are right and the rest are wrong.

          And if this has been covered further on in the thread, I'm still reading.
          Whatever you say Bev... You obviously know me better than I do.

          Look... I started a thread - the community spoke out against what I had to say.

          Unfortunately, more time was spent insulting me - rather than just proving me wrong...

          I don't mind the differences in opinion - if you want to continue to latch on to a silly quote that I typed under my avatar - go right ahead.

          I worded my OP to purposely stir up a discussion that I clearly knew would get people to comment...

          I knew that it would strike a nerve with people that are in to article marketing.

          You can dissect this entire thread all you want... draw whatever conclusions you'd like. The truth is that a discussion was started and there were some very constructive things that came out of it.

          Marc
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      • Profile picture of the author Li Weng
        Originally Posted by marcanthony View Post

        The truth is that I was looking for a discussion... and that's what I've gotten.
        Considering that you've titled your thread "I don't care what you say...",
        I can't help but wonder if it's really discussion you want or attention.
        Signature

        - Insert backlink here -

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        • Profile picture of the author marcanthony
          Originally Posted by Li Weng View Post

          Considering that you've titled your thread "I don't care what you say...",
          I can't help but wonder if it's really discussion you want or attention.
          Yes... I wanted to post something that would get attention. Isn't that the purpose of posting in a public forum?
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          • Profile picture of the author Aaron Elliott
            MARC - Im glad I read your post.

            I have been doing ALOT of research in the past week, Ive only been sleeping 4 hrs average per night. Im really excited about making money online I always thought they where all scams.

            I discovered Affiliate commissions and I cant believe companies pay me to create ads and get people to sign up - its great.

            Alot of stuff ive been reading is suggesting to write lots of articles and create many many bloggs ect.

            This really turns me off IM because I am not a writter or a big reader.

            Creating blogg after blogg really sounds like a drain to me, and does not sound fun at all! Each to there own though!

            Though at the end of the day if u can write good and love it and can make money - why wouldnt u?
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          • Profile picture of the author Li Weng
            Originally Posted by marcanthony View Post

            Yes... I wanted to post something that would get attention. Isn't that the purpose of posting in a public forum?
            So your purpose of participating in forums is just to get attention? LOL
            Well, you've achieved that for sure.

            It's one thing start a thread for genuine discussion, and another to
            stir everyone up for the sake of seeking attention.

            Anyway, you don't care what I say (as stated in thread title),
            so I stop here.

            No one can really disagree with you when you're always right, correct?
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            • Profile picture of the author marcanthony
              Originally Posted by Li Weng View Post

              So your purpose of participating in forums is just to get attention? LOL
              Well, you've achieved that for sure.

              It's one thing start a thread for genuine discussion, and another to
              stir everyone up for the sake of seeking attention.

              Anyway, you don't care what I say (as stated in thread title),
              so I stop here.

              No one can really disagree with you when you're always right, correct?
              The point I'm making is that mostly everyone that posts in a forum is doing it for some level of attention.

              Obviously, I do care about what others have to say. Me saying that "I don't care what you say" was a provocative statement.

              I wasn't stirring things up to be an asshole...

              However, I wasn't looking for any pats on the back for posting this thread either...

              And, again my "I'm always right" quote was intended to be silly.

              Don't read too much in to that.
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            • Profile picture of the author myob
              Originally Posted by marcanthony View Post


              I worded my OP to purposely stir up a discussion that I clearly knew would get people to comment...

              I knew that it would strike a nerve with people that are in to article marketing.


              Marc
              You could have also used the very same title with the preponderant position that article marketing sucks ... sucks in the traffic and sales that is.

              A very successful solo ad I ran in numerous ezines for my copywriter services went like this:
              ================================================== =======
              Our Ads Really Suck ...
              We will write a compelling ad for you if you order now. Just send us the basic idea of your ad and we take it from there. Our copy writing pros will add compelling text, color, images, highlights, and effects for the most stunning presentation of your ad. Order ***** Package now and watch your business explode as it sucks in real sales for your business!
              ================================================== =======

              It seems to me the OP lost a valuable opportunity here by taking the wrong twist on words. THAT's what really sucks, in the most lowly meaning of the term.

              Article writing in niche markets can really suck in the traffic and build up credibility and authority. It has a much longer staying power than PPC. Just as a construction worker carries around more than just a hammer in his toolbox, the big hammer of PPC has its place. The effective marketer carries lots of tools and knows how to use them effectively.
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              • Profile picture of the author marcanthony
                Originally Posted by myob View Post

                You could have also used the very same title with the preponderant position that article marketing sucks ... sucks in the traffic and sales that is.

                A very successful solo ad I ran in numerous ezines for my copywriter services went like this:
                ================================================== =======
                Our Ads Really Suck ...
                We will write a compelling ad for you if you order now. Just send us the basic idea of your ad and we take it from there. Our copy writing pros will add compelling text, color, images, highlights, and effects for the most stunning presentation of your ad. Order ***** Package now and watch your business explode as it sucks in real sales for your business!
                ================================================== =======

                It seems to me the OP lost a valuable opportunity here by taking the wrong twist on words. THAT's what really sucks, in the most lowly meaning of the term.

                Article writing in niche markets builds up not just traffic but credibility and authority; and much longer staying power than PPC. Just as a construction worker carries around more than just a hammer in his toolbox, the big hammer of PPC has its place. The effective marketer carries lots of tools and knows how to use them.
                Listen... I get your point.

                And, I could have chosen to be more politically correct and less controversial.

                I chose not too!

                My twist on words was calculated and I wouldn't change anything about what I've said.

                Take care
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    • Profile picture of the author Hanuka
      Originally Posted by Bev Clement View Post

      I think people are missing out on one very important point here. Marc says he is always right, so he isn't looking for a discussion he is stating a fact as he sees it because he is right which makes everyone else wrong.

      PPC can put you in the poor house if you don't know what you're doing. Article marketing can put you in the poor house if you don't know what you're doing. Running a hobby as a business can put you in the poor house if you don't know what you're doing.

      The method isn't the problem, it is the way people execute it which is the problem. All have a place in the business, once you learn how to use them.
      He just said the post b4 that it was a joke.. sheeeesh! talk about grumpy.. (huh, huh)
      Signature

      ~Good Brother~

      Advertising is 85% confusion and 15% commission.. ROFL! xD

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      • Profile picture of the author marcanthony
        Originally Posted by Hanuka View Post

        He just said the post b4 that it was a joke.. sheeeesh! talk about grumpy.. (huh, huh)
        Thanks!

        It really is just a goof... I'm not that full of myself
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  • Profile picture of the author Jack Duncan
    Marc,
    This is just poor advice to give to anyone interested in making money online.

    I think that's why it may have taken on the life form that it has.

    Also:

    And don't listen to anyone that tries to prove that
    what I am saying against article marketing is false.
    I think the "my way or the highway" attitude is probably what has everyone excited. (Maybe the "I'm always right!" tagline too...)

    What would have made for a really awesome thread:

    "I suck at article marketing...can you help me out?"

    Now...everyone would benefit by learning a little more about what not to do based on your passed failed experiences and how to make improvements.

    Heck, you may have been abandoning PPC with the astounding new results.

    Just a thought.
    Signature
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    • Profile picture of the author marcanthony
      Originally Posted by Jack Duncan View Post

      Marc,

      "I suck at article marketing...can you help me out?"
      If this were true - maybe I would have titled the post that way.
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  • Profile picture of the author John Taylor
    Originally Posted by Thomas Belknap View Post

    Waiting on income?

    I guess that depends on what they are selling through PPC. If they are selling their own products then they won't have to wait for their income.
    In the context of this thread which started with the phrase:

    "If you are a new marketer and you are
    thinking about article marketing..."

    It's unlikely that the new marketer will have their own product.

    John
    Signature
    John's Internet Marketing News, Views & Reviews: John Taylor Online
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    • Profile picture of the author Tom B
      Banned
      Originally Posted by John Taylor View Post

      In the context of this thread which started with the phrase:

      "If you are a new marketer and you are
      thinking about article marketing..."

      It's unlikely that the new marketer will have their own product.

      John
      True, I must have been a freak because I always had my own. You don't need to answer that John.

      There are still alternatives like promoting products that are setup on RAP or 7 dollar scripts. You still get paid instantly helping with cashflow.

      I do agree that cashflow can kill your business quickly. It almost killed mine.
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  • Profile picture of the author ChristianM
    I don't really see how article marketing and ppc are very different.

    Let's just assume you are paying for your articles (if not in money in time which is worth a certain amount to you)

    On one front you pay for every person who goes to your website. On the other you product something for someone elses website (which cost you a certain amount) and in return you will get links / visitors.

    The only difference is that in ppc you know what you pay per click from the start, in article marketing you use averages. In both cases you are paying for traffic and both can be equally controlled.
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    • Profile picture of the author Tom B
      Banned
      Originally Posted by ChristianM View Post

      I don't really see how article marketing and ppc are very different.

      Let's just assume you are paying for your articles (if not in money in time which is worth a certain amount to you)

      On one front you pay for every person who goes to your website. On the other you product something for someone elses website (which cost you a certain amount) and in return you will get links / visitors.

      The only difference is that in ppc you know what you pay per click from the start, in article marketing you use averages. In both cases you are paying for traffic and both can be equally controlled.
      Instantaneous feedback.
      Easier and quicker to scale.


      As John said you do have some long term benefits from article marketing including lower cpc.


      I am mainly discussing how it may be more beneficial for a new person to start with ppc rather than article marketing. I never said you couldn't do both.
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      • Profile picture of the author ChristianM
        Originally Posted by Thomas Belknap View Post

        Instantaneous feedback.
        Easier and quicker to scale.


        As John said you do have some long term benefits from article marketing including lower cpc.


        I am mainly discussing how it may be more beneficial for a new person to start with ppc rather than article marketing. I never said you couldn't do both.
        I see that instantaneous feedback is helpful at time but, how is it quicker and easier to scale?

        If you are using ppc you can't just increase your spending for your current keywords as it may then become unprofitable so you have to do the research, test keywords for profitability, write landing pages (/get them written for you), etc etc whilst with article marketing you pay someone to do keyword research and then buy more articles - roughly the same in terms of how much work you need to do.

        I don't currently do either but in terms of the time it takes you personally to do either i don't quite see how it is easier to scale (pay for more clicks vs pay for more articles) it looks roughly the same to me, only thing is you're hit upfront with articles whereas you only pay for clicks with ppc.
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        • Profile picture of the author Tom B
          Banned
          Originally Posted by ChristianM View Post

          I see that instantaneous feedback is helpful at time but, how is it quicker and easier to scale?

          If you are using ppc you can't just increase your spending for your current keywords as it may then become unprofitable so you have to do the research, test keywords for profitability, write landing pages (/get them written for you), etc etc whilst with article marketing you pay someone to do keyword research and then buy more articles - roughly the same in terms of how much work you need to do.

          I don't currently do either but in terms of the time it takes you personally to do either i don't quite see how it is easier to scale (pay for more clicks vs pay for more articles) it looks roughly the same to me, only thing is you're hit upfront with articles whereas you only pay for clicks with ppc.

          Why can't you purchase keywords for PPC? I don't understand your argument regarding doing all the work for ppc but hiring it out for article marketing when you can hire it out for ppc as well.

          So you are saying you don't test everything in article marketing? No testing of landing pages, keywords and so on...

          How long would it take to get enough test data through article marketing to know what what keywords and landing pages are working?
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          • Profile picture of the author ChristianM
            Originally Posted by Thomas Belknap View Post

            Why can't you purchase keywords for PPC? I don't understand your argument regarding doing all the work for ppc but hiring it out for article marketing when you can hire it out for ppc as well.

            So you are saying you don't test everything in article marketing? No testing of landing pages, keywords and so on...

            How long would it take to get enough test data through article marketing to know what what keywords and landing pages are working?
            I'm not saying that article marketing has less to do, I'm saying that you can pay someone to do all of it in both and still have to test in both.

            In actuality the data would probably come in faster in ppc but all I was trying to show is that you can get everything done with just as little work from yourself in both situations so long as you are prepared to pay.
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            • Profile picture of the author Tom B
              Banned
              Originally Posted by ChristianM View Post

              I'm not saying that article marketing has less to do, I'm saying that you can pay someone to do all of it in both and still have to test in both.

              In actuality the data would probably come in faster in ppc but all I was trying to show is that you can get everything done with just as little work from yourself in both situations so long as you are prepared to pay.
              Sure, but why not decide what is converting faster? Then you can use both once you figure it out.

              You can turn up the traffic with ppc and then pay someone to write articles. The problem is most new people will be writing articles which means a slower time to figure out what is converting or even tweaking their campaigns takes longer. Of course we should be honest and say most new people won't even test. I bet with money on the line they would be more inclined to test.

              That is my whole point.
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  • Profile picture of the author Jack Duncan
    Marc,
    Maybe you could share your actual results from your article marketing to explain why you think it sucks?

    Give us the URL of an article you wrote or outsourced with the supporting data to explain your position.

    I'm sure there will be many that can provide insight what might have gone wrong.
    Signature
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  • Profile picture of the author Will Edwards
    Well, I just thought I'd pop over to have a quick look at my stats at EZA. Here they are ...

    Article(s) Views: 13,466
    Profile Views: 416
    Articles Published: 361
    URL Clicks: 1,127
    Emailed: 12
    Votes: 39
    Live Articles: 58

    As you can see, I don't do a lot of article marketing - just 58 live articles.

    But you can also see that people have published them, clicked through to my sales pages - and they are ticking over on auto-pilot. And, I guess that is the point.

    Article marketing is one of the ways my links grow automatically; and that has a beneficial effect on my organic serps.

    There is no question about it that it is hard work; it takes time and patience - sure; but in the long run, it is a method that has been shown over and again to work.

    Stephen is well-known for being a bit of an article-writing-machine - half-man, half type-writer (lol). But he is a testament to what can be achieved through sheer persistence and dedication to the task.

    Nevertheless, Marc, you are right that is is tedious; and I believe that some people do get 'burned-out' before they see real success. The bottom line is that in this game, we all have to choose our methods.

    Will
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    • Profile picture of the author Jack Duncan
      Marc,
      Ok...let's take this article as a "for instance"

      What is Keyword Article Writing and Why is it a Good Marketing Tool?

      The immediate problem I see is that the link doesn't work in your resource box.

      Also, another helpful piece of information you could have provided was that all of your articles seem to have been removed from ezinearticles.com.

      I can see the cache page here:
      http://74.125.77.132/search?q=cache:...nk&cd=10&gl=us

      But when I click on the links, the pages have been removed...which has affected your traffic from those articles...

      Lastly, I noticed that you submitted the exact same article to dozens of article sites...using the same title, text, etc...

      Because of that, at least 35 of the 55 submissions are just seen as dupe content in Google.

      Spinning the article titles, text, etc... would have taken your submissions much farther.
      Signature
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      • Profile picture of the author Tom B
        Banned
        Originally Posted by Jack Duncan View Post

        Marc,
        Ok...let's take this article as a "for instance"

        What is Keyword Article Writing and Why is it a Good Marketing Tool?

        The immediate problem I see is that the link doesn't work in your resource box.

        Also, another helpful piece of information you could have provided was that all of your articles seem to have been removed from ezinearticles.com.

        I can see the cache page here:
        Marc Edwards - EzineArticles.com Expert Author

        But when I click on the links, the pages have been removed...which has affected your traffic from those articles...

        Decided to antagonize a little, huh Jack.
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      • Profile picture of the author marcanthony
        Originally Posted by Jack Duncan View Post

        Marc,
        Ok...let's take this article as a "for instance"

        What is Keyword Article Writing and Why is it a Good Marketing Tool?

        The immediate problem I see is that the link doesn't work in your resource box.

        Also, another helpful piece of information you could have provided was that all of your articles seem to have been removed from ezinearticles.com.

        I can see the cache page here:
        Marc Edwards - EzineArticles.com Expert Author

        But when I click on the links, the pages have been removed...which has affected your traffic from those articles...

        Lastly, I noticed that you submitted the exact same article to dozens of article sites...using the same title, text, etc...

        Because of that, at least 35 of the 55 submissions are just seen as dupe content in Google.

        Spinning the article titles, text, etc... would have taken your submissions much farther.
        Did I say that I've never written articles?

        I've done article marketing before... I've written
        tons of articles in the past.

        And yes... I have removed most of them...

        Why?

        Because, I don't believe in it. But, there have been several
        times in my career that I've attempted to take it serious.

        So what are you trying to prove?

        You seem to think that I'm against it because
        of a lack of success...

        That's not the case.

        But, it's cool - have your fun.

        Take care
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    • Profile picture of the author marcanthony
      Originally Posted by Will Edwards View Post

      Well, I just thought I'd pop over to have a quick look at my stats at EZA. Here they are ...

      Article(s) Views: 13,466
      Profile Views: 416
      Articles Published: 361
      URL Clicks: 1,127
      Emailed: 12
      Votes: 39
      Live Articles: 58

      As you can see, I don't do a lot of article marketing - just 58 live articles.

      But you can also see that people have published them, clicked through to my sales pages - and they are ticking over on auto-pilot. And, I guess that is the point.

      Article marketing is one of the ways my links grow automatically; and that has a beneficial effect on my organic serps.

      There is no question about it that it is hard work; it takes time and patience - sure; but in the long run, it is a method that has been shown over and again to work.

      Stephen is well-known for being a bit of an article-writing-machine - half-man, half type-writer (lol). But he is a testament to what can be achieved through sheer persistence and dedication to the task.

      Nevertheless, Marc, you are right that is is tedious; and I believe that some people do get 'burned-out' before they see real success. The bottom line is that in this game, we all have to choose our methods.

      Will
      That's good stuff Will...

      Honestly, I don't doubt that article marketing
      can work.

      Obviously, I just have strong opinions against it...

      I've written articles myself in the past... I too
      receive traffic from articles that I've written
      over a year ago.

      When I started this post, one of my intentions
      was to type exactly what I was thinking in my
      head.

      I'm very pleased with the discussion...

      I accept all of the backlash that I've
      received as well.

      Take care man...
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      • Profile picture of the author Jack Duncan
        Thomas,
        Not really antagoninzing...just trying to "frame" the overall discussion where it needs to be.

        Article Marketing doesn't suck...Article Marketing done wrong sucks...

        ...and PPC done wrong REALLY sucks.
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        • Profile picture of the author Tom B
          Banned
          Originally Posted by Jack Duncan View Post

          Thomas,
          Not really antagoninzing...just trying to "frame" the overall discussion where it needs to be.

          Article Marketing doesn't suck...Article Marketing done wrong sucks...

          ...and PPC done wrong REALLY sucks.
          Luckily I won't have to worry about ppc since I purchased your wso.
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    • Profile picture of the author lgibbon
      Banned
      Originally Posted by Will Edwards View Post

      Well, I just thought I'd pop over to have a quick look at my stats at EZA. Here they are ...

      Article(s) Views: 13,466
      Profile Views: 416
      Articles Published: 361
      URL Clicks: 1,127
      Emailed: 12
      Votes: 39
      Live Articles: 58
      That's very impressive Will,
      But there's one vital statistic missing...........SALES
      It's all very well getting views
      but isn't sales the objective?
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      • Profile picture of the author Will Edwards
        Originally Posted by lgibbon View Post

        That's very impressive Will,
        But there's one vital statistic missing...........SALES
        It's all very well getting views
        but isn't sales the objective?
        Hi Leslie - It was not my intention to provide impressive stats; and, if I had the sales stats, I would have provided them. However, I cannot separate sales made through Article Marketing, at present, from my other methods.

        My point was that incoming links are an essential part of SEO. I don't use paid methods like PPC at present, so all my income comes from free methods; and Article Marketing is part of that strategy.

        Will
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        • Profile picture of the author lgibbon
          Banned
          Originally Posted by Will Edwards View Post

          Hi Leslie - It was not my intention to provide impressive stats; and, if I had the sales stats, I would have provided them. However, I cannot separate sales made through Article Marketing, at present, from my other methods.

          My point was that incoming links are an essential part of SEO. I don't use paid methods like PPC at present, so all my income comes from free methods; and Article Marketing is part of that strategy.

          Will
          Thanks for the reply Will.
          I did do some article marketing in the past:

          Article(s) Views:
          3,076
          Profile Views:
          132
          Articles Published:
          111
          URL Clicks:
          81
          Live Articles:
          8

          They didn't even produce a 50ct adsense click.
          Now I know you're all going to say I'm no expert
          and I dont claim to be,
          But nor will the people starting out be either.

          The articles were also written for me so it wasn't exactly profitable.

          I've always found paid advertising far more worthwhile.

          So in my opinion the OP was correct. Article marketing sucks.
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          • Profile picture of the author marcanthony
            Originally Posted by lgibbon View Post

            Thanks for the reply Will.
            I did do some article marketing in the past:

            Article(s) Views:
            3,076
            Profile Views:
            132
            Articles Published:
            111
            URL Clicks:
            81
            Live Articles:
            8

            They didn't even produce a 50ct adsense click.
            Now I know you're all going to say I'm no expert
            and I dont claim to be,
            But nor will the people starting out be either.

            The articles were also written for me so it wasn't exactly profitable.

            I've always found paid advertising far more worthwhile.

            So in my opinion the OP was correct. Article marketing sucks.
            And this is the point I'm making... well said!
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          • Originally Posted by lgibbon View Post

            Thanks for the reply Will.
            I did do some article marketing in the past:

            Article(s) Views:
            3,076
            Profile Views:
            132
            Articles Published:
            111
            URL Clicks:
            81
            Live Articles:
            8

            They didn't even produce a 50ct adsense click.
            Now I know you're all going to say I'm no expert
            and I dont claim to be,
            But nor will the people starting out be either.

            The articles were also written for me so it wasn't exactly profitable.

            I've always found paid advertising far more worthwhile.

            So in my opinion the OP was correct. Article marketing sucks.
            81 clicks for 3000+ page views? Something is wrong there. I have 450 page views and 139 URL clicks. Maybe the person you hired to write your articles wasnt very good at his craft.
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            • Profile picture of the author lgibbon
              Banned
              Originally Posted by shkad14 View Post

              81 clicks for 3000+ page views? Something is wrong there. I have 450 page views and 139 URL clicks. Maybe the person you hired to write your articles wasnt very good at his craft.
              Good point.
              But they probably did a better job than I could of, or your average beginner.
              Anybody beginning to get it yet?
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  • Profile picture of the author tjk1058
    I look at article marketing as a long term investment. If you pay someone $10 to write a quality article and it gets you consistent clicks... then that is free traffic after you recoup your initial investment.

    Not every article will get you a ton of clicks... but what if each one gets only 100 clicks a month x 12 months = 1200 clicks at say .10 per click if you paid $10 for the article then you just got $110 in free clicks.

    So yes... you can get faster traffic using PPC and test offers a lot faster - but for cheaper traffic I feel article marketing can't be beat.

    I use outsourcing as it frees up my time to build my sites and then I can drip feed the articles on both the directories and on my sites, building natural FREE traffic.

    Just my .02 cents worth!

    TedK
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  • Profile picture of the author Coyotex
    Time for me to chime in here. You guys are SOOO missing the point with article marketing. Do you that in the time it took you to read this thread, you could have written AND SUBMITTED an article. If you can post on this thread (or any thread) you can write an article.

    If you're the so called "expert" in your field, busting out a 300 word article is simple, it's just like writing an email to your buddy. And guess what...the article stays out there, it doesn't get pulled. And, if done correctly, others will pick up the article, post it on their site and you have just multiplied yourself without any extra effort.

    I guess I don't understand what's not to like about article writing. But, all you folks that don't think it works, that's too bad.

    But telling others it doesn't work? Are you nuts? Why would you EVER want to stifle anyone's business grow? Just because it doesn't work for you doesn't mean it doesn't work, right?

    Just because you don't know a great marketing method when you see one doesn't mean you didn't see one.
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  • Profile picture of the author Coyotex
    Marc, I respect your decision and if that's what you think, so be it. I do have a question, you said you've written articles in the past and it hasn't panned out for you well? How many articles have you written?
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    • Profile picture of the author Jack Duncan
      Marc,
      Since your articles have been removed from ezinearticles.com (see above)...and your links are broken in your resource box of your other articles (see above)... then how exactly did you come to this conclusion?

      And yes... I have removed most of them...

      Why?

      Because, I don't believe in it.
      Sorry...this doesn't pass the sniff test.

      Your links in your resource box are broken...The article's still exist...the link just doesn't work. It's very hard to get traffic that way.

      And why would you remove something that has worked in the past...simply because you suddenly stopped believing in it.

      I've done article marketing before... I've written
      tons of articles in the past.
      The point is...you didn't do it right...so now you are telling everyone else who might want to give it a try that it sucks...
      Signature
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      • Profile picture of the author marcanthony
        Originally Posted by Jack Duncan View Post

        Marc,
        Since your articles have been removed from ezinearticles.com (see above)...and your links are broken in your resource box of your other articles (see above)... then how exactly did you come to this conclusion?

        Sorry...this doesn't pass the sniff test.

        Your links in your resource box are broken...The article's still exist...the link just doesn't work. It's very hard to get traffic that way.

        And why would you remove something that has worked in the past...simply because you suddenly stopped believing in it.



        The point is...you didn't do it right...so now you are telling everyone else who might want to give it a try that it sucks...
        You can investigate and deduce whatever you like...

        I'm not interested in passing anyone's sniff test... I've written articles and I've received traffic from them.

        When I compare it to other ways of driving traffic - it's a waste of time to me.

        I don't want to personally write or outsource the writing of hundreds of high or low quality articles.

        And, if you check EZA - those articles no longer exist.

        What your are presenting as evidence from Article Base won't come down because I don't know what email address I used to create those accounts.

        I understand what you are trying to prove... and you can continue to do so.

        My reasons for being opposed to article marketing are simple...

        There are many other, much more effective, and less time consuming things that you can do other than writing good or bad articles
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        • Profile picture of the author Eric Reimers
          What about those of us marketing physcial products?

          Articles aren't going to produce sells. Ads do. Well executed PPC ads.
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          • Profile picture of the author Charles E. White
            Originally Posted by Eric Reimers View Post

            What about those of us marketing physcial products?

            Articles aren't going to produce sells.
            Damn, wish I knew that before I sold 10,000 cookbook CD's
            Signature

            Charles E. White
            Internet Money Making Programs
            http://www.internetmoneymakingprograms.com
            ^Find out the programs and products we have found to be worth the money^
            Join our FREE newsletter and get up-to-date details.

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          • Profile picture of the author Allen Graves
            Originally Posted by Eric Reimers View Post

            What about those of us marketing physcial products?

            Articles aren't going to produce sells. Ads do. Well executed PPC ads.

            I am marketing physical product and they are selling like hotcakes! Puppies, actually.

            Gross in 2009, over $150,000.00 USD.

            Method of marketing? Articles. (With a heft dose of tactful backlinking)

            Allen Graves
            Signature
            Every day I check the obituaries. If I don't see my name there, then I know it's going to be a good day!
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            • Profile picture of the author Eric Reimers
              Not to get off topic,

              But can I get in on some of that action! :rolleyes:

              Just out curiosity, what breed?

              Originally Posted by Allen Graves View Post

              I am marketing physical product and they are selling like hotcakes! Puppies, actually.

              Gross in 2009, over $150,000.00 USD.

              Method of marketing? Articles. (With a heft dose of tactful backlinking)

              Allen Graves
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              • Profile picture of the author Steven Wagenheim
                Okay, I have had about 5 hours to calm down and be away from this
                thread and my computer.

                I first want to apologize for calling Marc a moron. That was uncalled for.

                It was equally as uncalled for the personal attack he launched at me by
                calling me an egotistical bully. Egotistical, yes. But I am no bully. I never
                tell people what to do and certainly never what not to do. Any advice I
                give, I always say, "Test it for yourself."

                Having said that, I still think the OP was irresponsible for this reason.

                A new person will read this, take it as gospel and say, "Hmmm, I guess I
                better stay away from article marketing" dive headlong into PPC and most
                likely lose his shirt because he doesn't have a clue what he's doing with
                it. I've read enough books by Perry Marshall and others to know just how
                complext PPC is and how much work goes into optimizing it.

                It is not for the uneducated.

                With article writing, you lose a few hours of your time.

                With PPC, you lose a lot more than that.

                But ultimately, none of that even matters.

                You think article marketing sucks, fine. I wouldn't in a million years try
                to change your mind as others here have tried to do. I only ask that you
                be responsible with your opinions and not declare them as fact. This was
                something I learned from John Taylor a long time ago when I used to do
                the same boneheaded things. And he's right. Just because you feel a
                certain way about something does not make it law. And the way you
                presented this thread, and with no evidence or anything to back up your
                claim, many new people will see it as law.

                And that to me is irresponsible and I do not change my views on this
                issue.

                Yes, article marketing can suck big time if you can't write your way out
                of a paper bag.

                PPC can also suck big time if you don't know how to go about creating a
                PPC campaign, which includes more things than I'm going to get into here
                in this thread because it just isn't the time and place for it.

                Anyway, you're entitled to your opinion.

                Just don't state those opinions as law.
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                • Profile picture of the author marcanthony
                  Originally Posted by Steven Wagenheim View Post

                  Okay, I have had about 5 hours to calm down and be away from this
                  thread and my computer.

                  I first want to apologize for calling Marc a moron. That was uncalled for.

                  It was equally as uncalled for the personal attack he launched at me by
                  calling me an egotistical bully. Egotistical, yes. But I am no bully. I never
                  tell people what to do and certainly never what not to do. Any advice I
                  give, I always say, "Test it for yourself."

                  Having said that, I still think the OP was irresponsible for this reason.

                  A new person will read this, take it as gospel and say, "Hmmm, I guess I
                  better stay away from article marketing" dive headlong into PPC and most
                  likely lose his shirt because he doesn't have a clue what he's doing with
                  it. I've read enough books by Perry Marshall and others to know just how
                  complext PPC is and how much work goes into optimizing it.

                  It is not for the uneducated.

                  With article writing, you lose a few hours of your time.

                  With PPC, you lose a lot more than that.

                  But ultimately, none of that even matters.

                  You think article marketing sucks, fine. I wouldn't in a million years try
                  to change your mind as others here have tried to do. I only ask that you
                  be responsible with your opinions and not declare them as fact. This was
                  something I learned from John Taylor a long time ago when I used to do
                  the same boneheaded things. And he's right. Just because you feel a
                  certain way about something does not make it law. And the way you
                  presented this thread, and with no evidence or anything to back up your
                  claim, many new people will see it as law.

                  And that to me is irresponsible and I do not change my views on this
                  issue.

                  Yes, article marketing can suck big time if you can't write your way out
                  of a paper bag.

                  PPC can also suck big time if you don't know how to go about creating a
                  PPC campaign, which includes more things than I'm going to get into here
                  in this thread because it just isn't the time and place for it.

                  Anyway, you're entitled to your opinion.

                  Just don't state those opinions as law.
                  Again, I stated my opinion... many people disagreed

                  That was what I hoped for

                  I wanted the community to speak out against my opinion... in fact, I expected it.

                  What I didn't expect was for everyone to take my opinion of article marketing so personally.

                  What good is a forum where everyone agrees with each other?

                  As far as your apology is concerned - I don't believe that you sincerely give a shit about calling me a moron... so i don't accept.

                  And, from your own admission - I am right about you being egotistical.

                  Personally, I feel that you can be a bully and have been many times here - so I don't take it back nor do I apologize for saying that.

                  You have a huge following here... and, I'm sure it's well deserved.

                  But, as I said before - you are not above being disagreed with.

                  I respect you but, I refuse to put a silencer on my guns just because of your reputation here.

                  I think article marketing sucks... you don't!

                  That's fine with me!

                  Marc
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                  • Profile picture of the author Steven Wagenheim
                    Originally Posted by marcanthony View Post


                    As far as your apology is concerned - I don't believe that you sincerely give a shit about calling me a moron... so i don't accept.

                    And, from your own admission - I am right about you being egotistical.

                    Personally, I feel that you can be a bully and have been many times here - so I don't take it back nor do I apologize for saying that.

                    I guess that just about says it all...doesn't it.

                    Wow. :rolleyes:

                    Gotta go check my friends list. ....Done...Well, at least you're not
                    a hypocrite.

                    That much I respect.

                    Guess we won't be exchanging Christmas cards next year.
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                    • Profile picture of the author marcanthony
                      Originally Posted by Steven Wagenheim View Post

                      I guess that just about says it all...doesn't it.

                      Wow. :rolleyes:

                      Gotta go check my friends list. ....Done...Well, at least you're not
                      a hypocrite.

                      That much I respect.

                      Guess we won't be exchanging Christmas cards next year.
                      I wouldn't mind exchanging Christmas gits with you... I don't dislike you.

                      Disagreement is not synonymous with dislike to me...

                      I'm just an honest guy that speaks from the heart... don't take it personally.

                      Just like you have your opinion of me... I have one of you!

                      I believe that you are a great guy...

                      I disagree with a lot of great guys!

                      I also get along with most of them!
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                      • Profile picture of the author Steven Wagenheim
                        Originally Posted by marcanthony View Post


                        I believe that you are a great guy...

                        I disagree with a lot of great guys!

                        I also get along with most of them!
                        Marc, no offense. I'm either a great guy or an egotistical bully.

                        You can't have it both ways.

                        And for the record, I honestly don't care what you think of me. I'm not here
                        to win a popularity contest.

                        But I was sincere in my apology. Trust me, when I'm not, I don't make
                        them.

                        Ask the people here who are on my ignore list and don't even exist
                        for me.
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                        • Profile picture of the author marcanthony
                          Originally Posted by Steven Wagenheim View Post

                          Marc, no offense. I'm either a great guy or an egotistical bully.

                          You can't have it both ways.

                          And for the record, I honestly don't care what you think of me. I'm not here
                          to win a popularity contest.

                          But I was sincere in my apology. Trust me, when I'm not, I don't make
                          them.

                          Ask the people here who are on my ignore list and don't even exist
                          for me.
                          No offense taken...

                          The funny thing is that you are still disputing my personal opinions...

                          In my mind you can be both great and egotistical! So, I can have that both ways.

                          The last time I checked, being egotistical wasn't actually a negative word anyway. Maybe it is to you! Which is strange because you've already embraced the fact that you are egotistical.

                          If I wanted to misconstrue things I could easily say that someone that posts over 10 times a day is conducting a popularity contest - even if they don't realize it.

                          Maybe you really don't realize it...

                          I could be wrong though!

                          You have a nice day...

                          Marc

                          p.s. you can have the last word if you chose... I'm done!
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                        • Profile picture of the author lgibbon
                          Banned
                          Originally Posted by Steven Wagenheim View Post

                          Ask the people here who are on my ignore list and don't even exist
                          for me.
                          Try and get on it Marc.
                          It has huge advantages.
                          And the people that matter still see your posts.
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                          • Profile picture of the author marcanthony
                            Originally Posted by lgibbon View Post

                            Try and get on it Marc.
                            It has huge advantages.
                            And the people that matter still see your posts.
                            That's really funny!
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                            • Profile picture of the author Steven Wagenheim
                              Originally Posted by marcanthony View Post

                              That's really funny!
                              Marc, just say the word and I'll be happy to add you.

                              I even have the procedure bookmarked so it doesn't even take me too much
                              time.

                              If you don't want to post it publicly, you can send me a PM.

                              *NOTE* In case anybody is wondering, the above is tongue in cheek and
                              meant as a joke.

                              Gotta state that cause so many people take everything I say literally.
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                              • Profile picture of the author yourreviewer
                                Great Discussion! Good to have calm waters in the sea
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                • Profile picture of the author Magic Johnson
                  Originally Posted by Steven Wagenheim View Post

                  A new person will read this, take it as gospel and say, "Hmmm, I guess I
                  better stay away from article marketing" dive headlong into PPC and most
                  likely lose his shirt because he doesn't have a clue what he's doing with
                  it. I've read enough books by Perry Marshall and others to know just how
                  complext PPC is and how much work goes into optimizing it.

                  It is not for the uneducated.

                  With article writing, you lose a few hours of your time.

                  With PPC, you lose a lot more than that.

                  But ultimately, none of that even matters.
                  You asume that everyone are not educated enough to learn PPC? how do you know what kind of background they are coming from. Also, how do you know that they don't mind spending money on PPC to LEARN??

                  Do you see the problem in your arguement?
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    • Profile picture of the author marcanthony
      Originally Posted by Coyotex View Post

      Marc, I respect your decision and if that's what you think, so be it. I do have a question, you said you've written articles in the past and it hasn't panned out for you well? How many articles have you written?
      I never said that it didn't pan out for me...

      I've written articles under my name and many
      different pen names...

      And I've learned that one of the most common
      things that everyone tells you about article
      marketing is that you need to write tons and tons
      of them...

      I think that is a waste of time when you can do
      many other much more effective things
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  • Profile picture of the author PJ Morales
    Wow!

    I haven't been here in months, mainly due to the amount of pure bs that was being passed off here by newcomers and know-it-alls who really know nothing.

    So I come back today for a look-see and the first thread I open is this pile of crap. Nice to see there's a new breed of morons infecting this place with their ridiculous "advice."

    Don't get me wrong, I know there are quite a few excellent marketers here who give good advice, but man, there are still some idiots dispensing garbage like this. I only hope the newbies can tell the difference.
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  • Profile picture of the author stevecl
    If i remember correctly ppc only gets around 20/30% of potential search traffic, the rest goes on organic searches.

    Thats a hell of as lot of money to leave on the table? don't ya think???

    Steve
    Signature

    I started with nothing and still have most of it left!

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  • Profile picture of the author Jack Duncan
    Marc,

    This is what you wrote 150 days ago:

    As you can see article writing can significantly help you increase the amount of financial prosperity that you gain from your website. Not only is it a great way to collect residual income on your website, but done correctly it can lead to ultimate wealth. The reason so many people display articles on their websites is because it is one of the most reliable forms of internet marketing. If you are interested in gaining long-term financial freedom through your website then it is essential that you capitalize on this unique form of marketing.
    What has happened that has changed your position so drastically in under 5 months?
    Signature
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    • Profile picture of the author marcanthony
      Originally Posted by Jack Duncan View Post

      Marc,

      This is what you wrote 150 days ago:



      What has happened that has changed your position so drastically in under 5 months?
      That was an outsourced article used to drive traffic... is the information in that article based on your opinion false?

      The only thing that you are proving is that I have done article marketing - which I have not denied.

      I have done plenty of article marketing - and when I first considered tapping in to the "make money online" and "business opportunity" market I tried it there.

      I came to the conclusion that It was a real big waste of my time.
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    • Profile picture of the author daver99
      Marc,

      You have invested several hours monitoring and responding to this post. With the same time and effort you could have multiple articles out there working for you! It's all how you use your time.
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  • Profile picture of the author Ron Douglas
    From my experience, you can find more efffective ways to use your time then to crank out 5 articles per day. I don't think article marketing sucks, because I outsource my article marketing and it works. However, I do think that spending all your time on it sucks. I'd rather be launching new products, working on email promotions, or finding new affiliates / jv partners.

    I also think it's wrong for people to personally attack Marc for stating his opinion. If we all did that, this forum would have to close down like Fortin's did.
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    • Profile picture of the author marcanthony
      Originally Posted by Ron Douglas View Post

      From my experience, you can find more efffective ways to use your time then to crank out 5 articles per day. I don't think article marketing sucks, because I outsource my article marketing and it works. However, I do think that spending all your time on it sucks. I'd rather be launching new products, working on email promotions, or finding new affiliates / jv partners.

      I also think it's wrong for people to personally attack Marc for stating his opinion. If we all did that, this forum would have to close down like Fortin's did.
      I appreciate that Ron...

      I've been called an idiot and a moron for stirring up controversy on article marketing.

      Everything that I posted originally was intentionally written to spark a serious conversation.

      This is my true opinion about article marketing - hate it or love it....

      People can make up their own minds about using it in their marketing...

      But, if it's o.k. for others to speak in favor of it - it should be o.k. for me to speak against it.
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      • Profile picture of the author Jack Duncan
        Marc,

        This is my true opinion about article marketing
        No one disagrees with you on this.

        Yes, you can express your opinion all day long.

        But why not share your actual results in article marketing vs. PPC that have driven you to your opinion?

        Article Marketing done wrong ABSOLUTELY SUCKS.

        The assumption of your initial post is:

        "I've personally done article marketing the best way it could be done...and it sucks when compared to PPC marketing done the best way it could be done."

        I'm simply pointing out that your assumption may be incorrect.

        If you've done article marketing incorrectly...it stands to reason that it sucks.

        The same would be true of PPC.

        I think the argument is resting on one fact: Are you qualified to say article marketing sucks?

        In other words...Do you know what you are talking about when it comes to article marketing?
        Signature
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        • Profile picture of the author marcanthony
          Originally Posted by Jack Duncan View Post

          Marc,



          No one disagrees with you on this.

          Yes, you can express your opinion all day long.

          But why not share your actual results in article marketing vs. PPC that have driven you to your opinion?

          Article Marketing done wrong ABSOLUTELY SUCKS.

          The assumption of your initial post is:

          "I've personally done article marketing the best way it could be done...and it sucks when compared to PPC marketing done the best way it could be done."

          I'm simply pointing out that your assumption may be incorrect.

          If you've done article marketing incorrectly...it stands to reason that it sucks.

          The same would be true of PPC.

          I think the argument is resting on one fact: Are you qualified to say article marketing sucks?

          In other words...Do you know what you are talking about when it comes to article marketing?
          Whether I'm qualified to make the comment or not is for everyone else to decide. And, I think that most people here disagree with me.

          But my reasons for being against it have absolutely nothing to do with may success with it or lack thereof...

          The bottom line is that I feel that there are many other more effective ways to spend your marketing time other than writing articles.
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          • Profile picture of the author John Taylor
            Originally Posted by marcanthony View Post


            The bottom line is that I feel that there are many other more effective ways to spend your marketing time other than writing articles.
            It's a pity that you didn't say that in your original post.
            Instead of telling everyone that "Article Marketing Sucks"

            John
            Signature
            John's Internet Marketing News, Views & Reviews: John Taylor Online
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            • Profile picture of the author marcanthony
              Originally Posted by John Taylor View Post

              It's a pity that you didn't say that in your original post.
              Instead of telling everyone that "Article Marketing Sucks"

              John
              Why is it a pity?

              I feel a lot of different ways about article marketing.

              Ultimately, I think that it sucks.

              John, you don't have to like what I think... If your
              concern is that I might negatively influence an up
              and coming marketer than you should just prove
              me wrong.

              And, don't tell me that it's a pity that I didn't say
              what you think that I should have said.

              It's a pity that I have to get bashed for having an
              opposing opinion.
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              • Profile picture of the author John Taylor
                Originally Posted by marcanthony View Post

                It's a pity that I have to get bashed for having an
                opposing opinion.
                Point to a post where I "bashed" you.

                John
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                • Profile picture of the author marcanthony
                  Originally Posted by John Taylor View Post

                  Point to a post where I "bashed" you.

                  John
                  You haven't bashed me at all...

                  I've been unnecessarily called some pretty bad
                  things in this thread.

                  I was just saying that if anything was
                  a pity - it should be that.

                  On a side note: I'm actually glad that
                  you got involved with this thread.

                  And, I appreciate your rebuttals.

                  Personally, I think that more threads need
                  to be started where people actually disagree
                  with each other.

                  Take care
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  • Profile picture of the author Michael Ellis
    Article marketing and PPC are both very different animals.

    Most people think article marketing is simply writing an article and posting it to EZA and waiting for the traffic to flood in. On the other hand, most people think PPC is simply creating a small ad and assigning keywords to it and watching the traffic flood in. Unfortunately, either way of thinking will either cost you a whole bunch of time or money without much in return.

    There is so much more to learn about article marketing. How can one article generate over 50,000 views in 1 year (+ hundreds of quality highly valuable backlinks) while another one generates less than 50 views and zero backlinks? There certainly a technique to it.

    PPC, on the other hand, is awesome for testing out a salespage VERY quickly. The best use for PPC is to test your sales copy very quickly to find what converts the best and then use a combination of PPC and AM to send traffic to that optimized sales process. A quick and easy way to find the winners and dump the losers.

    Of course, if you're a newbie with no money then you should probably steer clear of PPC. There's just a huge learning curve and a huge potential to suck all the cash out of your wallet very quickly. You can still use AM to test your copy, it's just a lot slower, but it's great learning experience.

    Neither suck, but like everything else, they need to be used correctly.
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  • Profile picture of the author 4today
    Wow!! This has been fun to read.
    I have a terrible time with article writing - but I keep trying.
    If I get 10 additional links - than that is 10 I didn't have the day before. Every little bit helps.
    My opinion - nothing should be totally excluded.
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  • Profile picture of the author Daniel Deegan
    While I think this topic could have been brought up in such a way to foster more constructive discussion on the topic, instead of this "us vs them" mentality. I personally feel If you have the resources and are going to put in the time and effort to master one form of traffic generation than "paid traffic" is clearly the way to go...

    Here are some reasons why...

    1. Speed - Everything can be done much quicker. You can test if a campaign is worth your time. You can ramp up already existing campaigns much faster by adding more keywords and targeting more potential buyers by buying more traffic...Split testing and optimization can be done much more quickly.

    Simply put the fact you get results faster can have a positive cascading effect on multiple sides of your business...

    2. Highly Targeted - It's much easier to target specific crowds in various stages of the buying cycle.

    3. Optimization - There is more room for testing,tweaking and optimizing when using PPC...obviously this has major benefits.

    4. Scalability - You can easily ramp up and expand a campaign by adding more keywords, using the content network, site targeting, using MSN and Yahoo along with other third party networks. Also throw in media buys and banner ads, ect...the list goes on..

    Article marketing has it's place. On the whole I personally look at article marketing as a supplemental strategy, but I would never use it as a primary traffic sources unless my other options where limited due to money, etc. With article marketing your not just at the mercy of the search engines but the article directory owners...

    Now Steve pointed out that he makes 10k a month primarily due to article marketing...I think most people on this forum will agree that Steve is a very effective article marketer. He even positions himself as an article marketing guru of sorts...

    Here's the thing though...People who are good at PPC can make 10k in a day or week...This is not a knock to Steve. I just want to point out how much more you could get out of paid traffic when your good at it...

    So here is a question to ask yourself...If your going to focus your time and energy in learning a new skill..do you want to be a master of a skill that can bring you 10k a month or one with the potential to bring you that in a single day?
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  • Profile picture of the author ADAMw3
    Once again an endless debate on what works and what doesn't.

    My advice:

    Stick to what you think is good and what works for you and do not create threads bashing on one method because you utterly failed.

    Article marketing, like said, has great potential, but if you find it a waste of time, then do what works... think about it... you wasted time to create a thread to debate why article marketing sucks...

    Not calling you out, but do not be so critical of one method especially when others make a living on it and/or proven it already works.

    Just my thoughts...
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  • Profile picture of the author Keegahn
    To me, it's a process... article marketing and affiliate marketing is quick and painless if done right. Then you reinvest those profits into paid solutions to make more profit, then take the overall profit from the campaign and start building a sustainable business.

    I track any and all affiliate articles I do with PHP/TIDs to see what works and what doesn't... then adjust my efforts accordingly. Here's my results from one recent article:

    Views: 5,160
    URL Clicks: 1,647
    Ezine Publisher: 16
    Affiliate sales from this article: 104
    Sales (in $) from this article: $6,502.53

    That's over $1 per view, that's $6,502.53 for just ONE article that took 30 minutes to write... and that's just a recent one.

    For the record, I don't prefer one method of traffic over the other... I use both. But yes, please stay away from article marketing; I could use more cash.
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    • Profile picture of the author lgibbon
      Banned
      Originally Posted by Keegahn View Post


      please stay away from article marketing; I could use more cash.
      That's an interesting statement too.

      I wouldn't mind betting most people that were making money article marketing kept it quiet at the time.

      Only after it was diluted by the masses did they decide to start selling yesterdays dream.

      FFA sites worked once upon a time.
      Safelists too.
      And adsense sites too.

      But you only got to hear about them after they were most effective
      usually from people looking to exploit newbies that knew no better.
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  • Profile picture of the author Allen Graves
    Article marketing has been around since the dawn of internet marketing. If you aren't making any money with it, either you haven't tried hard enough or you are simply doing something wrong.

    AL
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    • Profile picture of the author marcanthony
      Originally Posted by Allen Graves View Post

      Article marketing has been around since the dawn of internet marketing. If you aren't making any money with it, either you haven't tried hard enough or you are simply doing something wrong.

      AL
      So if someone like Frank Kern or Mike Filsaime doesn't use it - is it because they haven't tried it or are simply doing something wrong?
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      • Profile picture of the author Allen Graves
        Originally Posted by marcanthony View Post

        So if someone like Frank Kern or Mike Filsaime doesn't use it - is it because they haven't tried it or are simply doing something wrong?
        In their case, my guess would be that they don't have the time.

        But it could very well be that they have not tried it or they are doing something wrong, yes.

        I'd love to sit down with Frank or Mike and discuss it with them, but I've never had that chance.

        If anyone can set that up for me, I'd loveyou for life.

        Respectfully,
        Allen Graves
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        • Profile picture of the author marcanthony
          Originally Posted by Allen Graves View Post

          In their case, my guess would be that they don't have the time.

          But it could very well be that they have not tried it or they are doing something wrong, yes.

          I'd love to sit down with Frank or Mike and discuss it with them, but I've never had that chance.

          If anyone can set that up for me, I'd loveyou for life.

          Respectfully,
          Allen Graves
          Oh... I see where you were coming from now

          Take Care

          Marc
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        • Profile picture of the author Lance K
          Originally Posted by Allen Graves View Post

          I'd love to sit down with Frank or Mike and discuss it with them, but I've never had that chance.

          If anyone can set that up for me, I'd loveyou for life.
          Allen,

          If you buy 3 Super Bowl tickets and arrange first class transportation to and from Tampa (as well as first class service while there), then I think I may be able to set something up for you.

          And you don't even have to love me for life. Just send me the transcripts of your conversations. Or buy 4 tickets.

          Signature
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      • Profile picture of the author zerofill
        Originally Posted by marcanthony View Post

        So if someone like Frank Kern or Mike Filsaime doesn't use it - is it because they haven't tried it or are simply doing something wrong?
        Do you think that Frank Kern and Mike Filsaime do nothing wrong? They screw up all the time I am sure... If you experiment with anything...yoiu will screw up at times.

        You have 2 avenues you can walk along...

        Become a Jack of all trades and master of none...

        or

        You master something and excel at it...

        I actually hate article marketing...But there are people that I am associated with that can write an article and have cash at will...

        There are also those that excel at PPC and can do the same thing...

        I would tend to say that in my opinion...you can produce the same amount of income using both methods... Using both methods in conjunction can yield even greater rewards.

        However...I am pretty sure that Filsaime and Kern have content written for them also in the form of articles etc to drive traffic.

        Not to mention that I am also sure there are many people doing even better in the IM world then both of them put together that you never hear of. Key to that type of large scale success isn't just PPC or article marketing...it is forming a team or outsourcing.

        If you ask people outside of an Internet Marketing forum who Frank Kern, John Reese, Mike Filsame, Brad Fallon, Eban Pagan, etc were...they wouldn't have the slightest clue. So it is a given there are marketers out there that we have never heard of doing even more than they are. Those marketers don't even want you to have the slightest idea what they are doing. You won't see them marketing their methods to success.

        How much you want to bet that a large amount of people here don't know who Jeffrey Bezos is? I would probably consider him an Internet Marketer/Pioneer... or Sergey Brin...whom is one of the reasons this thread exists...

        Either way you look at it...following just one track whether PPC, Article Marketing, or any other form of traffic generation...I doubt any of the top guys use as their only source of traffic. I would half hazard a guess that they use everything available to them for thier arsenal.
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        • Profile picture of the author michaelmac
          Hi,

          IMHO it is, as they say in the UK, horses for courses! What suits an article marketer (myself) won't suit say a PPC marketer. You need to use whatever you feel confident with and go with that 100%! As such you will become more proficient and make money. When you have grown your business as such then start to add other money making options such as PPC, CPA etc.

          Thanks,

          Michael
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        • Profile picture of the author The 13th Warrior
          If people don't like something, they simply don't like it , no matter what the good or bad of it is.

          If you hate the smell and taste of castor oil, no matter what the benefits are, or how much sugar or flavor you add to it, you simply don't like it.

          All the empirical evidence as to why you should take it is moot.

          What if gutting pigs guts in a processing plant for 8 to 12 hours a day for 5 days a week paid $200 an hour, with GUARANTEED tax-free pension for 20-30 years of dedicated service paid $3,000,000........how many people would not take the job or quit, no matter what the benefits?

          If there was a medical fact that eating sliced raw turnips,castor oil,hot skunk blood and fresh snake bile sandwich will extend your youth and life and extra 250 years, how many people will not do it or quit if they start?

          Don't U.K'ers love that Black Pudding=Pig Blood Pudding?

          Certain things, an Act of God can't make people like something they don't like, no matter how supreme the benefits are.

          The 13 th Warrior
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  • Profile picture of the author Big Mike75
    I can understand your frustration, but to say that article marketing "sucks" implies there are zero positives to gain from article marketing. The problem with it is when you try to use it as your sole traffic source, it takes time and LOTS of work. But article marketing when done in conjunction with other content oriented traffic generation methods, can be quite effective.

    I don't have a problem with any method that allows you to create content, at the end of the day the internet is built around content, which can only draw much needed attention to you web properties. Article creation can be outsourced quite cheaply, and is still a very effective way to create links back to your site.

    Article marketing has to be conducted with other traffic generation methods, and again if you do it yourself be prepared for work and effort. But the idea that is sucks or doesn't work is just ludicrous.
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    • Profile picture of the author marcanthony
      Originally Posted by Big Mike75 View Post

      I can understand your frustration, but to say that article marketing "sucks" implies there are zero positives to gain from article marketing. The problem with it is when you try to use it as your sole traffic source, it takes time and LOTS of work. But article marketing when done in conjunction with other content oriented traffic generation methods, can be quite effective.

      I don't have a problem with any method that allows you to create content, at the end of the day the internet is built around content, which can only draw much needed attention to you web properties. Article creation can be outsourced quite cheaply, and is still a very effective way to create links back to your site.

      Article marketing has to be conducted with other traffic generation methods, and again if you do it yourself be prepared for work and effort. But the idea that is sucks or doesn't work is just ludicrous.
      I think you might have misunderstood me... I'm not frustrated with it at all.

      And, me saying that it sucks is just my opinion.
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  • Profile picture of the author Noel2010
    I didn't read all the posts but when did article marketing become an opponent of PPC?
    When I have made enough money from articles, I'll use some for ppc. Many lose money using ppc, sometimes thousands of dollars. If I slave away and write many articles myself with no sales, then I've only lost my time.
    There was another very long thread on the old forum about EZA that this reminds me of.
    This is the most controversial thread for the holidays. Congratulations.
    And you don't even have a link in your sig...now that sucks!
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  • Profile picture of the author Eric Reimers
    Example:

    Joe Gearhead is looking to buy the latest exhaust system. He can buy it at the local muffler shop, but decides to check online for a better deal.

    He does a quick search of Google. Scans the first page of the results, clicks on the 2nd returned match, gets taken to an article site, not what he's looking for (where's the muffler), hits the back button sees a sponsered ad that catches his attention, clicks on it, bingo the muffler he's looking for.
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    • Profile picture of the author Keegahn
      Originally Posted by Eric Reimers View Post

      Example:

      Joe Gearhead is looking to buy the latest exhaust system. He can buy it at the local muffler shop, but decides to check online for a better deal.

      He does a quick search of Google. Scans the first page of the results, clicks on the 2nd returned match, gets taken to an article site, not what he's looking for (where's the muffler), hits the back button sees a sponsered ad that catches his attention, clicks on it, bingo the muffler he's looking for.
      Joe Gearhead is looking to buy the latest exhaust system. He can buy it at the local muffler shop, but decides to check online for a better deal.

      He does a quick search on Google. Scans the first page of results, clicks on the 2nd returned match and gets taken to an article that is reviewing said exhaust system. Joe realizes hey, this might be what I want... the article implied there may be something better. As he continues reading, Joe sees the resource box linking to even more useful info about said exhaust system and other exhaust systems... perfect, he's no longer sure if this is what he wants. *click*

      Mr.Gearhead begins reading the web page... continues reading... and now has his mind fully made up - he wants the exhaust system! Joe clicks the conveniently placed image on the website, linking to the store with the cheapest price online and buys the exhaust system.

      Ninja webmaster is pleased.

      Two sides to every coin, chief.
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      • Profile picture of the author Eric Reimers
        Originally Posted by Keegahn View Post

        Joe Gearhead is looking to buy the latest exhaust system. He can buy it at the local muffler shop, but decides to check online for a better deal.

        He does a quick search on Google. Scans the first page of results, clicks on the 2nd returned match and gets taken to an article that is reviewing said exhaust system. Joe realizes hey, this might be what I want... the article implied there may be something better. As he continues reading, Joe sees the resource box linking to even more useful info about said exhaust system and other exhaust systems... perfect, he's no longer sure if this is what he wants. *click*

        Mr.Gearhead begins reading the web page... continues reading... and now has his mind fully made up - he wants the exhaust system! Joe clicks the conveniently placed image on the website, linking to the store with the cheapest price online and buys the exhaust system.

        Ninja webmaster is pleased.

        Two sides to every coin, chief.
        Bad Ninja webmaster (shaking fists wildly) stole my sale.

        Back to the serious stuff, I like using PPC over articles for that quick sale. Targeting the buyer who knows what he wants, and already has the money out.

        Agreed, Every coin has two sides.
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      • Profile picture of the author Benjamin Johnson
        Seems to me no source of traffic should be dismissed out of hand. I'm always looking for new methods, not kicking the ones I already have to the curb. I spend most of my time on PPC just because it's the most expensive to outsource so it's worth my time to do it myself. Article marketing, SEO, etc., once the system is in place there's no reason I should be doing the busy work anymore.
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      • Profile picture of the author rsmb99
        I think we are comparing 2 different animals here. There are many different methods to get traffic to a site and article marketing is one of them. Only in AM you won't get hurt if you make a mistake. In PPC you can if you don't know what your'e doing. Sometimes badly so.

        Willie Crawford says he has generated as much as $10,000 in under a week, from a single article submitted though a professional distribution service. He's generated nearly 1000 subscribers in a week, from one article.

        Each person has to use the method that he is most comfortable with.

        Marc is entitled to his opinion which must be as a result of his experiences. He has told that article marketing sucks but not made any personal remarks about anyone. But I am afraid the same can't be said about calling each other names which will not be in keeping with the standards of this great forum.
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      • Profile picture of the author Jeff Schuman
        In my case I see the benefits and the downside of both type of marketing. I decided a few years ago to work on article marketing because I wanted permanent backlinks and ppc traffic stopped the minute I stopped advertising.

        I have been consistent in my article marketing and now in blogging and social bookmarking. I checked my stats today and am on page one of Google for 3100 unique keywords, get over 1 million visitors a year to my site, have almost 15000 backlinks, and earn a 6 figure income.

        My monthly business expenses are less than $500 and that includes hosting, domain names, program costs, everything.

        So article marketing has worked for me. I know for a fact that most people who do ppc lose money. Willie Crawford wrote about this once.

        I think the same thing is true for article marketing. Most people never do it long enough for it to pay them back. In my mind it takes several hundred hours to become an expert on one form of traffic generation, so we could probably have this argument on just about any form of advertising.

        Exellent post and discussion everyone!
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  • Profile picture of the author grandstar
    I have never made a dime in article marketing hence ainting a fan of it.

    Seems a lot of work and little action.

    PPC delivers clicks and thats all newbies want to see. People want results and not ..................

    Even if you don't come out profitable, it builds your faith!

    If article marketing pays you though, stick to it!
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  • Profile picture of the author jimcal
    Hi,
    I think article marketing is great and I like to watch the viral effect of my articles and see where they end up. PLus it's always nice to make some money.
    Maybe you should write an article on PPC and test it.
    Thanks,
    Jim
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  • Profile picture of the author coco28
    Comparing Article Marketing with PPC is a pointless argument in my opinion - they are both very different means of getting traffic to a website, and with different risks. If you fail at AM, the worst case is that you will be discouraged. Failing at PPC could cost you a small fortune. It takes a while to learn how to do AM effectively, which means a lot of trial and error. This is a free education though, other than the time you spend learning how to do it. Conversely, a badly run PPC campaign can be very costly.

    However, I do agree with the OP in that the time spent on writing articles can be better utilised. These days, writing and submitting an article to EZA is not enough. The article quickly disappears from the SERPS unless you spend even more time building backlinks to your submitted article. If you are prepared to spend this time writing content for a website and creating backlinks to it, then why not publish the article on your own site and build links to it there? While this may not result in the instant traffic hit that EZA provides, your article on your own website will show up in the SERPS eventually. In the long term, surely an article about a specific niche on a website devoted to that specific niche will carry more weight than the same article in a spammy article bank?
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    • Profile picture of the author adamv
      Originally Posted by coco28 View Post

      These days, writing and submitting an article to EZA is not enough. The article quickly disappears from the SERPS unless you spend even more time building backlinks to your submitted article. If you are prepared to spend this time writing content for a website and creating backlinks to it, then why not publish the article on your own site and build links to it there? While this may not result in the instant traffic hit that EZA provides, your article on your own website will show up in the SERPS eventually. In the long term, surely an article about a specific niche on a website devoted to that specific niche will carry more weight than the same article in a spammy article bank?
      Many people do both. Submit to EZA for immediate traffic and post articles on their own site for long term SEO traffic. It's not an either/or scenario.
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  • Profile picture of the author mudmat
    Tight Budget = Article Marketing (Get Traffic + Backlinks) (Harder Testing)
    Got Budget = PPC (Faster Traffic + Easier Testing) (Lose money fast if you don't know what you are doing..)
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  • Profile picture of the author System
    Banned
    [DELETED]
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    • Profile picture of the author Ron Douglas
      Originally Posted by System View Post

      damn guys, every single one that posted about PPC here mentioned that you will lose money if you don't know what you are doing.

      My guess: Someone posted it and others are playing brainiacs.

      But yeh, a lot of newbies get screwed with this.
      I never really understood how you can lose your shirt with PPC. You have complete control over your maximum daily budget and cost per click.

      If you get a bunch of clicks and no sales, simply shut it down. Do PPC on a small scale to start and only ramp it up after you're seeing positive results.

      Newbies aren't dumb, just inexperienced. The other thing about newbies is they usually are doing IM part-time and have a job. That means that they probably have more money than time.

      Both PPC and Article Marketing have a learning curve, but personally, I'd rather lose a couple hundred dollars on PPC than to write articles for six weeks for something that doesn't convert.

      I only do article marketing when I'm confident of the conversion. PPC is better for testing because you can fail fast and move on.

      Just my opinion. Worth what you paid for it.
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  • Profile picture of the author dean mcevoy
    IMHO, what side of the whole PPC/AM debate your in has got to do with risk tolerance.

    some people like the high risk/big win stuff. there into PPC.

    if your campain is a winner, BINGO you got a licence to print your own money.

    if its a loser, you just wasted lots of cash

    if however you like to keep costs low (or at $0) them AM is for you. if its works youve got some easy income, if not then youre loss is quite small
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    • Profile picture of the author Ron Douglas
      Originally Posted by dean mcevoy View Post

      IMHO, what side of the whole PPC/AM debate your in has got to do with risk tolerance.

      some people like the high risk/big win stuff. there into PPC.

      if your campain is a winner, BINGO you got a licence to print your own money.

      if its a loser, you just wasted lots of cash

      if however you like to keep costs low (or at $0) them AM is for you. if its works youve got some easy income, if not then youre loss is quite small
      If your PPC campaign is a loser, you only lose as much as you want to risk on it. It's not like day trading or Vegas. You have complete control.

      Get 200 clicks, tweak your campaign, get 200 more clicks and so on. After 1,000 clicks, you should know enough to either run it profitably or shut it down.

      How much will that cost you? If you spend $.50 a click, you'll spend $500. Hopefully you'll have some sales to offset the expense. Maybe you lose $250 net, but you gain intelligence for that campaign. And that should be worst case.
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      • Profile picture of the author Steven Wagenheim
        Originally Posted by Ron Douglas View Post

        If your PPC campaign is a loser, you only lose as much as you want to risk on it. It's not like day trading or Vegas. You have complete control.

        Get 200 clicks, tweak your campaign, get 200 more clicks and so on. After 1,000 clicks, you should know enough to either run it profitably or shut it down.

        How much will that cost you? If you spend $.50 a click, you'll spend $500. Hopefully you'll have some sales to offset the expense. Maybe you lose $250 net, but you gain intelligence for that campaign. And that should be worst case.
        Ron, I actually agree with you to an extent. But you made an assumption
        in a previous post that I have found from my experience, working almost
        solely with newbies, isn't always true.

        I run into countless people who can just about afford a $10 ebook. These
        people in no way can risk $500 or even $250 on a PPC campaign. And
        don't forget, what sales they do make, they're not seeing that money
        for a while unless they're promoting something that pays to their PayPal
        right away through something like RAP.

        With article marketing, these people don't have to risk anything but their
        time, and in most of these cases, it's all they have.

        I know this for a fact because these are the people I deal with everyday.

        Sure, there are those out there who want to run an Internet business who
        are doing it to get away from their dull jobs and have tons of cash to
        spend.

        For them, I say find a coach to teach you PPC completely and then run
        with it because yes, it is the most targeted and quickest way to get
        traffic to your site if it is done correctly.

        I am not a PPC hater. I use it myself, though not all that much. But what
        little I do use does bring me a profit because I limit myself to what I know
        and don't venture into things I don't know. I'm referring to niches that I
        already tested out with AM and found to convert well. I will never use it
        as a testing ground because I just don't believe in taking money that I
        earned from articles that I already have sitting out there, and throwing
        it away on something that I don't know will work well or not. So I will test
        with AM first.

        Call me cheap, that's fine. I'll accept that criticism. I make no secret of
        the fact that I am cheap. But that's the way I run my business.

        My advice to everybody else...do what's best for you.
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        • Profile picture of the author Ron Douglas
          Originally Posted by Steven Wagenheim View Post

          Ron, I actually agree with you to an extent. But you made an assumption
          in a previous post that I have found from my experience, working almost
          solely with newbies, isn't always true.

          I run into countless people who can just about afford a $10 ebook. These
          people in no way can risk $500 or even $250 on a PPC campaign. And
          don't forget, what sales they do make, they're not seeing that money
          for a while unless they're promoting something that pays to their PayPal
          right away through something like RAP.

          With article marketing, these people don't have to risk anything but their
          time, and in most of these cases, it's all they have.
          I agree - if you have no money, do article marketing. Both AM and PPC work and neither suck. What's best for you depends on many factors - time, budget, niche, competition, etc.

          I think we've turned this thread into a pretty good discussion instead of what it started as. My work here is done :-).
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  • Profile picture of the author ecoverartist
    Why not do both?

    Leverage your articles to get a stream of traffic over a long period of time, and use PPC to your advantage to get "startup" traffic for a launch or a new site. I'd say if you can - learn both. Article marketing to build your credibility over time, and PPC to help you use that credibility toward finding your best keywords.
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  • Profile picture of the author Daniel Deegan
    Ron Douglas really broke it down. For those who wonder why one would favor PPC over article marketing, just read over Ron's posts in this thread.

    Yes you can lose money in PPC, but once you know what your doing the amount of money and time you'll gain from your invesment is far better than what you'd get from article marketing.
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    • Profile picture of the author The 13th Warrior
      Originally Posted by mdunn123 View Post


      Since I started article marketing a year and half ago I've put an extra $40K in my pocket and it helped launch me into marketing.
      Originally Posted by John Taylor View Post


      Articles can get you thousands of clicks over a long
      period of time.
      Originally Posted by John Taylor View Post


      Who says you have to write them yourself?

      I very rarely wite my own articles, I have a team of writers
      and I use submission services such as iSnare to distribute
      my articles.
      Originally Posted by Bev Clement View Post


      The method isn't the problem, it is the way people execute it which is the problem.
      Originally Posted by Jack Duncan View Post



      What is Keyword Article Writing and Why is it a Good Marketing Tool?

      The immediate problem I see is that the link doesn't work in your resource box.

      Also, another helpful piece of information you could have provided was that all of your articles seem to have been removed from ezinearticles.com.

      I can see the cache page here:
      Marc Edwards - EzineArticles.com Expert Author

      But when I click on the links, the pages have been removed...which has affected your traffic from those articles...

      Lastly, I noticed that you submitted the exact same article to dozens of article sites...using the same title, text, etc...

      Because of that, at least 35 of the 55 submissions are just seen as dupe content in Google.

      Spinning the article titles, text, etc... would have taken your submissions much farther.
      Originally Posted by Imran Naseem View Post


      And just ONE of my article has over 7k views and over 400 clicks and making
      me money at the backend. Can't suck for an article over 4 months old now can it?
      Originally Posted by Lance K View Post


      If PPC gets 3% conversion on a $47 product and AM gets a 2% conversion on a $47 product and both get 1,000 visitors...

      PPC = $1,410
      AM = $940

      Difference of $470. Difference in cost is $225 ($250 for PPC and $25 for article).

      You are $245 ahead with PPC.

      And if you're promoting an affiliate product with a mere 50% commission...

      PPC = $705
      AM = $470

      Difference of $235. Difference in cost is $225 ($250 for PPC and $25 for article).

      You are still $10 ahead with PPC

      I'M NOT SAYING PPC IS BETTER. THIS IS JUST AN EXAMPLE!!!
      Originally Posted by John Taylor View Post


      Why not assume that the conversion rates will be the
      same?

      Using dedicated landing pages for article marketing is
      equally effective as using them for PPC. In fact the
      right type of landing page will dramatically increase the
      sales/optin conversion rate from article marketing.
      Originally Posted by Keegahn View Post


      Here's my results from one recent article:

      Views: 5,160
      URL Clicks: 1,647
      Ezine Publisher: 16
      Affiliate sales from this article: 104
      Sales (in $) from this article: $6,502.53

      That's over $1 per view, that's $6,502.53 for just ONE article that took 30 minutes to write... and that's just a recent one.

      For the record, I don't prefer one method of traffic over the other... I use both.
      Originally Posted by lgibbon View Post


      I wouldn't mind betting most people that were making money article marketing kept it quiet at the time.

      Only after it was diluted by the masses did they decide to start selling yesterdays dream.

      FFA sites worked once upon a time.
      Safelists too.
      And adsense sites too.

      But you only got to hear about them after they were most effective
      usually from people looking to exploit newbies that knew no better.

      Originally Posted by marcanthony View Post


      So if someone like Frank Kern or Mike Filsaime doesn't use it - is it because they haven't tried it or are simply doing something wrong?
      Originally Posted by Allen Graves View Post


      I am marketing physical product and they are selling like hotcakes! Puppies, actually.

      Gross in 2009, over $150,000.00 USD.

      Method of marketing? Articles. (With a heft dose of tactful backlinking)
      Originally Posted by Eric Reimers View Post


      Joe Gearhead is looking to buy the latest exhaust system. He can buy it at the local muffler shop, but decides to check online for a better deal.

      He does a quick search of Google. Scans the first page of the results, clicks on the 2nd returned match, gets taken to an article site, not what he's looking for (where's the muffler), hits the back button sees a sponsered ad that catches his attention, clicks on it, bingo the muffler he's looking for.
      Originally Posted by Keegahn View Post


      Joe Gearhead is looking to buy the latest exhaust system. He can buy it at the local muffler shop, but decides to check online for a better deal.

      He does a quick search on Google. Scans the first page of results, clicks on the 2nd returned match and gets taken to an article that is reviewing said exhaust system. Joe realizes hey, this might be what I want... the article implied there may be something better. As he continues reading, Joe sees the resource box linking to even more useful info about said exhaust system and other exhaust systems... perfect, he's no longer sure if this is what he wants. *click*

      Mr.Gearhead begins reading the web page... continues reading... and now has his mind fully made up - he wants the exhaust system! Joe clicks the conveniently placed image on the website, linking to the store with the cheapest price online and buys the exhaust system.

      Ninja webmaster is pleased.

      Two sides to every coin, chief.
      Originally Posted by Dean Shainin View Post


      How much do you think it would have cost me using PPC to get this many views? This article has been viewed 76848 time(s).

      Let's say that this article really sucks and only got 10% CTR from its bio. It would still be a little over 7,000 clicks to my squeeze page.

      Here's the stats from one of my articles at EzineArticles.
      This article has been viewed 76848 time(s).

      That's just a single article.

      Well, I did some simple math and research and I would actually have to pay .48 to .65 cents per click using Google AdWords (for the top 3 spots in the particular niche of the article example).
      Originally Posted by John Taylor View Post


      Choosing one over the other could very easily mean
      leaving money on the table.
      Originally Posted by Steven Wagenheim View Post


      I'd be broke right now instead of being a 6 figure earner.
      So the question becomes, after the stated thread statement, is there validity to any negatives or percieved negatives of article marketing as a tool to be totally dropped out the Internet Marketers tool chest?

      If more pro than con.....,

      Or more con than pro..., the question is for the individual to decide for himself if the result is worth either of the ratios.

      The premise of this thread seem to be decided by the starter that the "CON" ratio part of the forumula was not worth it and did not justify this tool among many other tools available in Internet Marketing, in his opinion.

      Evidence, test, facts, statistics, proper interpretation of statistics, overall, is the effort worth it vs TIME invested......?

      Objective view of what it is and can do, according to how one WANTS to view the results and how one gets the results, or if doing it properly or outsourcing it is even worth it.....basically the result does not meet the vision of what their goal and vision was.

      Cost vs Return on Investment, TIME invested vs Return of Investment, and both over how much length of time?

      What ,when and where does article marketing end its stream of income in an annuity fashion, or is there ever an end?

      An article took 30 minutes to write.

      Return on Investment vs TIME = How many dollars/Profit for how many years?

      Especially if one is using the "SET IT AND FORGET IT" strategy of article marketing.

      Do something for 15 to 30 minutes, ONCE, never tweaking or touching it again as a one of many article marketing strategies, gain continuous income, possible links and list building from it for the next what, 2 months, 6 months, 2 years, 7 years, 10 years, 14 years, X years....????

      ......would a specific dollar amount figure over time, determine if it was worth it and, what will each persons dollar figure, final figure accumulated, over the months or years BE to determine if it (article marketing)was worth it?

      Would a certain FINAL amount, over years, of getting people on your list or how many MORE products those people bought you got thru article marketing spent determine if it was worth it, and how many new people added to your list, how much would they have to spend over how many months or years to make that determination?

      So, I'm looking at the stuff a person can put their hands on and feel and see what the deal is, positive and negative, then decide for your self.

      If one inventories a year by year results,Looks like a math equation to me:

      Time and/or expense of completion of article project start to finish divided by profit at the end of the year.....

      ....so at the end of the year, is the profit worth the time invested? One has to answer that for oneself.

      These quotes, to me, is MEAT one can stick a fork in and decide for oneself.

      And even if it is, maybe there are things we just simply and resoundly don't like no matter what is pays.

      If gutting Pigs on a Ranch paid $500 an hour, could you do that everyday, 5 days a week, 8-12 hours a day, for 20-30 years, what would be the ratio of people that would simply say "NO" to that kind or any kind of work and hours they feel are uncomfortable, no matter how much it paid ??

      The 13 th Warrior
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  • Profile picture of the author imaddict
    Pssst.... stop dissuading people from article marketing!

    Where are us PPC guys going to post our ads if people stop writing new content that ranks really well in the SE's (and can be quickly and easily leveraged with a clever ad that grabs a good slice of the traffic )
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    It's about time someone stepped up to the plate to tell it LIKE IT IS: MUST READ for ALL IMers
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  • Profile picture of the author flnz400
    Wow, some of the bs going on here is not worth mentioning, nor reading. What clutter.

    Onward. The most important aspect of any system is leverage. You want to leverage your TIME to the hilt, whenever possible. To imply that time is not our greatest asset, is naive.

    Time is the one thing in life that you cannot control. You can decide that value for yourself. To leverage your time against a specific activity or dollar amount, allows for growth and increased ROI.

    Specialize and delegate, it's that simple.
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  • Profile picture of the author Nato Guajardo
    Forum Marketing > Article Marketing + PPC

    I believe Steven has made more money from his posts on this forum and signature than any article. Just my observation. Don't kill me.

    If he created a WSO on Forum Marketing I would be the first to purchase it. He really knows how to get people motivated through his forum posts.

    BTW there is no sense in arguing about this. All of the article gangstas will come after you.
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    • Profile picture of the author Steven Wagenheim
      Originally Posted by Nato Guajardo View Post

      Forum Marketing > Article Marketing + PPC

      I believe Steven has made more money from his posts on this forum and signature than any article. Just my observation. Don't kill me.

      If he created a WSO on Forum Marketing I would be the first to purchase it. He really knows how to get people motivated through his forum posts.

      BTW there is no sense in arguing about this. All of the article gangstas will come after you.
      Actually, most of my income comes from my list, 67% of which comes from
      the articles I write.

      Granted, I've been doing this a long time and have a lot of articles out
      there, not just at EZA. And no, I didn't start making a lot of money over
      night. It took me years to build my business this way. But my out of
      pocket expense was next to nothing and since I had no day job and had
      all the time in the world, I didn't care that I was working long hours.

      It isn't a business model for everybody...but it worked just fine for me.

      Here's the bottom line:

      My mortgage is paid 15 years early and my daughter's education is paid
      without taking out a loan.
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      • Profile picture of the author Bryan Zimmerman
        Originally Posted by Steven Wagenheim View Post

        Here's the bottom line:

        My mortgage is paid 15 years early and my daughter's education is paid
        without taking out a loan.
        Well I'm 100% positive that how ever you can get to the point above, what ever got you there doesn't suck.
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      • Profile picture of the author The 13th Warrior
        Originally Posted by Steven Wagenheim View Post


        Here's the bottom line:

        My mortgage is paid 15 years early and my daughter's education is paid
        without taking out a loan.
        How much MORE of a bottom line than a person needs than that?

        Looks like a fair trade to me.

        The 13 th Warrior
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  • Profile picture of the author Nato Guajardo
    Ok Steve. You didn't build your list through your 11k+ posts, signature, and WSO's. It was all article marketing. wink wink
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  • Profile picture of the author HeySal
    Right now I am rewriting a package of articles someone bought - they are so bad that I can't even consider them articles. From what I am seeing there are a lot of people who have little or no writing talent producing garbage and then wondering why article marketing doesn't work for them. It WON'T work for you unless you know how to write WELL. If you think you can write, try sending your material to an expert for an objective evaluation before you run to the forums ditching submission sites for not wanting your material, or the general public for not responding to it. Those who buy or write GOOD material don't seem to have a problem with article marketing. There is a reason for that which the rest need to figure out.
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    Sal
    When the Roads and Paths end, learn to guide yourself through the wilderness
    Beyond the Path

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  • Profile picture of the author GeorgR.
    when i read the OP i first though you're writing a SATIRE.

    It cannot be serious that you say "article marketing eats away your money"...while PPC obviously doesn't.

    Especially since you can chose to do article marketing 100% free if you do it yourself - its your choice whether to outsource or not.

    The "advise" "stay away from article marketing"...i dont even know where to put this..sorry, i think this statement is ABSURD.

    Maybe some people focus on ONE method of marketing, but that's WRONG.

    Article Marketing is just one puzzle piece, together with link building, squidoo building, PPC, SEO and whatever other methods there are.

    Saying that article marketing is bad is just really, really bizarre. And saying that AM "eats your money" and PPC doesnt is even more bizarre.
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  • Profile picture of the author James_363
    So what is the best way to drive traffic. I am relatively new and have not been able to make any money so far. I have written two articles so far and they have not done anything.

    James
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    • Profile picture of the author Collette
      Originally Posted by James_363 View Post

      So what is the best way to drive traffic. I am relatively new and have not been able to make any money so far. I have written two articles so far and they have not done anything.

      James
      James - There is no one best way to drive traffic. You find what works for you.

      If you're just starting out, and you have more time than cash to burn, article marketing requires nothing more of you than time: the time it will take you to write a quality article.

      What's a "quality article"? An article that engages and interests the reader enough to make them want to follow your resource link.

      How long does it take to write a "quality article"? It depends. If you find it easy to write clearly and informatively, it won't take you long to craft a good article.

      If you struggle with writing in everyday life - you're going to struggle with writing articles. That's just a fact. And in this case, you may want to think about outsourcing either the original article writing, or hiring an editor for your own writing.

      If you decide that the hours you will spend learning to write a good article are not worth it, then spend the time learning a different method of driving traffic, such as PPC or SEO.

      Everything has a learning curve. Either way, you're going have to invest either time or money to get the knowledge and use it. Take your pick. Only you know how much your time is worth to you.
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      • Profile picture of the author Franck Silvestre
        Article Marketing sucks?

        The Internet is a BIG article!

        no comments.

        Franck
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  • Profile picture of the author Dayne Dylan
    Banned
    It's the way you go about saying things with such attitude and ego.

    It smells. Sorry, just a fact. I know your type.
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