Article Marketing Really Sucks...

26 replies
...or is it my crappy articles? OK, in the past, I've written about acne, weight loss, computer repair, you name it. My past results are thousands of views and an overall CTR of about 30%. My latest venture is to just promote my BlogFlippingFool website and I wrote about topics I like. My CTR is a miserable 8% and the views are very low, under 1,000 views for 19 articles. Here's my author's page for some of you to take a look: Thomas Gajdjis - EzineArticles.com Expert Author Bio So, what's my problem? Is it:
1) Bad keyword research?
2) Uncompelling titles?
3) Boring articles?
4) Weak resource boxes?
5) Luck, ie. got buried under other author's submissions?
6) Something else?
I would really appreciate a hard, honest look at this. Don't hold back! I can take it! Thanks everybody!

TomG.
#article #marketing #sucks
  • Profile picture of the author ryanman
    You need to write more articles and modify your author box. It needs a stronger call to action.
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  • Profile picture of the author greatmark
    It is very well known fact that article marketing really helps a lot with SEO and no one can deny that if you say it sucks, then I would probably doubt your article writing skills.
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    • Profile picture of the author Hamida Harland
      To be honest I didn't read your articles (just looked at the titles), but I think it's probably just because they're all in the marketing niche. I'm sure Steve W. could offer you more of an insight on this, but I think he'd probably agree that marketing articles get ALOT less views than niche articles. As a marketer myself I never read marketing articles at an article directory - if I need specific information I check out a blog, forum, ebook etc.
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      • Profile picture of the author greatmark
        Originally Posted by Hamida Harland View Post

        To be honest I didn't read your articles (just looked at the titles), but I think it's probably just because they're all in the marketing niche. I'm sure Steve W. could offer you more of an insight on this, but I think he'd probably agree that marketing articles get ALOT less views than niche articles. As a marketer myself I never read marketing articles at an article directory - if I need specific information I check out a blog, forum, ebook etc.
        Her reply sounds sensible to me and in fact she is right.. you may probably go for other niches which people tend to read more, health articles for example may get you some good on article marketing.
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        • Profile picture of the author Killer Joe
          Thomas,

          I'll go out on a limb here and just make a comment about your bio...

          If you were to change:

          Thomas started business online in 2003 with a successful computer and computer parts business. Since then, he has moved into online marketing, online business mentoring and affiliate income programs earning good money at home and not shipping products.

          One of his posts on blog flipping on one of the best Internet Marketing forums has garnered over 19,000 views! His best earning strategy to date is flipping websites and blogs.
          ======================

          To something along these lines:

          Thomas started a successful computer and computer parts online business in 2003. Since then he has successfully moved into online marketing, online business mentoring and affiliate income programs. A widely read forum post on blog flipping has garnered over 19,000 views and inspired many others to earn money using his techniques.

          Take advantage of Tom's expertise and visit the links below to find out how you too can make more money online using these effective, yet easy to impliment strategies.

          ======================

          It would read easier, it would have a call to action, and it would still get your basic message across as you originally wrote it.

          I'm sure others who write these all the time will have a better insight, this is just what struck me at first glance. HTH

          KJ
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          • Profile picture of the author Jeremy Kelsall
            As goofy as it might sound Tom


            Try just putting this in your resource box...

            To learn how to _________ just click here

            Try it and test the CTR - with that crappy little sentence, I"ve had CTR'S of 60 and 70%

            The other thing that you are contending with is the fact that your articles are in the online niche so, you are competing with the fact that there is an endless amount of information out there.

            Maybe try making the articles target something as specific as possible which might drive more people to the link as well.
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      • Profile picture of the author peter gibson
        Originally Posted by Hamida Harland View Post

        To be honest I didn't read your articles (just looked at the titles), but I think it's probably just because they're all in the marketing niche. I'm sure Steve W. could offer you more of an insight on this, but I think he'd probably agree that marketing articles get ALOT less views than niche articles. As a marketer myself I never read marketing articles at an article directory - if I need specific information I check out a blog, forum, ebook etc.
        Have to agree here. Most people who want advice on marketing won't be headed to Ezine for their advice. I use article marketing just to boost my SEO and then leave it. If it garners me traffic or popularity, all the better.
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  • Profile picture of the author OmarNegron
    Hey man...article marketing works fine for me. You have to add some extra flavor to your articles...I show you how to do this in this little video.

    The key is to keep on doing it...the traffic will start to come.

    Enjoy!

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  • Profile picture of the author xDennis
    Hello, I think to increase your click through rate you should have more spaces in your articles.

    I have a similar niche i'm marketing my articles for and i'm getting about a 30% CTR.

    I like to use lists, and bold.

    I never write more then 300 words.. I believe in the "fast food" mentality..

    The articles I checked out, I read as if I were a consumer and I got bored fairly quickly.

    If you are going to talk about "simple methods"

    Bold the "Simple method"

    Then put a list under it, within the list and description under it.

    That may hellp your CTR, people may be closing the articles before they get to the end.
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  • Profile picture of the author Lizrhw
    Hi, I picked and read two of your articles to see if I could chime in with any observations.

    First, when scanning your titles, I thought a problem could be that many of them are quite long. It's possible you could lose the reader's interest -and- the search engines in terms of ranking your article title- may dilute the importance of each word and especially your main keyword term because of the excess words in the title.

    What I noticed about the two randomly picked articles I read- it wasn't clear what your main keyword phrase was that you're targeting to try to have others find your article with - it didn't appear to be regularly included "front and center."

    You might want to try including your main keyword phrase in your first sentence, and at least 3 to 4 more times within your article's body. For example, in your buying and selling websites article... I would guess that you might want to have 'selling websites' as a main keyword to focus on (and then you can also include a secondary phrase too but with a bit less emphasis.) However, "selling websites" is not a keyword in your first sentence. It looks like it's mentioned in your third sentence one time in this article.

    By the way, I enjoyed your posts on the forum about your challenge and the details you posted as you worked your way towards your goal of flipping your site. Thanks for doing that.

    Take care and Happy New Year,

    Liz
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    Liz Hekimian-Williams
    http://www.Giftsprings.com
    Online shopping for Home Decor, Personalized Gifts and Engraved Stones
    http://www.EscapeYourDebt.com
    Help with getting out of debt and reaching your financial goals.

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  • Profile picture of the author richdirtygirl
    lolololololololololololololol

    if you are a bad writer... you wouldn't have done it in the other niches either... and we both know it (and everyone else, of course...)

    Now... here is my lil blond idea of what is going on...

    when you attacked those niches, you did it following a completely different system than the flipping fool.

    You started your research via niche identification, and found your subniche and main set of keywords... Am I right? lets hope I am... or nothing else i'm going to say makes sense...

    Now, the flipping fool came from an opportunity you saw in the forum. Website flipping is a current business model and you saw your window. Nice report and fun emails to your list... yes, I'm in it.

    It happens sometimes that when you develop the product first and try to market later... the market channels that work on the other approach will not give you the same results. And like you already have your name and domain, all the seo yambabamba goes through the pipes, and the main set of keywords can be difficult to grab... It's a shoe for a different foot, my dear...

    It happens in any niche... in particular the IM niche IS a unique case... and what Hamida said comes to play...

    I'm not telling you that it will not work... but you might need adjust the targeted public...

    I would submit to articles directories thinking "newbie" and create a proper landing page for them, and use other channels for higher level public in the IM game... maybe you can participate in blogs of friends as expert in the subject, what you are...

    But of course... i have no idea of what I'm talking about...

    RDG :p

    Originally Posted by tommygadget View Post

    ...or is it my crappy articles? OK, in the past, I've written about acne, weight loss, computer repair, you name it. My past results are thousands of views and an overall CTR of about 30%. My latest venture is to just promote my BlogFlippingFool website and I wrote about topics I like. My CTR is a miserable 8% and the views are very low, under 1,000 views for 19 articles. Here's my author's page for some of you to take a look: Thomas Gajdjis - EzineArticles.com Expert Author Bio So, what's my problem? Is it:
    1) Bad keyword research?
    2) Uncompelling titles?
    3) Boring articles?
    4) Weak resource boxes?
    5) Luck, ie. got buried under other author's submissions?
    6) Something else?
    I would really appreciate a hard, honest look at this. Don't hold back! I can take it! Thanks everybody!

    TomG.
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  • Profile picture of the author tommygadget
    So much good feedback here, thanks everybody. Jeremy, thanks, I'll try that, Hamida, yes, maybe too much competition, Killer Joe, awesome, I'll fix, Omar, will look at the video, and everyone else, thanks!

    TomG.
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  • Profile picture of the author Mark Dulisse
    I would focus attention to your headlines. Do some google research on great headlines. Create a swipe file just for ideas. Tweak them.

    Think of something controversial and eye opening as a headline. A shocking scam, etc... Is XYZ product a shamble? Read This Review!

    Also, your resource box needs a strong call to action.
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  • Profile picture of the author Gunter Eibl
    Originally Posted by tommygadget View Post

    So, what's my problem?
    The niche you are in is very competitive. Christopher Knight said in a interview that pageviews and CTR in the IM niche are much lower than in most other niches. Makes sense, since every Internet Marketer uses article marketing. This niche is inundated with articles.

    Gunter
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  • Profile picture of the author johnng
    What is wrong with your articles? Full of contents! I only sample 1 or 2, enough to convinced me that you provided values.
    That got me worried! Is the Internet that critical? Must everything spot on before you make money? There nievely, I was thinking, outsource articles about $6 each and publish it and get loads of traffic to my site.
    You convinced me I am going to have big problems!
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  • Profile picture of the author imaddict
    I'm not going to comment on your articles per say but about a very important step you need to consider once you get the former worked out:

    There is a HUGE disconnect between your article and landing page. For example, this article:

    Building Your Website - More Niche Ideas

    has "My Best Niches Exposed" hyperlinked and when clicked on takes you to this headline:

    "Learn How To Be A Blog Flipping Fool And Make Over $100 In 24 Hours - Over $3,000 A MONTH!"

    Huge disconnect there... I'm gone in 5 seconds. You promised to show me 5 niches but when I got to the page there was nothing of the sort.

    It doesn't matter how good your articles are because this will be your biggest bottleneck to making sales.

    Here's what you should do RIGHT NOW: search for Maria Veloso's 'Frame of Mind Marketing' report via Google. It will be an eye-opener for you and explain in detail what I wrote above.
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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 tommygadget
      Interesting feedback, I agree. Here's why that was hyperlinked: I put my 5 best niches in the ebook and the sales copy says so, but I think maybe the link should go to a more appropriate article. I've got to go through all the articles and see where the links land you. Thanks.

      TomG.

      Originally Posted by imaddict View Post

      I'm not going to comment on your articles per say but about a very important step you need to consider once you get the former worked out:

      There is a HUGE disconnect between your article and landing page. For example, this article:

      Building Your Website - More Niche Ideas

      has "My Best Niches Exposed" hyperlinked and when clicked on takes you to this headline:

      "Learn How To Be A Blog Flipping Fool And Make Over $100 In 24 Hours - Over $3,000 A MONTH!"

      Huge disconnect there... I'm gone in 5 seconds. You promised to show me 5 niches but when I got to the page there was nothing of the sort.

      It doesn't matter how good your articles are because this will be your biggest bottleneck to making sales.

      Here's what you should do RIGHT NOW: search for Maria Veloso's 'Frame of Mind Marketing' report via Google. It will be an eye-opener for you and explain in detail what I wrote above.
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  • Profile picture of the author xenter
    article marketing kinda sux i agree because it isnt instant gratification. You have to wait.....

    I rather spend my time doing other forms of marketing.
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  • Profile picture of the author RockstarBen
    Agreed, but it is so damn cheap and when you get in the groove its not so bad.
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  • Profile picture of the author ifwexpert
    I have made thousands with Ezinearticles + Clickbank so I would have to disagree with you. Set up a blog and write articles, and you will earn.
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  • Profile picture of the author Daniel Scott
    Tommy,

    Personally, while your articles are functional enough, I found them devoid of the "magic" that makes a good article. Maybe try adding a little more interest in your writing, especially in your title and resource box.

    Again, there is nothing technically wrong with your writing, it just feels to me as if it lacks a little bit of "soul". Like you were writing mechanically.

    This is a really hard thing for me to explain, so I hope you can understand what I'm getting at.

    I know the articles and writers I connect most with really pull me in with their words. Guys like Paul Myers and Rod Cortez, for example.

    Try and let your personality shine through in your writing a little more, maybe.

    Just my opinion.

    -Dan
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    Always looking for badass direct-response copywriters. PM me if we don't know each other and you're looking for work.

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    • Profile picture of the author tommygadget
      You know, Daniel, because I am taking this effort much more seriously than my acne and credit card articles, maybe I am being too stiff because I don't want people to think I am unprofessional. I think I should go back to the style that most people are familiar with, like my posting style here

      TomG.

      Originally Posted by Daniel Scott View Post

      Tommy,

      Personally, while your articles are functional enough, I found them devoid of the "magic" that makes a good article. Maybe try adding a little more interest in your writing, especially in your title and resource box.

      Again, there is nothing technically wrong with your writing, it just feels to me as if it lacks a little bit of "soul". Like you were writing mechanically.

      This is a really hard thing for me to explain, so I hope you can understand what I'm getting at.

      I know the articles and writers I connect most with really pull me in with their words. Guys like Paul Myers and Rod Cortez, for example.

      Try and let your personality shine through in your writing a little more, maybe.

      Just my opinion.

      -Dan
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  • Profile picture of the author Daniel Scott
    Tommy,

    Your style here has never struck me as unprofessional.

    IMHO, the minute you TRY to be something, you're up the proverbial creek.

    You have to let your own personality shine through, and show people why YOU are worth learning from... hence be YOURSELF.

    -Dan
    Signature

    Always looking for badass direct-response copywriters. PM me if we don't know each other and you're looking for work.

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