Article Marketing: Business Model Or Slave To A Keyboard For Wages?...

76 replies
Hey Warriors...

After a few threads I was just reading.. I thought I'd ask the question..

Personally, I believe article marketing to only be one tiny part of my overall traffic generation strategy..

Just one cog in the machine... I could drop it tomorrow and replace the traffic with something else.. it's a big chunk of traffic, but not too big that I rely heavily on it.

I hear people all the time saying "I am an article marketer".. what does that mean to you??..

Do you believe article marketing to be a sound business model, or is it just substituting time for money at home?... like a job, but in your own home?..

Interested in your thoughts Warriors.. let's keep it nice shall we..

Peace

Jay
#article #business #keyboard #marketing #model #slave #wages
  • Profile picture of the author dvduval
    I do think some may rely on it too heavily, but for others it seems to be working. For me it is just a small part of an overall strategy, and sometimes a go a couple months without utilizing it at all, though I am more weighted toward the directory industry which is a similar model.
    Signature
    It is okay to contact me! I have been developing software since 1999, creating many popular products like phpLD.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[747805].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Roy Carter
    Hi Jay,

    Like you, I use article marketing as a cog in my whole traffic generation plan. It can be an extremely tedious method of driving traffic even if you are interested in the subject/niche but the key for me has been to write an article when I feel like it and outsource the rest.

    If I'm after link building alone it's outsourced, for better quality content I write them myself.
    Signature
    "How To Hang Out On Various Exotic Islands Whilst Still Making Shed Loads Of Money...and stuff!" - Get your FREE ISSUE entitled...'A Quick, Easy $2,000 In Your Pocket By This Weekend!'
    >> ---> http://LettersFromASmallIsland.com/sq1.html <--- < <
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[747827].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author JayXtreme
      Originally Posted by Roy Carter View Post

      Hi Jay,

      Like you, I use article marketing as a cog in my whole traffic generation plan. It can be an extremely tedious method of driving traffic even if you are interested in the subject/niche but the key for me has been to write an article when I feel like it and outsource the rest.

      If I'm after link building alone it's outsourced, for better quality content I write them myself.
      Thanks for your input Roy.. great to hear from others on this..

      I have to admit, pretty much all of my normal niche content is outsourced right now...my I.M. niche content is pretty much all me

      I'd never produce the quantity and quality required for my other niche work in such a big number myself...

      Much appreciated thoughts Roy, thank you!

      Peace

      Jay
      Signature

      Bare Murkage.........

      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[747834].message }}
      • Profile picture of the author Steven Wagenheim
        Depends...Some niches, you can write 5 articles and clean up.

        Others, you have to get thousands out there.

        But here was the bottom line for me, so take it for what it's worth to you.

        After 3 years of writing non stop, I know have enough articles out there
        bringing me in enough daily opt ins that I don't have to write another article
        if I didn't want to ever again and still make a full time income.

        I now work about an hour a day, as opposed to the 14 I used to put in.

        So my "slave labor" paid off for me in the long run.

        Was there an easier way I could have done it?

        Probably. But since I didn't care about working those hours and didn't
        have the funds initially to use massive PPC or whatever, I was perfectly
        content with what I did to get me to where I am.

        It's not for everybody. It's not supposed to be.

        What I personally have a problem with (not you Jay) is people telling me
        that I'm stupid because of the choice I made to earn my money.

        That's what I have a problem with.

        Anyway, hope this answers your question.

        If people think article marketing is a waste of time and simply working
        a job, then they shouldn't do it.

        Easy, right?
        {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[747846].message }}
        • Profile picture of the author ibell
          If you like to write or find a good outsource service that is coherent, articles are worth it. Otherwise, there are many ways to drive traffic. Articles are just a reliable and cheap way to do it.
          {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[748942].message }}
      • Profile picture of the author Roy Carter
        Originally Posted by JayXtreme View Post

        Thanks for your input Roy.. great to hear from others on this..

        I have to admit, pretty much all of my normal niche content is outsourced right now...my I.M. niche content is pretty much all me

        I'd never produce the quantity and quality required for my other niche work in such a big number myself...

        Much appreciated thoughts Roy, thank you!

        Peace

        Jay
        No problem Jay. You're welcome.

        Interestingly, I was talking at an event in London last weekend and I gave an interview about traffic generation. The interesting bit is how many other speakers at the event all used articles as part of their overall traffic strategy.

        Roy
        Signature
        "How To Hang Out On Various Exotic Islands Whilst Still Making Shed Loads Of Money...and stuff!" - Get your FREE ISSUE entitled...'A Quick, Easy $2,000 In Your Pocket By This Weekend!'
        >> ---> http://LettersFromASmallIsland.com/sq1.html <--- < <
        {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[747912].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author captivereef
    it works great for me, i have small kids and not alot of time and have used it to make decent money with nothing buy redirecting to a clickbank page and adsense.

    i do put the content on one of my blogs though and not just let the directories have it!
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[747845].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Ron Douglas
    If writing is your thing and you enjoy it - do what you enjoy and make money. If it's not, there are many more productive and efficient things you can do with your time to get traffic.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[747853].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Jagged
    Originally Posted by JayXtreme View Post

    Do you believe article marketing to be a sound business model, or is it just substituting time for money at home?... like a job, but in your own home?..
    Strickly a cog! A small one at that...
    As a business model? I'd be pulling my hair out...I see others are feeling the same by the various threads on the main forum right now....lol

    http://www.warriorforum.com/main-int...e-writing.html

    http://www.warriorforum.com/main-int...-articles.html

    http://www.warriorforum.com/main-int...full-sh-t.html

    http://www.warriorforum.com/main-int...ver-rated.html

    Ken
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[747878].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author cashcow
    Like you, I use article marketing as a cog in my whole traffic generation plan. It can be an extremely tedious method of driving traffic even if you are interested in the subject/niche but the key for me has been to write an article when I feel like it and outsource the rest.

    If I'm after link building alone it's outsourced, for better quality content I write them myself.
    Yep, me too. I actually love to write but I like to write when I feel like it and on the topics I feel like writing about so I outsource most of the writing for my niche sites and only do my own writing for my PLR packs.

    I use many strategies to get traffic, articles are a part of that and I have found over the years that they bring a steady stream of traffic that build up over time. However, I wouldn't rely solely on article marketing because you never know when the search engines are going to devalue these sites and all your articles could sink to the bottom of the serps and bring in less traffic. It's best not to have all your eggs in one basket!
    Signature
    Gone Fishing
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[747920].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author JayXtreme
      Originally Posted by cashcow View Post

      , I wouldn't rely solely on article marketing because you never know when the search engines are going to devalue these sites and all your articles could sink to the bottom of the serps and bring in less traffic. It's best not to have all your eggs in one basket!
      Thanks for your thoughts Cashcow..

      The point above is extremely important and one that everyone should understand if they are focusing solely on article marketing as a business model
      Signature

      Bare Murkage.........

      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[747927].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Robert Puddy
    i haven't written an article in over 8 years, dont do anything search engine related at all.

    Made 100 times more money once i stopped that nonsense and went out and made connections with people that could send me all the traffic i need.

    Each to his own though, no hate mail please

    Robert
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[747942].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author JayXtreme
      Originally Posted by Robert Puddy View Post

      i haven't written an article in over 8 years, dont do anything search engine related at all.

      Made 100 times more money once i stopped that nonsense and went out and made connections with people that could send me all the traffic i need.

      Each to his own though, no hate mail please

      Robert
      Maybe if you would take a moment to think before saying things like "stopped that nonsense", when referring to other people's businesses.... you wouldn't have to worry about getting hate mail

      Jus' Sayin'

      Peace

      Jay
      Signature

      Bare Murkage.........

      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[747955].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author oohah
      Originally Posted by Robert Puddy View Post

      i haven't written an article in over 8 years, dont do anything search engine related at all.

      Made 100 times more money once i stopped that nonsense and went out and made connections with people that could send me all the traffic i need.

      Each to his own though, no hate mail please

      Robert
      Robert, I appreciate your confidence in alternate methods. I have not given article marketing a try yet, even though I enjoy writing a lot.

      Article marketing doesn't sound like much fun to me as it seems the effective model is to write a short article that is not very informative.

      What is the alternative you prefer? How do you make your online marketing bucks (Or pounds in your case! ;-) ) ?Is there any light you want to shed for me?

      Thanks,

      Ken
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[748598].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Allen Graves
    Wow, lots of AM threads going on right now.

    I think it's funny that when someone doesn't see results with something that actually works for others, that it is immediately a scam, or nonsense, or that the products are full of shit.

    Maybe you need to take a look at yourself and your efforts before taking shots at other people who could really help you make it.

    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!
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[747964].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author Robert Puddy
      Originally Posted by Allen Graves View Post

      Wow, lots of AM threads going on right now.

      I think it's funny that when someone doesn't see results with something that actually works for others, that it is immediately a scam, or nonsense, or that the products are full of shit.

      Maybe you need to take a look at yourself and your efforts before taking shots at other people who could really help you make it.

      Allen Graves
      I never said it didnt work, if you put the effort in, I said i made more money by dropping that work for an easier more satisfying method.

      I also said each to his own...

      I happen to believe the article marketing craze has ruined search engines to the point of uselessness.

      But again I dont care from a business perpective I dont need search engines they could all die tomorrow and my business and traffic and profits would keep on going like the energiser bunny.

      I do care from a SE user perspective when i need to search out somethig useful I get a whole lot of useless sites at the top of the serps ( different argument for another thread i think)

      And the question was did people think it was wages work or viable business model... So my answer was wages work... Thats my opinion and my stance whenever i'm asked that question.

      Robert
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[747993].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Zacman
    Wow,

    What a thread. I had a hard time remembering what it was about at times. LOL

    Seems to me some egos just can't resist throwing fuel on the fire. (ok, I'm aware I'll probably get bashed too.)

    The fact is the title of this thread does have quite a bit of merit.

    I've personally checked out some of the supposed expert article marketers and find nearly every article I could find written by them was rated 1 star and was some of the worst fluff I have read in some time.

    A website built with that kind of low quality content would be a laughing stock.

    Why is it articles seem to pass as something of value just because you can make some money off of suckers who buy common trash?

    Of course this is not to say there isn't quality articles and article marketing products, but they are the exception and not the rule.

    The first red flag I would say is when a common splash or sales page is used with all the glitter, highlighting, and screen shots which still convert the gullible among us.

    I suspect the reason so many articles these days are such trash is the proliferation of automated article writing software making it easy to turn out low quality content like an assembly line.

    I say shame on the article marketers who have stooped to using such methods and or have pumped out articles simply for the sake of their sheer numbers.

    You have lowered the quality of the internet in general, and internet marketers in particular.

    That's all I have to say about that. LOL

    Cheers,
    Zac
    Signature
    Join The Fastest Growing Team In Network Marketing
    https://paiddailyclub.com/livegood-rotator.php
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[748066].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author JayXtreme
      Originally Posted by Zacman View Post

      Wow,

      What a thread. I had a hard time remembering what it was about at times. LOL

      Seems to me some egos just can't resist throwing fuel on the fire. (ok, I'm aware I'll probably get bashed too.)

      The fact is the title of this thread does have quite a bit of merit.

      I've personally checked out some of the supposed expert article marketers and find nearly every article I could find written by them was rated 1 star and was some of the worst fluff I have read in some time.

      A website built with that kind of low quality content would be a laughing stock.

      Why is it articles seem to pass as something of value just because you can make some money off of suckers who buy common trash?

      Of course this is not to say there isn't quality articles and article marketing products, but they are the exception and not the rule.

      The first red flag I would say is when a common splash or sales page is used with all the glitter, highlighting, and screen shots which still convert the gullible among us.

      I suspect the reason so many articles these days are such trash is the proliferation of automated article writing software making it easy to turn out low quality content like an assembly line.

      I say shame on the article marketers who have stooped to using such methods and or have pumped out articles simply for the sake of their sheer numbers.

      You have lowered the quality of the internet in general, and internet marketers in particular.

      That's all I have to say about that. LOL

      Cheers,
      Zac
      Umm.. did you reply to the wrong thread Zac?...
      Signature

      Bare Murkage.........

      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[748081].message }}
      • Profile picture of the author TheAngelGuy
        Originally Posted by JayXtreme View Post

        Umm.. did you reply to the wrong thread Zac?...
        No - he replied to the right thread.

        Sometimes you have to take an internet user's perspective - a million articles out there with the point of selling instead of informing DOES do SOMETHING to general internet usability.

        I don't have a marked opinion on it other than I've followed high SERP rankings in just general surfing and have come across some material of a less than helpful nature for how high it was ranked.

        I'm not righting or wronging anything here, but from a usability point of view, it was a pain in the @$$ to have to chase three links off of Google's first page because the first two were low quality.

        I think that's all he was saying.

        Yes, it is a factor.
        {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[748125].message }}
        • Profile picture of the author JayXtreme
          Originally Posted by TheAngelGuy View Post

          No - he replied to the right thread.

          Sometimes you have to take an internet user's perspective - a million articles out there with the point of selling instead of informing DOES do SOMETHING to general internet usability.

          I don't have a marked opinion on it other than I've followed high SERP rankings in just general surfing and have come across some material of a less than helpful nature for how high it was ranked.

          I'm not righting or wronging anything here, but from a usability point of view, it was a pain in the @$$ to have to chase three links off of Google's first page because the first two were low quality.

          I think that's all he was saying.

          Yes, it is a factor.
          I agreed with what Zac said, but it felt like his reply was to the other thread that has now been locked.... hmmm.. maybe not

          Peace

          Jay
          Signature

          Bare Murkage.........

          {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[748182].message }}
          • Profile picture of the author badass01
            Banned
            [DELETED]
            {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[748214].message }}
            • Profile picture of the author Jeremy Kelsall
              Sure it is a business model and a very effective one at that.

              Why does everyone act like it is time consuming and you are chained to your desk? I don't get it...

              I published over 300 articles last month and guess how much time it took me? I think it was a total of 10 minutes...just long enough to send a couple writers some keyword lists and I was done.

              I've tried PPC, but honestly I found it more time consuming and lower reward. So, I spent $25 to make $50 ONE TIME then I had to spend another $25 to make another $50 ($25 net). On top of that, I had to watch my campaigns and daily budgets, worry about google slaps, and morons committing click fraud on my ads.

              My articles will pay me forever and if they don't -- It only costs a couple of bucks to have some more written that will
              {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[748237].message }}
              • Profile picture of the author badass01
                Banned
                [DELETED]
                {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[748246].message }}
                • Profile picture of the author Bryan Zimmerman
                  Originally Posted by badass01 View Post

                  300 articles > 10 minutes to build a keyword list > a couple of bucks?

                  who are you kidding here?

                  He's not kidding anyone, and I do the same thing. It's called outsourcing and it works WELL. Gives you time to do other things and double your money.
                  {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[748255].message }}
                • Profile picture of the author Jeremy Kelsall
                  badass01

                  Originally Posted by badass01 View Post

                  300 articles > 10 minutes to build a keyword list > a couple of bucks?

                  who are you kidding here?

                  If you just want to be an asshole and try to find fault with everything that anyone posts, that's fine. But, don't try to act like you know what your talking about, especially with someone that does it month in and month out.

                  What is your experience with Article Marketing?

                  From some of your responses in this thread and others, I'm going to take a wild guess and say...NONE.

                  What methods do you use to drive traffic?

                  I would be interested to know what makes you such an expert on the subject. Obviously, you have all the answers. Why don't you share some of your wisdom with us lowly newbies.

                  I'm not saying that Article Marketing is right for everyone, because it isn't. Hell, 98% of people that try it put 4 articles out there, see no sales and just quit. When if they just would have stuck it out, consistent money would start coming in. In my case, it is more than enough to pay someone else to do all of the "grunt" work and for me to concentrate on areas of my business that I enjoy.
                  {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[748279].message }}
            • Profile picture of the author steve39
              Originally Posted by badass01 View Post

              Not even mentioning that one day google will just slap those useless little piece of shit that most of the people in the IM call articles. Read 10 of them, on any subject and you'll find the same bullshit repeated over and over.
              great thread jay.
              For many authors, the time it takes to put out a really great piece of work would be prohibitive as far as time vs dollars go. It simply wouldn't be worth it. I'm sure that some could produce a really great article in 30 minutes, but the majority couldn't. In order for them to do that, they'd be working for peanuts. That's why you see so much fluff and repetition. Some of these human article spinners are simply paraphrasing the same article dozens of times.

              If Google eventually starts ranking content on actual quality, most of these articles will simply vanish.
              Signature

              {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[748252].message }}
              • Profile picture of the author Zacman
                Well said Steve.

                What kills me is when authors write low quality fluff and then put links in their bio on how to duplicate what their doing!

                Well, as long as lazy people buy it is will continue I guess.

                Like Gomer Pyle would say, "for shame for shame for shame" LOL

                Cheers,
                Zac
                Signature
                Join The Fastest Growing Team In Network Marketing
                https://paiddailyclub.com/livegood-rotator.php
                {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[748258].message }}
          • Profile picture of the author Zacman
            Jay,

            You are very observant. I actually was going to make the point in the thread you mentioned but ended up posting here because I thought it was just as relevant. (and that thread got locked before I could post)

            Fortunately "publishing" that post here will not effect search engine ratings. LOL

            Article marketing to me is fine if the article has real value. Like I said, I've read some of the so called article experts work and man is it just a bunch of junk. I haven't found one that was rated more than a one star with taking the time to check out dozens.

            And this from a so called expert selling their article marketing tutorials! Go figure.

            Here's another little secret too. The page views of the articles, even ones well over a year old were rarely over 15 or 20!

            Nearly any given page on a decent website over a years time should receive 10s of 1000s of targeted hits.

            So, do the math, which is better. Which adds more value to the internet. And which will be more apt to provide monetization models for a long time to come?

            Cheers,
            Zac
            Signature
            Join The Fastest Growing Team In Network Marketing
            https://paiddailyclub.com/livegood-rotator.php
            {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[748230].message }}
      • Profile picture of the author steve39
        When I started article marketing a while back, I was redirecting straight to the vendor's website and getting no benefit other than the few dollars it generated. I was selling my time just as I would in any other job. Fortunately, this money gave me some leverage to start outsourcing not only articles, but content for my own 2 sites.

        I'm finally starting to see a little benefit, and I can make more per day with less effort now. The real crime would have been to continue to trade hours for dollars and not reinvest money back in my business.
        Signature

        {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[748158].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author TheAngelGuy
    Jay,

    Thanks for starting this thread.

    Isn't there two aspects to article marketing, though? There seems to be Article DIRECTORY marketing and article SELF-HOSTED marketing.

    I think maybe that some of the sentiment toward questioning the effectiveness of article marketing in general is of the first type simply because some people are starting to notice a downturn in their traffic as Google becomes "smarter" or EZA becomes more ad-centric.

    Maybe the ideal strategy is to make sure both are used properly to ensure that nothing happens with the proverbial too many eggs in one basket.

    Jsut a thought - good ideas so far, everyone.

    Have a good day,

    - Paul
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[748113].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author JayXtreme
      Originally Posted by TheAngelGuy View Post

      Jay,

      Thanks for starting this thread.

      Isn't there two aspects to article marketing, though? There seems to be Article DIRECTORY marketing and article SELF-HOSTED marketing.

      I think maybe that some of the sentiment toward questioning the effectiveness of article marketing in general is of the first type simply because some people are starting to notice a downturn in their traffic as Google becomes "smarter" or EZA becomes more ad-centric.

      Maybe the ideal strategy is to make sure both are used properly to ensure that nothing happens with the proverbial too many eggs in one basket.

      Jsut a thought - good ideas so far, everyone.

      Have a good day,

      - Paul
      Hey Paul..

      Yes, this is true.

      Personally, I use all my content on my own sites first and then send it to the directories...

      I think the distinction between the two strategies is sometimes lost out there

      Peace

      Jay
      Signature

      Bare Murkage.........

      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[748178].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Mark Brian
    I remember when I wrote my first article and have it submitted my reaction was something like: oh it wasn't really that fast and fun like I thought it was. Then when I realized I that needed to do that (writing and submitting) for like a thousand times more or so, I knew I needed to outsource it. I realized that it's not what I do best and I admittedly hate it. I praise those skilled in writing, those who can write a brand new article in just a few minutes, I envy them.
    Signature

    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[748116].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Lindsay Brynn
    I agree with you Jay. Article marketing is a large part of my tactics but certainly not the whole picture. I am pretty good at it, so I tend to concentrate on it first. Then I add in other traffic methods to become well balanced.

    Sometimes I think it must just come more easily to me and then there is also the fact that I actually enjoy writing. I find it a very profitable and worthwhile marketing method and I will be outsourcing it at some point when I need more articles than I can write.
    Signature
    Lin Writes - Quality E-Book & Article Ghostwriting Service.

    $7 WSO: PLR Rights to 100+ Wordpress Themes!
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[748137].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author JohnMcCabe
      I think a lot of people are confusing "article marketing" with systems like Travis Sago's "bum marketing"...

      I haven't read it for a long time, but as I recall, bum marketing wasn't meant to be an ongoing business model. It was meant to be a method people with no cash could use to generate income. As in "any street bum could do it."

      [My apologies to any street bums who may be reading this. :p]

      Whereas I see article marketing as one method of generating targeted traffic and links to web pages for the purpose of creating opt-ins and sales, as well as beginning relationships with visitors.

      At one time, I made a pretty steady and growing income from Adsense. I either wrote or hand-picked quality articles on subjects I determined people were interested in. Then the automated tools came out and people were bragging about putting up hundreds of sites per day. Google had to change the rules is self-defense. Now making serious money purely through Adsense is a much harder row to hoe.

      The same thing is happening to article marketing. With the advent of autoposters and article spinners, many previously productive article directories were destroyed. The survivors had to follow Google's path and make things a lot tougher. I lay a lot of the blame for the frustrations with EZA and other directories directly at the feet of the fools who use power tools without respecting the power.

      Case in point - one of my article sites revolves around "Sports and Outdoors", which is also the category name. The description of the site says it's about fishing, boating and other outdoorsy subjects. Yet some lamebrain with an autosubmitter keeps sending me articles about toy trains. Lousy articles at that...

      [Deep breath]

      Back to Jay's original question...

      I think article marketing as I've defined it is part of many solid business models. In some cases, I think it could even be the centerpiece.

      Writing articles purely to drive traffic for someone else, in hopes of a commission, is a job in the same sense as a solo landscaper, mechanic or doctor in a competitive market. When the work stops, the income sags and drops off.
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[748232].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Zacman
    John,

    [My apologies to any street bums who may be reading this. :p]

    Well I used to be one a few decades ago, so I accept your apology. LOL

    BTW, nice snook.

    Cheers,
    Zac
    Signature
    Join The Fastest Growing Team In Network Marketing
    https://paiddailyclub.com/livegood-rotator.php
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[748304].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Allen Graves
    LOL - good thread, Jay. It just kills me to see some really good advice shot down so quickly by others.

    "It didn't work for me, so it's a shitty business model that doesn't work and anchors you to your desk for hours a day."

    Im glad to see that the article marketers I have grown to respect as friends and colleagues still have a level head on their shoulders.

    Why the AM bashing lately? Someone tell me why!!!

    Oh, by the way, I started with AM and continue using it today along with one link building tool for over a dozen affiliate sites. That's it! This model is kicking ass for me. I have also turned AM into somewhat of a career. So I think it can be used as a business model...definitely.

    AL
    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!
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[748305].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author badass01
    Banned
    [DELETED]
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[748306].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author Bryan Zimmerman
      Originally Posted by badass01 View Post

      AM is hard work
      All success boils down to hard work. It's either work hard or spend money, but even if your spending money you still have to work hard to make sure it is getting you what you want. You get out what you put in, just like anything else.

      There's no easy street that I've found yet.......although I'm still looking.
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[748315].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author Max Ramocsai
      Originally Posted by badass01 View Post

      AM is hard work and what you earn is directly dependent on the amount of work you put inside.
      You can make a living out of it but you can't pull big numbers, there's only 24 hours a day after all.

      The outsourcing thing helps a bit but with it comes other problem, ppl management, quality etc.

      Kind of a brick and mortar business for me... not fun!
      There is a lot more to article marketing then just writing article and waiting to see what happens.

      You do realize that just one article could easily bring you another 10 targeted backlinks to your site? This means that your articles are not only going to be published on someone else's highly relevant site but it also means that you are going to be getting great anchored text backlinks.

      So, taking this into account you are going to be able to get traffic from other sites publishing your article (even if just a little) as well as enjoy the long term SEO benefits of having your backlinks posted on various relevant websites.

      Now, I won't lie to you. You can't pump out a simple rehash and expect these types of results. However, if you do put forth the effort into making an article that offers even somewhat quality information, connects to the reader, and includes a spice of personality then you could have yourself a real winner.

      Oh yes, and one more thing. You bashed Jeremy's model just a few posts above so lets take a look at it again taking what I said into account. Even if only 1/2 of his 300 articles only gets just 1 publication each this still means he is getting 150 targeted backlinks...every time he decides to outsource his articles.

      Think about that and then try to tell me that article marketing isn't worth it.
      Signature

      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[748355].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Allen Graves
    You know, another thing that people don't realize is that times change, and rules change.

    "Article Marketing" changes all the time, and staying on top of what is going on makes a huge difference...especially if you are using it as a business model, or as a large portion of your overall strategy. What was working yesterday isn't such a good idea today. And the only way to realize this is through due diligence.

    Unfortunately, a lot of folks like to say things without knowing if what they are saying is actually the truth - or if it was the truth YESTERDAY. A lot of people visit this forum, and if you are going to give article marketing advice that isn't dead-on target, you could be ruining a lot of people's businesses, or at the very least, waste a LOT of their time.

    Listening to people like Jeremy, who I know stays on top of things and knows what is happening in the AM world RIGHT NOW, is probably a good idea. Or you can listen to people who seem to be know-it-alls without so much as a hint of experience or proof of their online history.

    I guess when it comes down to the nitty-gritty, it's everyone's own decision.

    AL
    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!
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[748370].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author TimG
      Originally Posted by Allen Graves View Post

      "Article Marketing" changes all the time, and staying on top of what is going on makes a huge difference...especially if you are using it as a business model, or as a large portion of your overall strategy. What was working yesterday isn't such a good idea today. And the only way to realize this is through due diligence.

      Unfortunately, a lot of folks like to say things without knowing if what they are saying is actually the truth - or if it was the truth YESTERDAY. A lot of people visit this forum, and if you are going to give article marketing advice that isn't dead-on target, you could be ruining a lot of people's businesses, or at the very least, waste a LOT of their time.

      AL
      AL,
      Well said my friend......

      Respectfully,
      Tim
      Signature
      Article Marketing Soldiers - The Best Selling Article Marketing Product On The Warrior Forum Is Now Looking For Affiliates! Make Over $25 Per Sale With This High Converting Product.

      Make More Money And Spend More Time With Your Family By Becoming A Scentsy Consultant - I Provide Personal Assistance And Help With Growing Your Business.
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[749265].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author AfteraDream
    I just recently started blogging and posted some of the posts on EZA. I'm in a competitive niche and I've got like 50+ visits from 300+ views.. I am surprised and happy with the results but still, writting and submitting articles for me is just part of marketing. Most of my visits come from forums and Yahoo Answers..
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[748409].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author Zacman
      Originally Posted by AfteraDream View Post

      I just recently started blogging and posted some of the posts on EZA. I'm in a competitive niche and I've got like 50+ visits from 300+ views.. I am surprised and happy with the results but still, writting and submitting articles for me is just part of marketing. Most of my visits come from forums and Yahoo Answers..
      AAD,

      Those are pretty good stats, you must be authoring some good content.

      Best of luck to you.

      Cheers,
      Zac
      Signature
      Join The Fastest Growing Team In Network Marketing
      https://paiddailyclub.com/livegood-rotator.php
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[748455].message }}
      • Profile picture of the author AfteraDream
        Originally Posted by Zacman View Post

        AAD,

        Those are pretty good stats, you must be authoring some good content.

        Best of luck to you.

        Cheers,
        Zac

        Thanx a million, mate I write not for Google and PageRank and keywords. I write for the people I'd like to attract to my site.. Give value to people and they will stick... I believe this and do this.

        Best of luck
        {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[748679].message }}
        • Profile picture of the author Allen Graves
          Originally Posted by AfteraDream View Post

          Thanx a million, mate I write not for Google and PageRank and keywords. I write for the people I'd like to attract to my site.. Give value to people and they will stick... I believe this and do this.

          Best of luck
          Very nice!

          Also, who says your article has to be short????

          AL
          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!
          {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[748735].message }}
          • Profile picture of the author AfteraDream
            Originally Posted by Allen Graves View Post

            Very nice!

            Also, who says your article has to be short????

            AL
            Yup, very true! I will use as much letters as I need to express myself and help my visitors

            Cheers
            {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[748854].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author jgand
    You can depend on articles too heavily, its just another piece of the puzzle. There a better ways to get your message out there. Articles take time to write and can be labor intensive if your not good at writing.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[748792].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author KC-Coop
    Article marketing is definitely a great form of marketing. However it's pretty time consuming.

    Personally I outsource article writing to my team, however I wouldn't outsource it to someone that you don't have much experience with.

    The backlinks aren't as important most times as the traffic can be - if your writers can write a very solid article you can bring an explosion of traffic if you get that article out there.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[749188].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author valerieSONORA
    It depends on a lot.

    Niche? How many articles? Quality of articles? What do the articles lead to? What are you doing with the articles? How many do you have?
    Signature

    siggy taking a break...

    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[749216].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author Michael Ellis
      I realize that I'm going to send some people running around screaming with their arms waving over their heads, but I'm going to add a few things anyway...

      First let me say that article marketing certainly can be a very lucrative business model, if done correctly.

      Here are a few things I've learned over the years:

      1) Articles used for marketing purposes ARE much different than articles used for content purposes

      Very few people seem to realize this when they write (or outsource) their articles. If you're writing articles to create some desired action then you need to pre-sell that action in your article. Your article has to focus on what the reader desires, give them a taste, and push them to a location where they can get a whole lot more. If you're doing affiliate marketing or want to drive articles to your product then this is where you want to be.

      Articles used for marketing are not self-contained - they need another step to make them work - they fire up the reader - they create a sense of urgency - all while not seeming to do any of this.

      On the other hand, articles used for content are self-containing - they satisfy the reader right then and there. If you're building Adsense sites then this is the type of articles you want to push out.

      2) An outsource model isn't always better than writing the articles yourself

      Look, everyone to their own, but I believe affiliate and/or product marketers suffer with this misconception... A $3 article is pretty much uninteresting babble in written form. The article directories are polluted with this garbage. Very few outsourced writers know the difference of the types of articles I mention in my first point, nor do they want you to try to teach it to them (there are plenty others that will happily give them $3 and no lecture). And, no, it does not matter if you're getting your writers from the Philippines; the deliverable is pretty much the same.

      Here's the thing, you don't want a writer writing your articles - you want a marketer! There is a huge difference.

      3) Depending too much on keyword research

      Okay, if you're not running around screaming yet, hold on... Here's a bomb for ya... keyword research is way over rated! People think because they know how to research the search patterns of keywords that they pretty much have a map to the lost city of Atlantis! Not so.

      What do you do when you investigate a niche? You go through the whole keyword search process - you know the process - it's in every eBook nowadays. (Hint: there's the problem.) You type in a few keywords that you think pertain to the product. Google gives you other similar words. You then check out the competition for the words by doing what? Running the keyword through Google. <Cupping my hands and yelling into the air>: SO DOES EVERYONE ELSE - SKEWING THE RESULTS - AND CREATING ENORMOUS COMPETITION, IF NOT NOW, THERE WILL BE SHORTLY!

      Sure, some long tail keywords are not affected by this, but then the traffic is so flat it doesn't make a difference anyway.

      Look at the search terms on your established sites. You'll notice that 90% of the time the keyword that got the customer there was totally unique.
      It may be hard to believe, but I've tested it time and time again on dozens and dozens of sites.
      ---
      I've personally written over 1000 articles over the past 3 years. When I first started out, those articles were basically keyword-based self-containing articles that I hustled to pump out in 15 minutes or less each. The result? The articles would drive traffic on the initial submit to the article directories, but quickly fade over the course of a couple weeks. It was a never-ending cycle of create and submit, which back to Jay's question, is a LOUSY business model.

      I've since learned to become more of a marketer first and writer second. I provide great info, but still leave them thirsty at the end. I focus on issues that people seek to resolve in the given niche - not because the Google keyword tool told me about some keyword - but because I've studied the community and found what the burning topics are.

      Okay, I'll stop rambling... just remember, we're in a marketing forum... not a writer forum.

      MARKET FIRST, WRITE SECOND = GREAT BUSINESS MODEL.

      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[755303].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author TimG
    Article marketing for me is several things:

    1 - A very effective method of driving traffic to my websites
    2 - A very effective method for branding my business and establishing myself (or my various pen names) as an authority in a variety of niches.

    There are many other reasons but none of those make it a business model for me and I can outsource many of those tasks so that it becomes an autopilot form of traffic and income generation.

    However, I think it does become a business model for someone if they spend time researching what does and doesn't work and how to improve the expected return on investment from their article marketing efforts and then turn that research into a product to sell to other marketers in order to help them obtain the maximum effectiveness from their own article marketing campaigns.

    Respectfully,
    Tim
    Signature
    Article Marketing Soldiers - The Best Selling Article Marketing Product On The Warrior Forum Is Now Looking For Affiliates! Make Over $25 Per Sale With This High Converting Product.

    Make More Money And Spend More Time With Your Family By Becoming A Scentsy Consultant - I Provide Personal Assistance And Help With Growing Your Business.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[749256].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author JeffLam
    This brings up a thought to me: do we really want to remain behind a keyboard day in and out?

    But I guess if you can balance it with life using time management, then it isn't that bad to be behind a keyboard daily huh?
    Signature
    *********************
    Secret Technique Effortlessly CATAPULTS YOUR Opt-In Rates By: 100%..200%..Even 400% Higher!
    >> Interested? Click to find out more.. <<
    *********************
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[749953].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Tyrus Antas
    It can certainly work. And make no mistake, you can also have your entire business "empire" pulled down under your feet, if something happens to ezinearticles.

    Depending so strongly on just a couple of entities is never a good thing. I'm sure you all have that in mind.

    Tyrus
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[750194].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Robert Puddy
    Let me ask a question...

    If you know that for every $1 you spend on advertising you make $3 in sales, are you going to worry about generating free traffic and writing articles or are you going to spend more $ and get it instantly?
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[750253].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author Martin Luxton
      Originally Posted by Robert Puddy View Post

      Let me ask a question...

      If you know that for every $1 you spend on advertising you make $3 in sales, are you going to worry about generating free traffic and writing articles or are you going to spend more $ and get it instantly?
      Robert,

      People have different budgets and different skills.

      If you are a PPC click expert with good cashflow then by all means make that your preferred traffic generation method.

      However, I would think many people on this forum are not in your position and they can't afford to invest money and wait a couple of months or more to be paid by affiliate programmes.

      I was really gutted a couple of years back when I bought quite an expensive product that I couldn't use. First of all, because it relied on Clickbank (which wasn't available in Turkey at the time) and, secondly, because you needed to tie up a minimum of $600 a month in PPC marketing. (The sales page gave no indication of this upfront cost).

      And what about the skills you develop by writing a lot of articles? Apart from making you more marketable, it gives people a deep sense of satisfaction to successfully put pen to paper.

      Martin
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[750308].message }}
      • Profile picture of the author Robert Puddy
        Originally Posted by Martin Luxton View Post

        Robert,

        People have different budgets and different skills.
        Martin
        This where I see logic disappear though Martin...

        $600 in at one end and $1800 spat out the other even after 90 days, with only the time and effort it took to press the pay button is something i would want to do every 90 days

        And getting your sales process right is all you need to do to achieve this, no writing, nor surfing, no work at all. Once you did the sales optimising.

        I have a site I created for my 18 month old grandson, every month or so my wife tells me sales have stopped, so i log in click the pay button to renew the advertising campaign and she doesnt bother me for another month or two

        Originally Posted by Martin Luxton View Post


        And what about the skills you develop by writing a lot of articles? Apart from making you more marketable, it gives people a deep sense of satisfaction to successfully put pen to paper.
        Use the time to write good emails to add to the autoresponder sequence, a skill that will bring instant results and many times the ROI.

        You can get the same level of satisfaction from writing a really good email that your subscribers compliment you on.

        We leave this as each to his own... As I'm really only offering an alternative because im concerned that the WF is chock full of people who only talk about AM writing articles is a skill like any other most will not be able to write good articles... So they will take a long and torturous route down they lets outsource to the philipines and not get much result from it.

        If you truly really love writing articles, then keep writing them for fun and the buzz. But true wealth is created by creating an outstanding sales process and pouring traffic into the top of that process.

        AM will never give you true volume
        {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[750338].message }}
        • Profile picture of the author Martin Luxton
          This where I see logic disappear though Martin...

          $600 in at one end and $1800 spat out the other even after 90 days, with only the time and effort it took to press the pay button is something i would want to do every 90 days
          Robert,

          How many people on the Warrior Forum have $1,800 in spare cash to maintain a campaign for 3 months?

          I am not saying PPC isn't a better business model. It's just not a viable option for a lot of people starting out on a shoestring budget.

          Martin
          {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[750416].message }}
          • Profile picture of the author Robert Puddy
            Originally Posted by Martin Luxton View Post

            Robert,

            How many people on the Warrior Forum have $1,800 in spare cash to maintain a campaign for 3 months?

            I am not saying PPC isn't a better business model. It's just not a viable option for a lot of people starting out on a shoestring budget.

            Martin
            Right so it is the equivilent of flipping burgers for newbies and at some point they need to spend their earnings on a more profitable course.

            And you keep saying who can afford it...

            Start by spending what you can afford and plough all earnings into buying advertising it would very soon get to the proportions we speak of

            By the way i'm not just talking about PPC, there are a whole lot of ways to buy advertising online.

            All i'm saying is this isnt an efficient way to get traffic.

            And if your product sells and you have the backend process worked out you can find much easier ways to generate traffic

            I'm going to answer Jay them I'm done

            if I made just one person think a little differently I'm happy
            {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[750613].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author JayXtreme
    Robert..

    Why does it need to be an either/or situation?...

    I'm not totally disagreeing with what you're saying... I'm just saying that article marketing is NOT just about fun and buzz... it can be a very profitable activity when used correctly as a tool...

    I use a stupid amount of PPC in my business, it is my most profitable activity.... but I'd never be idiot enough to ignore the power of content on the internet...

    Or be idiot enough to think I am done learning...

    Jus' Sayin'

    Peace

    Jay

    p.s. in regards to:
    AM will never give you true volume
    - don't talk silly... if we're discussing this then fine, but don't talk crap to me like I'm foolish... AM is just another method to do the "pouring" of traffic you already mentioned
    Signature

    Bare Murkage.........

    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[750439].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author FSherrill
      This is a very interesting thread.

      If you have a website or many websites you must have content...period end of story. Once you reach this "amazing revelation" then you need to decide what to do with the content.

      Like many here I post it on my own websites, then I submit it to Ezine articles. I will not get into a debate of what constitutes "good quality content" because that is subjective.

      But looking at my statistics, as of today, 127,318 article views, 37,412 clicks. That's a click through rate of 29%. I have 122 published articles under my name, so that's an average of 307 clicks to my website from each article.

      Let's do the math, the average PPC in my market is approximately $.10 per click or approximately $3741.20 if I paid for Adwords. Between sales of my own products, adsense revenue, and affiliate programs I have earned 10 times that amount in gross income from those articles.

      Bear in mind, I am not including here the traffic generated by the articles on my sites itself, just what article marketing has brought in. I write some articles myself others I outsource. When I realized that I typed approximately 18 words per minute, I purchased voice recognition software.

      In addition to helping me in handling some of the article and blog posts writing, I also use it for writing e-mails, controlling computer software and other functions.

      Does article marketing work?

      Having been in marketing for more than 30 years I always get a chuckle because of some of the attitudes that people have about sales in general. I am not in the book publishing business, I am not an encyclopedia in terms of content, I am a MARKETER!

      Does that mean I don't provide good content -- NO! I strive to give people enough information so that they can make a decision to get more information by clicking on my link. Isn't this what you're supposed to do?

      Just figured I would throw my hat into the ring so to speak.

      Frank Sherrill
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[750530].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author Robert Puddy
      Originally Posted by JayXtreme View Post

      Robert..

      Why does it need to be an either/or situation?...

      I'm not totally disagreeing with what you're saying... I'm just saying that article marketing is NOT just about fun and buzz... it can be a very profitable activity when used correctly as a tool...

      I use a stupid amount of PPC in my business, it is my most profitable activity.... but I'd never be idiot enough to ignore the power of content on the internet...

      Or be idiot enough to think I am done learning...

      Jus' Sayin'

      Peace

      Jay

      p.s. in regards to: - don't talk silly... if we're discussing this then fine, but don't talk crap to me like I'm foolish... AM is just another method to do the "pouring" of traffic you already mentioned
      You can get all the volume you want by buying advertising...

      Scenario: I have a profitable funnel I need more traffic

      A, write articles to drip feed the traffic

      B. double advertising purchase

      When I have a processs I dont need to do anything but press a buy advertising button somewhere. Much easier to do that than write and submit articles in how ever many places you do it.

      Its much the same argument for using traffic exchanges, you can surf or you can buy

      No one can surf their way to dominating that advertising resource

      Anyone can buy their way into dominating that advertising resource

      Same here with your method

      Again I'm not interested enough to take this debate further, I know some people will never change their minds, thats ok. As Paul says most of the time we just put a different side out there for people to read and make thier own minds up.

      Robert

      PS: I haven't written a real article in 5 to 8 years, but if you google my name I take up the first 5 or 8 pages all links back to me and my sites. Most of them people talking about me or discussing my products none are articles or even things I wrote
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[750625].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author FSherrill
    By the way,

    I think it would be more credible if the individuals denigrating article marketing would post how many articles they've written/submitted and what their statistics are. That way we know where the rubber meets the road.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[750544].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Terry Crim
    I don't buy the thought process here on the WF that AM is the be all end all of marketing.

    I don't buy the thought process here on the WF that Affiliate Marketing is the be all end all of marketing.

    I don't buy the thought process here on the WF that PPC is the be all end all of marketing.

    I don't buy the thought process here on the WF that Social bookmarking is the be all end all of marketing.


    The people here on WF seem to compartmentalize techniques and tactics and go on and on about that ONE method. I work from systems based marketing where I use combinations of methods to generate traffic, build buzz, branding and so on and so forth.

    Not every tactic or method is good for every situation and knowing not just how to properly use the method but know WHERE and WHEN to use it, that is of great importance that not many talk about here. At least from what I have seen, though I don't read or open every thread on the forum I could of missed it.

    Pudster, the Puddy... LOL He talked about using JV's to bring instant traffic, this does not cost any money to do. The money generated from this you can easily invest into PPC and then do the rinse repeat Robert talked about later in this thread.

    The excuse about not having money to do PPC, that is not valid if you properly use leverage you can very quickly generate the cash for that. Who here has $1,800.00 to invest in 90 days?.. that is the worst case of lack I have seen in awhile. Me thinks the poster of that comment focuses too much on just ONE thing and maybe that one thing isn't getting the results he wants.

    That is my complaint here, people focusing on just ONE thing, one method one tactic and those that worship that method making it seem like the holy grail.

    Artcle Marketing is a great way to hook people into your funnel. That is all AM is for, to get people into your sales process, lead generation system... People here on WF focus so much on the extremeties the outside fringe stuff that they neglect or don't develop at all the rest of the process and THAT folks is what I am seeing as the main complaint about people not making money at least consistantly.

    I have written thousands of articles, forum posts, blogging etc etc over the last 15 years. Many of it is up on the 3 live versions of the Warrior Forum and other places. I get traffic to sites that have blank pages every single day and have been for YEARS. Does article marketing work, ABSOLUTLEY!

    Will you make steady long term wealth strictly from AM, not a chance. Not without a system in place, a funnel, a lead generation system that you guide people through.

    The people that report making millions of dollars in 24 or 48 hours did so through a complex system and what they do not tell you is that over a 2 year period the revenue generated from the initial launch process is, well not really believable.

    The point being made by Robert and Myself is that AM or any of the variety of methods are not the end all be all. If you have a proper system in place to take advantage and propel the process you are not dependant on any one way and for those that are focusing on ONE method that is a big contributing factor to why there are so many complaints about lack here on WF.

    The OP, Jay is right on about article marketing and so is everyone else that talks about having success with it. Steven mentioned that his opt-in rate is a steady stream because of his AM efforts and rightly so.

    The reason I posted, which I wasn't going to do, was the lack mentality of several people in this thread. No money for PPC, can't wait for X, takes too long, affiliate marketing who has time to wait for 60 or 90 days to get a check....

    Robert talked about using others to bring in traffic instantly, doesn't cost any money to do this and leveraging assetts is the biggest if not sole method that anyone I personally know or have heard of that generates millions of dollars uses. Though they have a system in place which they took the time to create a head of time.

    I don't know, I guess it is because many here haven't been part of anything like that and don't believe it is possible to start from ZERO and go to 6, 7+ figures.

    Article Marketing is a great way to bring people into you and what you offer but if that is all you are doing and focus on then what Robert said is correct, your limiting yourself and your results.


    - Terry
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[750582].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author JohnMcCabe
      Originally Posted by Terry Crim View Post

      That is my complaint here, people focusing on just ONE thing, one method one tactic and those that worship that method making it seem like the holy grail.

      - Terry
      A lot of the 'one-trick ponies' (no offense intended, just an apt expression) fall under what my Grandpa used to say...

      "Give a kid a hammer, and everything looks like a nail..."
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[750640].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author Steven Wagenheim
      Originally Posted by Terry Crim View Post

      I don't buy the thought process here on the WF that AM is the be all end all of marketing.

      I don't buy the thought process here on the WF that Affiliate Marketing is the be all end all of marketing.

      I don't buy the thought process here on the WF that PPC is the be all end all of marketing.

      I don't buy the thought process here on the WF that Social bookmarking is the be all end all of marketing.

      Terry, I really enjoyed reading your post. Thank you for the contribution.

      Let me add my 2 cents to this argument, for whatever my 2 cents are
      worth.

      You can't argue with Robert's logic that if you know for every $1 you
      spend you can make $3, you'd be crazy not to take advantage of that.
      I know I'd be crazy not to.

      But therein lies the problem with so many marketers, especially the ones
      just starting out.

      Let's forget the fact that most don't even have a real business model.
      Okay, let's say that you can still make a few bucks by going to Clickbank,
      finding a product, getting it, reviewing it, and then putting the review
      on a blog with your affiliate link at the bottom leading to the sales page.

      This is something I have done for a ton of products. It's very little work.

      Okay, so all that's left is how you're going to get traffic to the blog.

      Now, here's the problem.

      If you've done your product research correctly, you know you've picked
      out a product that will convert well.

      However...you DON'T know how well your blog is going to do in getting
      the prospect from the review to the sales page because you've introduced
      a variable into the mix. Therefore, you have to test the conversion of your
      blog.

      You first have to find out how many people who see your article, ppc ad,
      whatever you're using, go to the blog. THEN, you have to see how many
      of those people even click through to the sales page and THEN you have
      to see how many of them buy.

      Personally, this isn't a process I want to test by dumping who knows how
      many dollars into a ppc campaign. I'd much rather just write a few articles,
      see how many people I can get to the blog from them, how many click
      through and then how many buy.

      I did this very process with Travis Sago's MOMU. You can ask him how many
      I sold my first month.

      Didn't cost me a dime.

      For somebody who knows how to write, and knows how to test and
      track, this is a no brainer...especially if they don't have funds laying
      around to dump on ppc.

      But...what if you can't write?

      Remember now, we're talking about not only writing articles but writing a
      review of the product that will entice people to buy while actually
      sounding unbiased. This is an art and not everybody can do it.

      That is why you have such failure in the article marketing community. It
      isn't quite as simple as doing keyword research and popping out a 3 line
      ppc ad, though let me tell you...that takes a bit of writing skill itself. Don't
      let anybody tell you it doesn't.

      Why don't I use ppc?

      Because I don't have to. I make enough from my articles and I'm cheap.

      I have no problems admitting I'm cheap. It's my business model and I can
      do what I like with it.

      Problem is, so many people BLINDLY go about doing either ppc, article
      marketing or WHATEVER they do because somebody told them to.

      That is NOT the way to run a business and that's the only problem I have
      with people saying that this is good or this is bad or whatever. And
      believe me, I used to be one of those biased people, but I have learned
      from my mistakes.

      Each marketer has to do what's right for THEM. But most of all they need
      to base that decision on results and NOT because John Doe said, "Write
      articles...you'll make lots of money."

      I can't tell you how many people have written to me asking me if they
      should write articles and because their writing was so bad, I'd have to
      tell them not to waste their time...even if it meant I lost a sale.

      A while ago, Paul Myers started a great thread about why we're sheep.
      I don't remember too much of it but what I do remember is so true. If
      you can find it, read it.

      We all need to start thinking for ourselves and do things NOT because
      the guru of the week told us to do it but because it's right for us.
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[750643].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author Martin Luxton
      Originally Posted by Terry Crim View Post



      The excuse about not having money to do PPC, that is not valid if you properly use leverage you can very quickly generate the cash for that. Who here has $1,800.00 to invest in 90 days?.. that is the worst case of lack I have seen in awhile. Me thinks the poster of that comment focuses too much on just ONE thing and maybe that one thing isn't getting the results he wants.

      - Terry
      Not at all, Terry. I was pointing out that PPC requires skill and a budget. I did not say it wasn't the best model to employ with a sales funnel in place.

      Martin
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[750703].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author sree94
    I would say article marketing is a great way to get started in a niche, but eventually you will want to ramp up your efforts and use other link building techniques

    You can also build links to your articles, which people often forget
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[750662].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Robert Puddy
    Right Steven

    Which is why my argument has always been concentrate on the sales process

    When you get that right you can drive traffic from where ever you can even from public toilets if you can (JK)

    Which is why traffic is easy... you can buy it in an instant and then just plug away at the other suff if you want to.

    Process first ... traffic second

    By all means start with article writing if your on a budget to start, but you have to quickly move on to more efficient ways to drive people through your sales process
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[750671].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author FSherrill
      Originally Posted by Robert Puddy View Post

      Right Steven

      Which is why my argument has always been concentrate on the sales process

      When you get that right you can drive traffic from where ever you can even from public toilets if you can (JK)

      Which is why traffic is easy... you can buy it in an instant and then just plug away at the other suff if you want to.

      Process first ... traffic second

      By all means start with article writing if your on a budget to start, but you have to quickly move on to more efficient ways to drive people through your sales process
      Robert,

      I think you're missing the point of this thread. It was not to determine whether article marketing is the end-all be-all of traffic generation but is it an effective business model or are you just a slave to the keyboard... is that not the question?

      I think we can all agree that no one should depend on one method only for traffic. Using Adwords is a simple as getting a coupon for $50 from Google and setting up your Adwords campaign. There are plenty of online resources to teach you how to do effective PPC.

      Unfortunately, with pay per click as in article marketing picking the correct keywords is essential from a conversion standpoint not from a traffic standpoint.

      So I would appreciate your input as to whether you think article marketing is a business model or are you a slave to it!

      Frank Sherrill
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[750749].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Robert Puddy
    I answered that question early in the thread Frank... I don't think it is a viable business model.

    I think its a viable start point to get your feet wet In IM but its clearly not an efficient way to drive traffic...

    Lots of people here though will never agree to that, and that's fine. The WF seems to be the meeting place of article marketers BUT its not healthy to have so much talk about one thing.

    Everybody seems to be zeroing in on PPC as the only paid method of advertising and driving traffic, it again is one of many ways to pay for traffic.

    Banner campaigns, traffic exchanges (if your in the make money niche), co registration, paid Ezine ads, Buying ad space on relevant sites etc are all ways to buy advertising online.

    Ad swaps with other site owners, on their thank you pages and integration marketing is a better way than submitting articles. offering 100% commissions to some people just to get them to add you to their autoresponder series or thank you page is technically purchasing traffic.

    And if the sales process is in place you will make more money from those people of the back end sales anyway. If you must use your time as currency then offer a potential JV your time running there support desk to get your name out there in return for them putting your ad on of their high traffic pages.

    associate yourself with high profile marketers by writing content for their blog in return for a link back to you, a huge number of ways to get your self noticed, and most of them a lot quicker than the constant grinding out of articles.

    Robert

    PS: I will add this though... I always tell coaching students to get really good at one thing and then to dabble in everything else. So if writing articles is the one you get really good at.

    Use it as the base to branch out into other/quicker paid forms of traffic generation as soon as you can,
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[750940].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author Steven Wagenheim
      Originally Posted by Robert Puddy View Post

      associate yourself with high profile marketers by writing content for their blog in return for a link back to you, a huge number of ways to get your self noticed, and most of them a lot quicker than the constant grinding out of articles.
      I'm glad you brought this up Robert. I actually go guest write at a few blogs
      and it does bring me quite a bit of traffic.

      The problem, especially if you're first starting out and don't have much of
      a name, is that it's tough getting a gig for a high PR blog. Most people who
      offer you the opportunity have blogs with almost no traffic. Even with all my
      years of doing this, I can count on less than one hand the number of
      big name marketers who have asked me to contribute to their blog.

      Yeah, it's a great gig...if you can get it.
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[750975].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author valerieSONORA
    Don't tell me anyone can just run an adword ad and double their investment.

    I tried adwords ppc and totally sucked at it. 2 different sites selling 2 different things, 2 niches. Clicks, no sales, lost a bunch of money. Had to stop campaign or I woulda been in the poorhouse if I kept it up.

    You have to know what you're doing. Knowing what works and what doesn't. Have to have the right kind of page and write the right kind of ad. Not everyone has those skills, and if you don't, it can be a costly mistake or "educational lesson".
    Signature

    siggy taking a break...

    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[751010].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Kesh247
    I reckon if you are really interested in your niche, article writing will be fun and not slave work.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[754398].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author OmarNegron
    It really depends...but for me it is something that brings results.

    When I didn't have the funds to advertise I went to article marketing. When I finally started making money...I decided to outsource and do it some more.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[754429].message }}

Trending Topics