7 Ways to Market Online Using How To Articles
As the President of the Association of Web Entrepreneurs I help entrepreneurs create systems and automate their online businesses so that they can make more money and enjoy more freedom in their lives. To do this, I teach them only the most effective online marketing techniques, and article marketing is one of them.
Here are my 7 favorite ways (and a checklist for you) to market online using how to articles. Don\’t worry about writing completely new articles for each of these; just reuse your articles. To be more productive, create a system and schedule a day for writing and a day for posting your articles once a month or even once a week!
Websites: Post all of your articles on your website as resource tools for your target market. Make sure you put a note to visiting editors that they can use your articles for free as long as they use the resource box at the end. And make it easy for them to copy and paste the articles. Don\’t have them in PDF files for instance. Make sure to use keywords that your target market would type in a search engine within your articles. This will drive traffic straight to your website when someone goes searching for that type of content.
E-zines: Use all of your articles in your own e-zine to establish yourself as an expert with your target market. Make sure the articles address your target market\’s problems and that they tie into the various products and services you offer (the solution to their problems!). Build relationships with other newsletter editors by signing up for their e-zines and using their products and services and attending their events. Also attend large events and be on the lookout for editors as you network. Create a database file just for editors so you can easily send one e-mail when you have a new article ready.
E-zine Directories: Also post all of your articles or have your assistant post all your articles on a steady basis (like every week or every month) to at least two or three of the top directories. Here are five of the best ones: www.ezinearticles.com, www.goarticles.com, www.articlecity.com, www.a1article.com, and www.ideamarketers.com.
Blogs: Make sure to post your articles on your blog(s) on an ongoing basis too when the content is appropriate. Search engines love blog content and blogs will often show up higher in a keyword search than a website will.
Printed Flyers: There is something about printed information-it just feels more valuable. Market your services and products offline by taking some of your favorite articles and formatting them in Word to include your photo and contact information in your footer. Make sure to use the front and back if you need to. Print them on quality paper and give them to existing and potential clients. Have your fulfillment person put a different article in your outgoing mail each month. Also make sure the article gives a call to action for a service or product that can be found on your website.
Products: As you develop information products (reports, books, manuals and so on) to generate passive income, you will reuse your articles when appropriate. It is a great way to repackage content that you already created as it saves you time and makes you more money.
Autoresponder Series: An autoresponder series is a great way to share a number of articles in the same category. My shopping cart system (http://www.practicepaysolutions.com) lets me set up unlimited autoresponders. The best thing about doing an autoresponder series is that you can build a relationship over a period of time with your customers. This is important as they are in different moods and phases of their life each day. For instance, one day they may be too busy to read it and the next day they may be focused and ready to buy your product or service.
Finally, watch out for article overwhelm. Don\’t let implementing this checklist overwhelm you to the point where you don\’t take action on any of the techniques. Make an annual plan and be specific about what you want to accomplish each month. This will help you stay focused. You can even try to delegate one of them while you work on another and then you can be twice as productive.
Sheri McConnell (www.SheriMcConnell.net) is the President and Founder of the National Association of Women Writers (www.NAWW.org). She helps women writers and entrepreneurs discover, create, and profit from their intellectual knowledge! Sheri' lives in San Antonio, Texas with her husband Seth and their four children-ages 11, 10, 6, and 3 months. Contact her at naww@onebox.com or her toll free number at 866-821-5829.
