|
Of all the ways that
people have invented to sell things over the Internet,
writing free articles to run in ezines is perhaps the
most effective. One great thing about this method of
marketing is that you can do it with NO money. So if
you are just starting your Internet marketing career,
put away the Visa and warm up that keyboard! Article
marketing may be the perfect way to market. It's free
to do. It educates prospects. It gets your message in
front of thousands of interested prospects you would
NEVER reach otherwise. It's viral. Best of all ... it
works!
So what is "article marketing" and how can it impact
your world?
Glad you asked. ;) What we call "article marketing"
is simply writing informative articles and having those
articles run in ezines. If that sounds hard, it's not.
Let's run the numbers for a moment.
There are over 300,000 ezines out there. Estimates say
that over 90% of them use free articles in their ezines.
That means there is a HUGE market for your articles,
no matter what you want to write about.
We like to say it this way. From cat food to Katmandu,
there's an ezine out there for everyone. You included.
The Big Picture
The first step is to understand the goal of article
marketing. The goal is to write an informative article
and have it run in as many TARGETED ezines as possible.
When people read the article they see your resource
box at the end of the article, click to your website
and buy your stuff. They learn something, and you make
money. Very simple.
Notice the emphasis on targeted? Please, please, whatever
you do, do not waste an editors time with articles that
they don't need. One of the greatest things about the
Directory of Ezines is that you can use it to find the
perfect ezines for your articles ... fast. Use the DOE,
but never spam editors with articles they can't use.
<Getting off soapbox now> ;)
How to Write the Article
You want to write an informative article about something
you know. Once you chose your subject, here's the magic
formula for writing the article. Five easy steps.
1. Be yourself. Don't try to write like anyone else.
Let your personality shine through.
2. Tell a story. People love to hear an interesting
story.
3. Limit yourself to 600 words. This is an ideal length
for most ezines. Format your article to 65 characters
per line with a hard return at the end of each line.
4. Have a clear opening, make three or five points it
the middle, and have a brief conclusion.
5. THIS IS THE BIG ONE. Give the reader a few steps
he or she can take to make your idea work for them.
Tell them what to do first, second, third to accomplish
the task you are writing about.
If the reader can take ACTION based on what you wrote
(just like you can now apply this formula to your writing)
you will have delivered valuable information to them.
Do that and, hopefully, they will keep reading your
stuff! ;)
How to Find the Right Ezines
The absolute, 100% effective, surefire way to do this
is to use the Directory of Ezines. Sorry, couldn't resist.
;)
Look for ezines that have these three things. First,
the ezine content matches your article content. Second,
the ezine accepts articles. Third, the reader is someone
who would be a good customer for you. Once you nail
down those basics you have found the perfect market
for your articles.
How to Approach the Editor
The BEST way to approach an editor is this.
1. Subscribe to the ezine.
2. Read a few issues.
3. Write a personal note commenting on what you enjoyed
about the issues that you read.
4. Offer your article as one that might fit in.
5. Ask to be informed if your article is run.
6. Thank them for their time.
7. Be available if they have questions.
If an editor chooses your article, the odds are they
will run your articles in the future as well. Stay in
touch and you can develop close relationships with literally
hundreds of editors. Remember that each editor represents
thousands of readers that you may never reach any other
way. Also remember that the editor is a busy person.
Keep your email brief.
How to Maximize Your ROI
Include a "resource box" at the end of the article.
A resource box is where you sell the reader on going
to your website, subscribing to your ezine, or taking
any other action you want them to take.
Marketing with ezine articles is truly a win-win-win
proposition. The publisher wins because he or she gets
great free articles. The reader wins because your article
is informative and tells them how to accomplish an important
task as easy as 1,2,3. You win because hundreds of thousands
of readers see your selling message at the end of your
article.
All of this with no out-of-pocket costs. Now THAT'S
a beautiful thing!
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Charlie Page is the owner of the Directory of Ezines,
the first and most comprehensive list of quality ezines
that accept advertising available on the Internet. Charlie
can show you how to sell more products and earn more
affiliate commissions using the Internet's #1 marketing
method ... ezine marketing!
CLICK HERE to learn more ...
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|
