Article Marketing

We know our topic.. we’ve picked our product.. we have our keywords.. we’re ready to WRITE!!

Ok then.. let’s go!

THE TITLE

The first thing we need for any article is a title. We don’t want just any title.. we want a title that will grab the reader and say:
Hey! You HAVE TO READ THIS!

Let’s say you’ve found a great ebook through Clickbank that teaches dog training. You could title your article, Basic Dog Training and that would cover what your ebook was about.. but there’s one thing wrong with that title.

IT’S BORING!

If you’ve done your research you may have found that one problem many dog owners have with their dogs is that they jump up on company. How to prevent that behavior is information people WANT to know and would be willing to pay for.

So your title may be..

‘3 Ways to Guarantee That Your Dog Won’t Jump’ or ‘3 Proven Methods to Keep Your Dog From Jumping!’

or..

‘How to Stop Your Dog From Jumping in Only 24 Hours!’

‘The Single Most Important Lesson to Teach Your Dog’

You can rarely go wrong when using numbers, a how to or adjectives. But be sure you haven’t over hyped your title.. always be able to deliver the information that you’ve promised.

Ideally you’ll want your title to include one of the long tail keywords that you’ve uncovered in your research.

THE CONTENT

Now for the meat of the article. There are a couple points of view on how best to format your article. I personally like using the bullet method.

People, especially Internet Marketers, are scanners. We have so much information coming at us each day in the form of emails, sales letters, articles, forum posts, reports etc that we have taught ourselves to scan for the high points.. check the bottom for price, if it’s a sales letter, read the PS for a bonus and then make a decision whether to take the time to read it more completely or move on.

An article, therefore, should grab attention with the title.. give a brief introduction on what the article is about.. list bullet points that will address the topic and close with a brief summation of what you’ve said.

Sub-headings, such as I’ve used in this lesson, can also be used very effectively to lead your reader through the article.

You’ll want to flesh out the bullet points with the appropriate information but make sure your readers eyes are led through the high points.

Your additional information to substantiate your bullets should NOT just be fluff and filler. You want to give real information that is of value to your reader but at the same time not tell them everything. Your goal, of course, is to get them to visit your website for further information and eventually to buy your product.

They won’t be interested in your web site, however, if they think you have nothing to offer but fluff and/or hype. Be honest, be informative to a point.. the point that makes your reader want to know more.

Again, you’ve uncovered your keywords for a reason. If you’re targeting how to stop your dog from jumping, be sure your article addresses that and that you’ve sprinkled those keywords throughout. I wouldn’t go crazy with a mathematical formula, although some do. Just be sure you have your keywords located in the opening paragraph, closing paragraph and a couple of places in the middle. Don’t over complicate it.

YOUR WRITING STYLE

You’re writing style should reflect who you are and be consistent not only in each article but throughout all your articles. People will come to identify you with your style and recognize you.

You may be the ‘just the facts ma’am’ type of writer.. or you may like using personal examples or humor. Obviously every article will be somewhat different, but you’ll see a pattern start to emerge as you find your ’style’.

The actual writing of your article should not be hard. You’re not writing an award winning piece of journalism or even a New York Times best seller. Yes, you want to be good.. but don’t drive yourself crazy.

The easiest way to get started is simply to just start. The only way I’ve found to overcome ‘writers block’ or ‘I don’t feel like writing block’ is to just start writing. Once you have everything written out that you want to say, then it’s time to edit. You’re first copy does not need to be, nor should it be, print ready. Worry about format, placement, grammar and spelling once you have everything down on paper or Notepad.

Once you do have everything in it’s place, formatted correctly and re-written to your satisfaction, be SURE you spell check and grammar check it.

I only recently discovered that you can find online grammar checkers just like spelling checkers..very cool tool. Use them both. More people then you might guess are put off by incorrect spelling and obvious bad grammar. You’re the expert in this field, right? Make sure you’re coming across as one.

That’s it for this lesson. Some of you may be thinking that I’ve forgotten an important part section, the authors resource box or bio box. I haven’t forgotten. I think that it is too important to tack on to the end of an already lengthy lesson and that it deserves a lesson of it’s own.

So, next lesson we’ll discuss the bio box and sum up everything we’ve learned.