Keep it Short and Simple
Even though article marketing is a powerful promotional tool, you’ll lose your audience if your articles are too long. A well written 400 word article gives you plenty of room to get your point across without rambling and without including any of the fluff you might see in many of the articles that are submitted to article directories. Remember, in a sense, your article serves as your sales pitch. If you wouldn’t say it out loud, you probably don’t want to write it either.
Pay Attention to Spelling and Grammar
This is another chance to brand yourself as a professional so pay close attention to spelling and grammar. If your articles are full of typos and mistakes your readers might assume that you are careless in other aspects as well. Present professionally written articles and you’ll leave the impression that your site is professionally run as well. If you can’t produce quality articles, outsource this part of your promotional campaign.
Use Your Resource Box Wisely
If you submit articles to ezine articles or another directory where a resource or bio box is offered, use it to your full advantage. Don’t, however, make it all about you. Your readers won’t especially care that you’ve been in business for 20 years or that you have a master’s degree; they want to know what it is you can do for them. Use your resource box to tell them how you are going to solve their problems and leave your resume out of the mix altogether.
Keep Track of Your Stats
It is important for you to know which articles are performing the best so you can learn which techniques, titles, and keywords work the best. Keep up with your page views and statistics and test different methods to find out which ones work the best. Use your keywords in your title but do make sure they make sense.
Automate Your Article Submissions
You can either pay on a monthly basis or buy software outright that will submit your articles to hundreds of article directories and the right service is well worth your time. Some of this software even enables you to create multiple versions of the same articles so you will have numerous articles to submit. Check into these services thoroughly though to make sure you are getting effective representation with your article marketing.
Who are your potential customers in your targeted market? What are their needs? Are they looking for convenience, bargains, or something in between? This is important information for you to know in order to be successful as an Internet marketer. It’s simply not enough to have a great product; there are a lot of great products out there. Knowing your target audience is crucial to your Internet marketing success because not until you know the wants and needs of your potential customers will you be able to fulfill them.
Promoting to Convenience Seekers
People who are looking for convenience do not have the same needs as those who are looking for a bargain. People who are more interested in saving time than money may be willing to pay a higher price but they will want instant downloads and they may want products that do more for them than some basic products do. For example, suppose you are marketing your writing services online. You’ll find customers that are willing to pay $1 per article and you’ll find customers that are willing to pay $15 or more per article. While all of these potential customers want to purchase articles, many of them have different needs. Some of them, usually the lower paying ones, want articles as fast as possible, and as cheap as possible. They don’t care much about the quality as long as their keywords are used. Now, suppose you charge $10 per 500 word article and you market to this demographic. See what I mean? Even though you are selling the right product, marketing to the wrong demographic will net you zero sales so it is crucial that you know the needs of your target market and market accordingly.
Promoting to Bargain Hunters
Most bargain hunters want quality products at a discounted price. They don’t mind waiting longer to get their product if it means they won’t have to pay for shipping. They are an excellent group to market 2 for 1 offers to because they love getting something for free so if you are marketing to bargain hunters take their unique needs into consideration. For example, bargain hunters won’t be impressed by instant downloads if they still have to pay a high price for the item. Bargain hunters want a deal and will hold out until they find one.
This concept works regardless of the niche in which you are marketing. Say your niche is dog training. Are you marketing to those who are trying to keep their houses from being destroyed or are you marketing to people who want to impress their friends with their well behaved, obedient canine? See the difference? Both of these groups are interested in dog training issues but they have very different needs and will react in very different ways to your products and services. Make it a point to know your target audience and what their unique needs are.