Article Marketing

The Magic of Article Marketing

I have always enjoyed writing. When I was younger, I can recall sitting up in my room and writing scripts for T.V. shows that were on at the time, such as 'Chico and the Man'. Having recently went back and re-read some of them, I was surprised at the quality of the writings. Perhaps I missed my calling in life, but at the age of thirteen I was more interested in having fun and enjoying the creative process, than being concerned about making money with my writings. Nowadays, I no longer dabble with writing scripts and stories, my writing centers more on articles that can actually earn me money through the process of article marketing. This article looks at the basics of article marketing, and shows how anyone can turn simple articles into cash.

In its most basic form, Article Marketing is simply the process of writing an article and getting it posted to as many places on the Internet as possible. While there are numerous ways to accomplish this, one of the most effective is through the submission of an article to Article Directories. The reason this arrangement works so well is because Newsletter and Ezine publishers, website owners, and other interested parties are always looking for new content to post on their sites, and the first place many of them turn to find this information is Article Directories. As a writer, your task is to provide the information that these people need, and in exchange you receive backlinks and traffic to your site. The more places that your articles appear, the more traffic you receive. While this process is commonly referred to as Viral Marketing, I like to call it magic, because once it's started, it's nearly impossible to stop.

When it comes to writing and distributing articles, there are a couple schools of thought. One says that you should write as many articles as possible, even employing 'ghost writers' to write articles for you. With this method, quantity trumps quality, and your main concern is getting as many articles and backlinks out as quickly as possible. The other approach is to write your own quality articles which attract newsletter publishers, ezine operators and others. While there are advantages and disadvantages to each approach, writing your own articles allows you to control the content of your writings, and in the end place your name upon something that is uniquely a reflection of your own thoughts and knowledge.

Once you have completed an article, you then need to distribute it to the Article Directories. What options do you have to achieve this?

1. Submitting Your Article Manually

This is the most time consuming and tedious method of all, and if you're not careful, you'll spend more time submitting your articles to directories than writing them. While there are literally thousands of article directories on the Internet, my suggestion is to focus on the major directories; the one's with the largest readership base. You can find out which one's are the most popular by simply doing a search with the words, 'best article directories'. While space prohibits me from listing them all, some that I consider must do are 'Ezine Articles', 'Go Articles', 'Article Dashboard', Idea Marketers', SearchWarp' and 'ArticlesBase'.

2. Using Article Submission Software

Article Submission Software is supposed to automate many of the functions of article submission such as filling in forms. etc. My experience however with this type of software left a lot to be desired. A few of the problems that I encountered with it were having numerous sites listed in their directory that were no longer in business, many sites not loading, and having your articles submitted in the wrong categories. In the end, I had to go back and 'cut and paste' most of my articles into the directories which sort of defeated the whole purpose of why I purchased the software in the first place. While I would imagine that there are in fact article submission software that actually does what it claims, I would urge diligent research before purchasing this type of software.

3. Article Submission Services

Another option that you can use to distribute your articles is Article Submission Services. The reasoning behind using a article submission service is that you will get your articles distributed much faster because of their large network of contacts such as Newsletter and Ezine publishers. As mentioned previously, these publishers are looking for valuable content and they rely upon places such as submission services to obtain it. It's a real win-win situation for all concerned. I currently use a submission service and it seems to working very well for me in that I have noticed a big increase in my backlinks since I started using them. If you are a busy person(who isn't)this might be a good option for you.

Article marketing can be a great way to get the word out about yourself and your business. While there are several ways to accomplish this, by consistently submitting your articles to various article directories, you will see an increase in your traffic, and most likely your profits.

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William J. Thomas has been involved with Affiliate Marketing for several years. He also writes articles on Internet Marketing and other topics. Bill's current website reveals how you can make excellent money from home with Affiliate Marketing. http://www.billthomas.ws/

How To Get Tons Of Free Web Traffic

While most Internet business operators recognize the importance of attracting the right kind of prospects to their website, the challenge comes in finding the right methods of attracting web traffic without breaking the bank. Most proven and efficacious methods of creating targeted traffic such as the Pay-Per-Click method can be a bit pricey for a start up web business with little money to spend on advertisement. While standard forms of Internet advertising might not be cost effective for many, there still exists more wallet friendly forms of traffic generation. A few useful ways to bring in the kind of traffic a particular web site needs is through the use of news groups, forums and article directories. These alternative and free forms of traffic generation can be effective means of bolstering web traffic for those who know how to use them.

One of the most intriguing and easy ways to freely advertise is through article directories. It begins by writing a simple article about the type of service a business operates in or a product the web site in question provides. Your next step would be to publish your article through one of the numerous article directories. This is particularly advantageous because articles published through these directories tend to stay published for a long period. In addition, a published article has the likelihood of showing up in multiple places throughout the articles lifetime. From there, two possibilities exist. The first will rely entirely on people reading your published article and clicking on the link, which will direct them to the web site mentioned in the article. By continuing to write articles on a regular basis, you may develop a following of readers. With a faithful contingency of readers, one can expect their readers to seek out a writer's works much in the same fashion as they would their favorite author or columnist, as well as spreading the word about the writer's works, and in turn promoting the particular web based business through word of mouth advertising.

Another way of free advertising and increasing web traffic is through online forums. It is likely that most people have been on a forum at one time or another, but what many business owners fail to understand is the huge potential an online forum has for increasing web traffic to a particular web based businesses site. Since there are literally thousands of online forums, choosing the proper ones to post to is vital. The first thing is to find forums that will allow a short signature when making any post. These signatures normally consist of a few sentences and these sentences allow the author to give a brief but descriptive overview of the web based business in question. One consideration when posting on an online forum is to keep on point. Trying to use the forums to advertise your business is a no-no and people will be able to quickly ascertain what your motives are with your postings, and this will have the opposite effect of your goal of attracting people to your website. In addition, it is advisable to keep up a regular schedule of postings. Not only is this allowing hundreds if not thousands of people to view clev rly constructed advertisements disguised as posts, but also major search engines routinely indexes the many forums for listings. This means that the more often posts appear, the better the web based businesses site rankings will be. Forums are often thought of as the Internet's equivalent to social marketing, so do not ignore this viable and effective form of free advertisement.

The last suggestion in generating increased web traffic for your business is through news groups like Google, Yahoo, and MSN. With these organizations, a business can post ads on these particular sites by creating what is known as a group. These groups can be created to reflect an individuals or a businesses interest. While a business can join an existing group, attention must be paid as to whether the group is delineated as public or private. If it is a private group, then joining that group will not be possible. In many cases, in order to effectively advertise a business, it is advisable to simply create a group. This allows a business more control over the group and its subject matter and can thus implement its advertising plan as it sees fit. The over whelming issue with this form of Internet advertising is how easy and simple it is to get going. All that is required is to select a name for the group, create the group, and begin posting. Be sure to make certain that your posts are relevant to the discuss on, otherwise you may find your group removed.

Web traffic is indeed any web based businesses lifeblood.
It would be more apt to say that targeted web traffic is indeed the one sustaining factor of any web business. Using any one of these free advertising models not only can a start up web based business save money advertising, but the business can have a fighting chance in a highly saturated and competitive world of Internet based business.

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William J. Thomas is an online entrepreneur and also contributes articles on Business and Internet Marketing.

Increased Web Site Traffic

Increased Web Site Traffic - and How Web 2.0 Can Help

Increased web site traffic until recently covered a whole gamut of techniques that fell short of embracing the brave new world of social media. It was almost as if Web 2.0 was for 'play' whilst the serious 'work' of the internet would involve Pay per Click, Article marketing, safelisting etc.

Not any more. Web 2.0 is the 'golden fleece' of increased web site traffic. What makes it such a powerful way of influencing huge numbers of people is that it's not about 'pitching' others. It's about forming friendships and relationships which may or may not blossom into a business connection.

So what is Web 2.0? It is, to quote Victor Huge, 'an idea whose time has come'. The internet is no longer about webmasters creating content and surfers reading it. It has become interactive, whether it be blogs, 'vlogs' (video blogs), or Social Media sites. There never was a Web 1.0, but never mind about that!

A lot of people desperately seeking increased web site traffic use Web 2.0 or 'Social Media' sites as a kind of 'soap box' to blather on about their specific business opportunity, in the honest belief that people will have their 'guard down' as it's a Web 2.0 environment. This policy just doesn't work.

If you use MySpace, Facebook, or the 'new kid on the block' Twitter (growing currently at 40% a month!) to 'up front' pitch your opportunity, you'll just be sending large numbers of people to sleep instead of one at a time. That's technology for you!

A much better route to increased web site traffic is to make your 'profile' on the Web 2.0 site appealing and interesting and then just place some links to your business site for people to click on them should they want to. If you have a capture page you can divert them to, where you can collect e-mails, so much the better. You'll have the details of someone who liked your profile enough to seek you out. Big difference.

Sites like MySpace also allow 'commenting' to friends. Again, I see a whole bunch of people 'pitching' me and it's a big yawn to be honest. The comments I like are when people send an encouraging or upbeat statement or quotation that brightens up my day. I may well follow a link then, and if that person achieves increased web site traffic as a result then that's fine by me.

YouTube has enjoyed phenomenal success. Set up in February 2005, by the end of 2006 Google had bought it for $1.65 billion of stock. (Yes. 'Billion'!) Why would Google pay this? Traffic, traffic and more traffic. We all know what a part Social Media played in the last US election. Many people now successfully use video clips to create free quality content in return for e-mail capture. A win-win.

Social bookmarking is another 'buzz' phrase that many see as a key to increased web site traffic, and it can be. What you need is consistency and patience. But there is a great free tool that can automate this procedure at SocialMarker.com. They even give you some html code that you can paste into your site to create a 'Bookmark Now' button on your site, and 'spread a link on 49 of the best social bookmarking sites in under 15 minutes!'

If you consistently give value without always demanding a return, then people just seem to want to know more about you. Don't forget the story of the Sun and North Wind, who had a wager on removing a man's coat. However strongly the North Wind gusted, the man simply fastened his coat even tighter. The Sun merely shone sweetly. The man got hot. He removed his coat. Be a 'Sun' in Web 2.0, and increased web site traffic is the natural consequence.

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Alun Maxwell is an experienced networker and online marketer, and helps many networkers harness the power of the internet to build their businesses. A specialist in one-to-one communication, he is hired by many top European companies as a Business Roleplayer, to help executives understand the impact of their words and behaviours on others. http://www.Web20Gold.com http://www.HomeBiz-Launchpad.com

Can I increase traffic to my site with Web 2.0?

The answer to 'can I increase traffic to my site with Web 2.0?' is an obvious and resounding 'yes'. But knowing that Web 2.0 can increase traffic to your website is not the same as actually making that happen.

Web 2.0 or 'Social Media' should not be a forum for blatant pitching of business opportunities, although perhaps not surprisingly that's what often happens. Web 2.0 is about 'community' and offering value unconditionally and therefore attracting like-minded people to you and to your business.

'But I can increase traffic to my site with Web 2.0 by sending my site link to thousands of people can't I?
Er..... no. That's the worst thing you can do, because you're spamming people. How excited are you when ads for Viagra land in your inbox? 'Up front pitching' your business opportunity to your Facebook and MySpace friends creates the same negative response and is everything that Web 2.0 shouldn't be.

However if you're asking 'can I increase traffic to my site with Web 2.0 by sending entertaining or uplifting content to people?' then the answer is the total opposite. If you share quality content with like-minded people then you are using the skills of 'attraction marketing' which is everything that's good about Web 2.0.

One method that can leverage your 'friend-adding' is to use 'adding software' though do be a bit careful. First of all, if you use this for spamming 'bizopps' all you're doing is annoying lots of people at once instead of one at a time. Web 2.0 sites are also alerted by patterns of 'bulk friend-adding'.

But if you're offering uplifting content and you've a profile that is interesting, entertaining and not stuffed full of graphics and 'extreme' audio tracks, then people's interest can be piqued. Definitely avoid going for tiny fonts and colours that offer virtually no contrast to the background. It may sound a trivial thing but you'd be amazed at how many MySpace profiles are almost impossible to read!

If you're asking 'can I increase traffic to my website by writing articles on Web 2.0 sites', that's a big 'thumbs-up' too. Sites like Squidoo, Hubpages and Scribd to name but three are sites that Google looks very favourably on. Look how many articles from these sites turn up on the first page of the search results. You may not have noticed that before, but you will now if you look!

Web 2.0 is not an overnight 'cure-all' for getting traffic to your website. If you want immediate results then you can always buy pay-per-click advertising, provided you know what you're doing. Like with a lot of things you can save time by spending money or save money by spending time. Web 20 marketing falls more into the second category.

So if you're still enquiring how can I increase traffic to my website and you've not yet harnessed the power of Web 2.0, then I would encourage you to do so. Provided you are giving value to the community and not going straight for their wallets, then all kinds of benefits can land in your lap.

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Alun Maxwell is an experienced networker and online marketer, and helps many networkers harness the power of the internet to build their businesses. A specialist in one-to-one communication, he is hired by many top European companies as a Business Roleplayer, to help executives understand the impact of their words and behaviours on others. http://www.Web20Gold.com http://www.MLM-Via-Web20.com

Affiliate Marketing: Cost-Effective Ways to Advertise An Internet Business

Affiliate programs are forms of Internet advertising that rewards affiliates for driving traffic to the advertisers website. The advertiser pays the affiliate to place a link on the affiliates website, and the affiliate sends targeted traffic to the advertiser in return.

Simply put, it is about paying commissions to people who help the advertiser make sales.

Is it that easy? You, the advertiser, decide.

Affiliate marketing, as any business, has its ups and downs. It can be draining if you are not armed with updated information and the technical know how..

The following are reasons why web market advertising offers affiliate marketing as a form of Internet advertisement to drive tarfeted traffic to the advertisers merchant site.

1. Low Startup Cost.

Many people maybe afraid to start a home based business because of the expense required. With affiliate marketing, you don't have to spend a lot to start making money.

2. No Inventory.

Product management (inventory control) can be stressful.
The affiliate does not maintain an inventory. The affiliates job is to drive traffic to the merchants site.
The merchant carrys the inventory and does the maintenance required. That is why a merchant may decide to sell a downloadable product and not have inventory to worry about.

Creating a downloadable e-book about a hot topic requires no invertory.

3. Unlimited income through leverage.

When a person has a paid job, monthly income mainly relies on whether a person goes to work or not. With affiliate marketing, affiliates send traffic to a merchants site without the merchant having to lift a finger. What the does is provide the affiliates with great ad copy and links.

4. The worldwide market awaits.

Using affiliate marketing, merchants have a global market place. The merchant chooses a niche product and prepares all the necessary tools to send traffic from anywhere around the globe to the merchants website.

5. Low risk.

One of the reasons for Internet Marketers are enthusiastic about affiliate marketing is it is having a low risk factor. For those with a low budget set aside for advertising, affiliate marketing is the way to go.

6. Your business is open 24 hours a day, every day.

The great part about affiliate marketing is the merchants business works every second of the day while targeting the worldwide market! A great way for merchants to make money with their online business.

Think about this.

* Our parents can't teach us to succeed online
* Universities can't teach us about the Internet
* Experience doesn't prepare us for being online

The fact is, it takes TIME and MONEY to learn what works online ... never give up.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Alan Grundemeier helps people succeed with their online business by showing them the where to find successful online programs. Click on now for one of the hottest and up to minute affiliate programs on the internet:
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