Article Marketing 101:
How do you do it?

I’ve you’ve decided to invest some time into article marketing then there are three questions that you’ll need to consider:

1. What am I going to write about?
2. How am I going to write it?
3. What will I do with it after I’ve written it?

This article is designed to answer those three questions and help you get started with the article marketing process. Before you begin though, make sure you have a clear idea of why you’re doing this. Is it to improve your search engine performance, to engage your existing customers, to build your reputation?

The answer to that question will determine how you should go about creating and distributing your articles – and even what you should write about.

What should you write about?

Article marketing works because it addresses the problems of your prospective customers. Customers’ problems determine how they search, what they read and who they consider as trusted resources.

With that in mind, the best place to start is with a long hard look at your prospective customers. What problems are they trying to solve? What information would make the buying process easier? What information would help them put your products or services to better use?

In short, what you should write about needs to come from them, not you.

Start by writing a simple list of the kinds of things your customers would want to know. Using that list, turn those points into questions. Those questions should give you a good indication as to what you should write about.

How are you going to write your article?

1. Start with an outline: Where most articles fall down is not because of poor grammar or bad ideas but through of a lack of structure. Before you start writing your article take a couple of minutes to create a simple outline including your headline, main argument in the introduction, bullet points for each of your key points and finally a summary that restates your argument.
   

   

2. Avoid jargon: Usually, prospective customers will not have your level of expertise. If your intention is to help educate and solve problems, you should keep your writing style simple and jargon free.
3. Give real solutions: Again, an article is not a sales brochure. The intent is to demonstrate your expertise and address real problems – that means offering real solutions. Of course, you don’t want to give away the farm. Your articles should serve primarily as introductions, raising interest and understanding to a point where the prospective customer will happily pay for more detailed support or advice – or to buy your product.
4. Keep the sales pitch to a minimum: It’s not about you, it’s about them. By all means talk about your industry or even use your own work as examples, but keep the pitch to a minimum. No more than a paragraph at the bottom of the article.
5. Re-read and edit: Obvious spelling and grammatical errors defeat the purpose of writing articles in the first instance. Proof read everything and ask someone else to have a read through as well. Ideally you want to keep your text short, punchy and with a clear flow – your outline will help you with that.
6. Bring in the professionals: If you’re unsure about your own writing style or find that you struggle to get your thoughts down on paper then you should consider involving a professional. Most businesses wouldn’t hesitate to bring in a designer to improve their advertisements or brochures. Similarly, if writing isn’t your thing, a modest investment in having your content professionally written can pay dividends for years to come.

What will you do with it once your article is written?

Now that you’ve gone to the trouble of writing your article, you’ll want to make sure you get the most from your efforts. In particular, to really get the biggest ‘bang for your buck’, being able to repurpose and reuse articles across a number of platforms is ideal.

Here are a few ways you might like to distribute your content:

1. Article directories: To create links to your website and possibly attract a few readers from these sites. Done in small batches you’ll likely find that those articles will pop up in searches for key terms – even before your own site.
   

   

2. Article submission services: If you’re serious about distributing your articles then it’s worthwhile considering an article submission service. These services will list your article on the main directories and also allow website owners to post them to their sites, provided they link back to you. Search engines don’t like duplicate content, so before you go down this road consider using a service that allows you to create multiple versions of each article. The one we use is SubmitYourArticle.
3. On your own site: Naturally, your own site is often the best place to help build your own search engine performance, provided you’ve created keyword rich content – you may even consider starting a blog and using your articles as a starting point for blog posts. If you plan on distributing your articles through directories as well, post to your site first and then create variations on the article to submit to the directories.
4. In print: People still read the local paper. People still read trade magazines and newsletters. Approach either and offer to submit a regular article to them for free, in return for a simple byline and a mention of your business and website. Not only can print publication expand your potential audience but for some people it also carries with it a level of stature that online media often does not.
5. In your newsletter: If you publish a print or online newsletter, you can include your articles as useful content.
6. Use it as an incentive: One of the simplest ways to turn your traditional advertising into content-led advertising is to offer an article, white paper or special report as an incentive for getting in touch. Likewise, if you send out a direct mail piece, offering a free report or other worthwhile content can often improve results dramatically.

Article Marketing is a long term strategy

No matter what you choose to write about and how you choose to go about it, bear in mind that article marketing is a long term strategy. Once you’ve done your homework take a few minutes to put together a content schedule allowing time for planning, creation and distribution on a regular basis.

If that sounds like too much to handle then you might consider bringing in a freelance journalist, copywriter or content marketing agency to help out. You can expect well-written and researched articles on a weekly basis for the equivalent cost of just one ad in the local paper per month.

What next?

1. Learn more about our article marketing services.
2. If you found this article useful, make sure you don’t miss a thing:
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