Article marketing is an effective method for attracting visitors however unless you implement clear strategies it will be like throwing mud at the wall hoping it will stick. Do it correctly and you’ll generate endless streams of traffic.
Top 7 strategies for marketing articles
1. Have a goal
Have you heard the phrase “begin with the end in mind”? This means beginning with a specific goal then creating an action plan how to get there. For example if your goal is to add 1000 newsletter subscribers to your list then create a strategy to write and publish enough articles to make your goal.
I entered an article writing challenge to write and submit 100 articles in 100 days. Normally I wouldn’t do this but after taking on the challenge I find it gets easier and faster to churn out lots of articles.
Do something similar by setting a goal how many articles you will write each week then break it down into days. Set a time how long you will write the article (ie 1 hour). It will help you to focus.
2. Choose a topic you’re passionate about
It’s easier to write on a topic you know a lot about. It will take less time to write and you’ll never run out of content.
3. Optimize your articles
Include your main keywords in the title, introduction, body and resource box. Search engines will index your article based on the keywords you use and rank it accordingly.
4. Proof read your articles
Grammar and spelling mistakes will make your content appear unprofessional and drive away your readers. Let it sit for a while after you’ve written it then go over it again. You’ll find mistakes you didn’t see while writing it and also find ways to improve your sentence structure.
Alternatively give your article to someone else. They will be more objective and often find errors that you were unaware of.
5. Include anchor text
This is text that is hyperlinked in your resource box. If your main keyword is “article marketing” make this text live by linking it to your web site address. This will boost the link popularity of your web site and help it get good rankings.
6. Submit to top article directories
The top article directories get tons of traffic. Submitting your article to them not only helps it get indexed by the search engines, but receive the traffic these directories attract.
Don’t just stick with article directories. Add the article to your web site, blog, social marketing sites, or use the content to be a guest writer on a high traffic website.
7. Repurpose your articles
You can attract a larger and different audience by converting your articles into audio and video. Use audio for webinars and submit your videos to video sharing web sites such as YouTube.
Another idea is to bundle several articles into a short report, ecourse or ebook. Submit the eBook to eBook directories and/or give away a free report so it spreads virally throughout the Net.