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How to Pick Article Topics

By Jennifer Horowitz in Featured

I’ve already written about why it’s important to write articles, and it seems a lot of you agree because I keep getting emails saying that you want to write articles but don’t know what to write about.

It can be hard to decide what to write about, especially if you are trying to write a lot of content and get it out into the world.

Every industry is different and it is definitely harder to come up with topics in some industries - but if you get creative you can always find something.

Here are some suggestions I’ve given to clients recently:

Lingerie industry:

• How to care for lingerie so it lasts longer
• How to feel sexy even if you don’t have the perfect figure
• How to use lingerie to add romance to a marriage
• How to pick lingerie
• Best occasions to make sure you have new lingerie (honeymoon, his birthday, romantic get away, second honeymoon etc)
• Wear lingerie for yourself - it’s not always about looking sexy for a man, you can wear pretty lingerie under your clothes to feel good about yourself

Pest control industry:

• The cost of ignoring insect problems (especially termites)
• What to look for in a pest control company (or how to pick the best pest control company)
• What should you expect to pay a pest control company
• Common household pests and what they do - just annoying or do they actually damage your house?
• Insects and knitwear or clothing - how to protect your items

Tool industry:

• How to pick the best tools for the job
• What tools you should always have on hand
• How to use a …(jackhammer, saw etc)
• Tool brands - their reputation, your insights and reviews
• Weekend projects you can do with a hammer (saw, table saw etc)

Those are just some ideas to show you that even if you don’t think your industry is all that interesting to write about, with a little creativity you can come up with topics.

Here are some general tips that apply to any industry.

Lists are popular, so you can always write articles that list important facts. For example:

• The top 5 things you must know before you buy a…
• The top 3 things your xxx (doctor, lawyer, florist etc) doesn’t want you know
• The top 5 most popular … (books, CDs, blade saws, shoes, bras etc)

“How to” articles are also wildly popular. Here are some samples:

• How to pick the right (plastic surgeon) for you (replace plastic surgeon with whatever is relevant to you: doctor, lawyer, psychic etc)
• How to pick the best xxx for your xxx (lifestyle, weight, height etc)
• How to spot a good deal
• How to avoid the biggest mistake most xxx buyers make
• How to spot a fraud/fake/dud etc

A couple last tips before I wrap up:

• You can always set a Google alert to see what people are Blogging about and see what the buzz is in your industry.
• You can also look at your FAQs (or create them if you don’t have any) and expand your answers into an article whenever it makes sense.
• Ask your site visitors and customers what their biggest questions are and then create articles responding to their questions.
• Write an article that teaches people how to use what you sell. Teaching people to consume your products is important.
• Share your experience or opinions.
• Take a newsworthy item and write your take on the situation.

I don’t believe there is any industry out there that you can’t come up with great article topics for. So, put on your creative hat and start brainstorming - and then get writing!

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Jennifer Horowitz is the Director of Marketing for EcomBuffet.com. Since 1998 Jennifer’s expertise in marketing and Search Engine Optimization (SEO) has helped clients increase revenue. Jennifer has written a downloadable book on SEO and has been published in many SEO and marketing publications. Jennifer is the editor of the popular Spotlight on Success: SEO and Marketing newsletter. Follow Jennifer and stay current on SEO, marketing, social media and more. http://twitter.com/EcomBuffet

Online Marketing to Prospects: 6 Secrets to Ensure Your Prospect Well Never Runs Dry

By Donna Gunter in Featured

Many service business owners, once they become busy working with current clients, no longer make the time to market their businesses. It’s only when business has dropped off (and the well is starting to run dry) that they frantically begin marketing their businesses again, anxious to fill in the gaps. When they speak to prospective clients, the prospects can hear the desperation in their voice and are thus unlikely to hire them. Frustrated by rejection, the business owner is off again, desperately seeking more clients. Does this describe your marketing pattern? If so, you’re not alone.

More than 50% of service business owners experience this feast or famine scenario. What if you could create an environment so that the well never ran dry and would permit you to continuously market and promote your business? There is another way to keep yourself supplied with an eagerly waiting list of prospects with whom you can work when you have the time and space in your business. Often referred to as “drip marketing,” this strategy is defined by a deliberate, planned and sequenced system of deploying marketing messages over a period of time. In many cases, drip marketing is conducted through direct mail, but the Internet entrepreneur can create her own drip marketing campaign as well.

Here are 6 secrets you can use to create your online drip marketing campaign and keep prospects in your pipeline:

1. Client attraction device. The best way to get prospects into your marketing funnel is to give away something that would compel them to part with their name and email address and join your list. Often called an “ethical bribe”, your client attraction device must answer a pressing problem experienced by your target market. You can format this information into an ebook, special report, ecourse, audio recording, video, or some combination of all of these.
2. Newsletter: Whether you choose to publish a hard copy newsletter that’s directly mailed to your prospects or an email newsletter that is emailed on a regular schedule to your list, your newsletter is the best “stay in touch” device that you have. Regular publication of an email newsletter (weekly is most effective) will enable your prospects to get to know, like and trust you and have you be top of mind when they are ready to solve the pressing problems that fall within your line of expertise.
3. Blog. Business blogging has become more popular than ever. Blogs use RSS feed technology to immediate get new posts and updates out to your blog subscribers through a feed reader, Unlike ezines or traditional websites, search engines index blog posts almost immediately, which help you generate traffic to your website. You need to post 2-3 times per week to keep your readers interested and coming back.
4. Article marketing. One of the best ways to generate traffic to your site or to your blog is to regular write and publish high quality articles that demonstrate your expertise. In addition to placing these articles on your website and blog, you’ll want to get them distributed throughout the Internet on high traffic article directories. Ezine publishers, reporters, print media editors, and bloggers all frequent article directories in search of quality content to present to their readers.
5. Social networking. If you don’t yet have accounts on the two most popular social networking platforms, Facebook and Twitter, today is the day to hop on board. Business owners are getting prospects on their lists and making sales every day to people they met exclusively through social networking. Best of all, these strategies are free of charge!
6. Public speaking/teleclasses. What better way to wow prospects than for them to hear you speak at an organizational meeting or on a teleclass? Speaking locally to groups comprised of your target market or holding teleclasses are very effective ways to build your list and increase the number of prospective clients. Design a signature speech or teleseminar that demonstrates your knowledge and expertise without giving away the store (focus on the what and the why but not the how) that compels your listeners to visit your website or request your client attraction device and get on your list.

Don’t become overwhelmed and try all of these strategies at once. Pick one that you find appealing and work at it for 3 months. If you discover that you don’t enjoy it or that it’s not working for you, try another one. Continue to slowly add more drip marketing strategies until the process is firmly ingrained in your day-to-day business practices. Ultimately, you’ll create a list of prospects who are ready, waiting, and eager to hire you.

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Online Business Manager and Online Business Coach Donna Gunter helps independent service professionals learn how to automate their businesses, leverage their expertise on the Internet, and get more clients online. To claim your FREE gift, TurboCharge Your Online Marketing Toolkit, visit her site at OnlineBizU.com . Ask Donna an Internet Marketing question at AskDonnaGunter.com

Article Writing Secrets: How to Write a 500-750 Word Articles That Get Published More

By Eric Gruber in Featured

It’s easier said than done to write great 500-750 word articles. Some of us simply have too much to say. We have trouble reigning things in at less than 1500 words. Others are on the opposite end of the spectrum strain to make their articles long enough.

Knowing that a 500-750 word article marketing article has a greater chance of getting published on a top website like About.com, I consistently try to get all of my articles to conform to that range. Today, I reveal some of my secrets so you can get published on more top websites and ezines.

7 Habits for Highly Effective Article Marketing

By Steve Shaw in Featured

You’ve probably heard of certain internet marketing ‘gurus’ who get amazing results from their article marketing efforts, but then you tried your hand at it and wondered, “What am I doing wrong? Why am I not getting the same results these experts are getting?”

What these article marketing experts are doing is not mind blowing or even particularly difficult - they have just developed certain key habits that allow them to succeed.

Just follow these simple tricks, and before long you’ll be writing and submitting articles like the pros!

1) Submit articles regularly, but not too frequently.

The quantity of article submissions requires a delicate balance - submit too many articles and you can compromise quality. Also, publishers may begin to feel overrun with articles from you, with the effect that you dilute the effectiveness of each one you send out.

But submit too few articles and you won’t see much impact for your efforts.

So how much is too much and too little?

For effective article marketing, I would recommend submitting between one and eight articles a month.

2) Write articles that demonstrate your expertise, not articles that are promotional.

Most quality publishers are looking for educational, informational articles that are not self-serving - this means that the articles do not mention your own business, website, or products in the body of the article. (Your resource box is the appropriate place to talk about your business and website.) Articles are a way to demonstrate your expertise in your niche and establish yourself as an authority in your field. Effective article marketers try to teach, rather than try to sell.

3) Craft a thoughtful resource box.

Your resource box is the author bio that sits below your article, and it is the one spot where you can talk about yourself, your business, your products or website. Your resource box is absolutely intrinsic to effective article marketing.

Remember, your resource box should tell readers a little about you and your business, and importantly, it should also contain a call-to-action to generate click-throughs to your website. And don’t forget to include, and double-check, your link!

4) Have realistic expectations and submit articles consistently over the long term.

Article marketing is a long term marketing strategy, and it will likely take 3-4 months to see results from your efforts. Effective article marketers know this, so they don’t submit a few articles and then quit because they didn’t see huge results. They persevere; they know that article marketing is something that is meant to be done over the lifetime of their website, so they don’t freak out when they don’t see immediate results.

5) Craft thoughtful, educational, and grammatically correct articles.

Really effective article marketers write articles that their target market finds useful and informative. They don’t phone in their content thinking that the only thing that matters is the link in their resource box. They think of things their target visitors need to know and are likely to be looking for information on online, and then they craft thoughtful articles that they thoroughly proofread before submitting.

Remember that your article will be published on websites over which you have no control, so proofread, proofread, proofread!

6) Create tantalizing titles.

Effective article marketers know that the article title is what lures in readers, and they focus on crafting attention grabbing titles. So, don’t slap on a title that looks like an afterthought - it’s as important as a headline on a sales page!

Remember that when people are looking through an article directory they will likely be looking at a list of titles - would your title stand out and make someone want to click through to read the entire article?

7) Get creative when thinking of article topics.

Being an expert article marketer is a bit like being a professional writer - you need to come up with fresh ways of writing about your niche.

Try writing articles directed to readers of different skill levels, to newbies and advanced readers. Get involved in communities in your niche and see what common problems and questions people are having. Think of the ten most common questions that your customers ask you, and then write articles to satisfy those questions.

When you’re doing article marketing, you’re teaching. A good teacher finds ways to convey different elements of a subject in interesting ways.

And remember, every article that you write should be on the topic of your website (not *about* your website, but about the general topic of your website).

See, that wasn’t so hard, was it?

Even if you’re a newcomer to article marketing, you will stand apart from the crowd if you take these tips to heart. Use them wisely and you can start article marketing just like the experts - today!

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Another habit effective article marketers have is that they submit their articles automatically, saving time and increasing their article exposure. Steve Shaw created the web’s first ever 100% automated article distribution service, SubmitYOURArticle.com, which distributes your articles to hundreds of targeted online publishers with the click of a button.

© Copyright 2008 All rights reserved. Jayde Online, Inc.

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