Search:
Site   Web

SiteProNews

SiteProNews

Article Categories





By Matt Schoenherr in Featured

articlewritingToday, article marketing is probably one of the most powerful and inexpensive forms of online marketing available to small business owners and non-profits. For those not savvy with the term “article marketing,” here is a quick definition:

In exchange for a little sweat and focus, an article author (you) shares their wisdom and experience with the world by posting their short article of advice or insight to blogs, social media, and article publication sites. Within those articles are one-way links leading back to the author’s own website, raising the website’s “authority” karma with the search engines and increasing qualified web traffic.

You Are the Expert

Here is a little mental preparation for you. I want to make sure you are looking at article marketing – and yourself – through the proper lens.

When you produce articles, it is your goal to encapsulate gems of experience-hardened wisdom and share them with the online community. In doing so, you:

1. Help to advise those who are seeking that knowledge, and you
2. Position yourself as an expert on the topic. (Important!)

By Steve Shaw in Featured

articlewritingHere is an excellent question that I get sometimes: “Is it okay to submit the same article to multiple article submission sites?”

Sometimes people are afraid to do this, and that fear is completely unfounded. Let’s start by looking at the purpose of an article directory.

Article submission sites (aka article directories) are like libraries. They specialize in having content (free reprint articles) on all sorts of topics that can be “checked-out” for free, like in a library.

The difference is that with a library you need to bring the book back eventually, whereas the articles on directories do not need to be “returned”.

Publishers go to the article directories looking for content for their websites. They find an article that they like, and they may reprint that article for free, with the agreement that they will also republish the resource box with its link.

The purpose of an article submission site is to provide free reprint articles for publishers. Each article can be republished a limitless number of times–the more the better.

When you publish your article on a directory, you want it to be republished. That is how you build links, and building links impacts your search engine ranking, which in turn impacts the traffic you receive to your website.

So, article directories are never meant to be the end of the line–you do not publish there thinking that it will be the only place that your article will be published. That is not how article marketing works.

The power behind article marketing is in the republication of the articles.

You write one article, and it gets republished many times. You submit your article one time to a directory, and then let’s say 100 publishers find your article on that directory and put it on their site.

So, from one article submitted to one directory, you created 101 links–the first link came from the directory itself, when you submitted your article there. The other 100 links were the result of publishers finding your article on the directory and republishing it.

Let’s go back to the original question–is it alright to submit the same article to multiple article directories?

The answer is “yes”, and you will benefit greatly if you take the initiative to do that.

If you submit your article to one submission site, then you are totally dependent on the results that that one directory can bring. You do that one submission and you wait, and wait, and wait. Kind of passive, isn’t it?

But, if you submit your article to several directories, then you have helped your cause in two ways:

1 – You are automatically building more links by submitting to more sites. Submit your article to one directory, and you know for sure that you have build one backlink. Submit your article to ten directories, and you know for sure you have build ten new links.

2 – You multiply the opportunities for your article to be picked up for publication, which also multiplies your opportunities for building backlinks.

For example, submit your article to one directory, and then 100 publishers republish your article. That makes a total of 101 backlinks for you as a result of publishing that one article on that one directory.

Not bad, but what if you submitted your article to ten directories with the same result–101 backlinks build as a result of publishing on each site. That’s a big increase, isn’t it?

Would you rather have 101 new backlinks or 1,010?

When you submit your articles to more directories, you drastically increase the number of links that you can create.

Article directories are not expecting that they will be the only website that contains your article–the very purpose of an article submission site is to propagate the republication of articles.

Each article that you write should only be submitted one time to each directory, but you can submit that same article to as many directories as you like.

For more info on how you can use article marketing to reach thousands of potential prospects for your website, go now to www.submityourarticle.com. Steve Shaw is an article marketing expert and founder of the popular article distribution service www.submityourarticle.com used by thousands of business owners.

By Brian Garvin Jeff West in Featured

It’s no secret that the most competitive verticals online like Golf, Finance, Forex, Real Estate, Health and Internet Marketing are extremely competitive. That’s because these are known as Global Markets, which means people participate in these from all over the world. But what about Mary’s Hair Salon in Birmingham, AL or Grubby’s cafe in Oceanside, CA.? These are what they call local businesses, and to date very few of these types of businesses even have an SEO friendly website much less know what article marketing is or how to implement it.

Right now there are 8 major article repositories you can submit your articles to. They are Ezine Articles, GoArticles, Articles Base, Free Articles Zone, Article Alley, Articles Factory, Article Snatch and Article Dashboard. If you’re not familiar with these places just Google them and they’ll come right up. Each one requires you to sign up. They are all free to sign up for. Then you will have to spend a few minutes on each site uploading a photo of you or your business and filling out some author bio information.

Then you are ready to start writing and submitting articles. You can write articles for free on just about any subject there is. The key is to be an expert in what you are writing about. No one knows more about how to run your business than you do, so you should be the most qualified writer on your subject matter. The key is to write your articles and make them about 400-600 words each. Word Count Tool is a free tool you can use to check the word count of your articles before you submit them (Google it). I also use a free program called Note Tab Light which allows me to open up and edit multiple text files at once and is great for simple cut and paste operations.

Your goal should be to write at least 2 articles per day related to your niche subject. You would create an author biography that looks similar to the one you will see below. Take advantage of the 2 anchor text links for every author bio and use them in each article. You can even use the Google keyword tool which is free to collect a list of relevant keywords to your niche. Then start writing articles around these.

If you can type, or know someone who can there is nothing stopping you from becoming the dominator in your local market. The key is to just get out there and start writing and submitting articles every day. Even if you can only afford enough time to do one article per day that’s way better than doing nothing at all. Before you know it your website will start getting better Google rankings for all kinds of keywords related to your business. Of course you have to also pay attention to on-site optimization but that’s a topic for an entirely different article.

But right now article directories are hungry for your wisdom and knowledge about what you know about how your type of business is supposed to be run in your locale. Publish or perish couldn’t be more true. The first one out there with the content will be the supreme ruler in their local niche. I suggest you develop a sense of urgency soon and get out there with as much content as possible before your competition does.

Visit Brian Garvin & Jeff West’s Trade School Directory and Trade School Blog and get up to speed on Trade Schools in the US.

By Steve Shaw in Featured

Submitting articles by hand is the most time consuming method of doing article submissions, and it produces the most modest results. Still I know there are some people who prefer to submit manually as they are learning the ropes of how to do article marketing.

If you are submitting articles by hand, then there are a variety of article submission sites that you will want to submit to. There are three main types of publishers:

  • Article Directories
  • Ezine Editors
  • Article Announcement Lists

We’ll be covering here how to submit to article directories.

How Do Article Directories Work?

An article directory is a website that publishes articles that other publishers can reprint for free.

Authors will submit their articles to an article directory, and then a publisher who is looking for content on that topic will find and republish it on his website or ezine. Publishers love article directories because they provide free quality content.

As an author, what do you get out of having your content appear in an article directory?

When you submit your article, you will include a resource box. This resource box will contain a short paragraph about you and your business, an incentive to visit your website, as well as a clickable link that leads back to your website.

Whenever your article is republished, the resource box will be too.

So, when a reader sees your content on someone’s website, they will also see your resource box, and they will (hopefully!) click the link that leads back to your website.

The resource box is also the means of ‘building links’ to your website. You gain a link to your website each time your article is republished. The more times it is republished the better, because that means you are building more links to your website.

Why Is It Important To Build Links?

These links are one of the main indicators that Google and the other search engines use when deciding how highly to rank your website in the search engine results lists. By building links to your website, you can effectively improve your website-s search engine ranking over the long term. The higher your search engine ranking, the more traffic your website receives.

Why Should You Submit To Article Directories?

By placing your articles in article directories, you are giving your articles the greatest opportunity of being republished.

You may think that publishing your article on an article directory creates just one backlink, from the directory itself. Actually, if all goes well that one backlink from the directory is only the beginning. Ideally your content will be republished repeatedly, building a link to your website each time.

Also, when you submit your article to an article directory it can show up in Google’s results lists. The more ways you create for people to find your content the better. Your ultimate goal is to draw more people from your target market to your website. Article marketing helps you do this.

How Many Directories Should You Submit To?

You will greatly aid your cause if you submit to as many directories as possible.

The purpose of placing your article on an article directory is to have it republished as many times as possible. That is how you build links to your website, which has an impact on your search engine ranking over the long term.

When you submit your content to just one directory, then you have gained one backlink, but you need to wait for publishers to find your article on that directory to build more links.

However, if you submit your articles to many article directories, you are building many links right off the bat, and any links you gain from publishers who find your articles on those directories are just icing on the cake.

If you are submitting articles by hand, obviously there is a limit to how many directories you can submit to. Submit to a few of the big ones, such as Ezine Articles, Go Articles, and Idea Marketers.

Steve Shaw is an article marketing expert and founder of the popular article distribution service SubmitYOURArticle.com, used by thousands of business owners. For more info on how you can use article marketing to reach thousands of potential prospects for your website go now to http://www.submityourarticle.com/report

By Donna Gunter in Featured

Even though I use an amazing article distribution service, not all publications or blogs serving my industry or my target market are on the distribution list for this service or for the well-known, high traffic article directories. So, to ramp up the syndication of my articles yet another notch, I also submit them to specialty or niche publications that I have discovered over the years.

It’s not always easy to find these publications and sites. Here are my 7 best out-of-the-box ideas to find publications and sites that are frequented by your target market and might publish your articles:

1. Blogs. Research blogs written for your target market at Blogcatalog.com, Technorati.com, and Google Blog Search. Many of the blog owners will willing publish posts of guest authors. And, if you subscribe to Cathy Stucker’s BloggerLinkUp.com, you’ll receive weekly notices of bloggers looking for content for their blogs.

2. Associations and print publications. Research the trade and professional associations for your target market. You can create a query in your search engine for combinations like “target market” + “association” or “target market” + “magazine” to get you started.

When you locate the associations, examine their trade publications, newsletters, and industry-related magazines for information about online blogs, ezines, forums, or the online edition of their publication. Many publications well-known for their print versions now have online versions where the publication lead time is much shorter and the stipulations for publications aren’t as restrictive. And, don’t forget to look at the online versions of your local newspaper, magazines, and media outlets. They are often seeking experts with content to beef up their online offerings.

3. Your competition. Google the name of your competitors and examine the results. Note where their content is being published. Chances are that you can be published on the same sites, as well.

4. Trainers of your target market. In your search engine look up “training” + “target market.” Whatever associations, portals, training companies, consultants, etc. that are providing education and information for your target market probably also need content for their sites and blogs.

4. Gender specific or business specific groups. If your target market is women, there are countless numbers of women’s business and networking associations and portals online. Simply search for “women” + “networking” or “women” + “association” or “business networking” + “association.” Many of these sites need content for their blogs, ezines, or web sites.

5. Niche article directories. You might find article banks or expert sites geared for particular niches, so look up “target market” + “article directory.” Some of the better known niche article directories are SelfGrowth.com, for self-improvement and holistic healing experts. Many of these sites will let you create a profile and publish your articles free of charge but require a fee to move your articles to a prominent place on their site.

6. Large portal sites. Look for portal sites like About.com and iVillage.com where the sites have guides, editors, or experts in specific areas. Many times these experts must publish a regular ezine or blog and are constantly seeking content. One of their editors at About.com used to publish a lot of my articles on her section on Online Business. Check out information portals like Squidoo.com and Hubpages.com as well for ideas on where to submit your articles. You might also find large portals geared specifically for your industry or your target market.

7. Wikipedia. Wikipedia is a large online encyclopedia to which the public contributes. Some areas are very well documented on Wikipedia. Additionally, Wikipedia’s References section, See Also section, and External Links area are often good online sources as well.

The content that you create is a primary business asset. Don’t let it languish on your computer’s hard drive. Make it work for you over and over again by seeking out new sites seeking useful content like yours.

Internet Marketing Automation Coach Donna Gunter helps independent service professionals create prosperous online businesses that make more profit in less time. Would you like to learn the specific Internet marketing strategies that get results? Discover how to increase your visibility and get found online by claiming your FREE gift, TurboCharge Your Online Marketing Toolkit, at ==> http://www.TurbochargeYourOnlineMarketing.com

By Donna Gunter in Featured

Even though I use an amazing article distribution service, not all publications or blogs serving my industry or my target market are on the distribution list for this service or for the well-known, high traffic article directories. So, to ramp up the syndication of my articles yet another notch, I also submit them to specialty or niche publications that I have discovered over the years.

It’s not always easy to find these publications and sites. Here are my 7 best out-of-the-box ideas to find publications and sites that are frequented by your target market and might publish your articles:

1. Blogs. Research blogs written for your target market at Blogcatalog.com, Technorati.com, and Google Blog Search. Many of the blog owners will willing publish posts of guest authors. And, if you subscribe to Cathy Stucker’s BloggerLinkUp.com, you’ll receive weekly notices of bloggers looking for content for their blogs.

2. Associations and print publications. Research the trade and professional associations for your target market. You can create a query in your search engine for combinations like “target market” + “association” or “target market” + “magazine” to get you started.

When you locate the associations, examine their trade publications, newsletters, and industry-related magazines for information about online blogs, ezines, forums, or the online edition of their publication. Many publications well-known for their print versions now have online versions where the publication lead time is much shorter and the stipulations for publications aren’t as restrictive. And, don’t forget to look at the online versions of your local newspaper, magazines, and media outlets. They are often seeking experts with content to beef up their online offerings.

3. Your competition. Google the name of your competitors and examine the results. Note where their content is being published. Chances are that you can be published on the same sites, as well.

4. Trainers of your target market. In your search engine look up “training” + “target market.” Whatever associations, portals, training companies, consultants, etc. that are providing education and information for your target market probably also need content for their sites and blogs.

4. Gender specific or business specific groups. If your target market is women, there are countless numbers of women’s business and networking associations and portals online. Simply search for “women” + “networking” or “women” + “association” or “business networking” + “association.” Many of these sites need content for their blogs, ezines, or web sites.

5. Niche article directories. You might find article banks or expert sites geared for particular niches, so look up “target market” + “article directory.” Some of the better known niche article directories are SelfGrowth.com, for self-improvement and holistic healing experts. Many of these sites will let you create a profile and publish your articles free of charge but require a fee to move your articles to a prominent place on their site.

6. Large portal sites. Look for portal sites like About.com and iVillage.com where the sites have guides, editors, or experts in specific areas. Many times these experts must publish a regular ezine or blog and are constantly seeking content. One of their editors at About.com used to publish a lot of my articles on her section on Online Business. Check out information portals like Squidoo.com and Hubpages.com as well for ideas on where to submit your articles. You might also find large portals geared specifically for your industry or your target market.

7. Wikipedia. Wikipedia is a large online encyclopedia to which the public contributes. Some areas are very well documented on Wikipedia. Additionally, Wikipedia’s References section, See Also section, and External Links area are often good online sources as well.

The content that you create is a primary business asset. Don’t let it languish on your computer’s hard drive. Make it work for you over and over again by seeking out new sites seeking useful content like yours.

Internet Marketing Automation Coach Donna Gunter helps independent service professionals create prosperous online businesses that make more profit in less time. Would you like to learn the specific Internet marketing strategies that get results? Discover how to increase your visibility and get found online by claiming your FREE gift, TurboCharge Your Online Marketing Toolkit, at ==> http://www.TurbochargeYourOnlineMarketing.com

By Nelson Tan in Featured

The typical form of newsletter is a one-way communication where you provide information to customers, such as product updates and announcements. Creating a successful newsletter can be extremely rewarding. Subscribers and customers respond with glowing feedback, online sales jump and your customer relationships and brand loyalty deepens. Here are some useful tips that might help in creating a successful newsletter.

Define Success

Ask yourself “What is the purpose of your newsletter?” A newsletter is a substantial investment of company resources in terms of time and energy, and you need to define in as tangible terms as possible the purpose of your Newsletter.

Voice and Personality

Establish a voice or editorial personality—whether newsy, serious, gossipy or funny—that is synergistic with the image you want to portray and connects with your audience. Remember that e-mail newsletters aren’t e-mail promotions designed to stimulate immediate action. Sales and promotional copy don’t suit e-newsletters. Nor does the traditional tone of broadcast corporate communications. Think of your newsletter as a one-on-one conversation. Just imagine sitting in a coffee shop talking informally with a customer. That’s the starting point for your approach—a more personable and appropriate “human” voice will come naturally. Drop the jargon, drop the sales pitch, be as honest as you can, and talk like a human being. You can have as much or as little personality as is appropriate. Consider adding a brief editorial, a comment or two, an editor’s note, a couple of lines of commentary, a touch of opinion; adding a little human element here and there. Sign editorials, give authors a byline, or list some names down in the administrative section of each issue to which your readers can relate to.

“From” Line

Whether it’s a person’s name, name of the newsletter or company name, determine what will resonate best with your readers and stay with it.

“Subject” Line

“Vol. 1, Issue #8″ or “Company News” are not enticing subject lines. They are certainly consistent and simple, but they don’t tell your readers anything that will motivate them to open your e-mail. Your subject line is your calling card—entice your readers with the most interesting or intriguing information in your Newsletter. Use attractive headlines as a means to summarize a section of content.

Style/Format

Establish a format and layout of your Newsletter that is clean and simple, with elements of the Newsletter (table of contents, “Tips”, subscription information, etc. located in the same spot each issue).

Content and Relevancy

Figure out what your readers want and give it to them. Seek continuous improvement by obtaining reader feedback and monitoring click-through rates to determine what types of articles are most popular. Another dilemma that we all confront is too much information and too little time. The newsletter’s job is to keep readers on top of trends and the latest developments in the industry. Aim for articles and feature stories to meet one of the following criteria by including either: major industry occurrences, forward thinking industry ideas, education on issues or new techniques, or business opportunities.

Whether your customers work out of a corporate or home office, or employees need answers to questions and tips for improving business activities, e-newsletters provide you with an opportunity to point out work inefficiencies, and share relevant best practice. When you create a newsletter, try changing your focus from selling products and services to solving your customers’ problems. Think about what they need and give options they don’t know exist.

The greatest thing about the electronic medium is that you can quickly add new hyperlinks and include updates on old material should new information surface without incurring another round of cost for a new issue (that happens in the real world).

Don’t Wait Till the Last Minute

Begin compiling newsletter information in advance. Ask fellow marketers to contribute articles. One great source of information is none other than your inbox where you can quickly search for worthy nuggets from the past week and relay the same essence in your own words.

Quality Sources

Where can you get quality content for your newsletter?

  1. Article directories like ezinearticles.com or findarticles.com. Also get articles from yahoogroups. The downside to this is that you need to include the author’s signature or resource box.
  2. Forums. One of the most dynamic and updated places on the Internet is where people write off the cuff and in real-time. Thread after thread, reply after reply of the latest information comes off the minds of forum participants. Combine interesting topics and reword them into an original article.
  3. Again, your own inbox right under your nose. Whatever other marketers are writing or selling about, use them to your own advantage and recreate them as your own.
  4. Your own insights are really your best resources. When you have passion, you will never stop talking about what you know. Be consistent at no. 4 and soon enough you will find a way to mold yourself into an expert. Continue to expand your knowledge database and add value to it.

Graphics

Use graphics that print well on your printer. Using a good mix of photographs and art work makes for interesting copy. Too many graphics can leave the newsletter looking cluttered.

Frequency

Determine how frequently your readers want to hear from you/receive your newsletter—and what you can commit to. As a rule, a weekly newsletter is ideal. However, don’t launch a weekly newsletter if you are not absolutely certain that you can distribute a quality Newsletter every week. A fortnightly newsletter is a good option too.

Length

A newsletter should be a quick read. Readers expect to finish reading it in 4 to 5 minutes. Short articles increase the probability that your reader will find something of interest to them.

Timing

Test and pick a day and time that works best…and stick to it. Readers should almost be able to set their watches by the receipt time of your Newsletter.

Penetration

You have the option of formatting your e-mail by including colorized text and a variety of fonts, but not all e-mail software supports HTML mail. Consider writing your newsletter in plain text or offer two mailing lists—one for plain text mailings and the other for HTML e-mail.

Make it Viral

Provide information readers can act on or that stimulates reaction—forwarding it to friends and peers, stimulating purchases or requests for additional information. Make it easy for readers to forward articles and information to peers and friends. Provide a “Tell a Friend” link that enables readers to forward the Newsletter with a personalized note.

Search

Make it easy to find articles of interest and back issues. Provide a table of contents and links to articles within the newsletter and to resources and past articles on your site.

Printability

If you want to give readers an option to print, consider providing “printer-friendly formats” on your website. Make sure your newsletter is physically readable. Avoid anything less than 12 point fonts for the article text. Fancy fonts may look good but can be hard to read when printed. Heading and text fonts should be consistent throughout the newsletter.

If you lack experience in print media, seek out assistance if you know someone in the field. If not, don’t worry—the abovementioned basic principles apply. Plan to research your material thoroughly and avoid factual or editing errors, as they will make you seem less credible.

Personalize

At the very least, address the reader by name. The most successful newsletters have a human being associated with them…and a personality. If possible, your Newsletter should be “written by a person” at your company…not the company.

Language

Not everyone has the range and depth of vocabulary as teachers and linguists do. Use words that are easy to understand, and if you do use technical terms, provide a definition that people can relate to. There is nothing more frustrating then a definition that makes less sense than the word itself. Just write in layman terms and keep it short, simple and straightforward.

Spelling and Grammar Check

Sending out copy with numerous errors creates a negative image to your readers. Aside from using a spell checker, have an outsider edit your final copy for readability, grammar and content.

Test and Track

Test the Newsletter on few e-mail addresses to check for errors and other issues before sending to the entire distribution list. Keep track of results and reactions to your newsletter to come to an understanding for further tweaks and corrections.

Lastly, to summarize the key fundamental features of an e-newsletter, make sure you include:

  • Table of Contents
  • Hyperlinks for customers who want more information for a featured topic
  • Exciting secrets or tips related to your product or service
  • Contact information

E-newsletters can take up a good amount of time if not managed correctly. The use of a list server (a piece of software that runs on your Internet provider’s computer or on your own web server) is a good option. It will automatically manage a list of e-mail addresses. Once you send your newsletter to the list server, it distributes the letter to the stored addresses. For more information on list servers, contact your Internet service provider. If you opt to use another method, make sure you have a plan for handling incoming and outgoing mail when your customer base increases.

In conclusion, your newsletter can serve as an extension of your business that will reach out to your customers. It will allow you to maintain regular contact with them and serve as an effective and rewarding addition to your marketing arsenal. These tips should help you put it all together and help you create an exceptional newsletter.

Nelson Tan is the webmaster behind Internet Mastery Center. Download $347 worth of FREE Internet Marketing gifts at http://www.internetmasterycenter.com

Subscribe to SiteProNews Articles

Receive New Articles As They are Posted


Webmaster Headlines

Amazon Axes Cloud Storage Prices

Microsoft, 24/7 Want To Better Serve Your Customers

Trendnet security cam flaw exposes video feeds on net

Apple supplier employee describes working conditions

Google Chrome Is Now Available For Android (And It's Fantastic)

SEO and Social: It Isn't One or the Other

How to Create Marketing Offers That Don't Fall Flat

9 Free Tools For Link Discovery & Content Creation

7 Must Have Search Related Chrome Extensions for 2012

8 Quick Tips for Writing Bullet Points People Actually Want to Read

Recent SiteProNews Articles

RecentSiteProNews Articles

7 Things NOT to Waste Your Time On When Doing SEO – A SEO-News Exclusive Article

How To Write An SEO-Friendly Article

Guru Kool-Aid: Are You Drinking It? – A SPN Exclusive Article

How to Generate Leads With Linkedin

Technology Solutions: Cloud Computing

9 Common Title Tag Mistakes and How to Avoid Them

SiteProNews Blog News

Google Celebrates Art Clokey’s Birthday
Not many people will recognize the name Art Clokey. But a lot more people will recognize the green c...
more >

Reader Rescue : Should My Meta Description Tags Just Duplicate My Title Tags?
Hi Everyone From early days learning SEO, I went ahead and did all my meta descriptions with a bi...
more >

Death of Steve Jobs Fails to Break Twitter Record
We all heard the sad news yesterday that Steve Jobs, founder and visionary at Apple, had died at...
more >

Recommended Links


   Get Facebook Fans

   Submit Express - SEO Services

Wordpress 3.3.1