There is a long list of article marketing dos and don’ts, however, it would take a life time to show them all to you. So what I have done, is compiled a list of the top 10 things you should not do when writing your articles. After you finish reading this article, you will be able to, with great confidence, and ability write your articles properly.

1.Don’t use an article spinner to create your articles

Using an article spinner to create your articles will create a lot of unreadable material that is considered junk, and spam to all the top article directories.

2.Do write your own articles, or have full rights to the articles that you submit.

Writing your own articles is the best way to create content for article directories and your own websites. However, if you are to hire out your article writing efforts then make sure that you own 100% rights to the articles that you receive. Because if you don’t own the rights, then the same article is going to start showing up all over the place with different names in the byline.

3.Don’t sell anything in your article body.

When you write articles, you are trying to inform your readers about a certain topic that will hopefully help them out. Most articles that sell in the article body are usually not taken well by the readers, and article directories alike. If you are submitting articles to the top article directories such as articlebase they will automatically reject your article for selling in the body.

4.Do write quality content that will help your readers so you can gain loyal followers.

Your first and foremost responsibility as an article writer is to help your readers out by writing quality helpful articles for them to read. Writing junk articles is not going to make people want to come back and read more of your articles. A good impression is always the best impression to give your readers. Do this, and you will see an increase in readership, as well as more quality traffic to your websites from the articles you submit.

5.Don’t write for the search engines.

Writing for the search engines mean stuffing your articles full of keywords so the engines will see your article and rank it for the keywords you have selected for your article. However, with new and improved technology, this can no longer be the case. Even Google is now cracking down on junk articles by counting the keyword density, if it is to high, or abnormal, it will take it off of the search results, and bury it so no one is going to be able to find it.

Plus, the top article directories, usually use a keyword density formula, and will reject articles that seem spammy.

6.Do write for humans, so that the article flows naturally and is readable.

Since you want to get people to read your articles, and get them to your website, you need to write for them. This means keep the keywords to a minimum, at about 1% when writing for article directories.

Just write naturally as if you were talking to a person, this makes the article more conversational, and easier to read in the long run.

7.Don’t write inconsistently

When a person writes inconsistently it means they are not doing it on a regular basis. Yes we all have lives outside of our business, however, we still need to set aside sometime each and everyday to work on your business to allow it to grow.

This means writing on a regular basis. If you do this, in return you will see your business grow and flourish beyond your wildest dreams.

8.Do write something every day.

What do I mean by writing something everyday? Well, this means that you need to write articles every single day, and submit them to at least 1 article directory that very same day.

9.Don’t write about a topic before you have knowledge about it.

Yes there are lots of writers out there that write content for other people, or clients, and submit them on their behalf. However, no one is knowledgeable about every little thing. Which means if they try to write an article about a subject they know nothing about, its going to come out as garbage, and what Google likes to call scrape content. So do yourself a favor, and do your research before hand.

10.Do your research on any topic before writing about it.

The last thing you want to do when you are writing an article, is to be lazy. This will not only show up in your work, but your readership will drop off, and you will hurt your own ability to be an expert in your chosen topic. If this happens, you can say good bye to your future in this line of business. This means, don’t be lazy, take the time to do a little research about what you are writing about. Even if you are knowledgeable about the topic, it doesn’t hurt to find some new information on it that you can share with your readers.

Now that you have gone over this list of article marketing dos and don’ts you should have no problem creating articles, and marketing them without creating the mistakes that so many people have, and still do to this very day.

Now that your doubts about Article Marketing Dos and Don’ts, its time that you learned how to properly market your business online.You need to join Jeff Lepage, and many others who have gone on to train with the best and brightest at one of the largest internet marketing schools on the internet today. Go to http://buildingbrandvisibility.com and watch your free videos today!
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It looks like it’s time to forget about the career you planned on and start seriously thinking about the next stage in your professional life—namely, the recession-proof job that’s going to put supper on the table for the next decade or so.  Times are changing.  If you had dreams about becoming an oilman, a real estate agent or running a lemon car dealership, then you’re going to have to put those plans on the back burner, that is, if you believe all that talk of recession by the government.  (Trust me, it’s all mostly true)

It’s important to keep a balanced perspective of the recession and a realistic outlook on your own budget and lifestyle.  Despite whatever doomsday philosophy you have heard out there, the end isn’t nigh.  America is not going to turn into pre-Nazi Germany.  America is not going to go bankrupt.  We’re not going to be sold back to the U.K. nor is a civil war going to break out any time soon.  The entire world is not going to collapse in on itself, and we are not going to revert back to mob rule. 

Oh yes, things are going to get tough, but if you are frugal with your money and approach your long-term future with caution, you can survive this crisis.  One nice thing you can say about the recession is that it is teaching American consumers the value of good financial strategy.  It is making people think twice about impulsive buying.  The recession is helping reckless people to treat life a little more respectfully and focus just a little bit on tomorrow, rather than splurge it all for one day.

You might have read a little bit about “recession-proof businesses” in recent months.  The more you analyze these lists such as the “10 Recession Proof Businesses” http://money.howstuffworks.com/10-recession-proof-businesses1.htm at HowStuffWorks.com, the more you start to sense a pattern. 

The best recession-proof businesses included:

* Candy
* Cosmetic
* Contraceptives
* Luxury Retail
* Repossessions
* Government Jobs
* Education
* Vices
* Discount Retail
* Information Technology
* Healthcare
* Non-cyclical Businesses

Why were these businesses elevated above powerhouses like the real estate industry and the automotive industry?  Because these businesses, not so coincidentally, were far closer to the mindset of the majority population.  When there’s a recession the luxury businesses are the first ones to suffer.  The industries that sell risky investments suffer.  Meanwhile, people still follow their hearts and spend money on what really matters most. 

Now then, you can’t really make the argument that people are so afraid of the recession that they’re not blowing money on instant gratification.  They do want their candy, they want their vice and they want their horror movies on Saturday night.  They are definitely spending their hard-earned money, and they don’t care about the consequences if this “vice” (literal or symbolic) can give them a few moments of happiness, enough to forget about the worries of next year. 

What seems to be happening is that people are only spending recession money on what they perceive as their absolute needs.  Whatever they can rationalize as a “want” is being postponed or dismissed altogether.  Of course, the things they are not totally sold on are quickly seen as “wasteful expenses.”  As a retailer, you should take this to mean that your audience is not going to buy your product out of boredom, out of sheer novelty, or even out of curiosity.  (Maybe in the 80s and 90s, but not today) 

Now more than ever, it is vitally important to the success of your business that you create a “need” in your audience to buy your products and services.  You probably already know how to tap into this subconscious yearning, so we won’t bore you with the details.  However, we are going to talk about one marketing avenue that can benefit your business and even help to “recession-proof” your business.

Article marketing!  Yes, yes, we know.  We SEO firms tend to think of article marketing as the next miracle cure for just about everything.  I admit that there’s no evidence to suggest that article marketing can add 10 years to your life, but then again, there’s no evidence against that claim either.

Seriously, let’s consider eight good reasons why investing in Search Engine Optimization (articles optimized for search engines) and article marketing (directory submissions) can help your business in a recession.  These eight reasons, as you will see, actually correspond to some of the points made by Harvard Business School professor John Quelch in his recent article entitled “Marketing Your Way Through a Recession.”  http://www.businessweek.com/managing/content/feb2008/ca20080219_060846.htm

1. Research the customer.

In a time of financial recession you really need to focus on learning your customer’s needs.  Article marketing and SEO are considered one some the best ways to get inside the head of your prospects.  After all, you are tapping into their ego and id (forgive my Freudian reference) by taking the exact keywords they are searching for and using them in your sales copy.  You are also tracking their every move via web analytics.  You can see where they lose interest, what pages bring them to your site, and what particular articles captivate their attention.  You can even collect demographical information regarding their web browsers, their referral pages, or their country/state of origin.  Stopping short of taking an in-person survey, SEO is one of the best ways to “learn” your customer.

2. Focus on family values.

John Quelch wrote about the importance of returning to family values in times of financial stress.  While this point didn’t exactly correspond to an SEO strategy, it does make you think of social media marketing which is quickly become the next evolution in our business.  Quelch said “When economic hard times loom, we tend to retreat to our village.”  That certainly explains our desire to hang around popular social media sites like Facebook and Twitter, doesn’t it?  Hey, making more friends and friendly acquaintances online never hurts. 

3. Maintain marketing spending.

Quelch next refers to maintaining your marketing campaign.  This makes sense to anyone who is a businessperson because you can’t expect to profit if you’re not putting any “noise” out there on the market.  The great thing about Search Engine Optimization and article marketing is that these venues remain two of the cheapest ways to advertise your business, and yet the best ways to get maximum mileage out of your investment.  SEO articles can build traffic indefinitely and continue to bring in new customers while improving search engine rankings (after all, the more relevant content you have, the better).  Directory articles also influence ranking, especially when regularly submitted over a period of time.

4. Adjust product portfolios.

Quelch stated that “tough times favor multi-purpose goods over specialized products.”  He also foresees a time when “Gimmicks are out; reliability, durability, safety and performance are in.”  Now more than ever consumers are looking for good value in every single purchase.  I personally like to think of the SEO articles we do as a polished presentation and quality product that has been sold to a client.  This is a product I am confident will provide high Return On Investment, not only because of the informational value presented, but also because of the organic optimization process that ensures higher and longer-lasting top 10 rankings.  Honestly, you have to do good work to stay in business these days!  

5. Support distributors.

There is no distribution channel when it comes to article marketing, but I tend to think of an SEO firm as the distributor and the clients we work with as the manufacturer and supplier.  Clients are not buying their base needs from the SEO firm.  They are buying our services so they can better sell their products to the public.  This is why client satisfaction is paramount in SEO work.  In this business, you are not just a freelance writer looking for a check or a webmaster working by project.  Your goal is to form a long-term relationship with every client.  We help each other out and we combine forces to create that all-important need in the public.  That’s what makes the money go around and that’s what will help end this recession someday.  One of the best things about working with an SEO firm is that you are not just paying for services rendered but are actually working with a virtual business partner in this particular campaign—someone who’s just as vested in your success as you are.

6. Adjust pricing tactics.

Quelch’s next point was about pricing.  Right now is really the best time to get involved with an SEO firm, because during recession, return on investment is crucial.  While quality SEO firms are not cheap, they do offer discount rates for bulk orders.  More importantly, article marketing doesn’t charge you by the ad or by the click.  You are only paying for the content to be written and for the article submission.  Search Engine Optimization (both web copy and article submission) is largely seen as the less expensive alternative to Pay-Per-Click or banner advertising, since your articles run forever at the small price of maintaining a website.  In a recession, every saved dollar counts. That’s another plus worth mentioning: when you work with an article marketing firm you are actually conversing with a human being and you can work pricing arrangements out.  It’s much harder to negotiate a friendly contract with Google Ad Words, if you know what I mean.

7. Stress market share.

Quelch’s next point was on market share.  The statement he made was, “Knowing your cost structure can ensure that any cuts or consolidation initiatives will save the most money with minimum customer impact.”  Cost structure is definitely an important factor but that’s more related to the managerial side of running a business.  What stuck out in my mind is the whole point about the “battle for a market share.”  It made me think of how much opportunity some small “niche” companies have right now, considering the fact that reaching just a portion of “the big market” can still make them big profits.  (And all for a minimal investment)  Article marketing and SEO are very effective for niche businesses because the whole focus of small businesses is on target marketing.  I like this statement by the SBA.  http://www.sba.gov/smallbusinessplanner/manage/marketandprice/SERV_TARGETMARKETING.html

“It’s important to remember that the focus of marketing is people. If you’re concentrating your efforts on your product or profit only, you’ll miss the mark. The term target market is used because that market – that group of people is the bull’s eye at which you aim all your marketing efforts.”

8. Emphasize core values.

Quelch ended on a positive note saying that the best companies stress loyalty amongst their workers and that “Successful companies do not abandon their marketing strategies in a recession; they adapt them.”  That’s an interesting fact to ponder on.  How do you, the self-starter, the entrepreneur who is struggling financially maintain loyalty and emphasize core values when you don’t really know what the future holds?  Simple solution—you retain valuable professional relationships but you take advantage of modern cost-saving technology.  Investing in article marketing and telecommuting technology saves you from having to hire or fire an entire sales staff. 

You don’t have to hire new workers if you have an SEO firm working for you on a project-to-project basis or on a long-term basis (which involves constantly feeding search engines with even article submissions, the most effective way to maintain a top 10 ranking).  You don’t even have to pay for a temporary staff or an outsourcing firm, because you are quite literally able to manage your company through email, a web browser and a cell phone. 

The advantages of choosing article marketing over hiring a sales staff are numerous.  You save on salary, on multiple types of insurance policies, on office supplies, and on day-to-day operating expenses.  This is one of the major reasons why companies are outsourcing work—to avoid the physical costs involved of running an office.  With article marketing, you can even one-up the idea of outsourcing work to a call center or accounting service.  You are not paying an outsourcing firm to handle your work load.  Rather, you are paying for web content that runs forever and handling the work yourself.  Just think about it like this: you value professional contacts but save on the expenses involved in running a traditional company.  Now that’s what we call adapting to the market!

Article marketing and Search Engine Optimization are recession-proof venues of marketing that cannot be ignored.  You cannot afford to be ignorant about today’s massive online market.  These are two solid and cost-effective ways to advertise, brand your company name, test and experiment with new markets, and most importantly, to motivate your customer base to buy.  Remember that there is a worldwide market out there ripe for the picking.  The U.S. may be in a recession, but that doesn’t necessarily mean the rest of the world is also flailing.  You have the ability to work in local markets or to reach out to foreign markets if your business calls for it.  Consider it a form of “offshore marketing”; protecting your company from whatever happens with the U.S. economy.  There are no limitations on what you could do with article marketing, and that is another reason why this technology can rightfully be called recession-proof. 

In closing, just think for a moment if the recession happened but you didn’t have all the power of the Internet and SEO technology at your disposal.  Now that would be the time to panic!

Words You Want is your one stop resource for all of your writing needs. Words You Want offers a variety of services including SEO packages, article directory submission, SEO article writing, ghostwriting, eBook writing, travel writing, equine writing and more.
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Article marketing is one of the best ways to gain instant credibility, increase website traffic, build your list and get more sales. But, the only way you’ll experience these results is if you stop doing article marketing the traditional way!

Here’s why most of what you have been told by other so-called article marketing experts and gurus is dead wrong when it comes to writing and submitting articles online.

1. Traditional article marketing rarely results in any new traffic to your site.

Links from hundreds or thousands of unimportant article directories and sites are only going to build an army of low-quality links that do nothing for your page rank in the search engines. And it certainly will NOT bring you any more traffic. This is a mistake that tons of people are still making everyday on the web, and most of them don’t even know it. They just assume what they are doing will eventually work – because that’s what other experts are telling them.

2. Traditional article marketing does not establish you as an authority in your niche.

One of the biggest advantages of article marketing is that as soon as you publish your first article, you become a published writer in your marketplace. You will soon be considered an authority in your niche, which is great – but only if you are published at reputable sources. For example, my articles can be found on top websites like About.com, SiteProNews.com, MarketingProfs.com, Microsoft Community Dynamics and many more. Blasting out articles to a lot of low-quality sites makes you appear to be an amateur and not an expert, something that traditional article marketers tend to do.

3. Traditional article marketing promotes going for the quick-fix.

There are a lot of marketing “gurus” out there who claim to have the magical solution for helping you obtain thousands of links back to your site just by the push of a button. There are others who claim to have a solution for the duplicate content problem – and promote something called spinning software, which will produce several variations of an article. The problem with these “old-school” quick fixes is that article submission software results in the low-quality link. And spinning software creates articles that read unnatural. This is Not an effective way to create REAL traffic. It’s a waste of your time and money not to do article marketing the right way.

4. Traditional article marketing doesn’t result in dollars earned.

Traditional article marketing is all about producing content for the sake of quantity and not quality. Mediocrity is not the way to attract new business. Article marketing done right will grow into a powerful viral machine that will continuously bring you fresh new targeted traffic and qualified leads day after day. Especially, once you learn what your market wants to learn. Writing quality articles to meet those needs is like money in the bank!

5. Traditional article marketing doesn’t give you a system for maximizing your article marketing efforts!

You spent time writing the article. Even if you used my article templates at StartWritingArticlesFaster to write your articles in 30 minutes – That’s 30 minutes that you could have been doing something else. So why not get the most use from your articles. Getting your articles published on top websites will give you the ability to…

* Mix your social media efforts with your article marketing efforts. You can Tweet about your new article placement. You can link to the article placement on Facebook and LinkedIn. You can answer people’s questions on forums and send prospects to your article for even more information.
* Get in front of your prospects face again. Send the high authority site’s link with your article to your list. That’s how Kevin Berchelmann received a new, mid 5-figure client!
* Enhance your credibility on your blog. You can link to your article placements from your blog and show that you are the expert. Show how you’re different by getting published on a top website or online publications and not just sites like EzineArticles.com where everyone can get published as long as you follow the editorial guidelines.
* You can mention these placements in an auto-responder series. You can take the main take away lessons from your articles and turn it into an e-course. And than at the end of the day’s message, link to your articles so people can get even more information from you.
* Turn your articles into videos. And, within these videos show how you’re published on top websites as this will build instant credibility.

Now, if you’re ready to writing and submitting articles the traditional way – then check out my Online Article Marketing Course

Article Marketing Expert Eric Gruber uses the power of articles to create online opportunities for Internet marketers, small business owners, authors and speakers who want more publicity, prospects and profits. Now, with his new article marketing course, Eric is opening up the curtains and revealing how he has built a 6 figure income business just by using articles. Check it out now at: http://www.onlinearticlemarketingcourse.com

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Article marketing has made quite a name for itself within the last few years as word has spread about its effectiveness at generating traffic. It used to be a little-known secret amongst Internet marketing gurus; but the word is out, and anybody can make use of this type of promotion to get massive traffic to their website.

There are many different strategies used when it comes to article marketing, and indeed, it can lead to some quite intense discussions about how it should be used.

Even the top Internet marketers use article marketing in different ways, which leads us to assume that there is in fact no strategy that is set in stone that leads to results, but rather different methods that can be implemented.

The Rise Of Bum Marketing

When bum marketing first arrived on the scene, it promoted writing as many articles as possible and sending them out in bulk quantity. Nobody can argue that many people cashed in using bum marketing, and that the results are there as long as the heavy workload of producing mass articles can be continued on a daily basis.

The wonderful thing that did come about from this marketing promotion was it supplied hope to many marketers that were frustrated and did not know which way to turn next to earn a solid income on the Internet.

Once people started seeing results, hope was renewed in many. Article marketing became known and well respected as a valuable way of getting traffic and consistent income.

At this time, the secrets about article marketing became better known as marketers looked for ways to increase traffic without having to write in bulk. There had to be an easier, less time consuming way to get tons of traffic using article marketing. The search was on. Today, many Internet marketers are using this form of marketing in innovative ways to lessen the time writing and further increase their traffic level.

Article Marketing Strategies To Boost Your Traffic And Income

Article Marketing Strategy # 1: Focusing On Quality

There are many ways to get massive exposure to your website using articles as promotion. Some article marketers write one or two exceptional articles a day and then work on promoting the articles so that they will rise in the search engine rankings. This strategy works on quality more than quantity, and has proven itself a leader as well in getting traffic to a website.

Promotional techniques used on these quality articles include building up backlinks to the article so that it can appear on Google’s front page, and on the first page in other major search engines as well. Some Internet marketers will also use the article as basis for a Squidoo lens or a Hub page so that the information receives as much exposure as possible.

With exposure comes traffic. If an article can appear within the top three for its keyword, and remain there using back links, then it can become a reliable traffic generator for quite possibly years to come. Once it has risen to this level, it can be easy to maintain with more backlinking to be done to the article from time to time.

Article Marketing Strategy # 2: Balancing Between Quality And Quantity

Another strategy that can be used is a combination of quantity and quality. An interesting technique used by some marketers is to write a top-notch article that would be worthy of top ranking by the search engines, and then write less deserving articles that link back to the original quality article.

Lower quality articles can be mass-produced and outsourced to writers at a fairly low price, since they are being generated primarily for back links only. Of course, you do not want to send out garbage articles either, since your reputation is on the line; so make sure that the articles are good enough to still reflect positively on your business.

Article Marketing Strategy # 3: Submitting To Targeted Webmasters

Article marketing does not only have to apply to directory submissions, although the term usually brings this concept to mind. Smart marketers know that there are amazing amounts of traffic to be found on other websites that have made a mark in the niche they are promoting.

A well-designed article can be sent to a Webmaster of a popular website; and if they like it, it can be included on the website itself or sent out as part of a newsletter. Webmasters are often looking for new material, and will be quite grateful for the article as long as it is well presented and targeted to their clientele.

Final Words Of Advice

You can generate huge amounts of traffic to any website using articles as your means of promotion. Various methods work differently for each niche; and before settling on one method of article marketing, you should test the waters and see what kind of traffic you can generate using various techniques.

The idea with article marketing is to use it to create the most traffic you can to your website. There is no fixed strategy to implement. Whatever works, works. Start using these different methods and start seeing more visitors. Once you see significant amounts of traffic, you will know which technique works the best for your niche and you can then ramp it up. This is what the experts do, and it will always work.

Test, test, test your article marketing to get massive amounts of traffic to your site, and you will see profitable results in no time.

Grab a free report that reveals the multi-million dollar secrets that can triple your membership site income, draw tons of JV partners and affiliates, and maximize your profits without the ‘hard sell.’ Download it at: http://www.marketingmainevent4.com/blog. This free report is brought to you by MME4.
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I want to share my secret for attracting tons of traffic, leads and customers to my site.

Ready? It’s writing and submitting articles online.

I can hear all the protesting already. But it’s easy for you, you’re a writer, that’s what you do, etc.

Now there is some truth to that — I am writer so writing articles does come easy for me. However, I also make my living as a writer. That means I do an awful lot of writing each and every day. Trust me — I know all about procrastination when it comes time to writing articles for myself.

But since writing articles is such a powerful method of self-promotion, I’ve taken the time to figure out a few shortcuts. This makes the process less painful so I do get them written on a regular basis. I’m sharing five to help get you started.

1. Short is better. This tip is one of those “do as I say, not as I do” tips. Christopher Knight of EzineArticles.com fame, says 300-500 word articles are perfectly acceptable and may even be more desirable than their wordier counterparts. Unfortunately for me, this is where being a writer really does get in the way. Once I start writing, I tend to keep writing, thus my articles and newsletters continue to remain on the long side. Ah well.

But for you folks, keep them short and sweet and don’t worry about what I do.

2. Keep an article topic list. Buy yourself a little notebook. I suggest a cute colorful notebook, something that makes you smile or feel good to look at. Take a black sharpie and write on the cover “Article Ideas Notebook.” (This way, you’re inviting your muse to fill up the notebook with ideas). Now, every time you think of a good idea for your newsletter, take a second and jot it down in the notebook. Then when it comes time to write your newsletter or article, page through the book and look at what ideas you have. This is a great way to keep panic at bay, especially the panic that says “I have no idea what I’m going to write about this month.”

3. Think about your topics before you sit down to write. Do you really think professional writers sit down before a blank computer screen, put their hands on the keyboard, start typing and voila! an article magically appears.

No such luck. All the writers I’ve ever met spend some time thinking about what they’re going to write before they actually sit down to write.

A few days before or maybe even the night before, start thinking about your topic and what you’re going to write about it. Then, when it comes time to actually start typing, you’ll already have some notion of where you’re going with the article.

4. Develop a style. Or at the very least, write the way you speak. People want to “hear” the author behind the article. Don’t be afraid to let your personality show.

(Don’t worry if this is tough for you at first. It is for everyone. The more you do it, the easier it will be, and eventually it will make the actual writing process go much smoother. The exercise at the end will help you tap into your style and personality as you write.)

5. Make your information rock. I want you all to repeat after me — I will not be afraid of “giving away the farm.” I run into people all the time who don’t want to write an article that gives away any “secrets” because they think they’ll lose work because of it. (By the way, I have yet to hear a potential customer say “Gee, I was going to hire so-and-so, but this article he wrote was so great I don’t need to anymore.”)

Listen, your potential customers are either “do-it-yourselfers” or “hire-outers.” The information you provide in an article is not going to change them either way. They either won’t hire you because they’d rather figure out how to do it alone or they will hire you because they don’t want to bother doing it themselves. This is a core value folks, it has nothing to do with your articles.

And if you DON’T write a good, meaty article, your customers who would normally hire you may very well decide you really don’t know what you’re talking about and take their business elsewhere.

Creativity Exercise — Develop your writing style

First off, I want to say this is a toughie. Even professional writers struggle with this. However, the results are well worth it, so I encourage you to take the time to do it.

Also, keep in mind that developing your style is not an overnight project. In fact, you really never stop doing it. The more you write, the better you’ll get.

But here are two exercises you can do to start you on your journey: Read your work out loud and journal (no computer journaling, use a pen and paper). Both of these techniques will help you connect with your muse and help you start to recognize, and bring out, your style.

When you read out loud, make sure you listen to yourself to see if it “sounds” like you speaking. If it doesn’t, then you know you need to make some edits.

For journaling, just get used to writing whatever comes into your head in whatever manner it wants to emerge (even if you think it’s terrible). The idea is to get used to writing in your “natural” voice — eventually you can start to refine it, but in the beginning you need to get used to using words and phrases that fit your personality.

Michele PW (Michele Pariza Wacek) is your Ka-Ching! marketing strategist and owns Creative Concepts and Copywriting LLC, a copywriting and marketing agency. She helps entrepreneurs become more successful at attracting more clients, selling more products and services and boosting their business. To find out how she can help you take your business to the next level, visit her site at http://www.MichelePW.com. Copyright 2008 Michele Pariza Wacek.
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The year that is 2009 is over.  There’s no question that 2009 will be remembered as a highly significant year and for a number of reasons.  This was the year that saw a new president inaugurated in the month of January.  In the same year, we saw the death of a music icon.  This is certainly a year that will be remembered for triumphs and tragedy, not only on a national basis, but perhaps also a personal one.  Perhaps you had some great moments in your business this last year.  Perhaps your company expanded onto new horizons and you found new niche markets that proved to be fruitful.  On the other hand, maybe some mistakes were made.  Making mistakes in marketing is just part of the learning process, part of “growing up” in your business. 

One thing is for sure: 2009 happened, and the smarter ones among us learned from it.  Now we look onto the horizon towards 2010—just 10 years removed from the “end of the world” fiasco that happened in Y2K.  Come to think of it, 2012 is another apocalyptic prediction.  Maybe that mystical year will tie in with the whole “the economy is sinking!” scare going around. 

There’s no question that the economy is in bad shape.  However, is it really as bad as pundits claim it is?  Christmas 2009 is predicted to be big, recession and all, despite the relatively subdued spirit we saw last holiday season.  While stories about the economy being “stabilized” were rejected by some political opponents, it’s hard to deny this one tidbit: because the recession is entering its third year, the financial results are no longer catching Americans by surprise.  We have had over two years to prepare for this economic recession and now are beginning to understand what it takes to survive—if not thrive—in a struggling economy. 

In the end, only we as individuals can decide if we are going to “stabilize” or even “excel” in a recession.  If the market is drastically changing then we have to follow the market and investigate new ways to make the business work.  The Statesman recently posted a story that is definitely a half-full, half-empty perspective.  It turns out the automotive industry, which was undoubtedly one of the major losers in the early part of late 2000 recession, is slowly starting to report gains.  The month of October saw GM, Toyota and Ford improve their sales after a yearlong slump and terrible publicity. 

Now, as we stand ready to welcome in the New Year and welcome new business prospects and professional challenges, I think it’s only fitting we make a few New Year’s resolutions.  If you are a small to mid-size business and want to not only survive but thrive in the recession, then article marketing can help you reach your goals.  Here are five New Year’s resolutions for struggling businesses.

1. I resolve to examine article marketing and track its results.

If you’re one of these companies that procrastinates on trying article marketing technology then make a resolution to try this technique in 2010 and track your progress.  When you try new marketing strategies, you cannot simply wait for colossal success to come overnight.  You have to create a cash flow plan and observe what precise effects SEO and article marketing are having on your business.  Study patterns and determine whether certain results are directly resulting from article marketing or if they are coincidental.  This is the only way to know for sure if article marketing can help your business.  By now, you have heard the success stories of what SEO marketing has done for most small businesses.  Now is the time to set a goal and find out what it can do for you personally.  If you’re not marketing your services online, then where are you marketing?  Welcome to the year 2010, a century defined by fast communication.

2. I resolve to research Search Engine Optimization techniques to know what I am buying.

The SEO and article marketing specialist can tell you what SEO does until he’s blue in the face.  However, until you research this medium for yourself you may never have a grasp on what exactly you are marketing.  You are not just blindly advertising on the Internet.  You are fishing for targeted viewers, and just like when you are trying to reel in a four foot mackerel, you have to make sure you are communicating with the fish. 

Unfortunately, I’ve known many individuals who are making these exact mistakes.  The ones that stick out in my mind are #1 and #5.  First of all, we have the issue of targeting the right keywords.  You might compare using the right keywords to using the right bait when you go fishing.  If you use niche words that nobody searches for or use general keywords that everyone is using, you’re just throwing away all those quality articles.  Next, there’s #5 which involves a lack of consistency and maintenance.  Too many newcomers to SEO and article marketing think that once you optimize a site or release a couple of articles that you’re done forever and can sit back while the cash rolls in.  Not quite.  If you want to be successful, you have to start investing in SEO and article marketing for the long term.  You have to regularly optimize your site.  You have to keep an eye on the competition and in the ranking algorithms of Google, Yahoo, Microsoft and other search engines.  You have to provide new content on a recurring basis to feed the search engines and to do so evenly.  You also have to experiment in different avenues of article marketing; for example, press releases, long articles and short blogs to see which yields the most concrete results.

3. I resolve to join the social media community.

If you are still back there sticking your toes into the shallow end of this worldwide social network, now is the time to dunk yourself in head first.  There are really no negatives to marketing your company and your name online by engaging the community.  Do not make the mistake of shrinking back to a self-contained, non-communicative business stuck somewhere in the 1980s.  If you are relying on referrals and walk-in customers then you are quickly losing life support in this highly technical age.  Remember that social media marketing is not necessarily about “tweeting” or commenting on a bunch of random people’s forums.  You can have your own social “clique” if that’s what makes you comfortable.  What matters is that you are interacting online—you are working online and new customers can see you in action doing what you do best.  About.com published a list on 10 good reasons to blog.  Some of these reasons are right up your alley as a small business owner: to market individual products, to establish yourself as an authority, to connect with people who share your interests (or customers looking for what you sell), to stay active and up to date in your industry and even to make supplementary income.  Whether you’re comfortable publishing blogs or want 100 new articles on a subject of your choice, all of these options are a part of social networking.  Get involved and make a name for yourself!

4. I resolve to start making supplemental income using e-books and other products.

Too many web marketers make the same mistake of focusing so much effort on selling one product, they miss out on opportunities to sell related products and instead place a 50/50 bet on that customer’s lasting interest.  For example, if you’re trying to hard sell a $100 system but are having trouble getting customers to commit, why not try selling $20 e-books?  They make you income in the present and may help influence higher purchases in the future. 

5. I resolve to commit to my business and my marketing strategy.

Remember that it takes commitment to see a business plan through.  Do not give up on article marketing or SEO just because it fails to produce an instant Top 10 result or because you find success in some other medium like direct mail marketing.  You shouldn’t be content to stick to just one avenue of marketing, not when you have an audience out there that is ready to “bite” at an effective marketing campaign in any medium.  If you find success in direct mail or even door-to-door sales, then more power to you!  However, don’t underestimate the value of finding a new market and a new customer base through article marketing. 

Make a commitment to article marketing and have a business plan written out detailing what you expect to accomplish with this campaign based on what you have researched thus far.  How else will you know if SEO is a success or failure until you actually determine your goals?  Are you trying to increase your web presence or brand your name?  Are you trying to sell more individual products?  Are you looking for referrals?  Determine the best way to do this in social networking.  What has worked for others and why might it also work for you?  Those business owners who see their project through to the very end always benefit from their time and money investment—because they learn more about their market.

Remember the advantages of SEO and article marketing over the alternatives:

Article Marketing vs. TV/Radio/Print Ads: Targeted advertising leads to better sales conversions than general demographic advertising.

Article Marketing vs. PPC Ads: Article marketing is less expensive and taken more seriously by committed searchers.

Article Marketing vs. Direct Mail/Email: Article marketing is interactive and customizable; direct mail and email marketing are typically seen as “junk mail.”

Article Marketing vs. Signage: Article marketing reaches more prospects overall.

There’s no better time to get serious about article marketing than January 1, 2010.  If you made any marketing mistakes in 2009 then chalk it up to a learning experience.  Keep your eyes steady and move forward, looking on to a more successful 2010.  Make sure and achieve these goals you set for yourself! 

Make your mind up to accomplish your New Year’s resolution and reach new professional peaks with the help of article marketing.  Article marketing can help your business reach a fiscal year that is something better than just “stabilizing!”

Words You Want is your one stop resource for all of your writing needs. Words You Want offers a variety of services including SEO packages, article directory submission, SEO article writing, ghostwriting, eBook writing, travel writing, equine writing and more.
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f you have ever wanted to earn money online without having to spend money, Article Marketing is your answer.  Article Marketing is a technique that allows you to drive highly qualified visitors to your affiliate links and websites without having to shell out any money for advertising. Wealthy Affiliate specializes in Article Marketing, teaching everything from the core basics, to some of the most sophisticated and highly effective tricks and techniques. Many WA members use article marketing as their only source of traffic and income.

The Article Marketing Resources at Wealthy Affiliate Teach The Following Concepts:

Getting Started With Article Marketing Action Plan How to Master Squidoo Lens Optimization Secrets to Getting #1 Rankings in Google in 10 Minutes Competing with Higher Ranked Articles and Winning Creating Profitable Article Marketing Campaigns Testing and Analyzing Article Traffic Adding Opt-in Forms to Squidoo Lens Research the Hottest Article Marketing keywords How to Write 90 Articles in 3 Days Multiplying profits by Outsourcing Tour Dirty Work How to Spin Articles Fast Secrets to Finding Profitable Keywords to Write About Exact Steps for Guaranteed Article Marketing Success Tips to Keep Your Articles in Search Engines How to Scale Your Article Marketing Campaigns Understanding the Duplicate Content Issue Keeping Your Articles From Dying Exploding Your Earnings With EzineArticles.com Spy on Your Competition and Blow Them Away The Mind Eraser Method (really awesome!)

As you get started with Internet marketing the Article Marketing strategy will allow you to enter any “niche” that you are interested in promoting and earn a sizable income from it.  Remember, this is all without having to spend a dime of your own money on advertising or website creation!

As you obtain more information about the niche/market that you are promoting, you can grow your business into other areas such as PPC Marketing and Email Marketing, both of which are also taught to you within the Wealthy Affiliate community.

Earning thousands of dollars a month in pure profit is “normal” for Article marketers who follow the techniques and strategies that are taught within the Wealthy Affiliate University. Just because the technique does not cost a penny to implement, doesn’t mean it is not a profitable strategy.  Some current members, whom you can communicate within Wealthy Affiliate, are earning in excess of $200,000 per year strictly from Article Marketing campaigns.

If you are looking for Article Marketing training, you do not need to look any further than Wealthy Affiliate.  There are many resources within the community that provide everything from getting started tutorials, to advanced Article marketing techniques that seasoned marketers will benefit from.

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Are your articles making you any money at all? Did you know that some entrepreneurs generate a 6 figure income writing articles? To discover some article writing secrets that can propel your income to the 6 figure level, read on.

1. One of the easiest ways to generate a 6 figure income writing articles is to write for others. Web masters are always looking for great unique articles to add to their website. For this reason, there is great demand for quality content. If you can write, you can make substantial profits by supplying content to this eager and hungry market.

And, it’s very easy to get article writing jobs. Here’s how: create a number of samples to demonstrate your writing style. Then advertise your writing services in forums. Register with at least 8 large forums and advertise your services by posting at least 5 threads a day at each forum. Using this easy technique, get ready to begin writing (and making money)!

2. Many people generate a 6 figure income writing articles for affiliate income. Affiliates programs allow you to promote other people’s product and get paid a commission each time one of your referrals makes a purchase.

Writing articles is the perfect way to promote affiliate products. All you need to do is find good products that offer affiliate programs, register with them, and then start writing articles about the products. ClickBank is one of the largest affiliate companies; they offer over 10,000 products and allow you to register for free. 

3. Write Articles to Sell Your Services. You can easily generate a 6 figure income writing articles if you have a service that you can offer online. Services that are in great demand are producing graphics, writing sales pages, and writing ebooks. These services are in great demand and you can easily generate a 6 figure income if you are talented in one of these areas.  

To get started in this lucrative field,  use forums and write articles promoting yourself as a service provider and you are on your way to a 6 figure income.

To generate your own 6 figure income writing articles, start writing today. Do you want to learn more about how to make money with articles? Get all the details on making Article Money!

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Article services can be used to resolve many article marketing problems, particularly those relating to how articles can be used, not only to advertise your website or products, but also to train others in a variety of aspects of internet marketing in general.

Most people regard article marketing as a way of providing links from article directories to their websites, and focus entirely on this particular aspect of the craft. And craft it is, because without that spark of ingenuity or originality your article will disappear in a sea of others, achieving nothing but wasting your time in writing it and the time of others in publishing it. So what must you do in order to ignite that spark that will catch the attention of your readers and achieve the results you were seeking when you wrote the article?

Very few people write articles for fun: they are normally written as a means to an end and this is where you must start. Decide the desired end – the reason why you are writing the article – and then proceed from there. Let’s take the example of somebody that runs an online business selling information and products on fly fishing. It could equally well be juggling, weight loss or politics, but I have chosen fly fishing.

The topic is immaterial to a true internet marketer who can use his or her knowledge of article services to achieve any intended end result. Whether that is to sell their own product or somebody else’s product, provide information on fly fishing, train people in how to fish for flies or even offer a regular fly fishing course, the end result is the same: you have a product to promote and articles can be written to promote it. How?

1. Article Writing Problems

The main problems associated with writing articles center around two basic operations:

a) How to write articles in a persuasive and comprehensive fashion, and b) How to get these articles read by a large number of people.

Each of these problems is easily resolved, but only if you are ready to learn. Too many people will not learn because they believe that know it all. You see them every day online, selling this marvelous product and that unbelievable advice that nobody dares dispute. In fact, nobody knows it all, and most know very little of the mountain of article marketing knowledge that is out there. However, if you are prepared to listen and learn then you will likely succeed, which is one reason why the range of article services on offer online is not only increasing in volume each day, but also in authority.

2. Article Marketing Problems

There is a world of difference between writing articles and marketing them. Those that provide article services can help you not only with how to write articles but also how to market them. Marketing involves submission of articles to article directories, and while that might seem a simple task, each directory is different and has its own formatting requirements.

Some directories accept only text while others also accept HTML, and yet others will accept text only for the body of the article, but permit HTML anchor links in the author’s resource. Most demand a minimum word count, although not all are the same. Ezine Articles apply a minimum of 250 words while Go Articles are unlikely to accept anything under 300. Some have a minimum limit of 500 and yet others 600.

A good article services website will suggest 500 – 800 words as being sufficient to provide an article worth reading. Anything much below 500 words is not going to be very informative, and written for advertising purposes only. Advertising might be the main purpose of article marketing for most people, but if you want your name recognized and your articles read then they should offer useful information.

Most articles services sites will understand the needs of each article directory, and will be able to phrase and size the components of their articles to meet the needs of each. A ‘one suits all’ approach, such as many mass-submission software packages offer, results in compromise. Compromise means dilution of effect and you do not get the maximum benefit from your articles.

Another aspect of article marketing is their submission for publication in other forms of online media, such as ezines and websites related to your topic or niche. Some articles can even be considered for offline publication in magazines and the press. You should consider a wider public than just article directories, and a good article services website will be able to advise you on the best article marketing approach to meet your needs.

For more information on how to use online article services to help you maximize your article marketing campaigns, visit Pete’s site at Article Services or learn how to do it yourself using Article Czar
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The purpose for which something is done goes a long way in determining how it is done. This applies to writing articles on the web. If you are just writing for fun, you don’t care too much about what you are writing. But when you are writing articles for cash, it is a different ball game. Writing articles for Cash is serious business and therefore, should be approached as such. If that is your aim, then you can find some guidelines here.

Persuade your readers

The first thing that should be on your mind when writing articles for cash is how to persuade your potential readers to go beyond just getting the information in your articles. You should be very tactful when doing this kind of persuasion. If it is very open and awkward, you will not convince the reader. There are a lot of scams on the net and people see such open and awkward invitations as traps.

Provide great content

You will see this point in much of the literature available on the subject. Great content cannot be ignored when writing for cash. You should prove in the articles you write that you are an expert in what you write about. Credibility is very important in the internet world. This is because you don’t get to see real faces on the web. The only way to make yourself credible is to provide accurate information to your readers. Don’t assume that your readers are totally ignorant of what they are seeking to know; they are just looking for further clarification, which could be provided by others. If they crosscheck and find out that you are deceiving them, your credibility is damaged. Don’t compromise on good content.

Write well

All those who are in this business of writing articles for cash know this very well. Writing well on the web is not like writing a novel. The web has its own language. If you approach writing articles for cash like Sydney Sheldon or Agatha Christie, you will not make any impact. Their writing is good in their own right. You should make sure that your articles are well structured, your sentences must be short, and paragraphs must be small in size. Long and winding sentences bore your readers; the result will be abandoning your article after the first paragraph.

Provide links

For you to have people to go to your site, you need and must give them an opening. You don’t expect people to go and type your website address in their browsers in order to visit your site. That is why there should be a link to your site in the article. You should not pack your articles with a lot of links to the detriment of the content. One link in the body is good; and there should not be more than two. Writing articles for cash demands that you are strategic and tactful in how you do things.

Create a good resource box

This is where you will provide information about yourself and your website. There should also be links to your website here. The best way to provide such a link, when writing articles for cash, is to put it at the end of an invitation. Invite the reader to click for something greater than what you have provided so far. It should be in response to his/her needs.

Writing articles for cash should be quite easy for all those who take these points into account. However, if you think you are not a good writer, call a professional.

Stan Ashton is a publisher and specialists in the marketing and supplying of high quality information products to entrepreneurs and small businesses globally. A management consultant since 2003 I also have a Diploma in training and development. Article by Stan Ashton. Did you like this article? Then why not learn 7 ways to profit with articles. Grab your copy here: www.profitswitharticles.com
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