For as long as article marketing has been around, there have been heavily contradictory views about the topic from so-called “SEO Experts”. Some argue that article marketing is their greatest contributor to SEO and internet marketing success, whilst others write if off altogether. Before we dig into this topic, let’s look at what article marketing is...

Article marketing is, at its core, the process of writing relatively short (usually 400 – 600 words) articles on a specific niche topic, and then submitting them to as many article directories as possible. This in itself presents us with two possible outcomes:

1. The publishing of your articles could potentially drive large amounts of natural traffic to our website via the “author resource box” as many of the popular article directories have a good readership.
2. The publishing of your articles could result in purely generating backlinks to our website through the resource box.

Therefore, the first decision you need to make when starting out in article marketing is which route you want to go – if you just want to build backlinks to your website, you don’t really need to create articles that generate interest from readers. They just need to be good enough to be accepted by the article directories (whose standards are usually not particularly high) and include your desired keywords.

If, on the other hand, you want to actually get people to read your articles (from start to end), and thus get them to click through to your website, it would be wise to invest some more time and energy in actually writing high quality, readable and enjoyable articles. Apart from receiving the natural traffic, you will obviously also enjoy the SEO benefit of generating backlinks.

Whichever route you decide to go, the “Article Marketing Essentials” remain the same.

Outsource the Writing

You need to focus on what you’re good at, and apply yourself wherever you are most productive. Unless you find yourself with a lot of time and nothing else to do, you would probably be better off outsourcing the writing of your articles to an article writer. Keep in mind that if you want to encourage readership and click through, you should invest a bit more in a quality article writer, who can actually write for a “real” audience. A poorly written article, no matter how interesting it is, will not encourage click through. Outsourcing the article writing function will ensure a consistent growth of backlinks and natural traffic to your website, regardless of your personal schedule. Consistency, after all, is key.

Distribute Smart, Not Hard

Whilst there are hundreds upon hundreds of article directories available on the internet (and hundreds of tools that submit to them “automatically”, most of these directories either have no readership or poor Google PR, or both. Rather spend your time wisely submitting to five or ten popular article directories that have earned respect from their visitors for their level of editorial quality. If you are going to use a distribution service, look for one that distributes to a quality database of directories. It’s better to have your article featured in five good directories than five hundred shoddy ones.

Pay Attention to the Resource Box

What you wish to achieve using article marketing will dictate which route you need to follow for this point:

If you want to build backlinks purely for SEO purposes, be sure to switch and swap your anchor text in your resource box when submitting. If your backlink pops up in a hundred article directories with exactly the same anchor text, Google and company are likely to spot you out.

If, on the other hand, you wish to generate click-through from readers, it would be a good idea to split-test your resource box copy. You may want to use two or three variations and test which of them results in the best click-through rate (CTR). Continuous split testing will ensure that you enjoy the best possible CTR over time.

To recap on all of this, you need to ensure that you follow these three article marketing fundamentals:

1. Outsource your writing (unless you have the time and talent).
2. Distribute your articles to a select few quality article directories.
3. Use your resource box correctly.

Keep this in mind when approaching article marketing and you’re sure to reap the rewards. Article marketing certainly does work, and can work for you, provided that you get the basics right. To learn more about article marketing, download this free SEO course.

If you do the majority of your business online it is easy to forget that there are a lot of offline buyers out there who can also use your products or services. Remember, just because someone doesn't use the internet is no reason to believe that they will not be interested in what you are selling. You need to keep in mind that you should utilize both online and offline marketing, especially now that competition is getting so stiff. Offline marketing has depended on direct mail for years as a way to reach potential buyers. We will now explain the methods of developing a successful campaign for direct mail marketing.

Target a small audience to send your direct mail to. After all, it’s not a good idea to send direct mail ads about your product to someone who has no interest in it. You wouldn’t think of squandering postage in sending information concerning life insurance to university students living in dorms (well, you could). Always make sure to check the addresses on your mailing list and look to see if they go to apartments, dormitories, or multi-family residences. Where in the city are they, and how far are they from metropolitan areas? These are all important things to know when you put together your direct marketing campaign. Customers are always appreciative of receiving deals from you that do not make them feel like you are pressuring them to buy. Instead of the usual sales pitch, include in a letter information about your niche that recipients can use or that informs them of an important community issue. If you periodically send the customer these interesting items, they will be more likely to open up the bulk of your mail as well and also respond more frequently to your sales offerings. Everyone likes free items, so you should capitalize on this by rewarding your customers.

Make certain to sign your postcards and letters every time. Make sure that you do a sign off via handwritten signature each time, especially if you contemplate blasting out sale notices. If you have hundreds of people on your mailing list, you could think about getting a stamp of your signature. You should keep in mind that people will be able to tell if you stamped the signature or actually wrote it down, so use your best judgment on this one. By using this little touch, people are going to see your commitment to your business. This will help the operation maintain professionalism.

The key to the success of any business is to explore all of the options that are available to you. Direct mail is one of the best options for internet marketers because it helps them contact people that they might not have otherwise been able to sell to. There are many people out there who are forgotten about in marketing because they don’t use the Internet as often as others. Direct mail is the best way to reach those people.

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