Articles Increase Web Traffic

"Write Articles to Increase Your Web Traffic and Your Sales" is our second article in a series of articles on how to easily and affordably marketing your business online. Article Marketing is the single most powerful thing you can to do market your business online. You establish yourself as an expert, create a following and develop material which you can use many times over.
 
Once you have written and submitted your articles, carefully file them on our computer, in a specific folder called "Published Articles." These articles can be used as material for your online Newsletter, as segments of your training program, as part of an email campaign or even as material for your Teleseminars. Additionally, your articles can serve as the foundation of an eCourse and eventually you can turn a collection of articles into an eBook which you can sell or give away in exchange for people opting in with their email address.
 
Writing articles and posting them on the Article Marketing sites will bring traffic to your blog or website, give you further name brand recognition and highlight you as an expert in your field. When publishing your articles you are permitted to include a brief bio with links to your website along with any special offers. Carefully word your offer so that it provides something of value to the reader rather than trying to sell them something.
 
Set up a free account at EzineArticles and schedule time each week to compose and add articles on your given topic. In addition to the article marketing sites such as EzineArticles, you can use your articles as material for your blog posts and to further your reach on "Expert Sites" such as Squidoo, Hub Pages and Knoll. The most common question asked in regards to Article Marketing are "How do I begin?" and "How long should my article be?
 
Here is a perfect example of a type of article or series of articles that you can publish. Find out what questions your target audience is asking and develop a series of articles to answer those questions. For the purposes of this topic, let’s say that your target audience wanted to know more about how to create and publish an Ezine. You could write an article entitled, "Answers to the 7 Most Commonly Asked Questions About Ezines."
 
Here is an example of the types of questions you could answer. What is an Ezine, How do I create my own Ezine?, How do I publish my Ezine?, How do I get subscribers?, What should I put in my Ezine?, Should I allow advertisements in my Ezine?, How do I locate advertisers? After you write this main article, you can take each of these questions and write an article on that topic. Expand this further and you can create an eBook! In future articles we will be sharing more about both producing and repurposing your Teleseminars and How to Easily Create and Publish an eBook.

If you would like more information on any of these topics or on related topics covered in our Internet Marketing Series, you may want to visit our Blog where you will have access to both our Weekly Tips, as well as a wide collection of articles, videos, mp3 recordings and related training resources on each of our topics.

Perfect Author Resource Box

If you want to really make your article "SELL" then you've got to craft the perfect RESOURCE BOX. This is the "author bio" that is below your article body and it's also known as your "SIG" (short for SIGnature). Article Marketing 101: The Perfect Author Resource Box By Christopher Knight Here are the essential items that should be in your RESOURCE BOX:

  • Your Name: You'd be amazed at how many folks forget to include their name in the RESOURCE BOX. Your name and optional title should be the first thing in your resource box.
  • Your Website Address: in valid URL form. Example: http://Your-Company-Name.com/
  • Your Elevator Pitch: This is 1 to 3 sentences that encapsulates the essence of what makes you and your offering unique. Also known as your USP (Unique Selling Proposition).
  • Your Call To Action: You've got them warmed up and now it's time to lead them to BUY from you or visit your website. This is where you "Ask For The Sale." Best to only give (1) specific call to action.

Here are some optional items you could include in your RESOURCE BOX:

  • Your Ezine Subscription Address: While getting your interested visitor to surf your website is nice, capturing their email address can help you begin the confidence/trust process. If you're going to do this strategy, include a URL for your ezine subscription address and do not use an email address for the "join" address.
  • Your Contact Information: Such as your business phone number or how to reach you for interviews or your press/media kit. Keep in mind that article marketing is a timeless strategy and you may not have an easy ability to retract what you put in your article once it hits major distribution.
  • A Free Report: This could also be part of your call to action or your free bonus report that further enhances your credibility as the expert on the topic of your article.
  • Your email autoresponder: I'm not a big fan of this strategy due to the fact that spammers will text-extract your autoresponder address and add it to their spam list. Perhaps this strategy was best for the 1990's and has now run its course.
  • An anchor URL that is related to one keyword or keyword phrase that you want to build SEO strength for. Example: if I wanted to build search engine relevance/strength for the term "Article Marketing," I'd link up that term in my resource box to my website. This is an intermediate to advanced level strategy and should not be abused by over-doing it. Keep it simple.

What NOT to include in your RESOURCE BOX:

  • A listing of every website you own. There is no faster way to dilute your credibility than by posting a half dozen irrelevant URLs that have nothing to do with each other. Best to only post ONE URL that is related to the topic of your article.
  • A listing of every accomplishment you've achieved to date. No one cares. Keep your resource box brief and to the point. Yes, your resource box should be benefit oriented so that the reader finds value in reading it rather than your ego being justified.
  • Advertisements or pitches for products that are not relevant to the topic of your article.
  • Keep the size of your resource box so that it's no larger than 20% of your total article size. Too often I see resource boxes that are 50% of the size of the total article and this is abusive.

Your Perfect Resource Box Conclusion: The BODY of your article is where you "GIVE" and the RESOURCE BOX is where you get to "TAKE" for your article marketing gift of information. The resource box is the "currency of payment" you receive for giving away your article. Be sure to include your name, website address, your unique selling proposition as briefly as possible and a simple call to action. About The Author: Christopher M. Knight invites you to submit your best quality original articles for massive exposure to the high-traffic http://EzineArticles.com/ expert author community. When you submit your articles to EzineArticles.com, your articles will be picked up by ezine publishers who will reprint your articles with your content and links intact giving you traffic surges to help you increase your sales. To submit your article, setup a membership account today: http://EzineArticles.com/submit/ (c) Copyright – Christopher M. Knight. All Rights Reserved Worldwide. Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Christopher_Knight http://EzineArticles.com/?Article-Marketing-101:-The-Perfect-Author-Resource-Box&id=17172