Copyright (c) 2008 Donna Gunter
My favorite Internet marketing strategy of all time is article marketing. It keys into one of my talents, writing, and I can use the articles I create time and time again for a multitude of purposes. I tend to be lazy by nature, so anything that lets me create once and get paid, get paid, get paid, etc. is a dream marketing strategy.
I made a firm commitment to writing one article per week in 2003 or so, and now have an entire article library that I use and refer to all the time. Without a doubt, I have to give credit to my article marketing strategy for the success of my business. It has helped me get found online, demonstrate my expertise to my target market, create info products to sell on my website, and get hired by those in need of what I offer.
Here are 15 ways you can repurpose each article you write to make it a workhorse for your business:
1. Publish in your ezine. Every single article I've ever written has appeared as an article in one of my newsletters. My commitment to publishing a weekly email newsletter forced me to commit to writing a new article each week. I'm not sure I would have honored my commitment to article writing had I not forced myself to produce an email newsletter on a weekly basis.
2. Post to your website. Roughly 60% of my traffic comes to my website via keyword searches that match the topics of articles that I've written. I use my online article bank to send both current and prospective clients to my site for additional information on a topic that enhances a recent discussion I've had with them. For maximum usability, index the articles on your website in usable categories that make sense to your target market so that they can easily find your words of expertise when they search for it online.
3. Add to your blog. Every single article that I write for my newsletter is also posted to my blog. Is this overkill, since I already publish an ezine, and do the search engines penalize me for redundant content? Thus far, I've never been penalized for having the same article appear in multiple places. In fact, Google indexes my blog posts within hours as indicated via my Google alerts. Some people love to read and respond to blogs while others would rather read ezines. So, by doing both, I appeal to both audiences with only minutes of extra effort.
4. Publish on social networking community sites. You can't move anywhere online today without running into some social networking site -- MySpace, Facebook Squidoo, etc. Many people are setting up their own social networking communities for niche markets, like the Book Marketing community to which I belong. Post your article to all of the social networking sites in which you participate. Depending on the site, you may be able to post it to your blog on the site, a group blog, a discussion forum, an announcement, etc. Check the rules of the community before posting your first article.
5. Distribute through article banks. Distributing your articles via thousands of article banks and article directories helps you increase your traffic, as Internet searchers might find an article at an article directory initially and then visit your website upon reading your resource box (short bio) at the end of the article. Article submission also establishes your credibility as an expert, especially when you tell a prospective client to Google you and they're amazed by all the references to you online. Lastly, this article marketing strategy helps other print and online publishers locate you and then feature your work (or offer the prospect of other opportunities) in their publication.
6. Create a podcast. Make a digital recording of your article using one of any number of audio recording services like AudioAcrobat or software like Audacity. I create an special intro and outtro (special offer) for each podcast, based on the content of the article, and then proceed to read and record the text of the article. Then, post your podcast to podcast directories. In about 30 minutes, you've created yet another marketing strategy for yourself.
7. Create a video. Video production is becoming easier and easier, and I now receive a couple of video ezines where the entire content of the ezine is delivered via a video. In fact, you can actually sit at your desk with a webcam and record yourself. With the magic of video software like Visual Communicator or screen capturing software like Camtasia, you can add graphics and text and have a video ready in minutes. With the popularity of video sites like YouTube, it's harder to ignore the impact video will have on your online marketing efforts.
8. Syndicate on other websites. Through the power of RSS feeds, you can become a syndicated columnist in other people's publications. Simply offer your RSS code and installation instructions to your visitors with the promise that they'll have new content on their site weekly (or in whatever interval you publish new articles). My article submission service offers this option to me, and I'm appearing on more websites every week.
9. Write a press release. Distributing a press release online can have a strong impact beyond any media that might pick it up. Press releases that link back to your site can enhance your search engine rankings and increase your online credibility. You can convert your article into a tips release, a release that ties into a current trend or news story or to an upcoming event that you're sponsoring. This strategy takes a bit of work, as you need to modify the content of your article into the press release format and orient it to your goal for publishing the release. I use and highly recommend PRWeb.com for online press releases.
10. Create information products for profit. I never believed that I could put together any type of information product until I took a long, hard look at my collection of articles and saw definite themes emerge. Slowly but surely I'm translating these themes into information products that I can sell online.
11. Create a teleseminar. If you write your article in the tips format, you've got a teleseminar in the making. All you need to do is create an introduction and closing for your teleseminar and beef up your tips points with additional explanation or with examples, and before you know it you will have created the content for a 60 minute teleseminar.
12. Distribute to print publications in your target market. If your target market is very specialized or is a niche market, you'll find a whole host of specialized print magazines, newsletters, and catalogs for this market. Take a few hours and research those publications available for your target market, check out their submission guidelines, and get a sense of the tone of the publication. If you think your content would be a great fit, buff up a couple of your best articles and send an email to the publisher outlining how publishing your content in their publication would benefit their readership. Since you may not be paid for your submission, request that a short bio with your contact info is contained within your article.
13. Add to your niche article directory. Creating your own niche article directory is a great traffic-generating strategy, as you can feature your own articles there as well as accept quality submissions from others who have relevant info for your target market. An easy way to create this type of site is through free article directory software, ArticleDashboard.com.
14. Create a special report. Want to create a quick giveaway to offer to colleagues as a bonus for their product, or as a giveaway to your contacts? Create a PDF of your article as a special report that includes your contact info, as well as an upsell page to particular products or services. Or, you can make this report a viral marketing piece.that is free for others to give away.
15. Offer it to your affiliates. If you have an affiliate program, offering your affiliates the ability to use and reprint your articles gives them content to help promote your products and services. In the resource box of your article that links back to your site, encourage your affiliates to include their affiliate link to your site so that they get credit anytime one of their visitors links to your site from theirs.
Don't let your articles sit on your desktop gathering dust. Put them to work for you by creating a repurposing plan to help you get the most out of your creation.
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