I hear comments frequently that I appear to be "all over
the place." Someone will search a topic and see an
article I've written, and then follow a link to a teleclass
I'm leading, read a press release I've submitted, or read
about me in someone else's newsletter. You, too, can
create this sense of being everywhere with one simple
action that you take each and every week: writing one new
how-to article.
I've been using article marketing as my primary marketing
strategy since 2005, and I have experienced tremendous
results with it, things like being asked to speak at
events, appearing in print publications, selling my
information products to new audiences, and having people
hire me to coach them based solely on the article archive
they have perused on my website.
I have a very defined timeline and schedule that I follow
rigorously each week to make article marketing work for me
as a successful Internet marketing strategy. Here are the
8 steps I follow weekly to repurpose and maximize the use
of every since article that I create:
1. Write the article. I schedule a block of my time every
week on my calendar as my business development time, or
time I'm devoting to the growth of my business. As article
marketing is key to that process, I devote a couple of
those hours to creating a 600-800 word how-to article that
solves a particular problem or issue of my target market.
Many times my topic is inspired by conversation with my
clients, by questions I receive through my blog, or by
repeated inquiries about strategies that have worked for me.
2. Run it in ezine. Once the article is complete, the
first place I publish it is in my email newsletter. Since
I publish weekly, I have to write one new article every
week for that publication. There's nothing like a deadline
to keep you accountable (even if it is self-imposed)!
3. Place it on website, along with ezine archive. The
article is then placed on my website and archived there.
In addition, I archive back issues of my ezine on my
website and frequently refer visitors to those issues as
well as current subscribers who may have missed receiving
their issue one week.
4 Submit article to directories. This is when the magic
begins. This process alone is responsible for the bulk of
the recognition I receive in my industry. By submitting to
directories, my articles are picked up and placed on blogs,
in ezines, on websites, in print publications, on YouTube
as video, just to name a few ways I've seen my content
distributed online. The duplicate content penalty handed
out by Google seems to have lessened, as many of the sites
using my content now seem to have been returned to the
Google index.
5. Blog it. Many people refer to receive their
information via a blog feed, so the various sections of my
email newsletter are distributed to my blog over the course
of a few days. In addition, my content is also posted to
other blogs I host at MySpace, Facebook, several niched
social networking communities to which I belong, and larger
content sites like SelfGrowth.com and Squidoo.
6. Podcast the article. Since my time is pretty limited
each week, the thought of coming up with another new topic
to place on another medium is simply overwhelming.
Instead, I have created a special introduction and
conclusion for my podcast and read that each week, along
with the content of my article. This podcast is then
submitted to various podcast directories to appeal to all
of those who prefer to listen to learn rather than to read.
7 Make it a press release. Press releases have changed
dramatically from the time I began to use them in college
when I was publicity chair for any number of student
events. Now, the audience for an online press release is
not just the media, but your target market and consumers as
well, who may stumble across your search engine optimized
release while searching for information on a specific topic.
My favorite service to use is PRWeb.com. I take one of my
articles each month, typically one of my best tips
articles, and turn it into a compelling press release and
have it distributed through PRWeb for $120. For this fee,
you have the opportunity to add supporting materials to
your release, like audio and images, as well as tracking
statistics and social bookmarking options.
8. Create a teleclass from your content. Teleclasses are
a quick, inexpensive way to create a devoted following. If
you write a tips-based article, it's quite easy to create a
teleclass where you discuss your bullet points and add
examples and stories to further illustrate those points. I
now hold monthly teleclasses created exclusively from the
content of articles I have written.
Strategize how you can replicate this article writing
campaign in your business. You don't have to do it all
alone -- many of the tasks can be delegated to your
assistant. Once you have refined your process, you'll see
your business grow by leaps and bounds!
----------------------------------------------------
Online Business Resource Queen (TM) and Online Business
Coach Donna Gunter helps independent service professionals
learn how to automate their businesses, leverage their
expertise on the Internet, and get more clients online. To
claim your FREE gift, TurboCharge Your Online Marketing
Toolkit, visit her site at http://www.OnlineBizU.com . Ask
Donna an Internet Marketing question at
http://www.AskDonnaGunter.com .
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