Hope Writes

Article Marketing Is A Long-Term Strategy

Posted by Hope

One common misconception about article marketing is that you can write and submit a handful of articles and receive a large influx of benefits (web traffic, sales, etc.). This simply isn’t true. Couldn’t be further from the truth.

As you begin to build your own stock of information products to sell online, you may decide to use article marketing as part of your marketing process. It’s free and you already write, so what better way to market your products, than with article marketing.

Article marketing requires the 3 Ps: Persistence, Patience, and Passion. Let’s take a look at these…

Persistence

As I stated earlier, some people have the wrong idea that you can write and submit a few articles to reap big benefits. In the early days of article marketing this may have held true, but now you have to put more work into it than that.

You can’t write a few articles, then give up and quit if you don’t see immediate results. Some article marketers claim that some of their earlier articles they wrote 2+ years ago still net them web traffic and sales today. Why is that?

In most cases, when you begin article marketing, the more you write and submit, the greater your following will become. Also, as you become more well-known online, your readers will search for more articles from you in the search engines as well.

If you are going to market with articles, you must have a long-term plan. Otherwise, you won’t see much benefits from doing so. The most important thing you can do is set goals for yourself, including weekly, monthly, and even yearly goals.

How many articles can you reasonably write and submit over the course of one week? If you only have time for two, don’t set a goal of ten. You’ll only be setting yourself up for failure. Be reasonable, but be persistent. By writing and submitting those two articles every week, you’ll create a habit. Once you have that habit established, you can build upon it by adding an additional article each month. Soon, you’ll be writing and submitting 10+ articles every week.

You must have a plan.

Patience

I think this is the one that trips many who are just starting out with article marketing. Maybe you get the writing and submitting down pat, but you still aren’t seeing much results from your efforts. Lots of writers have stopped submitting their content to the article directories because they think their efforts aren’t paying off.

Here’s the key: You can’t expect overnight results.

Article marketing requires diligence and patience. Stop checking your article stats every three hours. Just submit your articles, and leave them alone.

Patience is a virtue I have yet to perfect as well. But you’ll only end up frustrated and irritated if you become obsessive about your article stats. Sure, you want to check in and see what’s happening with your articles. But don’t spend more time worrying about your articles than you do actually writing more articles to submit.

I read something last week on the Warrior Forum that grabbed my attention regarding this very topic. Another marketer said (paraphrasing) that article marketing shouldn’t be your end-all marketing tactic. You need to have other marketing techniques in play, in addition to article marketing. And I agree.

If you’re only using article marketing to promote your product or service, it will take a lot longer to get the word out. This should only be one portion of your marketing efforts.

Passion

Finally, you have to be passionate about the topic(s) you write about. Your passion will shine forth in the articles you write. Likewise, if you don’t really care about the topic, your readers will pick up on that as well.

Passion connects you with your readers. It forges a bridge between you and your readership, to help build long-term relationships.

Have you ever read an article or blog post online and felt it resonate deep within you? What did you do after you finished reading that one? You probably looked for more articles by the same author.

The same happens when you write passionate articles to submit to article directories. Some article marketers say they don’t put a lot of thought and effort into their articles, submitting the bare word minimum. But I strongly believe in writing high quality, passionate articles that your reader will not only enjoy, but want more of.

Do you use article marketing as part of your marketing strategy?

Popularity: 26% [?]

New eBook In The Works

Posted by Hope

So I decided to put the classes here on hold for now while I work on a new eBook. Based on one of my online classes, it is tentatively titled Article Marketing For Writers.

While some writers understand the basics of article marketing and how it can be hugely beneficial to your writing career, many writers have never even heard of this concept. I decided to compile my thoughts and experience into an eBook that will (hopefully) help other writers learn more about article marketing and how to use it to build their writing career.

Be sure to subscribe to my free newsletter, as I’ll be sending updates while I work on this book.

Popularity: 38% [?]

Article Marketing 101 For Writers

Posted by Hope

UPDATE — ONLY 14 SEATS LEFT

On January 7th, I’ll begin hosting my first online class for writers: Article Marketing 101 For Writers. If you are a writer, you probably already know how important it is to market your skills. It’s the only way you can build a profitable writing business.

If you don’t know much about article marketing, or haven’t heard of article marketing at all, you should really consider getting in on this class. In Article Marketing 101 For Writers you will learn the basics of article marketing and how to use it to your advantage.

You are not required to buy any special books for this class. All study material will be provided by me. Every Monday you’ll receive a lesson from me by email. At the end of each lesson are exercises for you to complete. You will also have an open line of communication to me, should you need further assistance or have more questions during the class.

Here’s a brief look at the syllabus:

• WEEK 1: Article Marketing Explained
• WEEK 2: The Benefits of Article Marketing
• WEEK 3: Key Essentials to Article Marketing
• WEEK 4: Writing The Perfect Article

You can see a more detailed outline of this class at: http://www.hopewrites.com/writing-classes/

20 Seats Available
Registration Fee: $50
CLASS BEGINS JANUARY 7th

Ready to sign up for this class? Click the link below to pay your registration fee and sign up for the class. ONLY 5 DAYS LEFT!!! Reserve your seat before they’re all gone!

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER FOR THE ARTICLE MARKETING 101 FOR WRITERS CLASS

Popularity: 33% [?]

Keyword Research Made Super Simple

Posted by Hope

I stumbled across an excellent video tutorial on keyword research, by NicheRockets.com today, and I knew I had to share it with you.

Scott breaks down keyword research and makes it so easy that anybody can do it. If you write for the web, or if you are thinking of becoming an online marketer, you know that keyword research is an important piece of the pie. Article marketers rely on extensive keyword research to help them write and submit articles to very targeted, tight niches.

For many people though, keyword research is elusive. At one time it was very difficult for me to wrap my brain around it, too. I couldn’t “get” it because there were lots of people telling a variety of ways to do it. There are some free keyword research tools available, which render limited results. Then there are paid programs available that make it easier to do keyword research as well, and give you the long-tail keywords.

Let me just say that once you watch this video, if you know little to nothing about how to do keyword research, you’ll learn the simplest method of digging up lots of great keywords in very little time at all. I’ve just finished my first round of research using this method and I’m loving it already. I’ve come up with a little gold mine of keywords that I’ll be able to use for more in-depth research later. There’s already some good stuff in here that is sparking article and blog ideas, too.

Go check it out! Watch the video here first (opens in a new window), then follow along. Let me know what you think…

P.S. When you do the second step, be sure to actually look at each list BEFORE you click “Add” to include them in your list. Some websites will return a lot of keyword phrases that you won’t want in your list.

Popularity: 40% [?]

Article Aces Is Open And Ready For Your Articles!

Posted by Hope

EXTRA! EXTRA!

I’m proud to announce the launch of my new article directory, Article Aces. We’re open and ready to accept new authors and articles. Come on over and sign up for your free account and start submitting.

Don’t forget to blog about it!

Technorati Tags: article directory, free article directory, article aces, writers, writing, articles, article marketing, writing articles

Popularity: 44% [?]

Finding Work

Posted by Hope

One thing that has always irritated me is reading or hearing other accomplished writers refer fledgling newbies to these freelance writing job sites. It really bugs me.

I am sure there are plenty of writers out there who cut their teeth on sites like Guru.com and elance.com. While these sites were powerful in their day, times have rapidly changed. Such websites are stomping grounds for unscrupulous marketers to take full advantage of unsuspecting, unknowledgable writers who are looking for real writing jobs to earn an income from. Thus, these sites are quickly becoming places where such marketers are demanding “slave labor” in exchange for tiddly-winks. I think that stinks!

At the suggestion of a colleague a while back, I bit the bullet and gave Guru.com my hard-earned money for a subscription. Many months and bids later, I’ve yet to land a job there. I personally spoke with a few writers who said that was where they got their start at making money online. Obviously I’m not doing something right, or I would have landed at least one project there.

I was even awarded 100 more bids because I have been there for so long and placed bids and haven’t landed a job yet. It’s embarrassing, really, but at the same time, I know that my lack of employment from that website doesn’t have a single thing to do with my skills or experience. Rather, I believe it has everything to do with me not being willing to accept anything less than what I’m worth.

Every bid I’ve placed was a reasonable one. However, I refuse to place a low bid, just to get a job and have feedback posted (which is what more than one person told me I should do).

Like I said, I’m sure these types of freelance websites probably do work for some writers. I suppose you need to ask yourself if you are willing to take on a job for low payment, just so you can get your foot in the door. In my opinion, my time and writing is worth way too much to give it away.

If you are a writer wanting to start earning an income solely from writing, I want to tell you that it is possible. But please don’t waste your time or money on job sites that expect you to give it away for pennies on the dollar. Here are some tips to help you get started:

First, and most importantly, ask yourself how much you’re worth. If you are a new writer and you know you need lots more practice and learning, then you can’t charge the same as a seasoned writer and expect people to pay that. Take on a couple of pro-bono jobs in exchange for testimonials. This will help you cut your teeth and net you some great feedback, too.

If you have more experience, then set your rates accordingly and don’t be shy to ask for what you’re worth. You can always go down, but you can rarely go up.

Second, make a list of business owners you know. There are very few of us that don’t know someone who owns a business. Make a quick list of those you know, then contact them and offer them your services. Businesses who run newspaper ads often let the newspaper people write the ads, which doesn’t usually gain them many new prospects. Offer to write their next ad campaign for them and they can pay you after they see the results from the ad. You can also offer to write their brochures, fliers, sales papers, company newsletters, etc.

Third, start networking online. The Internet is hugely profitable, but you have to be willing to step out and start networking. Google ‘writing forums’ and see what you come up with. Better still, run a search for forums within your niche. If you are a technical writer, search for forums where people are talking about those things. More often than not, you’ll start making some great contact points and will often find business this way as well.

Fourth, look for unusual, out of the box ways to make money from writing. I know lots of writers who make money from writing articles and submitting them to article directories. This involves everything from selling their own short reports or ebooks, to promoting affiliate programs.

Fifth, sell your own writing online. There are tons of writers out there right now who are making a very nice living just by writing and selling their own ebooks. If you can write articles, then writing an ebook is as simple as expanding on an idea. With lengths varying from 15 to as much as 75 or 100 pages, ebooks are a popular way to get information out there to hungry people and make a hefty income in the meantime. (Check out The eBook $uccess Blueprint if you need a step-by-step guide on how to do this: http://ebooksuccess.hopewrites.com/.)

Finally, there are websites out there that will pay you for articles that you write and submit to them, too. One such website that I’ve submitted to before and some of my other colleagues like, is Associated Content. Granted, you won’t get rich doing this, but you’ll be able to pull in some extra cash every month from your articles.

Making money with your writing isn’t a hard thing to do. It does require patience and perseverance. If you want to write magazine articles for pay, go for it. This isn’t an area where you’ll receive payment as quickly as you might in other areas, but it’s still writing for money nonetheless.

My point is, don’t jump on a bandwagon just because somebody else says it worked for them. Find your own way and follow through with it.

I hope something I’ve given you here will help you out if you are wanting to make money from your writing!

Technorati Tags: writing, make money writing, how to write and make money, business of writing, writing business

Popularity: 24% [?]

Do You Use Article Marketing To Promote Your Business?

Posted by Hope

If you are a writer, I have a quick question for you today: Do you use articles to promote yourself/your business? If not, then why?

Did you know that article marketing is one of the easiest ways to get your name out there? It’s true! Article marketing is free advertisement. You already write on a daily basis, so why not use free articles to advertise.

With article marketing, you…

• Create a buzz
• Become an expert in your area of knowledge
• Share your experience with others

…and so much more.

The reality of it is that just about everybody you know that is doing business online, is probably using articles to promote themselves (and if they’re not, they’re losing out, too!).

Tomorrow…How to get started with article marketing

Technorati Tags: article marketing, articles, writing articles, writers, write

Popularity: 26% [?]

Latest Articles at Ezine Articles

Posted by Hope

I am participating in this round of the LK Article Writing Challenge and I’m well on my way to reaching the 30 articles in 2 months goal. I thought I’d share the list with you today of my most recent articles from the challenge (each link opens in a new window):

1. Writing Ruts - What NOT To Do When You Get Stuck
2. Writing Ruts - What To Do When You Get Stuck
3. Top 7 Topics People Love To Read About
4. The 3 Stages To Writing Articles
5. You Don’t Have to be an Expert to Write Good Articles
6. Do You Make These Common Article Writing Mistakes?
7. The Top 4 Reasons For Article Marketing
8. Do You Recognize These Early Warning Signs of Writer’s Block?
9. The Lazy Writer’s Way to Write More in Less Time
10. How I Wrote 5 Articles in 5 Minutes Flat
11. Here Are Quick Ways To Make Blogging Easier
12. Write Snazzy Articles Like A Pro
13. What Every Article Marketer Ought To Know About Writing Articles
14. 7 Commandments of Writing Articles
15. The Secret of Breaking the Chains of Low Self-Esteem
16. Easy Article Marketing - What Is Your Purpose?
17. Easy Article Marketing - Brand Yourself With Articles

More articles to come! I’ll update this list as I submit more articles in the next couple of weeks.

Technorati Tags: article marketing, Ezine Articles, article writing, LK article writing challenge

Popularity: 9% [?]