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Over the course of the past two
years, I’ve encouraged a wide number of clients and friends to utilize article
writing as part of their overall marketing strategy. For a number of reasons
this potentially effective strategy can completely fail. Here are the top four
offenders.
1. Wanting immediate results.
This is perhaps the chief among culprits when it comes to article marketing. The
person who tries his or her hand at this may be looking for an immediate pay off
of some sort. Article marketing is a long-term strategy based on providing truly
useful information to your readership. Unless you happen to write a one-hit
wonder article that gets picked up by a national trade publication (unlikely) or
makes the home page of Digg, then you are setting yourself up for
disappointment. The desire for immediate gratification leads to discouragement
and ultimately resignation. Tell yourself this is a minimum two-year plan and
pace yourself according. (After a few months you’ll be hooked and make it a
permanent part of your marketing strategy, but for now tell yourself it’s just
for a couple of years.)
2. Writing too few articles.
This goes hand in hand with reason number one. Article marketing is a long-term
strategy and one that takes time and volume to achieve critical mass. In the
beginning it may seem like riding a bike uphill… all work and effort with very
little results to show for it. But with time (and time is on your side with
article marketing) an increasing number of your well written articles will begin
to find their way into ezines, newsletters, emails and blog posts. You may even
get a request to write in an established magazine (that has been my experience.)
As you write new articles, you will find that your oldest ones will continue to
gain traction and appear in more and more places. So unlike a newspaper ad that
may be in the trash the very next day, your articles actually grow in visibility
over time. Write, write, write, and over time, your body of articles will take
on an exponential power. For me, the point of critical mass seems to have hit
between the 15 to 20 article range. It may be different for you depending on
your industry.
3. Writing poorly worded and unfocused articles.
Scientist and philosopher Blaise Pascal once wrote, “The present letter is a
very long one, simply because I had no leisure to make it shorter.” Take time to
make your writing succinct and meaningful vs. a rambling dissertation leading
nowhere. An article is your message to the world, so ensure that you represent
yourself well and that you take time to craft a worthy message. Ask yourself if
the article is focused, on topic and grammatically correct. If you struggle in
these areas, hire an editor to proof your articles. There are a number of
services that can do this for as little as $12 per article. In the long run it
will prove a good investment.
4. Writing for the wrong reasons
If the entire motivation for writing is to achieve links and a higher page rank,
you are doomed from the outset. Good articles are read, shared, forwarded and
syndicated because of their inherent worth. Readers can sense the intention
behind a writer’s efforts. If that intention is purely to generate links,
increase page rank and drive traffic, then you are missing out on the bigger
benefits of credibility, loyalty and trust. Write with the motivation of helping
your audience above anything else, and the rest will take care of itself.
Google’s algorithms will change. Page rank may come and go. And there may be an
entirely different way that web sites get ranked in the next few years. Creating
articles purely for links and page rank is truly a house of cards. Build upon
solid, well crafted articles and you are building a lasting foundation of shared
expertise.
If the goal of your business is to develop a loyal fan base of enthused
customers, article marketing offers a fantastic way to achieve that result, with
no more investment than your time and expertise. If however, you are looking for
a quick fix solution to a web traffic problem, then you are best served by
looking elsewhere such as pay-per-click campaigns and email marketing. By
keeping your focus on your reader -- your potential client, and by providing
helpful, relevant information, you can grow your company in a way that’s both
rewarding and lasting.
Phil Davis is president and owner of Tungsten
Brand Marketing, a naming firm specializing in brand creation, product naming,
tag line development, corporate identity and comprehensive brand repositioning.
Phil's client list includes PODS, TeamLogicIT and Coghead.com to name a few. His
complete client list and company naming philosophy can be viewed at
http://PureTungsten.com
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