Many people use article marketing because it is inexpensive (when compared to the cost of other marketing strategies), and because writing articles does not take all that long. Posting articles online at places like Ezine Articles and at other article distributors is free, too, which will help to drive some traffic.
It often does not take long to discover, however, that it does not always work well. The truth is that article marketing is still one of the powerful marketing tools that can be used to drive a lot of Web traffic - if it is used correctly. Here are five common mistakes that need to be avoided when writing that next article.
Not Providing Enough Information to Prove Expertise in the Topic
One reason that people will buy a product from someone is because they think that the one doing the selling is an expert in that particular field. If the article provides no real information, there is no reason why they should buy, when a competitor at least sounds like they know what they are talking about.
Each article written for article marketing should provide some answers or solutions to the questions the reader is probably asking. Remember that people perform searches because they want to find answers - or products. Effective Web marketing means an article must offer a real solution to a real need.
Proving Indifference to Readers by Using Poor English
One way to quickly turn away Website visitors is to not edit an article prior to posting it. This will leave the reader sure that the writer is incapable of good spelling and will also assure them that they could not possibly be an expert in anything. After all, shouldn't experts want to present a professional image?
If there is no time to personally edit articles, then pay a good writer to write articles instead, who will also edit them. Or, find someone who will just edit them at a good price. Don't forget that many article distributorships will also reject articles with poor spelling and poor English.
Not Taking Advantage of the Bio Box with a Well-Thought Out Action
The Bio Box at the end of the online article is the only good chance a writer (marketer) has to sell the reader and get them to act in the desired manner. There should not be a rush to put just anything here. Make it sound like the natural solution to the problem dealt with in the article and there will be new customers. Put anything in there or just write it hastily, and it will just sound foolish - and a great opportunity was missed.
Performing Insufficient Keyword Research
In order to get the desired targeted traffic, it is necessary to use the keywords that bring the right people to the article. Using the wrong ones may mean very limited traffic because of too much competition, or the traffic may actually not be looking for the solution being offered. Make sure to choose a niche where people are buying.
Failing to Get Attention with a Weak Title
The truth is that if the title of a marketing article appears in the results of a search, all people will see is a title and a brief description. Then they will quickly scan the list of titles and pick out the one that sounds the most interesting to their needs. A title that does not get attention will not get much traffic - even if it appears near the top of the search engine results.
By avoiding these mistakes, article marketing can prove to work very well. Some expert marketers only use article marketing to drive traffic to their Website. While it is best to use multiple forms of marketing tools, article marketing also continues to bring traffic after other forms of online marketing have run their course - and the money for them is gone.
Resources:
Article Marketing Success Blog
How to Get Started as a Freelance Web Content Writer
How to Make Money Online
Mike Valles - Mike Valles has been a full-time freelance writer for more than six years. He has written thousands of articles and other materials - ...
