How To Brand (Market) Your Online Business on a "Shoestring Budget"...Or Even FREE (Updated)

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Category (key words): Internet, online marketing, internet marketing, writing, writing articles
Web Sites: http://www.selfgrowth.com/experts/craig_lock.html
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Other Articles are available at: http://www.selfgrowth.com/articles.html
(Personal growth, self help, writing, internet marketing, spiritual, 'spiritual writings' (how 'airey-fairey'), words of inspiration and money management, how boring now, craig!)

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"We share what we know, so that we all may grow."

"If you have knowledge, let others light a candle to it."
- Margaret Fuller

(That's a metaphor, btw).
*
HOW TO BRAND/MARKET YOURSELF AND YOUR BUSINESS ON A "SHOESTRING
BUDGET"... OR EVEN FOR FREE (UP-DATED)

(Please excuse my long title!)**

Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to use
the Internet and he won't bother you for months...or perhaps even
years! (Sorry men... however, I presume this principle also
applies to our women-folk!).

Here are some tips in writing some articles to "spread the word"
about your business, as an internet marketing strategy... and
especially on the smell of an oily rag"...

Me write an article! Yes, you can, because you know more about
YOUR business than anyone else on this planet. And most
importantly, I don't believe that you have to be a "pro" writer
to write good articles.

HOW TO GET STARTED?

To "kick off"... Firstly pick a subject that YOU KNOW - a topic
that pertains (nice word that!) to your area of business. You are
the "expert" in it. Then write to HELP others by sharing your unique knowledge
or experiences. I believe, it's the BEST MARKETING TOOL available.

And (can I begin a sentence with "an and" - yes)... You DON'T
have to be a good writer to write articles.

My advice is just find your "natural style" by writing as you
speak; as practicing writing in your "natural style" breeds
confidence. Then submit your articles to ezines and announcement
lists, like Shelley Lowery's Article Announce (the "original flagship of article announcement lists), Free Content, Publisher Network,
Article Xpress, FreeEzineContent, Free-Reprint-Articles,
The Write Articles, Netwrite-Publish-Announce, Read My Articles, Article Submission, Free Writes and Article Publish.
Those above are the ones we mostly use. Here is a list of seven
("lucky") of the more prominent Yahoo.com Article Announcement Groups:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aabusiness
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ArticlePublisher
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Free-Content
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Free_eContent
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Free-Reprint-Articles
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/netwrite-publish-announce
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/TheWriteArticles
and finally,
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/publisher_network/

First you have to subscribe to these lists (check out the others,
as well some others, like the Topica lists under GOOGLE search
engine).

We find this marketing method by far the most effective means of getting traffic to our various sites (and one thing then leads to
another)... and best of all the form of BRANDING your business in
cyberspace costs nothing, but a little time and effort!

Lately, all our marketing has been done through writing articles
based on my experiences* in the fields of internet marketing,
writing, money and self help) and submitting them to the
above-mentioned article announcement lists.

* As someone said: "Experience is something you get just after you need it."

Often from there they get picked up by ezines with large
readerships - from 10000 ...to even ones with millions of
subscribers, like the Webpronews group of ezines and also Ms Abbie
Drew's excellent DEMC newsletter. True! You could also try http://www.selfgrowth.com - the most popular self help web site.
David Riklan publishes an excellent ezine with over 900000 subscribers! These big ezine publishers are continually looking for new and quality content, particularly ORIGINAL and valuable material that can inform and help others.

My advice is... Write about what you KNOW - your areas of
knowledge and expertise, based on your unique life experiences.
We find this strategy of SHARING relevant and practical
information most effective of all in drawing traffic to our
various web sites... and best of all, it helps others "out there
in the vast void/realm of cyberspace". That is one of the main
reasons why I write my various articles.

Here are some other points in writing articles for the www:

Firstly,

* Identify your target audience.

* Keep your title reasonably short* *.

* Keep your paragraphs short.

* Get to the point quickly (enough waffle with maple syrup,
Craig!).

* Target your article to your audience with "valuable and
focussed information".

* Use the occasional exclamation mark (!) to get your readers
attention (not too many, mind you!).

* Make sure your article flows properly. Re-read and re-read to
see how it "speaks" to the readers mind.

* Try to be concise in your wording. Brevity is the hall-mark of
good writing...or so say many of the teachers of writing! (Though I don't necessarily agree with that last statement -
always breaking the rules, Craig!).

* Be credible (big word, eh?) at all times. I try to write my
articles in a "conversational style with dashes of my funny/weird humour".

* Put some thought and effort into your heading - again to get your reader's immediate attention.

* Use bullets in your articles - its makes the points easy to
follow (as I've used in this section).

* Conclude with a strong message. The final paragraph should
contain a message that summarises your article, or gets your
reader to take further action.

* Offer a free report with your article - this is an easy way to
collect a list of adresses for marketing your product(s). An
instant target market!

* Finally, make sure your layout is good (not one of my strong
points!), as this greatly enhances your prospects of getting
published.

Some prominent article writers say one should write differently
to one's natural style, when writing for the web. I say , DON'T.
Just write what comes naturally...and BE YOURSELF. Though you may
have to be somewhat briefer than usual, if you are a "waffler",
like me. People want immediate information online and
have limited time usually (and attention span online, like this
writer).

It's the "instant coffee, er sorry, generation.

The internet is such an amazing medium for communication. I've
just submitted this article and it's been published almost
instaneously (big word!) in a few places (some article
announcement lists). So YOU TOO can write articles on your chosen
subject in your internet marketing efforts...
as the more articles you write and submit, the more you will find web sites LINKING to yours (as many of the major search engines use the number of links as a factor in placing your web site). Also the search engines have 'crawlers' which 'trawl' the web and will pick up your articles, together with your web site at the end of your submission (no soliciting, please!).

MORE TRAFFIC = INCREASED SALES

Your writing will improve with confidence (as a "total non-techno", I was rather apprehensive, when I first started writing in this strange unchartered world of cyberspace'). So just take that FIRST STEP, that leap of faith and watch what happens.

Writers and internet marketers - Grab this moment in history
well.

"Carpe diem" (seize the day!).

Happy writing 'dem' articles ...and as the Nike ad urges

Just GO FOR IT "writing rite"

Craig Lock

P.S: As the ancient Chinese philosopher said so well, "A journey
of a thousand miles starts with a ... broken fan belt and a flat
tyre"... er sorry... a single step.

"Be bold and unseen forces come to your aid."
- one of my favourity quotations from Brian Tracey
(and story of my life!)

About the Author:
Craig Lock has been marketing products online
for the past ten years. Craig is a writer, who believes in
sharing information with a 'dash' of humour, as well as encouraging and helping others to find their talents and gifts, to strive for and accomplish their
dreams in life - whatever they may be.
http://www.selfgrowth.com/experts/craig_lock.html
http://www.myspace.com/craiglok
http://www.craiglockbooks.com

"Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has
genius, power and magic in it."
- Johan Wolfgang Von Goethe (German philosopher)

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