Have you ever heard the phrase, "content rich"? Well, when writing your way to wealth, writing an article that showcases your expertise is like investing in a sure thing. Writers (both online and off) have used articles to get traffic on the web, entice prospects to call, and sell their books and products. But with Twitter, LinkedIn, and other fun places to market your services online, is writing articles still a worthwhile strategy? Absolutely.
How Does Writing Marketing Articles Benefit You?
At the most basic level, article marketing is a way to syndicate your content and share your expertise. You write an article, post it to your site, and then send it out into the world through online article directories so other people can read it and find you. When your articles are good, they tend to go viral in a way that spreads your ideas (and links to your web site) around the very quickly because other people republish your articles on their blog or in their e-zine. This allows you to reach new markets and readers quickly and easily.
But once you've reaped these initial benefits from your articles, they still keep working for you with little or no effort on your part. All the articles you submit to article directories will stay there indefinitely. If you look at my EzineArticles.com expert page, you'll see that I still have articles there from five years ago. These articles, even the ones at the bottom of the list, still get picked up and published by other site owners, which means they still get read and they still send people to my site to find out more information about my services.
After publishing your articles on the web, you can still keep using them in your marketing efforts. Your articles can also be submitted to print publications that allow previously published articles, such as trade magazines and association newsletters. These are great places to find an audience, and as long as your article topic fits their readers' needs, the publications are often happy to get free content from knowledgeable experts.
Then, after spreading your articles around in print and on the web, you can compile your articles into a report, ebook, book, or other information product. You can package your articles and sell them, or offer them as a free giveaway. You can arrange them, add to them, and mix them up in any way you want. The list of possible ways to use your articles is as long as your creativity is endless.
Your Article Marketing Strategy
Although article marketing hasn't made news since before the social media bomb went off a few years ago, this marketing strategy is still one of the best ways to establish expertise and attract ideal readers and clients to your web site.
The key to making article marketing work for you is to consistently be writing new articles. The more you produce, the more readers and links and possibilities you'll have for using them. If you're not currently writing and submitting articles, start now. Make writing articles a key component of your marketing strategy, build your arsenal of compelling content, and you'll immediately see your investment grow!
Melinda Copp helps speakers, coaches, consultants, and self-employed professionals write and publish to establish expertise, build relationships with their clients and prospects, and make more money. For a free copy of "Write to Grow Richer; The 7 Secrets of Writing to Sell Your Services," go to http://www.WritersSherpaPrograms.com.