Article marketing is big right now. Why? Most people I ask tell me it's because it helps them get found and ranked by the search engines.
Yet articles can also build your reputation as an expert and increase your client base.
However, I am seeing more and more articles that are no more than keyword dumps with little substance and appear to be written ONLY for the search engines. That tactic may help your articles get found, but it will backfire in terms of the other objectives of publishing articles.
Here are three strategies you can use to make sure your articles do much more than simply helping your rankings.
- Have a clear message
Can you sum your message up in one or two sentences? If not, you're probably trying to include too much information. Pare it down so it's focused and use what's left for other articles. It's better to cover less ground and do it more deeply. There's so much information available that the deeper you go into your topic, the more likely it is to get attention.
- Know who you're writing for
Who is your reader? Is it someone in a corporation? Or a small business owner? Depending on the size of the business, there can be many different layers of decision makers and it's important to know which level you are writing for.
Is it the financial decision maker, the operations decision maker, the owner or CEO, or the head geek from the IT department? Each one will be interested in different aspects of your products or services.
Maybe your reader is a consumer, not a business person at all. Consumers are attracted to different information than business people, so make your articles relevant to them, if they are your market.
- Be clear on the type of article you want to write
Do you want to explain how to do something, answer common questions, or tell a story? Knowing the type of article will determine the kind of information you present and will give direction to your thoughts and words. It provides a starting structure for the article so you know how you want everything to flow together.
There are many other elements to consider when planning and writing articles, but these three alone will keep you on track and ensure that you give your readers what they want so that you establish yourself as an expert in their eyes.
Copyright 2010 Maggie Dennison
