Have you noticed? The web is exploding with article websites. These sites range from the hurtling-toward-Googledom-sized EzineArticles.com, to the miniscule Average Joe Pay-Per-Click who throws up a handful of topic categories and quickly loses interest... with every size and shape of article site in between.
Are you getting the emails? "Submit to us, we're the best!" "No those guys suck, submit to our site..." Does all this article confusion have your head spinning? I don't blame you, I'm getting a little overwhelmed by the article-go-round myself.
So the question that all of us must ask is: how to leverage this monster web marketing trend for the most exposure? Article marketing is FREE, after all. It would be pretty silly to ignore something that can get you mass exposure at NO cost to your business.
Let's consider the article pool. The more authors who swim in the same article waters as you, the less likely are your chances of standing out in the crowd. Heck, if you can't write at least 200 articles, you won't even make the first page on any "article giant" website. And on the other end of the scale is those "mini sites" where authors have yet to sink their anchors. Do you get in on that action early and ride it out? Aligning your mission with one of those baby sites with potential could be the best thing you did all year. Just think of all the new biz leads. But then again... maybe not?
What to do, what to do? The article frenzy can leave you feeling like a lost article sheep. You wrote a fantastic diatribe, but who read it? Anyone? Or did the guy who tapped out some tired old article drivel and then added a dash of Keyword Magic elbow you out again? You've got to take action, but first you need a plan!
Your emergency solution might be to hire someone to submit your articles to various sites on the web. But all signs point to "You're going to have to keep those articles flowing to maintain your web presence..." and that means round after round of article dollars spent. And who even knows if the person submitting your work will care enough to select the best sites for your buck? If paying for advertising breaks the bank for you, then there has to be another option. So let's think of your objectives.
Objective 1. Establish myself as an authority in my field.
People will not commit to doing business with you unless they have confidence in your abilities. Getting your name and article to come up in a Google search is a pretty strong way to build a case for yourself. So is handing your new prospects a published article that you wrote - that they can read and absorb... and recognize your potential that's right there on the page, smacking them in the face!
Plan of Action:
Submit to high-volume, high-ranking sites like EzineArticles.com. Yes, from the inside of those walls it appears you're just another faceless author. But take the outside perspective and remember the value of SEO content. Once your article gets indexed on a high-ranker, you will appear dead first on the engines. So, keep on feeding the article monsters if you want to be seen and heard.
Submit to hot topic categories that are "rising in popularity" but have yet to peak. Everything about this web business thing is cyclical, and everything happens in waves. You've got to be savvy-enough to predict what topics are surging in popularity and then you want to catch that wave and ride it out. Jump on a web trend too late, get sucked into the undertow -- and all your hopes of success are temporarily crashed and dashed! If you're submitting to a totally saturated topic category, you must get out because you're wasting your time. Make a new plan to leverage a new trend to your best advantage.
Objective 2. Build a loyal following of trusted business associates.
People who trust you will want to do business with you... not once, but many times. They will recommend you to their friends, who you will also trust you because your association sprang up from a credible source. There's that word credibility again, it's a big deal. For this reason, you should be searching for websites where there is a sense of cameraderie, high-quality content, and other authors who are looking to build relationships.
Plan of Action:
Choose your article sites carefully. Yes, submitting mass quantities of articles is important, but if you're submitting in all the wrong places it won't do you a lick of good. Submitting to crap sites means your article is going to go in all shiny and beautiful and then come out of the crap mill in pieces. That's what happens when people throw up their websites in haste and then don't monitor them.
Pay close attention to who is doing what on which article site, and then only choose the ones that aim for Grade-A service. Look for live people on the site who encourage interaction among their visitors. Even if a website is modest in size, you will know if they are mighty in spirit and have the best intentions. Oh yes, and you'll have to jump out of your shell and do the "Look at me" dance, not just by writing articles but by being an active participant and a giver. That means commenting on others' articles, joining discussion forums and sending out friendly, helpful emails. Your goal is to be noticed and remembered for your talent!
Article marketing is probably at its peak right now. Everyone and their best friend is creating an article distribution site wanting to get in on that pay-per-click action. There is no way that all of these people can sustain such mass momentum. It's going to break soon, and when the little guys peter out one by one, where will you be in the grand scheme of it all? Hopefully doing something smart for your business. So, truck on little article marketer... devise the greatest of plans. The best is yet to come.
Copyright 2005 Dina Giolitto. All rights reserved.
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