The Best Articles Are ___?
There are limitless topics that you could write about. But to make the biggest positive impact on your business, the articles that work the best are those that are useful and match the interests of your niche market.
If your business is selling information products to stay-at-home moms who want to start their own at-home business, then you want to write articles that demonstrate your expertise in that area and give them something of value to the reader. When those readers get to your resource box at the end of your article, they’ll click on the link expecting more of the same great content. Writing articles for dog lovers, for instance, when your target market is aspiring work-at-home moms just doesn’t make sense.
The best explanation I've ever heard of this was by Jimmy D. Brown who coined the term “useful but incomplete”. What he meant was that your articles should be “useful” to your target audience, but “incomplete” in that they should lead the reader hungrily to seek more information from you. They'll turn to your resource box in search of more.
Quality is also a key ingredient to successful articles. While anyone can throw together a few sentences, combine a few paragraphs, paste on a resource box and call it an article, this slap-dash method is not likely to produce the results you desire. Quite simply, quality content is the key for any kind of success in article marketing.
Online article directories are filled with articles written by non-native language writers who don’t understand grammar or sentence structure, or by those who have simply copied what someone else wrote and plugged it into an article spinner without thought for the value of the finished article. Using such shoddy marketing methods will never help your article marketing efforts, and will likely brand you as unprofessional and harm your reputation as a business owner.
Most editors in search of content would rather find an expert on EzineArticles.com or LadyPens.com with 10 high-quality articles, than one with 500 junk articles. When editors and readers see junk articles, they assume that everything that person does is junk. Not a great way to build a business!
When you offer well-written, relevant content that helps your reader answer a question or gain new knowledge and understanding of a subject matter they're interested in, you'll establish yourself as an expert and advance your article marketing efforts and, ultimately, your business.
Could You Benefit from Article Marketing?
Article marketing is one of the most popular methods of promoting a business online. Not only is it easy and low-cost, it works and anyone can do it!
By writing articles on your areas of expertise and offering this content free of charge to online and offline publishers, you can:
- spread the word to your target market
- demonstrate your professional know-how & expertise, and
- create a body of work that continues to "sell" you and your website long after the initial article creation
Other website owners, bloggers, and newsletter publishers are constantly looking for quality content to provide to their readers. You help them out by providing your well-written, targeted articles. In return they include a plug about you and your business, called the "author resource box," at the bottom of the piece. The resource box includes a link to your site. So, they get free content, and you get free publicity. It's a win-win!
You may be wondering if article marketing will work for your niche or industry. There are blogs and newsletters and ezines and websites on just about every topic under the sun, from accounting to Zoroastrianism.
Here's a short list of businesses that can benefit from article marketing:
- Service providers.
- Bloggers.
- Affiliate marketers.
- Ebook Authors.
- Infoproduct sellers.
- Online Store owners.
- Coaches and consultants.
- Realtors.
- Podcasters.
- Membership site owners.
- Authors.
- Speakers.
- Network marketers.
In short, if you're selling something or trying to drive traffic to your website or blog, article marketing is for you. It's one of the most efficient ways to attract targeted visitors, to build trust among your readers, and to gain new customers or clients.
Here are some broad examples:
- Bloggers can use article marketing to attract readers to their blogs and increase their subscriber base.
- Webmasters can use article marketing to create valuable backlinks, and increase website traffic.
- Writers can use article marketing to exhibit their writing skills, educate readers, and attract clients.
- Hairstylists can use article marketing to share hair care tips, showcase their expertise, and attract business to their salons.
- Dog trainers can use article marketing to share dog training lessons, and inform the public about the needs at a local shelter.
Whatever your passion, article marketing can benefit you and your business. When used correctly, it can successfully attract targeted traffic to your website or blog, grow your mailing list, help you become an expert in your field, build trust with your readers, make your website more popular, spread your name and website across the Web, add backlinks to your site, allow you to "advertise" free, brand yourself and your business, and generate sales.
As you can see, the benefits of article marketing are numerous.
And, it starts with just one article.
Outsourcing Your Video Marketing
So you're not a technical or audio/video whiz, or you're so busy with your other business management tasks that you know you need to outsource your videos if it's ever going to get done. It is possible to outsource your video successfully. But like any outsourcing you do, you need to prepare and be aware of who you are hiring.
Here's what you need to keep in mind when hiring a freelancer for your video marketing:
- Know What You Need: If you don't know what you need from your assistant or your marketing, how can you expect anyone else to know? If you can describe exactly what you need from your assistant then you will have a great chance for getting just that back from them when the project is completed.
- Check Their Video Portfolio: Check the abilities of the person you're considering hiring to see if their style suits your needs. Ask for references – and check them!
- Prepare Materials and Logins: If there are specific materials and login information your assistant will need, it will save you a lot of time if you prepare everything ahead of time. If your assistant needs to email you every time they need something, you'll hold up the process while they wait for you to respond.
- Find Reference Examples: Locate a few videos with the look and feel you like and forward those to your assistant. This will help your assistant make sure they're clear about what you're looking for.
- Ask For Referrals: Asking for referrals is a great way to find qualified contractors. If you see a video online that you particularly like, contact the site owner to ask who created it. You'll know what kind of quality you'll be getting when you hire this way.
- Be Open to Suggestions: Your contractor is an expert, so be open to suggestions from him or her. Explain your high-level goals, and then let them do their stuff.
Having a great team member or even a full team to handle your videos can be a real load off your mind. Just remember that successful outsourcing requires a careful blend of preparation and clarity on your goals, and willingness to let go and let the experts take over. Once you hit that sweet spot, you can cross one more thing off your To-Do list.
The Video Call to Action – Keys to Getting Them to Take the Next Step
You can produce the most compelling, interesting video online, but without a clear call to action, your video is just pure entertainment. Whether you want a viewer to buy your product, sign up for your list, or take another action, you have to tell them what you want them to do.
A call to action can take many different forms. Do you want the viewer to click on a link, click the “buy now” button, watch another video, or take some other step? Know what you want from your viewer before you even create your video so everything you do points to that desired end result.
Some people believe that if you push your message on your audience, they will resist any kind of “sell” and turn away. While you want to avoid the used car salesman approach, remember that when you have the solution to your audience's problems, you're doing them a favor by sharing it with them.
Your call to action can take many forms. Here are some examples:
- Click here to download your free report on X.
- Click here to visit X and sign up now for more information!
- Enter your name and email below to sign up for the free teleseminar now.
- Fill out the form below to request your free consultation.
- Enter your information below to apply for this special program.
The logistics of creating a call to action within in a video will vary depending on the type of video you use, the location of the video and the rules of the site where you are hosting your video. Here are some ideas:
Mention in Video – You can include a call to action within the video itself. Create the video to capture the attention of your audience, give them the information they need and then tell them what action to take next.
Text on Video – Another way to tell your viewers what move to make after the video is to add it across the screen of the video. This text can be a link to your website or an explanation of any other action you'd like them to take.
Clickable Video – By using 'Flash' software or YouTube's video tools, you can create video that, when clicked on, can link the viewer to the desired page.
Video Descriptions – You can add a call to action within your video descriptions. If you have uploaded a video to a hosting site, check the rules as to how you can link to your site and how promotional your videos and descriptions can be.
The most important part of your call to action is ensuring it fits with what your audience needs. When the call to action matches the exact needs of your audience, taking your recommended next step will be a natural next step for your viewers.
How to Create an Engaging Video
It's sad but true: There are literally billions of other videos, audios, images, and articles competing for your target market's attention. If your video is boring, nobody (except maybe you mother) is going to want to watch it. When creating a video for your business audience you must engage them or your efforts will fall completely flat.
Creating effective, engaging videos may take you time and practice, especially if you don't feel particularly at ease in front of the camera. These tips can help you on your way to effective video marketing:
Engaging Video Tip #1: Know Your Market
Your target market has similar interests, issues and problems. By knowing, understanding and listening to your target market, you're automatically speaking in their language and appealing to their interests. That makes you engaging!
Engaging Video Tip #2: Keep Your Energy High
If someone is an energetic, charismatic speaker, they could read the phone book aloud and make it sound good. People respond to excitement, so make sure yours is high. You don't want to over-hype it, but imagine you're talking to a group of kindergarteners and have to work extra-hard to keep their attention. Our ears are trained to pick up on change, so give your voice inflection and enthusiasm, varying its pitch and loudness.
Engaging Video Tip #3: Using Effects
Our eyes are drawn to bright colors, beautiful images and motion. See how you can incorporate these elements in your intro and closing. Watch a few videos on Youtube.com to see what captures your attention, and model what works for you.
Engaging Video Tip #4: Eye Contact
One of the most important aspects of person-to-person presentation is eye contact. Talk to the camera like it's a person, a valuable potential client or a friend. Be natural, be real and be yourself. Again, this may take some practice but you'll get it. When you get good at making eye contact you will be well on your way to establishing valuable relationships with your potential audience.
Engaging Video Tip #5: Prepare
You might be one of those rare people with the gift of gab, shooting off a polished presentation with no preparation. If you are, great. If not, then you'll need to prepare to make sure you say what you want to say in your video and get you key messages across. Don't forget to include your call to action so your audience knows exactly what to do after they've finished watching the video.
Creating an engaging video takes work. However, it's well worth the effort as your video will be working for you twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week for many, many years to come.
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- The Best Articles Are ___?
- Could You Benefit from Article Marketing?
- Outsourcing Your Video Marketing
- The Video Call to Action – Keys to Getting Them to Take the Next Step
- How to Create an Engaging Video
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