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Five Tips to Marketing Your Articles to Get Them More Exposure

Once you've written and submitted a few articles – hopefully several – it's time to start promoting them. While it's wonderful that you've got your articles out there for people to read and publish, to make the most of them, you have to do a little promotion. There are five main steps you should take to make sure you get the most mileage from your articles:

1. Tweet about your article.
Let people know when you have a new article listed in a directory by tweeting a link to your followers.  Letting them know about new information available from you is a quick and easy way to spread the word. A simple tweet should include the topic and the link. Stick to under 120 characters so people have room to retweet your message without having it get cut off.

2. Post it on your blog.
While you don't want to post the whole article, you can allude to it at the end of another post. For instance, "Want to read more about how to train your parakeet in a week or less? Check out my new article, "Tricks and Treats for Parakeets," and then link to the page.

3. Create a reprints page.
Create a list of your articles on a separate page on your blog or website. Link to it from the main page with a sentence that says, "Want more information on parakeet training, or would you like to reprint my work on your site? Click here for more information." Then include links to all your articles, as well as how interested parties can contact you for more information.

4. Link 'em up.
Tell your audience about the information you have available every chance you get. This is why it's great to have multiple articles out there – you can mention a different one in your newsletter, on your Facebook page, in your signature line on your emails, in forums, etc. If you've created targeted, useful content, people are going to want to know about it!

5. Combine them.
After you've authored 10 or 20 articles on a similar theme, combine them and edit them into an e-book, a special report, or an e-course. Add more information, create transitions, throw in a resource or two, and you've got a product to give away or sell.

Writing and publishing your first few articles is just the beginning of the marketing cycle. Think creatively about who would like the information you've written, and how you can get it to them, and you're on your way to creating a steady stream of traffic to your site.

What Makes Quality Content

Whether you write about coin collecting or gardening, there are key ingredients that go into the creation of a good article. Providing quality content involves providing website visitors and readers with information they find useful and informative. While the details will vary, depending on your topic and article structure, there are some common ingredients of quality content:

Answer a question.

What answers are people in your niche market searching for? What are the frequently asked questions in your niche? Are there subject areas in your niche for which few articles have been written? Find out what readers in your niche are looking for and write articles that will answer those questions. Brainstorm a list of questions and topics. Providing the answers that readers (and potential buyers) are searching for will help to establish you as an expert who meets their needs.

Write clearly and accurately.

Minimizing – or eliminating – grammatical and spelling mistakes is essential to good, high-quality content. Before submitting any article for publication, run spell check and proofread it to catch any spelling and grammar issues. If possible, have another set of eyes look at the article to catch anything that you missed. Another tip is to read your work out loud to catch awkward phrasing or repetitions.

Include a compelling title.

If your title isn't interesting, no one is ever going to get to your beautifully crafted article. Scan a few newsletters and blogs and see what articles and posts grab your attention. When in doubt, consider possible titles that include “5 Ways to...” or “10 Tips for...” Such titles always attract readers who expect short tidbits and quick reads for their time. Good titles require some effort, but since the title is the first thing potential readers see, it’s worth your time to craft a strong one!

Be concise.

Online readers prefer short articles, ideally those between 300 – 500 words. There’s a fine line between providing enough content to answer your reader’s quest for information while not providing such a long article that they don't make it to the end to click on your resource box.

What makes quality content? It’s content that a reader is looking for, that answers questions, offers information a reader wants and promises more of the same if they click on your link. Quality content is what will attract visitors to your website and make your article marketing efforts work.

5 Steps to Writing Your First Article

For many people, the idea of actually sitting down and writing an article stops them cold. You may wonder if you have anything worth saying, or if your writing is "good" enough for publication. If it makes you feel any better, virtually every writer – even the professionals – start out with the same fears. Really, the only way out is through. But once you have one article under your belt, the next ones become much easier. Here’s a five-step plan to have you on your way to your first article:

1. Brainstorm topics.
What questions do you get about your topic area? What are the sticking points for newbies to your field? What equipment or specialized knowledge do people need to get started? Make a list of the most common questions you are asked about your business.

For instance, if your niche is freezer cooking, people might want to know:
*How will freezer cooking benefit me?
*What equipment will I need?
*What are the problems I might encounter?
*How much money will it cost to get started?
*What are some basic recipes?

In five minutes, you can have topics for your first dozen articles.

2. Choose one to begin with.
Pick one of your topics to start with. Forget about choosing the "perfect" topic – there is no such thing. With a pen and a piece of paper (or a computer, if that is more comfortable), set the timer for 10 minutes and jot down everything you can think of related to that topic. Don't worry about complete sentences, formatting, or spelling, just get the ideas down.

For instance, if my topic is "How freezer cooking can benefit you," I might write,
*Save money
*Healthier diet
*Lose weight

*Fun
*Social – can do with friends
*Helps you be prepared and organized
*Less stress

Some people like to use mind maps to create these lists. If you'd like more information on that process, I suggest googling "mindmap software."
3. Organize it and flesh it out.
The next step is to take the outline you created in Step 2 and organize it into common themes. You're aiming for an article about 400-700 words, so three to five main points is ideal. If you have more than that, never fear! You can turn that information into another article.

Then take your outline and build on it. If this is where you start feeling butterflies in your stomach, relax. Imagine you're writing an email to a friend to explain to him or her the topic of your article. Again, don't get stuck on grammar, spelling, etc. Just get the info on the page – you will go back and edit it later (professional writers often create several drafts of their work. Very few people get it right the first time!).

4. Proofread.
Now's the time when you can go back through the article and edit and polish, making each sentence say what you want it to. Be sure it’s cohesive, that the statements flow together, and that it makes sense. Also be on the lookout for places where you can tighten your writing – where you use three words when just one will do, or where there are redundancies. Let each word, each sentence, each paragraph have purpose.

When you think your article is finished, walk away from it for an hour or even a day. Then go back and read through again. By giving yourself some time away from your article, you will pick up previously missed errors or ones that spell check didn’t catch.

5. Submit!
After you’ve written your article and polished it until it shines, it’s time to submit it. Most article marketers submit to online directories – clearinghouses where experts post articles and editors find content to publish. While there are hundreds of online article directories, there’s no need to submit to more than a few. Each has its own pluses and minuses, so take some time to pick the best for your niche. A quick search on Google for "article directory" will bring up dozens of options. If you know of large circulation newsletters or ezines in your niche, submit directly to those publishers as well.

Make sure you follow their guidelines exactly, as some have minimum and maximum word lengths, as well as other requirements.

Article marketing is a valuable free marketing strategy, but it must be used consistently— and often — for the best results. So once you've finished one article, go back to the beginning and start writing your next. Keep the content flowing, and soon you'll see the results of your hard work. You can’t buy better promotion than that!

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.