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.

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.

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!

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.

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.

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.

1. Testimonials – Ask your customers or clients to give you quick 1-minute videos of their feedback. You can also interview them about your business for a more structured testimonial.
2. Product Demos – One of the biggest drawbacks to buying online is that you can't actually test the product. Bypass that objection and demonstrate your product on video to help increase sales.
3. Case Studies – If you're involved in some kind of before-and-after (website design, fitness, SEO, etc.) case studies are an excellent way to demonstrate your expertise. Seeing an example helps the potential customer understand exactly what impact your service or product can have on their business.
4. Product Reviews – Video brings an added element to product reviews, particularly if you're reviewing a physical product. But hearing you talk about a book or piece of software is effective too.
5. Education – Use video to educate your market on the use of your products. Lead them towards the sale by answering their most frequently asked questions and objections.
6. Entertainment – People love to be entertained! If you can entertain in your video and combine that with a call to action, you'll have a winning combination.
7. Webinars – If you provide webinars or other video presentations to your market, capture them via video and offer a replay to generate leads or even sell as a product.
8. Commercial – Done correctly (meaning compelling with a clear call to action), commercials for your product or service can be very effective.
9. Business Overview – One of the first things many people look for is who they are buying from and what they stand for. Let your potential customers learn about you and your business through a business overview.

As you can see from the list above, there are many ways to use video to promote your business. Just creating video is not the only step to effective marketing. You must craft a video that responds to the wants and needs of your market. They are looking for solutions to problems and questions. It's your job to figure out how to use a video to solve issues, answer questions, provide the right solutions and lead them to the next step.

1. Personal Connection – Especially for internet based businesses, the personal connection with your potential market is a huge selling factor. With video, your audience can truly get to know you, eye-to-eye. They get to see that you are indeed a real, live person. They start building a deeper relationship with you and feel as if they actually have met you.
2. Social proof – There's an old proverb: “Believe nothing of what you hear, and only half of what you see.” On the internet it's so easy to be a fake and a fraud. People are skeptical about claims they read online, and rightfully so. But video puts a face to your words and makes you more believable and trustworthy.
3. Traffic – People are watching 2 BILLION videos per day on YouTube alone! That's a whole lot of traffic you're missing if you're not marketing yourself with video. It's free and easy to add your video to a large number of the video sites available online.
4. Emotional Influence – The classic horror movie is a great example of how the audio has an emotional effect on us. The creepy music comes in, immediately cluing you in that something bad is about to happen. Now, imagine combining that audio with powerful video cues to influence the emotions of the listener and create a much more compelling message than with just text alone.
5. Portability – Maybe even more so then articles and ebooks, video is portable. iPhones, Smartphones, iPads and all kinds of other devices allow video to be seen on the go. You can also allow people to download video easily so they can view it over and over again.
6. Demonstrations – Reviews, case studies and examples are great ways to sell products and services. It's the reason why infomercials make millions of dollars. Now there's no need for you to be as annoying as the Sham-Wow guy to make money with video; you just need to create videos that show and tell your potential customers why your product will be helpful for them.
7. Engagement – There are many reports available online to show that video boosts response and conversion rates. When someone is watching a video, you have their full attention – eyes and ears. Unlike with the written word, they're not likely skip ahead or gloss over important information. Most people will watch a video from beginning to end, allowing you to clearly create a message and call to action that engages your audience.

Overall, video is an effective marketing strategy that is only growing in popularity. Since video is here to stay, it's time to check out the options and see how quick and easy video marketing can be.

The tendency is to think about the exciting things you learned and the people you met – for a while. After a week, you seem to lose your enthusiasm and settle back into life before the event. That is the last thing you want to do especially where your business is concerned.

Now, is the time to cement that lasting impression that you believe you made on the people you met at the seminar. Don’t let a moment go by, from the time you get home, that you are not harnessing the power of that meeting. Besides you know yourself that out of sight truly does mean out of mind if there is no contact for a while.

Here are a few tips to help you get the ball rolling on that pocket full of business cards, that camera full of pictures and that briefcase (or tote) full of helpful handouts and resources.

1. Create a new plan. Now that your head is swimming with ideas, take out that handy notebook and look at what you’ve jotted down. If you have been putting off an affiliate program for one reason or another, this may be the perfect time to get going. Find out a new way to streamline your shopping cart or optimize your website? Flesh out a plan to get the ball rolling right now.
2. Email your new colleagues. Each business card in your hand should contain the website and email address of the one who handed it to you. Contact each person individually and tell them what a great time you had meeting them. To give them a mental picture of you, include your picture at the end of the email. Recalling one tidbit from your conversation with them will help jog their memory and build stronger connection.
3. Get involved in online social networking. Find your new peeps on all the social networks: Facebook, MySpace, Twitter and LinkedIn. Invite them to be friends or followers (depending on the site) so you can keep in close contact.
4. Blog about the experience. Get your readers interested in the event happenings. Share your experiences and any new business takeaway advice you received.
5. Develop new products. Talk about leveraging! You can turn that one seminar presentation into a wealth of digital products. Create an e-course on your topic. Use the handouts as filler for your monthly newsletter, content for your site or new topics for video media. Those brainstorming techniques you developed at the event will come in handy now.

What did you learn at your last live event? Did you do anything with the knowledge? Hopefully you did. If not, use these five tips to reawaken the enthusiasm and create new action items.

There is nothing like attending a live event for the first time – unless you are presenting for the first time. Standing in front of all of those people has great advantages so in case your nerves are about to get the best of you, here’s a reminder of why you decided to do this.

Now, you are going to take part in a live event where you will actually stand face-to-face with those who have heard you on podcasts or read you on the Internet. It can be nerve-wracking as well as exhilarating.

Take a deep breath and get ready. You want to shine and the only way to do that is to prepare.

1.  Know the main focus of the event. Share with the group in the session your knowledge and expertise based on what the event is trying to highlight. If it is geared towards a niche then feel free to discuss how you got into your niche, what marketing techniques you use and new ways to expand the niche.
2. Know the other presenters. Some of them may be sitting in your audience. If they are more seasoned than you, prepare a few questions for them about how they stay calm and at ease before a presentation.
3. Practice a lot. There is no substitute for this one. The way to avoid those dead silent moments when it seems that all your thoughts fly away is to get up and go over your speech many times. This is also how you prepare to deliver well-timed jokes. The more practice you get in, the more comfortable you will feel going off script when the inspiration hits you.
4. Have materials in place. The audience will want handouts. Prepare something eye-catching as well as informative for them to read and hang on to. You can create a packet of material including your business card and other pertinent information about how to reach you. Don’t forget to place a sign-up sheet at the door so you can contact them later.
5. Present your products. Bring along some freebies and priced products so that as soon as the presentation is over, they can get everything they need right away.

When you take center stage, make sure you TAKE CENTER STAGE. Use your presentation as a platform for gaining new business partners, new customers and more sales.