How To Make A Profitable Article Distribution Campaign

Articles are a powerful way to promote your business. You establish credibility for your company and bring a steady stream of highly targeted visitors to your website. You can either write your own articles or hire someone to do this. You can distribute them yourself or hire a service to do it for you. However you decide to do this it is one of the most cost effective forms of promotion. Articles are especially useful for promoting a service. There are several different types that will be used in different ways.

Different articles:

Tips
Information
Step-by-step
Promotional

Tips articles are simple straightforward articles that give the reader tips and pointers about a certain subject. For instance if you have a web hosting service you can write a tips article on the pitfalls and how to get a good hosting company.

Information articles are similar to this one you are reading. Inform your readers give them some points and supply a few resources if possible.

Step-by-step articles are pure learning articles teaching how to do a certain task in a few easy steps. For instance “how to design a website in 7 easy steps.”

Promotional articles are a little more tricky and you may need some professional help as these must weave together a “story line” leading up to and mentioning your product or service. These must not sound like an ad but at the same time must pique your reader’s curiosity to check into your product and service. A promotional article if written well can even prompt your visitors to buy.

However like all promotions article distribution must be done right to be truly effective. Here are some points to get the maximum results from your article promotions.

Distributing your articles

Targeting your articles
Well written
A good bio
Allow reprint rights
Finding places to distribute-use a service.

In order to make your articles effective it is necessary to put them into classifications. In order to do this, list all the different aspects of your business you need to promote. Match your articles to each one. For instance if you have a web design service, collect all the articles you have written on web sites and list all the subjects you can write about to interest readers in websites. Put them in a folder and label it website articles. Then a second category might be web hosting if you offer this with your web design. You can make a folder for articles about web hosting.  You can make several folders for all aspects of your business and have your articles ready. In this way you will pinpoint different people in your market.

To make your article promotion really effective you will need to write it professionally and well. Remember your articles will reflect upon you. If you write them well and pique reader interest you will get those who are interested in your products and services clicking through to your website. You will establish yourself as an expert in your field and create trust with potential buyers. Once you gain trust and credibility visitors will be interested in buying your products and services. This is especially important when you have a service.

A good and relevant bio at the end of your article is important. Let your bio match the particular feature of your business that you are pinpointing with your article. Bios are the 3-4 lines you will see at the bottom of articles. They tell you who the author is and will reference what he does and include the website URL. For example if I was writing an article to promote my newsletter and attract subscribers, my bio would say my name and mention I am the publisher of….. with the website URL where they can sign up. This would usually be the home page of your site or even a landing page.

Always allow reprint rights to your articles. You will put a small disclaimer at the top giving permission to publish as long as the article is reprinted in its entirety and the bio is included. Always include your copyright © next to your name. This will set off a viral marketing promotion without you having to do anything further. Make a link to your articles on your website or have an article bank for visitors to browse through.

Finding places to promote can be fairly time consuming, but it is free. You can look up article banks and libraries on http:www.//google and also contact publishers in related markets to your business. Websites sometimes accept articles, as do some business networks like http://ryze.com If you want,  you can use an article distribution service, they are relatively cheap and save you a lot of time.

Article distribution is a long-term promotion. You will see a rise in quality traffic and can even see an increase in sales. However in order for article distribution to be really effective it is critical to distribute on a continuous and regular basis. Try to get at least 2-4 articles distributed every month and you will see your traffic rise and over time you will make sales.

April 5, 2006 – 5:21 pm by Constantin Chersin