Exposed: The Six Deadly Sins of Article Marketing

by Wyatt Lee

The web is built on one factor: content. Providing content to content-hungry webmasters and publishers all over the Internet is a virtual goldmine. Savvy online business owners like you are getting real and lasting results from article marketing, including free publicity, more traffic, increased sales, and of course tons of links from the major search engines like Google and Yahoo.

And because it is simple, effective, and economically feasible, many Internet marketers are now turning to article marketing as one of their marketing secret weapons.

But like any other Internet marketing strategies, the process of article submission is not as straight-forward as it seems. It may sound simple enough to the layman, but then it also has some loopholes which, if you are not careful, will pull you down into the cesspool of failure for your article marketing campaign.

These loopholes are actually common mistakes made by people who take things for granted. And because of this, they commit the 6 common deadly sins of article marketing which I have outlined below.

1. The use of automated article submission software programs.

I am sure that you would have heard of many article distribution software programs promising a solution to the rather tedious and time consuming task of having to submit your articles to many directories. It all sounds so good that even yours truly jumped on the bandwagon without much hesitation.

But here is the painful truth: there is absolutely no particular article submission software that is built to last. You may be surprised, but the fact is that most of these programs do not serve their purpose well. The main reason is because many article directories realize that these software programs are potential hazards for abuse which may be damaging to both their image and businesses, and so they will change their systems to dissuade the use of such programs.

The best solution is still to use manual submission for your article marketing campaigns. If you feel that you are too lazy to do it (Like me), you can always pay a freelancer to do the job for you. Another practical alternative is to subscribe to manual distribution services that are widely available everywhere in the market today.

2. Peppering your article with all kinds of affiliate links

One of the requirements for most article directories is that you should not include any affiliate links anywhere within your article. Now, why are they so particular about this? The reason is because if they don’t keep the links in check, then the directories will soon turn into one messed-up advertising site. So if you inexplicably add an affiliate link in your article, then it will be rejected without any prior notice. However, if you must use an affiliate link, then what you can do is to host that link in your own website, and then include the URL of your site in the resource box at the end of your article.

3. Submitting your article to the same directory more than once

Most of the article directories will despise you if you submit an article to the same directory more than once. If you are really caught doing that, then the directory will ‘finish’ you off by banning your account, and let you go on your own merry way.

4. Submitting the same article to many directories

This is a favorite practice among many Internet marketers, but it is not the right way. Here is why: the search engines will notice the sudden and unnatural increase in your number of back links due to the fact that you submit to so many directories at once, and the spiders will categorize the same as dubious. Once you got found out, your back links may not even count as valid.

In order to avoid such a situation, you need to adopt a safer approach, and submit your articles at a slower pace. It is important to take note that most of your back links will come from publishers and webmasters who pick up your article and publish it online, so just take things slow and steady.

5. Submitting the contents in your website as articles to directories

Do you find anything wrong with the above statement? Yes, I know that it sounds innocent enough, but it is actually not fundamentally correct. Wait, please hear me out before you start calling me names.

You see, the search engines can consider your content as a duplicate, and may even de-index such a page. The idea is that you would want nothing but unique content for your own website. And the word unique means that the content needs to provide something that people are looking for which they cannot find anywhere else.

5. Submitting un-edited Private Label articles

Have you signed up for any private label packages? If you have, then I am sure that you are very tempted to just submit the articles as they are without any editing, because it would take some time for you to come up with a completely different version from the originals. This can be a fatal mistake.

Article directories simply do not like un-edited private label articles, as it puts the integrity of their services on the chopping board. Furthermore, it will promote spamming if they don’t stop the submission of duplicate articles.

Authors Resource Box:
Wyatt Lee is a successful full-time Internet marketer. How would you like to get FREE inside secrets of a homeless chap who made more than $3 million in just 27 months online? Click Here for more details.

View Original Article Source at Altrana.com

Do NOT Submit Your Articles, Until You Read This

by Wyatt Lee

To all article authors out there: do not submit your articles, until you know how to avoid some of the common mistakes that many authors out there make.

Article writing, submissions and publications are getting more and more popular due to the Internet. This technique is actually one of the oldest and most effective in getting targeted prospects to visit your site, and then converting them into customers.

With the need for information-based marketing growing exponentially by the day, there are now lots of services and software available in the market that authors can use to simplify the process of distributing their articles. As a result, many Internet marketers are now going for article marketing as one of their Internet marketing strategies.

Though this is invaluable in getting the contents more exposure, this is only half of the story. I will share with you the painful truth about the common mistakes that many people make before submitting their articles to the directories.

Not focusing on the most important purpose

There are three key promotional benefits why Internet marketers go for article marketing: branding, lead generation and promotion of their website. But there is really only one important reason why you are writing an article, and that is to inform your audience.

If your article is not focused on this primary and most important purpose, it will fail to achieve the three promotion benefits simply because no one will be interested to read it in the first place. You need to figure out how to get people to read what is in your article first, and then entice them to click on your resource box.

Try to focus on the headline of your article to get the reader's attention, and then put something compelling in the resource box so that the reader will click through to your website.

Insufficient content to get the attention of the readers

It is a known fact that not all article banks and directories are going to accept your articles automatically. They do have some guidelines and specifications on the articles that they are accepting, so it is very important that you format your articles properly after writing them.

If you want your article marketing to work in the most effective way for you, then you must write the articles that publishers want in their publications. This also means you have to obey the standard guidelines, spell checks, researching on a good topic and even hiring a writer to produce a good content on your behalf.

At the end of the day, it is all really a matter of choice. You can start getting a little exposure from increased links back but on a very basic level, or enjoy massive exposure by investing a little extra time and effort writing content-rich articles.

You must be aware of the fact that an article submitted to directories does not necessarily have the same level of exposure as highly-targeted content ones geared towards a narrow group of interested audience.

Remember, all it takes is just one publisher with a hundred thousand readers to increase your potential audience overnight, and boost your credibility to new heights.

Failure to maximize the full potential of article marketing

You may already know for a fact that article marketing can help you generate many back links to your site. But do you know that you can get more visitors and better search engine results from just one article?

One of the tricks is to put your keywords at strategic places in your article. Put the keywords once in your headline, and then sporadically throughout the article for better optimization. You can also use an anchor text in the resource box, but it is important to note that some directories do not support this.

Article marketing is not all about generating back links to your site, although you can achieve better search engine results as you submit more articles. You should also focus your efforts on getting your articles picked up by publishers with a large subscriber base and gain more exposure for your brand name because of the quality of your work.

Now that you have finished reading this article, you can now have a peace of mind submitting your articles to the directories, because you have just learned how to avoid the common pitfalls that are bugging many article writers out there.

Authors Resource Box:
Wyatt Lee is a successful full-time Internet marketer. Do NOT Click Here, unless you want to get FREE inside secrets of a homeless chap who made more than $3 million in just 27 months online.

View Original Article Source at Altrana.com

How To Have Fun Doing Online Surveys?

by Eddy Kong

People thought that doing online paid surveys are boring and complicated, but in fact there are lots of fun online surveys out there. They are not all long and boring, and you can find sites that speaclize in making surveys fun and enjoyable.

When you do find a fun survey to do you will find that you will get through it quicker and will want to do more of them. Sometimes, the fun ones can be hard to come by but if you know where to look and what to look for you can still make good money targeting the fun ones.

How To Turn Surveys from Boring to Fun?

There are lots of ways to make online surveys fun you can try to find surveys that interest you or are based on some thing you care about.

This really is one of the best ways to turn a boring online survey into a fun online survey, the thing is to try and pick particular types of surveys that you know about, from sites that offer a search function (to make it easier).

The other option is to find a site that specializes in a particular type of fun online survey and if you can find one of them you are set.

People Mentality Doing Online Paid Surveys.

Some people find all online surveys fun and just enjoy trying them out but other people do it for the money and don't really care about having fun.

I think if you can do it and make money that's fine but if you can do it, make money and have fun at the same time, why not do it then?

There are lots of way to make a boring online survey a lot more fun, if you are the competitive type, you can try setting time limits and try to do as many as you can in that time, then try and beat that time on the next lot, yes it's an old school game, but it works to make it faster and more enjoyable.

At the end of the day if you really don't like doing online surveys there is no way to make them fun, however, if you try the suggestions I just mentioned above, even though you may still not like doing them, it will make it a bit easier to get though them.

A good thing to think about while you are doing these not so much on the fun online surveys themselves, but rather think about the money you are making because at the end of the day, that is the only reason you are really doing surveys in the first place... We'll just try to help you make it more enjoyable!

What To Do If You Don't Enjoy Doing Online Paid Surveys?

When you have tried all my tips on finding and doing fun online surveys and you find that you still don't like them.

Well, you may want to think about doing something else because there really is no point in doing something that you don't like doing.

If you do enjoy doing fun online surveys, then you will feel there are more power given to you, as it's not every day you find something that you like that makes you money at the same time, while not forgetting to have fun.

Money is equal important when doing online paid surveys, but balance it to put fun into online surveys.

This way you will indirectly will not take notice of the time spend doing online paid surveys and also the process. Have a good mental attitude and of course fun doing online surveys.

Well, this is a new paradigm in the 21st century and you can have fun doing things that you seems to hate it but try to develop the fun part gradually.

I urge you to start your journey to put more fun doing online surveys to get the maximum results and of course money, if you are serious of making some extra spare cash.

Authors Resource Box:
Eddy has a site which shares his articles on how to identify online paid surveys. Get his FREE articles at fun at paid surveys.

View Original Article Source at Altrana.com

The Future of Article Marketing - An Interview

by Jinger Jarrett

Chris Ellington is the CEO and Founder of Article Marketer. With over 20 years of marketing experience and expertise, he works with small business owners, clarifying strategic business initiatives. He guides them in focusing on the most important and profitable aspects of their businesses. Less than a year old, the Article Marketer site already serves thousands of authors and has successfully completed more than 3.3 million article submissions.

Question: I stumbled across your site by accident one day when I was approving articles on a list I owned. That's how I found you. Tell me how you got started in article writing and promotion.

Answer: Content is the foundation of any internet marketing campaign. No matter what you choose to do, whether it's hard-core SEO, Google AdWords, search enging marketing, email marketing, or any other form of online marketing - the web is fundamentally built around content.

Creating and providing content to the literally millions of content sites and newsletters just seemed to be a smart move. Did you know that there are now more websites on the net than there are people on
the planet? The webmasters of those sites simply don't have time to create the sheer volume of content they need to fill their newsletters.

I started sending articles to people who wanted content, and I was amazed at the results. More targeted traffic started showing up at my various sites. With more targeted traffic comes greater conversion - which means more people to opt-in to my lists, more affiliates join my
programs, and more sales of my products and services.

The problem was I was spending too much time submitting articles by hand. I knew there had to be a better way. There were services to do article submission - some charging up to $400 per article! - and there was software to download and install - but I was still chained to my desk to do the actual submission work.

My consulting work with small business owners had taught me that what the market needed was a low-cost, automated, hands-free solution. I set out to build a service that would alleviate all of the problems that I'd seen with article marketing: either time-consuming and tedious drudgework or high expense for the author, while being spam-ridden for the newsletter editors and content site owners.

I put together a team and we created completely automated submission, free article review to help each author get better results, and a team human-spam-blockers who make sure that spam never goes through our servers. Article submission is affordable to small business owners through a unique subscription model that allows an author to submit an unlimited number of articles without having to factor in the expense of each and every article.

Question: What changes have you seen in article writing and promotion since you started your service?

Answer: The article marketing landscape is constantly changing. Some once very popular article sites have completely vanished, overwhelmed by spam and the sheer volume of new articles being submitted. At the same time, new sites come online all the time. Keeping up with these changes is almost a full time job.

As people started understanding that they could get one-way (as opposed to reciprocal) links, better search engine placement, improved pagerank, more traffic and sales just from writing articles, we've
seen the inevitable entry of spammers into the market. These are people who are not interested in providing good content, but only want a free link in someone's newsletter.

The result is that the article directories and content site owners are putting more restrictions on the articles they'll accept. While in the early days we could submit short (150-250 word) articles, these days if an article isn't at least 400 words, it's unlikely to be accepted. A number of sites have now banned the use of 'tinyurl' URL replacements because spammers mask their affiliate links or links to bad neighborhoods.

It used to be that we could incorporate URLs into the article body, but more and more article sites are rejecting anything they find with a .com address. We have worked out an arrangement with most of the content sites to allow the specific use of URLs under certain circumstances, and we teach our authors how they can effectively incorporate URLs into their articles and yet avoid having their
accounts banned.

We've seen a surge of "Private Label" articles in the market. These are canned, pre-written articles that people can buy and submit under their own names. Unfortunately, only the first few people who submit those articles are successful, everyone else is an "also ran". Private Label articles are like jokes on the internet. The first time you see one, it's funny. The 50th time it's just annoying.

Question: What do you think article writers should be aware of when writing articles?

Answer: There are three rules when it comes to writing articles:
Rule #1: Provide Good Content
Rule #2: Provide Good Content
Rule #3: When in doubt, see Rules #1 and #2

If you follow those three rules, you'll do just fine. What is "good content"? It's approximately 750 words that allows the reader to come away with some knowledge that wasn't there before. Focus on a topic and make sure that the reader gets something of value at the end.

Authors should ask themselves this question:
Must a reader buy my product/service in order to take action?

If the answer is "yes", then go back to the drawing board. Of course, the author may need to substitute "visit my website", "subscribe to my newsletter" or any of a dozen other calls to action based on the author's desires.

When providing newsletter content, it's important to remember that you are speaking directly to a specifically targeted audience. These are people who have subscribed to "Dog Weekly" or "Fish Tank Monthly", so if your thing is dogs or fish tanks, this is your perfect audience. Put your best foot forward. Give them really good information and they'll want to visit your site for more information. At that point you can sell them something.

Another important point is that articles stay on the article banks forever. When you include a call to action in your resource box, make sure it's not a 'limited time offer'. Don't use contact information
that might go away. It's always best to send your readers to a website you control (and can update) so that if your email address or phone number changes, they will still be able to reach you.

Question: Share a few of your best article writing tips with us.

Answer: The title is key. It's the first thing people see and the first decision they make about your article. If they don't get past the title, they'll never read the rest.

A title should never be a noun. If you have a great article about fish tanks, and you title it "Fish Tanks", you're unlikely to get as many readers as you would with, for instance "How to Keep Your Fish Tank Sparkly Clean" (assuming, of course, that the article is about keeping a fish tank clean.) Add some action and some excitement to your title to draw people into the content.

Your article itself should be about one thing. Don't try to cover all aspects or every angle in a single article. Break it down into component parts and explain the most important points.

Try not to write a multi-part article series. I know that goes against some other advice you may have heard, but there are some important reasons to avoid multipart articles.

The first problem is that a reader may not have access to the other parts. How terrible would it be to find "Fish tanks Part 2" and not know how to find the first part? The second problem is that newsletter publishers may not be willing to commit to running all 16 parts of your masterpiece, and so will not print any of your work. Each article you write must be able to stand on its own, with a beginning, a middle and an end. Don't require that a reader be fluent in parts 1-3 before they read part 4. Never end your article with "to be continued..." or "the rest of this article can be found on my website..." because the content site owners are expecting you to provide content - all of it - in exchange for the link and the targeted audience they'll be delivering to you.

Question: What trends do you see in article writing and promotion, and what do you think the future holds for article writing and promotion?

Answer: We're seeing a shift in the marketplace. While at one time only "polished authors" would submit their articles, it's become much more common to get really good articles from average business owners.

People who have never written an article before are discovering that it isn't that hard. Our editors help them put out a good quality article the first time through. I can't tell you the number of emails
we get thanking us for the detailed assistance provided by our review team. Anyone can write an article about a topic they're passionate about (and isn't that why they started a business in the first place?) and they can create interesting content just based on their own experiences.

I believe that the surge of "Private Label" articles will go away as people discover that only original content actually delivers the results of marketing with articles. While re-writing those articles can be effective, just replacing certain words with synonyms is not enough. You can't expect a dog newsletter owner to put "Combing Your Mutt" in the newsletter after publishing "Grooming Your Dog" in last week's newsletter.

I think people are getting more excited about bringing their own expertise to the fore. Different dog groomers can write about combing dogs and have each of them published in the dog newsletter, because
each tells a specific story or anecdote, provides original tips and tricks learned "in the trenches", and brings a fresh perspective to the subject.

Will article writing and submission ever go the way of banner ads, pop ups, and FFA sites? No, because content is the foundation of the web. Other forms of marketing have come and gone - even email marketing is difficult these days - but anyone who provides good content to the content-hungry audience will see their work published all around the net, will get links from relevant sites, will see their pagerank increase, and will get more targeted traffic to their websites.

Authors Resource Box:
Jinger Jarrett will show you how to promote on Google News and Yahoo News for free. Get her latest book, "1001 Places to Market Your Business on the Internet for Free" at http://www.askjinger.com

View Original Article Source at Altrana.com

How To Grow Your List With Article Marketing

by Jason Oickle

People believe that building a list in a article marketing is a little difficult. But if you possess the right tools and tactics, obtaining that list is effortless. If you are a new guy in the domain of article marketing, then you have to uncover the basics first. Understand the appropriate ways of writing articles and gather on how you can be read by people by submitting your articles to websites and e-zines. Separately from this, teach yourself on how to attract customers to look in on your website using your articles. Always incorporate links to your site and offer additional knowledge. Once you learn of these things, then you should begin building your list. To help you out, here are certain things that you should learn so you will not have to put much effort and save time and energy.

Offer compact and absorbing information

Article marketing is genuinely worth trying. Though, most business outfits are trying it too and if you are not smart enough to counter them, your articles might not even be read. You can do this by offering compact, educational and compelling articles. Write 'how to' articles or real strategies. Like for instance, if your into an aquarium business, then write something about how to start an aquarium, discuss the necessary essentials and what are the frequent problems that a newbie will come upon. You can even begin a sequence of these articles so your readers will keep coming back.

Wow them with your articles

One of the best things that you can do in order to build your list is to wow people with your ideas and discussions. How to do that' Read! Read the current news about your business, read the news and integrate it to your business. Get the superior information offered not just in the internet but also on your region. The best thing to do this is to talk and deliberate alongside others. You may believe that these things are a misuse of time, but it will give you an edge to your fellow article marketers considering you can deliver new and brilliant ideas. Separately from this, always try and produce discussion amidst enthusiasts. In this way you can discover the things that are important to your customers and put them in your articles. A acceptable way to do this is to begin a forum in your website that discusses specific materials and issues around your business.

Offer subscription

Ask people to subscribe to your free articles. You can do this by making a weekly column or article that deals with the exact subject related to your product. If people are fascinated, they would absolutely subscribe to your articles. The best thing that you can get from this is that you can go straight to the person's inbox and offer them deals. Just be sure that your article is good reading and integrate your product within the article itself.

Free is the key

Offering free knowledge is good, but offering it without even obtaining the e-mail address of your customer is bad. Here's what you have to do when you begin offering free articles. First, offer a basic article that gives a general aspect of the dissimilar articles on your site. And then offer them that by registering to your site, they will get some free new articles. In this way, you get the reader to provide bits of information and you can start dealing with them through their e-mails. Most people who register are genuinely interested in your free articles, so that means they are actually possible customers.

Building your list is not really easy, but nobody can say that it has to be too hard too. Apply the steps noted above, and you can be certain that your list will begin growing. Always bear in mind that article marketing, as the label tells you command pretty good articles to start with. So make certain that you have them and always improve your mentality with new things. After that, remodel your website and apply these advices, and your list will grow without too much effort. These strategies are time savers and stress busters, and they can make certain that you maintain your share of customers.

Authors Resource Box:
Learn how to work smarter not harder. Visit Jason Oickle's Internet Marketing Blog today!

View Original Article Source at Altrana.com

The Importance of Articles in Web Promotion

by Adrian Kennelly

No doubt you have come accross this time and time again; to improve your websites popularity, search engine ranking etc., you need to write articles. You will also probably think, as I did, that I can't do this.

There are ways around this. You can purchase the rights to articles that will allow you to add your own resource box to the bottom. The content may not be the freshest and the newest, and many others may be using the same content or variations on it, but it is still content with your resource box tagged on at the bottom. There are numerous article submission directories and sites on the net, such as the biggies like GoArticles, to small ones like my own. You will be able to submit your article, even if it isn't original, to some of these without duplicating existing content on the article directory. This is what I did first.

The next possibility is to go somewhere like http://www.elance.com, and pay someone to write articles for you. This is more expensive than the first option, but has the benefit that the article is original, so it is more likely to be copied and published elsewhere. Also, make sure you have the complete rights to the material you commission, so that you may modify, relabel, or amalgamate into an ebook if you desire. Usually, you should get several decent articles for the amount of money you spend.

Finally, are you sure you can't write your own article? That you haven't found out something in your life that will be of interest to others? There is a huge list of possible article subjects at GoArticles and other sites, and you will be amazed at what you do know if you sit and think about it. After all, as I said earlier, I didn't think I was capable of writing an article, yet this is one I wrote myself, and it isn't my first. If you've made mistakes, an article describing how NOT to do something can be just as useful as one describing how to do something. If you still have problems coming up with a coherent article, jot down your notes and pay someone to ghostwrite it for you. Again, check sites like Elance for ghostwriters.

Why write and distribute articles in the first place? Free advertising and promotion. I submitted several articles to a handful (under five) of article directories. Several days later, after Google had done a recent crawl, I did a number of phrase searches on the web. If you enclose your search phrase in quotes, Google will search for that specific phrase. I searched for some of the article titles I had posted, and my own name (admittedly, this is only useful if you have a rare name that doesn't bring up pages of search results for other people of the same name). I found the articles I had published showing up on several websites. What made this even better was that a number of the places where I found the articles weren't places I had submitted them to. Other people had taken my articles and published them on their own websites. So the benefit is, lots of non-reciprocal links pointing to your website, that frequently you didn't have to do anything beyond initially publishing the article to get. Free traffic, advertising and promotion for a few minutes work.

A final note. Make sure the articles are useful, and not just promotional sales letters. They don't have to be long, 1-2,000 words is usually adequate as a maximum length for an article, but don't just publish sales blurb. Your article won't get syndicated elsewhere, and your reputation will suffer. Get known as a source of decent quality articles, and you will become known as an expert.

Authors Resource Box:
(c)2005 eGDC Ltd

Adrian Kennelly is the webmaster of DirectoryGold Web Directory, which includes an Article Directory

View Original Article Source at Altrana.com

Tossing The Box - Writing Beyond Your Usual Subject

by Bonnie Davis

Been thinking that maybe it's time to spread your writing wings a bit and pen something new? More specifically, you may be thinking about writing an article or several articles about a topic that is totally outside your usual subject area.

If you are, then Congratulations! This is a phase of the natural evolutionary process that writers experience ... it simply means that you're moving forward in your work. Writing articles about different subjects is an effective way of gaining even more exposure for yourself and your business.

Besides, marketing with articles doesn't limit you to being an authority on only one topic. All you need to do choose a new subject area in which to focus your writing.

Sure, you can always hit the Search Engines and reap the return of hot keywords up for grabs ... or, you can pick a topic off the top of your head ... maybe something you heard on the news... some new-age subject or relatively obscure concept about which you can write, provided you can research it well enough to do a credible article.

Or, you can stick with what you know.

Huh? But you're chomping at the bit to expand your writing into different areas. How is writing more about what you know going to offer a new challenge or more exposure for you?

As writers, we sometimes develop tunnel vision. In other words, we can't see the actual forest for the proverbial trees. Writing what you know isn't necessarily writing about the same subject.

That is, unless you only know that one topic about which you've been writing articles.

Lucky for you... you're a walking encyclopedia!

Sure you are, take a stroll through your own variegated alphabet of personal interests, those beyond your professional and/or career knowledge. You'll be surprised to realize that there are several subjects for which you already have the knowledge and expertise to produce incredible articles.

A airplanes - antiques - aquariums - art - autos
B ballet - baseball - birds - boating - building
C camping - cats - coins - cooking - crafts
D dancing - dating - decorating - dining - dolls
E ecology - eclipses - electronics - environment -ethics
F fencing - fishing - fitness - folksongs - figure-skating
G gardening - genealogy - golf - graphics - gymnastics
H hardware - history - hobbyhorses, hockey, hunting
I imaging - inns - insects - inspiration - investing
J java script - jazz - jewelry - jogging - jujitsu
K kayaking - keyboards - kids - kiting - knitting
L languages- lanterns - lapidary - laptops - lithography
M magic - martial arts - movies - museums - music
N nature - nightclubs - nostalgia - numerology - nuts
O occasions - ornaments - organization - outdoors - outfits
P painting - pets - picnics - photography - puzzles
Q quartz - quatrains - quiches - quilting - quotes
R racing - racquetball - recipes - retirement - robotics
S snorkeling - skiing - software - stenciling - swimming
T theatre - toys - trading cards - travel - trucks
U UFO's - umpiring - unicycles - urbanism - utilities
V vacations - vases - veterans - videos - vineyards
W wallpapering - waltzes - weight-lifting - wines - woodworking
X xenophobia - xylophone - x-ray astronomy
Y yachting - yard designs - yoga - yo-yo's - yodeling
Z zip files - zodiac - zoos - zoom lenses

It's okay if you don't see one of your particular interests or hobbies in the above list. In fact, that's even better.

Now, this is where you get to carve out your niche for writing articles. The hobbies and interests listed aren't meant to limit you, they're meant to inspire you!

Airplanes for A may not have struck a cord with you, but now auto's that's a different story. You've been into classic cars for as long as you can remember. There's your niche!

If the b in ballet stands for boring as far as you're concerned, consider what it means to you in building. Yes, you, the one who's always sporting a carpenter's apron and hammer every Saturday. Another niche nailed down!

Moving right along to the letter C, scratch the cats-coins-and-crafts and that's your category. Camping is one of your passions. And when it comes to cooking you grill a mean steak, if you do say so yourself. But wait... that comes under G for grilling. How about combining it with outdoors from O and recipes from R? Looks like you've cooked up your own niche article ideas in Outdoors + Grilling + Recipes = Savory Campsite Cuisine. You could do an entire series of articles on that topic!

As a writer, it's essential to remain genuine in order to be effective. Writing about what you know and on subjects about which you are truly passionate is one of the best ways to distinguish yourself. It's the feeling that comes through naturally as you write about certain topics, which is apparent to the reader and reflects you as an authority.

While research is indeed a part of writing, it does have its place. Hours invested in research will never replace what is written from within. If a subject is not in your heart, it will never be in your head ... and certainly not in your writing.

Call it old-school or back-to-basics, but being genuine is what separates real writers from those who are merely content generators. Unplug for a while to rediscover your own true interests and passions, but keep a pen and paper handy. A breath of creative fresh air breeds countless intriguing ideas... you can rely on your collective notes and inspirations when you return to your keyboard. Rest assured ... they will serve your writing well!

(c) 2006, Davis Virtual Assistance.

Authors Resource Box:
If you are ready to exploit the marketing with articles method then join expert Bonnie Jo Davis at Article Submission Sites today! During your visit make sure that you check out her no cost blog, Squidoo Lens and monthly e-zine.

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Article Must Haves - A Common Sense Approach

by Michael Saunders

The benefits of successfully using articles to support the marketing of a Website cannot be overstated. Effectively employing article strategies can increase a Website's visibility, increase its link-popularity and build the reputation of the Website and the Website owner. With a little foresight and a dose of common sense every Website operator and owner can increase the success of their Website using article strategies.

However it is not sufficient to simply fill your site with articles; they must fulfill certain requirements as well. Following a few simple guidelines will allow a Website owner to obtain the maximum benefits an article strategy will provide for your site. A well written article will catch the eyes and interest of your visitors and keep them coming back for more. They would also be more likely to recommend your site to others.

Here are some tips to help you make the most of your article efforts. The keys mentioned here will enable your articles to support your Website objectives and increase the traffic flowing to your site.

• Keywords and Keyword Phrases.

An article must always be centered on the keywords and keyword phrases. As each Website visitor goes to a site, there are those who are just merely browsing but actually looking for something specific. When this happens, a searcher usually goes to a search engine and types in the keywords they are looking for (e.g. Toyota Camry, Meningitis, Tax Lawyer, etc.). It could be anything they want.

The Important thing is that you have an article that has the keywords that are related to your site. For example, if you maintain an auto parts site, you must have articles about cars and their parts. There are many tools available on the Internet that assist Webmasters in determining what keywords and keyword phrases are mostly sought out. Using a tool like WordTracker of Good Keywords helps to determine what keywords to use and write about.

• Keyword Density

Once you know that you have your keywords and keyword phrases, you must use them effectively. An article must have good keyword density for a search engine to "feel" its presence. Articles should at least have ten to fifteen percent of keyword density in their content for search engines to rank a site high in their search results. Getting a high rank is what articles do best for a site.

Keyword density is the number of times a keyword or keyword phrase is used on an article. The number varies depending on the number of words used in an article. An effective article must have a keyword density that is not too high or too low. With a very high density, the essence of the article is lost and may turn off a reader as well as the search engines. It comes off as overeager. A low number may be ignored by the search engines.

• Good Article Content

Like what is stated above, you cannot just riddle an article with keywords. They must also be regarded as good reading materials. Articles must be able to entertain people as well as provide good information and help for their needs. Articles should be written well with correct spelling and good grammar. If you want people to trust you, make your work good and well thought out.

People respond well to figures, facts and statistics. Try to get great information and as many facts as you can. A good and well written article will boost your reputation as an expert in your chosen field or topic. As more people believe in you. They will be able to trust you and your products.

• Linking Articles

If you are going to submit articles to ezines and/or contribute your articles to newsletters and other sites, DON'T ever forget to include a link to your site. A resource box with a brief description of both you and your site should always be placed right after your articles that you have submitted. If people like your articles, they will be more predisposed to click on the link directing them to your site.

Authors Resource Box:
Michael Saunders edits www.internet-marketing-library.com
He Will Build A Money Making Website Just For You Today!
http://www.michaelasaunders.net/recommends/pluginprofit.html

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