Article Marketing is a simple, effective low-cost way to bring very high quality visitors to your website. You can establish yourself as an authority in the industry, and build trust with your audience through articles. You don’t have to be an expert writer to have an effective article campaign.

Once you write an article, there are many places to distribute your content online, so that you have the largest audience possible, reading your articles. You can optimize your articles for specific keywords so that they appear in the search engines results when prospects search for your keyword.

Task (1st Day):

• Day 1: Choose one keyword, and quickly write one article
• Day 2: Proofread your article, then distribute it using the links below.

Action Outline

	I.	Define Your Target Audience
	II.	Select a Keyword
	III.	Choose Your Topic
	IV.	Write Your Article
	V.	Write The Title
	VI.	Distribute Your Article

Step-By-Step

I. Define Your Target Audience

Defining your target audience a fundamental step in writing effective articles. “People who want to make money” is a very broad audience, that needs to be further defined, to be effective. There are many different types of people looking to make money, all for different reasons. The more closely you can define your target market, the more this audience will relate and respond to, your articles.

There are a couple of ways to choose your target audience. You can either choose to target people just like you, or may want to branch out and target a different audience. Either way, use the following list of questions to define your audience:

1. What do they do for a living?
2. What struggles do they face?
3. What is important to them?
4. What are their values?
5. What is their current income?
6. What are their income goals?
7. What types of activities do they enjoy?
8. What is their definition of success?
9. Do they use any industry specific “lingo” or terminology?

II. Select Your Keyword

Since your articles can show up in the search engines for specific keywords, you’ll want to “optimize” each article for a long-tailed keyword.

Choose one long-tailed keyword for your article.

Short-Tailed Keywords vs. Long-Tailed Keywords

“BMW” (short-tailed)
“Black 7 series BMW” (long tailed)

“Luxury Home” (short-tailed)
“Luxury 5 bedroom Home in Aspen Colorado” (long-tailed)

“Online Business” (short-tailed)
“Best online home based business opportunity” (long-tailed)

III. Choose Your Topic

Once you have a long-tailed keyword, choose a topic specifically related to that keyword.

For example, if your long-tailed keyword is “Best online home based business opportunity,” than your topic could be “How to Find the Best Online Home Based Business Opportunity” or “How to Know If You’re In The Best Online Home Based Business Opportunity.”

Here are 5 ideas for article topics:

1. A how-to article
2. A review article
3. A problem, then solution article (define a problem, provide the solution)
4. A personal experience article
5. A comparison article (compare your former profession to your new opportunity)

Here is another fantastic way to come up with article topics:

1. Write down the top 5 concerns you had, about starting a new business before you joined your opportunity
2. Write out the solutions that your opportunity provides, to these concerns.
3. You now have 5 article topics!

Here’s why this works so well: The people who are reading your articles probably have the exact same concerns that you did, before you joined. By addressing these concerns in your article, prospects will feel that your article was written just for them and they will feel drawn to you.

Whenever possible, you want your article to have an emotional aspect to it. This can be frustration (i.e. “Are you frustrated with MLM’s that pay tiny commissions and take years to build?” Think about the problems that your audience faces and what emotions are tied to those problems.

IV. Write Your Article

Writing articles is easier than you think! Your goal is to complete this step in 20 minutes or less. Do not worry about making your article perfect. The most important thing you can do, is just sit down and start writing. Here’s how to do it quickly:

1. Make a list of 3 main points you want to get across in your article (one sentence each).
2. Write down 3-5 sentences that backup each of your three points.
3. Your three main points will be the first sentence of three paragraphs.
4. The 5 sentences you wrote will make up the body of each paragraph.

You now have 3 paragraphs, and just need an introduction paragraph.

1. Write 3-4 sentences that sum up your three main paragraphs.
   This will be your introduction paragraph.

Now you just need to finish it up!

1. Write a 2-3 sentences that sum up your three main points, and gives people the final solution.

*If you are writing a problem/solution driven article, you want to reiterate your audience’s problem. This is effective, because your audience thinks, “This person really knows what I’m thinking and what problems I have! I want to listen to what they have to say, and take a look at the solution they are offering!”

V. Write the Title

Once you have your article ready, you want to create a compelling title by following these key points:

• Whenever possible, include your entire keyword in the title.
• Move your keyword as close to the beginning of the title as possible.
• If you are doing a review or comparison article, don’t reveal “the end of the story” or your final opinion in the title. People will be less inclined to click on your article and read the rest.
• Questions make great article titles. The human brain has a specific chemical reaction when a question is unanswered, it does NOT like it! People will be drawn to do whatever it takes, to get their question answered, which can include reading your article and seeing what you have to say, and clicking through to your website.

VI. Distribute Your Article

Distribute Your Article To The Following Sites:

• www.EzineArticles.com
• www.Amazines.com
• www.GoArticles.com

Important Notes

• Your article should be assisting the reader. Your article is not the place for a sales pitch, this will turn people off.
• If you are writing a “how-to” article, never be afraid of giving away your “best stuff.” The better content you give your audience for free, the more inclined they will be to listen to you, and ultimately, spend money with you.