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Article Marketing Basics

By Vickie J. Scanlon


Do you want to utilize articles as one of your marketing strategies? But do not know what you need to do after you write the article? If that's the case, here are some helpful hints to get your article writing out to your target market.


Simple Rules to Article Writing

Here are some simple basic rules to article writing. First and foremost keep in mind the purpose of the article you are writing, then proceed with these simple rules:


Mechanics of Article Writing

1) It is best to use Notepad with the format "word-wrap" off. A lot of the article directories want your article to wrap naturally, without any hidden sentence breaks or page breaks. If your article doesn't wrap naturally and has a lot of unnecessary coding garbage, they will more than likely reject the article and make you clean it up and resubmit it again.

2) If you are using Microsoft Word stay away from the smart quotes. The smart quotes will leave your document with question mark symbols and/or other garbage. In addition, Microsoft Word gives you additional hidden coding garbage-that directories do not want. Again, some of the directories can work with Word, while others cannot. 

My suggestion is to create it in Word, do your spell check and than transfer it into Notepad to keep the copy clean for the directories- and to eliminate headaches. If you are submitting by hand, you definitely do not want to do this tedious task two or three times.

Your Signature

At the end of your article be sure to put your resource box. That should include your signature. Not only should it include your website info and/or blog info but you can also promote your product or service as well. But don't go crazy with the links in your resource box. Some directories only allow two or three links.

Also make sure your signature is concise and relevant to the article. If your article is talking about programming and you give them a link about shoes, you really missed the mark and your target market. And, that translates into lost affiliate revenue, lost time, lost energy and used bandwidth.


Get your articles out there

If you are a new site, it is important to get your site name out to the masses to see. Granted, for some it may be a tedious job but you will see targeted traffic coming your way. You can usually find tools to help to automate the process like Article Mass Control.


Articles for the Search Engines

Again, Search Engine Optimization does come into play. Make sure that you have several keywords in mind. Try to weave the keywords into your copy without distorting the quality of your work. The keywords will help the search engines find your article, and thus, get your article indexed and seen by yet more of your targeted market. And who knows, you may find your article in the top ten of Google, MSN and Yahoo.


To conclude, article marketing is a cost effective way to get your business off
the ground and in full view of the Internet community. In fact, some webmasters have utilized article marketing as one of  their major marketing strategies when promoting their site. It takes time, your energy, but the rewards can be great. Why? Articles do not stop circulating after you're done with a 6 week campaign. Your article will continue to give you traffic for many years to come.

About the Author:

Vickie J Scanlon  -- Visit her site at: My Affiliate Place for articles, ebook, how to info about article marketing,  tech accessories, software utilities, business notebooks and desktops for business.

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