Is Article Marketing for You? 4 Ways to Kill a Perfectly Good Article.

I have been article marketing for a long time. However, like a lot of people I would write an article post it on my blog or newsletter, and sometimes it would go to ezinearticles.com.

Even so, in reviewing my marketing plan at the beginning of the year – I realized I was not using the full potential of my resources. Article marketing is a phenomenal tool and everyone should be using it.

What made me refocus on article marketing?

I started getting monthly reports that showed my stats – how many people read my articles – the most popular articles and how many re-posted my articles (with my resource box).

Not only that but I could actually set up my twitter account on ezinearticles.com and when I published an article it would be sent out on Twitter, need I say more?

So – I went on my search for the most effective way to use article marketing – and I am going to pass some of those tips on to you…

However, before I do I know a lot of you are intimidated with the thought of writing articles – and why is that?

I have found the biggest sticking point with my clients is “fear” – what are they afraid of?

With a great majority of my clients, I have found they are worried about “not writing the perfect article”. Yes as suspected they are perfectionists! A fear of failure or not measuring up – what do I say to that? – Phooey!

The Nike’ saying “Just Do It” is exactly right!

Roughly write out your ideas and work from that point. The first article is the scariest from there, it gets easier and easier.

It is not as hard as you think.

Another biggie that is expressed to me is the confusion of what they should write about.

There are so many topics you can research on the internet but the best topic to write about is your expertise what is it, you are good at? What do you have knowledge of that your client needs to know?

The internet has so much information.

Research the topics you want to write about – talk about great articles you come across and link back to them – write points of interest on subject and expand on those.

Brain storm – enjoy the process!

4 Ways to Kill Your Article Marketing Goals

Mistake number one – writing a title that is ho-hum or just plain boring.

With all the competition out on the internet it is extremely important that you write a title to your article that has pizzazz. Make sure it has keywords in it and the more intriguing and interesting the title – the more traffic you will get.

Mistake number two – poor quality content.

OK, you have found an amazing title – you even researched keywords to use. But the content is not exactly stellar, in fact the writing is just a bunch of fluff and empty words – no real instructions or informative content.

Bad idea – people will stop reading your articles – and remember not to bother next time around.

Mistake number three – the copy of your text should not have typos – or be formatted poorly.

Have you ever started reading an article or email and the spelling embarrassed you and you didn’t even write it? I rest my case – make sure everything is spelled correctly!

Another thing to consider is breaking your text into paragraphs and highlighting individual lines. It makes your article easier to read – and will lead to many more readers – and miraculously – many more visitors to your blog or website.

Mistake number Four – under utilization of resource box

Resource boxes are why you do article marketing – it leads the reader to click on a link and takes them to your blog – website or affiliate page. It invites the reader to get more good information from you (or it should).

It also provides valuable back-links to your website or landing page that will help with your SEO (Search Engine Optimization). Instead of talking about yourself in the first few lines it is more effective to offer them something (of value) free. Then introduce yourself - in as short and succinct a way as possible, while still giving them the essence of whom you are.

Example: Less effective resource box.

The way I use to have my resource box – and I have seen others as well

Is your website an integral part of making money in your business? Then you need to "Create the image you need to attract the customers you want." Pamela Jacob, owner of Artista Design, can help you do just that. She specializes in all types of visual mediums and has been in the new media industry for over a decade. To gain more valuable insights from Pamela Jacob visit: http://www.artistadesign.com

Example: A more effective resource box

The way I have my resource box set up now.

As a (FREE) gift to you - download your copy of "The Ultimate Guide to FREE Traffic" just go to http://artistadesign.com

Getting your online business humming can be a daunting task. Having an expert who can guide you - one who has walked the walk and talks the talk is invaluable.

Pamela Jacob is just that - she is the owner of Artista Design and has been working with online businesses for over a decade.

Writing articles is such an important process, especially when marketing your own online business – once you get into the hang of it you are going to find, it is not only richly rewarding – monetarily – but a lot of fun as well!

Until next time – have an amazing day!

Check out my portfolio at: http://artistadesign.com/portfolio.html

Pamela Jacob – Artista Design

Providing Creative Solutions & Valuable Results

What is Stopping You?

Most of us dream of being independently wealthy - we want to be able to take care of our family in style, enjoy the finer things in life. For some it seems like a dream that is unobtainable – one that we put aside as we go to our 9 – 5 job and live pay check to pay check.

It doesn’t have to be that way – we live in America one of the few places on earth where we have the freedom to make choices to see our dreams come to fruition!

There is nothing more satisfying than blazing your own path – being responsible for your future, and what it holds. Seeing your idea’s come to life, if you are passionate about what you do, it will fall into place with the proper tools.

What does it take? It takes an idea and/or skill, a lot of hard work, a burning desire, stick-to-itiveness and innovation. It is not for the timid or the lazy, and it is certainly not for those that want a handout.

However, there are some pitfalls you need to watch out for and these are major dream killers.

4 things that can stop you before you get started…

1. Picking a Business- There are so many, do you want to become a super affiliate, do you have a service you want to offer, or would you like to sell an amazing product? Perhaps you have a lot of ideas. What do you do? How do you decide?
2. You are overwhelmed -You have decided on a direction – you know what you want to do. You just don’t know how to get started. Half of the things you read don’t make sense, the other half seemed to be filled with fluff and hype. Where do you turn and who do you trust to give you sound advice?
3. Procrastination- You should get started – you have everything planned out in your mind - but it never quite happens. You know what you should or could do – but you don’t do it. You never quite find the right time. After all your favorite TV show is on, your X-Box is calling you. There are always other projects in the way – and people to take care of.
4. Tech Hell – You are as smart as the other guy – so why is it you feel so inept when it comes to the language of the internet? Putting the technical side of things together is driving you insane! Domain names, Host, FTP, Dream Weaver, Front Page, flash, opt-in pages, landing pages, blogs, MySQL, php, shopping carts, web 2.0 and more….

All these situations have simple solutions – and if you honestly sit down and think about it – you could come up with many.

Follow your passion when it comes to starting your own business do what excites you.

Perhaps you want to produce your own product – you are an expert at something that others want to know about – start a blog, corner the niche market – then write an e-book.

On the other hand, perhaps you don’t want to create a product yourself – become an affiliate and promote other products and make a tidy little sum. The possibilities are endless – but the key is finding something that excites and motivates you.

Carve out a few hours in your day to work on this project – you don’t have to dedicate your whole life to it, if that is not what you want to do.

It does take dedication – but you have to get started sometime. Get your spouse in on the vision you have with this new business. Enlist your families help in achieving your goals.

There is nothing that quite compares to taking an idea building a concept and seeing it come to life. Recruiting your support system to help you is very rewarding – and is important in the whole scheme of things.

Tech hell is a reality as some point for most of us – everyone has to start somewhere. Find a mentor someone you trust that will freely give information. Do research – make sure the person you are trusting is a professional – get referrals and remember you do not need to pay for everything. – Be willing to invest in things that are genuine and will take you to the next level in your business.

Do not be so stingy you will not spend money on your business, alternatively you do not want to spend money on thing you do not need.

Find the proper fit when finding professionals to work with – people who you feel comfortable with, who will answer your questions willingly and with a smile.

If someone you come in contact with makes you feel foolish for asking a question – then do not work with them and please do not hire them.

Follow you instincts!

Keep an open mind when listening to professional opinions, but remember the old saying “Keep an open mind – but not so open you brain falls out”.

You do not need to be an expert at everything. I have been in this business a long time and I will never know all there is to know.

No-one is an expert at everything – and you are no exception!

For expert advice or a helping hand – give me a call. I love helping my clients bring things to life!!

Pamela Jacob Artista Design

Providing Practical Solutions & Valuable Results

Is Your Website Doing the Trick?

Some of you may have read this before in my Newsletter but remember repetition is never bad policy if it reminds one of things they need to watch out for! If you website is not bringing you what you need – make sure you have gone through this check-list. Each step will make a difference.

Is your web pulling in the clients and revenues you need?

10 Secrets to Building a Profitable Website.

1. Research - check out your competition.

Who are your competitors?

You will want to go online and do a search for your product or service. Look at the companies on the first two pages of Google.

That is your target. Those are the companies that you want to beat in search engine ranking.

Take a look at their website. Notice the copy. What meta data are they using? Analyze their website. Are they successful? What are they not doing right?

Look for the holes. You are going to meet the needs of their customers (that they are not fulfilling) so they become YOUR customers.

2. The Image of your Website Must Reflect who you want to Attract.

Websites should always be designed with your target audience in mind, not just your own personal preferences. Understanding the products/services/information your target audience is searching for is paramount to designing and maintaining an effective web site.

Knowing the type of design elements, colors and look that will attract your perfect customer and keep them there is of utmost importance.

3. Keep a consistent look and feel

Make sure your website is consistent from page to page, same font, color scheme, basic layout and navigation. This will make your business look professional and pulled together.

When visitors come to your site you want them to have a good experience and you need to have a great image. 4. Build Consistency in your Branding Identity.

Your website should have your distinctive logo and look like your business cards, letterhead, and any other marketing material you have. If you are serious about your business you want the public to get to know who you are just by glancing at your logo or seeing anything with your business name on it.

Smart business people realize that a powerful image attracts new customers and distinguishes their business from the competition. What is branding? To create a distinct and memorable identity, through the consistent use of company logos, corporate colors, typography and any other visual elements that have been decided on.

5. Build a Website that can Grow with your Business.

Many businesses think that once they build their website it will stay the same forever.

As your business evolves and changes so will your website. It is important to keep this in mind when you are initially designing your website.

Make sure that the design of your website will allow for future links – future growth. Don’t design your site so that you have to start from scratch just to restructure or add a few pages.

6. Make sure your navigation is clear and concise

The people that visit your website should be able to find what they want easily. As a general rule they should not have to click more than 3 times to get to where they want to go. Try to make it 2 clicks if possible.

Be sure and develop a site map for your website, this will allow an on-line user to quickly locate the information they want.

Remember if a visitor to your website becomes overwhelmed and cannot find what they want quickly they will leave and go to your competitor.

7. Optimization your Website Properly

Your website should be quick to load into any browser. It is a fact that visitors to a website will quickly lose interest if your pages don’t load quickly.

The type of animations, movies, and graphics used and the compression of these items make the difference between success and failure.

Always make sure your first page loads fast and consider what type of access your target audience has to the internet. Build your website to the lowest common denominator. If you do want video or larger animations on your site make sure your visitor can download the plug-ins needed to view these items and warn them that it will take time for them to load.

Note of interest: Google is now ranking websites that load fast, higher than those that do not.

8. Set Your Website up for Marketing.

From the very beginning a business should be cultivating a good data base of people that are interested in their products or services. Don’t make the mistake of not putting a sign-up on your site.

Offer a free newsletter, article or anything that is valuable to your customer.

Collecting this information will allow you to keep in touch with people who are interested in your product or service but are not ready to buy at this time.

Make sure you let potential customers know of your privacy policy – keep the information you gather for your marketing only.

9. Internet Marketing through Search Engines

Meta tags are much less important than placing Keywords in the content of you website copy. Algorithms change constantly so it is important to know what each individual search engine is looking for. A great resource to use is http://www.scrubtheweb.com it will evaluate your website and determine if your website is search engine friendly and best of all it is free.

Once all your key words are in place and you have your site optimized you are ready to submit your site to search engines.

10. Keep your website fresh.

Make sure you have a section on your website that is updated on a regular basis. People will not come back to your website more than once if it stays the same week after week.

Draw interest with a blog, message board, articles or an events page.

Within the next few weeks I will be unveiling my new website and it is completely different from my current one. I will be announcing it and I hope you will check it out.

Contact me for solutions to your online business needs!

Pamela Jacob – Artista Design