Article marketing is a powerful technique that has been used for a long time by online marketers. Not only you can use article sites to build quality one way backlinks to your site, you can also use article directories to drive traffic to your site, traffic that converts to sales!
Any article you submit to any article directory can give you a backlink. However, not any old article on an article directory is going to drive people to your site. In order to get that traffic to your site, and more importantly, convert that traffic to sales, you need to write articles that can convert.
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The followings are 3 important things that all well written, converting articles, whether written for article directories, affiliate blogs, eCommerce sites, or what have you, have in common.
You can think of these 3 pointers as the structure of a well-written article. Knowing and applying them to your articles can help you write better and more effective articles that not only can divert traffic from article directories to your site, but can also convert that traffic to sales for you.
1. Title – Curiosity
The title of your article is the very first thing anyone will see. Its like the first impression. The title of your article is where you can make the right impression. The kind of impression that makes the reader want to click on it and read the article.
It’s your job to convey the reader that this article, your article, is worth reading. That it is going to give the reader information that he or she is not going to find anywhere else.
By using interesting and attention grabbing titles, you can make the title of your article stand out amongst tens of other titles that a visitor may see on any given page of an article directory. Give them something that forces them to click on your title.
That said, be sure to deliver what you’ve promised. Don’t just promise stuff in your title that you can not deliver in your actual article. That’s a sure fire way to get people not ever paying attention to your articles.
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2. Body – Reinforcement
This is the actual article, the main body of your article. Your real purpose is NOT to give your readers all the answers to their questions/problems.
This is very simple – if you reveal everything they need to know in your article, you don’t leave them any reason to visit your site. You have to give the just enough information that makes them curios and leaves them wanting more, but not too much that they won’t have any reason to click on your links and visit your site. That’s the whole concept behind article marketing. That is what article marketing means!
The main focus of the body of your article should be to reinforce the idea that the answer they are seeking is worth pursuing and knowing, and that you have that answer. Wake up the sense of urgency in them, the sense that they must find the answer or solution to that problem, now.
3. Resource box – The Promised Land
The job of a title and the body of your article is to spark curiosity in your readers. So, by the time they get to the end of your article, they are ready to click on your link. That is where your resource box comes in.
The resource box is where you get to place a link to your own site. Where you get to tell the reader that you have the complete answer to the question or problem they are facing, and to get it, they just have to click on your link.
This is where you can’t go wrong. Otherwise, all your hard work is nothing but a waste of time! If you can’t convince them to click your link, you have lost the battle. They will click the back button, or they’ll click on a link to another article in search of the answer they originally came to find out.
With the title of your article you have promised them you have what they are looking for. With the body of your article you have convinced them that their problem is real and that it needs immediate attention. You have shown them that you know what you are talking about and that you have the solution to their problem.
Now, it’s time to get them to cross over. It’s time to use a strong call to action to get them to click your link and visit your site. Tell them explicitly that by clicking your link, they will arrive at the promised land where they can have the answer, the solution, to their question, their problem.
Article marketing still works in 2013. But to make it work you have to work on your writing skill. If you can frame and structure your articles using this framework, you are guaranteed to get traffic from article directories, traffic that can and will convert!