People write articles for many reasons. For some, it's just a pleasant pastime and they enjoy sharing information with others. For people like myself, we write articles to create a presence on the Internet and help generate leads. So the question is whether it is worth the time and trouble. I feel quite sure that when you get to the end of this article, you will be firing up your computer to get started on your writing.
There are many authors who write about a variety of subjects. Because of this they do not always use their own name. You can actually use as many different names as you wish. So, this is one of the first things you have to decide. Are you always going to use your own name? If on occasion you are writing about a subject far removed from your business, then perhaps you would want to use another name.
If it is your intention is to brand yourself on the Internet, then you would want to use your personal name as often as possible. It is best to chose a subject that can, in some way, transition quite easily to having the reader click on your link to take them to the landing page of your website.
Articles that are written for the Internet should be approximately 400 - 600 words in length. That translates into about eight paragraphs, with each containing approximately three short sentences. It is recommended that you write a few short articles instead of one long one.
It is quite amazing how your presence on the Internet can increase significantly in a very short period of time, through article writing. My first article was published at the end of December, 2008. That is only three weeks ago. Up until that time I had zero presence on the Web. If I searched my name, I would get no hits at all. Now, just those three short weeks later, when I Google my name in quotes "Jan Shimano" I am coming up with 2760 hits and each one relates to me personally. As an experiment, why don't you go ahead and Google my name and see how much it has increased as it usually goes up every day.
You might be wondering how I was able to accomplish this. O.K. I'll tell you!! All it took was for me to write 10 short articles and have them accepted by EzineArticles. This is the largest article directory and should be the first place that you submit your articles to. This is the litmus test....if EzineArticles approves it, then rest assured it will be accepted at all other directories.
However, just getting published with EzineArticles is not going to get you the huge presence on the Internet that you are looking for. There is an important second step to take and that is to sent it off to a multiple submission company. The one I use, and which I highly recommend, is Unique Article Wizard (UAW). On their website, you type in three unique versions of your article, along with variations in the Resource Box. UAW then configures all the paragraphs and resource boxes and comes up with hundreds and hundreds of unique articles. This is very important, because the search engines do not like duplication and you will not be rewarded at all for it....in fact, they could punish you. One of my articles was submitted to over 1800 directories by UAW.
There is no cost to getting started with Ezine Articles. However, there is a $70.35 a month cost for UAW. If you are only planning on writing an article now and again, then obviously it would not be worth your while to join them. However, if you are serious about creating a huge presence on the Internet and generating free leads through your articles, then this is definitely a great way to go.
In my estimation, this is one of the best kept secrets in internet marketing. The majority of people in my business feel that as they are not professional writers, they can't be part of this. This could not be further from the truth. If you can sit down and write a letter to a friend, then you can write an article. You are not writing it for your old English teacher and people are not reading it to critique your grammar. Go ahead, get one article under your belt and I believe there will be no stopping you!!!
About the Author:
Jan Shimano was District Manager for Health & Welfare Canada for many years. She was also self-employed as a Nutritional Consultant and a Master Herbalist. She is presently a Business and Health Coach and operates her own internet marketing company from her residence on Vancouver Island. Jan invites you to learn more about her by dropping by her YouTube channel at www.YouTube.com/1jinny
No comments:
Post a Comment