When submitting an article to “Ezine Articles”, or other ezine sites or forums, there are certain questions you need to ask yourself about the probable effectiveness of the article. You need to ask these questions before you begin to write. There is little point in sitting down at your computer to expend time and effort on any project unless you know what you are doing and why.
Here, therefore, are some key questions:
“Why am I submitting the article in the first place?” This might seem rather an obvious question to ask but you do need to consider the answer very carefully. Posting an article is a great way to raise awareness of both yourself and your products. It presents you in the eyes of your reader as an expert within your niche. This does mean that the article must be of high quality. Posting a poor article is worse than posting no article at all.
“Is my article aimed at the customers I am seeking?” Your use of language must be aimed at your specific marketplace. If you are writing to engage with retired people your choice of words and your presentation will need to be different from a pitch to a youthful audience. If your readers are from a group of motor enthusiasts, for instance, the use of technical terms related to cars will go down well and impress your readers. If you are writing for boating enthusiasts, writing about the sharp end and the blunt end will, rather obviously, not impress.
“Is my article going to encourage my readers to click the Resource Box link?” This is a really key question. This is one of the main reasons we submit articles. With every article posted there is a resource box which will tell the reader something about you and your niche. Ir will include a link which will usually be to an opt-in page or a product sales letter. This, after all, is the purpose of writing and posting an article. Yet again we see the importance of producing quality copy: Poor quality = No click!
“How useful is my article to other sites?” One big plus of submitting quality articles is that they can be taken up by others for use in their own newsletters and blogs. This they are allowed to do on the understanding that they include your resource box too. The very best articles can go viral as they spread across the internet via this usage. Every time someone republishes one of your articles it and, more importantly, your resource box finds its way before the eyes of many new people.
“Does my article raise a desire in my reader to know more?” The old business adage of AIDA (attention-interest-desire-action) raises its head here. It may seem to be labouring this point, but quality is the key. Your article must provide genuinely useful information on a subject related to your niche. Never use the article to make a sales pitch – that isn’t the point. Your resource box link will take people to a sales page if that’s what you want. The purpose of the article is to raise desire within your reader. They are then very likely to click your resource box link. You can then let your opt-in page or sales letter do the rest.
“Is my article going to generate money for my business?” If your article really connects with your readers they are going to follow the link in your resource box to your website, opt-in page and/or sales letter. The more traffic your articles send to your websites – the more sales you will make – the more money you will generate.
When writing articles, as with all aspects of internet marketing, quality is the key. If you would like to read more of my writing on this and other related topics please CLICK HERE.