Believe it or not no one will click on your site-link or affiliate link unless you fulfill all of the goals of an article. Make sure you achieve each goal in every article you write.



You need to achieve seven main goals to get people to click on your affiliate or website link. First people need to click on your link, then they need to buy from you. This article will outline each of the goals. Subsequent artilces will give you more details.

1. Attract The Attention Of Your Reader.

You have to consider two factors in attracting the attention of your potential customers. First you have to make sure the subject of your article is so interesting that your reader feels compelled to read the whole thing. Then you have to quickly and clearly communicate your topic in the headline and first couple of sentences.

2. Get Them To Read The Whole Article.

Once you have attracted interest you need to say something that they didn't know before or in a way that they had never heard it before. This is called the "news value" of an article. There's no need for anyone to read your article if you aren't providing any real reason to continue reading.

3. Have Them Respect You By The Time They Finish The Article.

Whatever you say in your article should sound credible. Quite often you will be in a situation where you disagree with the commonly held views of your audience. If you just blurt out your disagreement, people will get turned off and they will stop reading. Make sure whatever you say is solid and believeable. Gradually lead people to the conclusion you want them to come to. Always start off being credible and keep your comments credible as your article leads people to a new conclusion that they may not have accepted at the beginning.

4. Have Your Reader Feel Like You Understand Them By The Time They Finish Your Article.

This concept is so basic for any salesperson but all the courses on article marketing ignore it completely. If you expect to sell anything, first you need to have a rapport with your reader. Joe Vitale addresses this in his sales letter writing course as "maintaining their trance". In The Robert Collier Letter Book he calls it "staying in step with the conversation going on in their mind".

5. Make It Really Worthwhile For Them To Have Read The Article.

Your prospect is spending his valuable time in reading your article. Make sure you reward him for his sacrifice. If you can provide a lot of value for the reader, they will pay you back by following your recommendation to click on the affiliate link.

6. Set Up Your Article So Your Reader Feels Positively About The Product You Will Ultimately Offer For Sale.

This is the basis of all successful selling through articles. It's known as pre-selling. You shouldn't be selling directly in your article but you should provide insightful information to help them appreciate the features in the product you will be selling.

7. Motivate Them To Click On Your Site-Link In The Resource Box.

This is the simplest goal to achieve if you have successfully achieved the previous goals. All you have to do is ask them to click on the link provided. Just make sure you ask for them to take action. You always have to ask for a specific action or they won't click on the link.

Writing profitable articles is a matter of getting people to click on your link when they are pre-disposed to making a purchase. When your articles achieve all of the goals presented here it is more of a science than an art. Just follow the steps and you will be amazed at the results.

I'll go into great detail for each step in subsequent articles so you know exactly what to write in your own articles.