If you aren't advertising online, the question very simply is, why? Why haven't you taken advantage of the most powerful advertising medium ever? Why haven't you used the viral power of the Internet to extend your reach beyond anything imagined? Why haven't you placed your message in the very place where people are looking for you?
It's easy to get comfortable advertising in all the old familiar places: TV, radio, newspapers and magazines. Chances are it's what your agency knows best?old media, old planning. Problem is the audience has eroded and with TiVO, DVR, Web TV, online publications, blogs, text, email your message isn't getting through at all if you rely on old media. It is sorely out of touch with today's world.
Make no mistake, the Internet is just gathering a head of steam as the most powerful advertising form ever. With prognosticators guessing that by the early 2014, hand held devices are the way in which most of us will access the Internet, the possibilities are nearly limitless. To reach a mobile audience, with relevant information, at the time they are buying, or at least thinking about it, is a marketing dream come true.
And Internet advertising is efficient. Through contextual and behavioral search marketing, PPC, PPA, mobile marketing and more, the cost to acquire a new customer drops considerably. With the ability to track prospects and study behavior, there is far less waste than the old ?spray and pray? method of mass media advertising. The new system is lean and pinpoint targeted. It produces reports with exact numbers and real ROI.
If you want to explode your message across the web, throw in some rich media ad or video with your product placement or content interwoven in some cool way. The consumption of videos continues to grow at an unbelievable pace far surpassing the best guess of industry insiders. And viewers will forward them to friends, family and coworkers rocketing your message to tens of thousands of viewers, literally overnight.
The consuming public wants to hear from you but not in the way they used to. They won't watch ads but prefer to interact with them. They want to be entertained and enlightened. If you haven't committed more of your budget to online advertising, the question, very simply is why?
The real magic of articles is not just about posting them to a zillion article directories. It's about making sure those articles are getting picked up and used in newsletters and e-zines this is where the magic starts. As the piece finds its way in front of the eyes of people who are already engaged in your target market, that's when the magic begins.
Sounds great, but how you do it? Aside from following the publisher's guidelines, there are a few other specific ways to maximize article distribution and achieve success in article marketing.
Load Your SEO Article with Good Information
It may seem more like common sense than article marketing skills, but it's important when submitting articles to directories to ensure that articles are filled with good information. Publishers look for high quality SEO articles for their sites, newsletters, e-zines, blogs and reprint article directories. They want new information. They want information presented in an interesting way. They want SEO articles that focus on a specific topic.
Learn What Publishers Do and Don't Want
Publishers who search article distribution sites for quality SEO articles are not looking for the same old story they've read a hundred times over. They aren't looking for heavy sales pitches. They aren't looking for articles that are littered with self-serving links. And they certainly aren't looking for copy and pasted articles, incorrect information, poorly written articles, SEO articles that are riddled with spelling and grammatical errors or articles that really have nothing to say.
The thing is, you may be working for yourself and choosing what you want to write about, however, if you don't give publishers what they want. Submit quality SEO articles to directories to avoid completely missing the boat. The whole magic of article marketing is to attract the attention of many publishers to achieve wide distribution of your articles.
The Magic of Article Distribution
Writing articles and submitting them to directories is a terrific way to get word out about a website or product. You will generate many back links to your site by following article submission guidelines to maximize the number of people who see your articles. You may submit an article to a zillion article directories, but if the articles are tightly focused, aren't informative SEO articles or are poorly written, few publishers will copy and paste your article from the directory.
The goal of article marketing isn't to submit as many articles as you can to directories. An article directory is not the end user for quality articles. It is just the beginning. Once your article catches the eye of many different types of publishers, from e-zines and newsletters to blogs and websites that is when the magic begins. When your article is placed on the right site in front of targeted readers, it takes your article marketing success to a whole new level.
Writing articles for article distribution sites alone is ineffective. The purpose of article submissions is to provide high-quality SEO articles that will attract the attention of many publishers to spread the word about your site to targeted customers.
Both Brian Grinonneau & Nishi are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
Brian Grinonneau has sinced written about articles on various topics from Advertising Guide, Blogging and Marketing. Brian Grinonneau is a partner with McMann & Tate Interactive, an Internet media planning and creative agency.. Brian Grinonneau's top article generates over 720 views. to your Favourites.