Article marketing is the latest buzzword for marketers looking to promote their sites and products online. But how do you measure the success of your article marketing campaign?
It probably depends on what you expect your article to achieve for you - better branding, more sales, or more publicity.
One way to measure article performance is to check how many times your article has been picked up and reproduced on various sites.
To do that, just copy and paste the article title in quotes into a search engine like Google, and you'll see how many sites it's been reprinted on.
My article "How To Get To The Top Of The Marketing Food Chain" shows 1061 links in Google.
http://ebizwhiz-publishing.com/articles/priyashah16.htm
That means Google has indexed 1061 sites on which this article appears.
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=%22How+To+Get+To+The+Top+Of+The+Marketing+Food+Chain%22&btnG=Go
ogle+Search
This gives me about 1061 quality links to each of the sites I included in my resource box.
As you can see, this makes article marketing a very powerful way of building quality links.
So how do you ensure that your article gets picked up and reprinted by as many publishers as possible?
1. Pick A Topic That's Hot Or Always Fresh
For instance, my article on Neuromarketing got picked up pretty quickly because it was a hot topic.
http://marketingslave.com/2005/06/01/neuromarketing-smart-marketing-or-jedi-mind-control-trick/
The problem with hot topics is that they also tend to cool off quickly. So while they may get a lot of reprints over a short time, they may get very few reprints once the craze is over.
There are some articles that are slow starters but eternally fresh, like the one I wrote here.
To Be A Champion, Become A Child
http://www.growmymind.com/positive-attitudes/be-a-champion.htm (591 links in Google)
These are the ones that will give you reprints over a longer period of time. I think in the long run, these are more valuable.
2. Target A Large Audience
Another way to get a lot of coverage is write an article for a large target audience or one that is very active online - like bloggers.
This article gave me 164 links back, mostly from other blogs, even some for which I had to use a translation service :-)
http://www.blog-maniac.com/blog-burnout.htm
This shows 248 links back
http://www.blog-maniac.com/questions-business-blog.htm
316 links for this one
http://www.blog-maniac.com/spam-blogging.htm
But again, it's the quality of links back that matters - not the quantity.
Another large target audience is the health market. I get a lot of links back from my health articles.
3. Craft A Catchy, Relevant Title
A catchy title ensures that your article gets the attention of publishers - the first step to getting your article published.
Follow the basic rules of copywriting to make your article interesting and readable.
Publishers are more likely to pick up an article if its title includes the keywords that they (and you) want to target.
Use your main keywords in your title, preferable in the first half (like I did in the title of this article), to ensure better rankings for those who reprint it.
4. Offer Publishers A Monetary Incentive
Give people an incentive to publish your article. I have an affiliate program and I allow publishers to use their affiliate link for my ezine in the resource box.
Allow publishers to earn by publishing your article and they will gladly reprint it.
5. Write An Article Series
Break up a long article or report into a series of articles like I did with my "Marketing With Blogs" series here.
Marketing With Blogs - Part 1, 2, 3 and 4
http://www.blog-maniac.com/marketing-with-blogs1.htm
http://www.blog-maniac.com/marketing-with-blogs2.htm
http://www.blog-maniac.com/marketing-with-blogs3.htm
http://www.blog-maniac.com/marketing-with-blogs4.htm
These gave me 5270 links back in all. As you can see, a series of articles can be a very powerful link-building technique.
6. Distribute Your Article Widely
Ensure that your article is distributed to the best and most appropriate article directories and announcement lists online.
Feel free to browse through my own collection of article directories and announcement lists
http://www.articlewritingtips.com/submit-articles.htm
________________________________________
_______
Priya Shah writes the Marketing Slave blog. Visit Article Writing Tips for more article marketing tips and tools. This article may be reprinted as long as the resource box is left intact and all links are hyperlinked.
_______________________________________________
"Try not to become a man of success but rather... Read More
Is your mind muddy on marketing? Do you wake up... Read More
I enjoy cleavage as much or even more than the... Read More
If you take a look at the features that different... Read More
Web Presence gives your business a distince edge over your... Read More
Are you willing to spend $1.25 to raise $1? To... Read More
A database is more than a simple list of names... Read More
Business owners often find it difficult to know whether their... Read More
Can you remember the last dozen advertising messages beamed at... Read More
Say it with a post card. A well designed, colorful,... Read More
It is very important to regularly monitor your advertising activities... Read More
Direct mail marketing is essential for a business to survive.Choosing... Read More
What's your USP? Don't know, or worse still, you've never... Read More
As a self-employed professional, you have two basic strategies for... Read More
How do you personally define success? High income? Substantial net... Read More
A recent issue of Entrepreneur magazine included a marketing story... Read More
Is your marketing plan dull, flat, and downright boring? Is... Read More
Candy, squeeze balls, pens, and key chains -- these provide... Read More
With the continued proliferation of the Internet, the meaning of... Read More
We all know the saying, "Failing to plan (prepare) is... Read More
Why are more businesses turning to full-color postcards as a... Read More
Just because you have to stretch your marketing dollars doesn't... Read More
Opportunity Assistance Business Resource Center http://www.opportunityassistance.comAt first you... Read More
When a prospect responds to your lead generation sales letter,... Read More
For many small business managers, finding the time and commitment... Read More
Web Presence gives your business a distince edge over your... Read More
TIP #1: Avoid the "Too Much Information" Syndrome... Read More
In the last issue we looked at 5 reasons why... Read More
If you are considering entering a new target market, with... Read More
Loyalty marketing has been around for as long as retailing... Read More
Will postcards be an advantage for you?The latest craze these... Read More
So you have been writing mortgages like crazy now for... Read More
It is easy to focus on what remains outstanding and... Read More
Direct Marketing works!Why? It works because it's personal. It carries... Read More
Measuring the benefit of your product or service means putting... Read More
What's in a name?Think of your business name as an... Read More
If you are like most service professionals and small business... Read More
Timing is everything. Hate to be late? The early bird... Read More
So... you spend time and effort putting together a survey,... Read More
These ideas are for anyone that has a small budget... Read More
My mother used to tell me, tongue in cheek, that... Read More
In direct mail, the offer is the incentive or reward... Read More
In the age of e-newsletters and e-mail, you may not... Read More
Wouldn't it be great to have a year where your... Read More
Even if you never place a cold call, you still... Read More
Many professional copywriters estimate that the headline contributes to 80%... Read More
"If he who has a thing to sell Goes and... Read More
The importance of pricing can not be underestimated as incorrect... Read More
How would you use business cards for gift certificates?I asked... Read More
In "Developing a Marketing Plan", we covered the first steps... Read More
Marketing Marketing |
|