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A_Free_Powerful_and_Credible_Method_to_Promote_Your_Online_Business
| A Free, Powerful, and Credible Method to Promote Your Online Business
I'm a big believer in making smart investments -- that is, I
won't hesitate to pay for marketing if I have good reason to
believe that I'll reap big profits from the campaign. But at the
same time, if there's an effective, free method of promoting my
business, I sure wouldn't turn it down!
That's why I write articles.
Articles help to build your reputation as an 'expert' in your
particular field. Over time, they build credibility, and through
credibility, trust. And we all know that people tend to buy from
those they trust!
If you have some basic writing skills you can benefit from
writing and distributing your articles. Here's a quick overview
of how it works: you write an article based on your own
experiences or research. Make it informative or entertaining (or
both), depending on the audience you're trying to reach. At the
end of your article you include a 'resource box'. This small
blurb (usually 5-7 lines long) provides a description of your
business and a link to your website URL and/or email address.
You then offer your article, free for reprint, to other sites or
newsletters within your target audience. In exchange for this
free content, the webmaster/editor publishes your resource box.
Readers that appreciate your writing can click on your link to
find out more about you and your business.
How to Find Editors that Accept Submissions
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You can manually find and email editors within your market,
asking if they accept submissions. It's tedious and time-
consuming, and often times you won't receive a response... but
it can be done.
However, why not make a small investment in exchange for your
time (and sanity!)? Article promotion services such as
WriteBusiness can distribute your work for a fee,
http://www.writebusiness.com/article.html. Or do the legwork
yourself by purchasing a membership into a convenient ezine
directory where you can quickly and easily find editors who
accept submissions. One such service is
http://www.buildyourhomebiz.com/directory.html.
If you choose to do the work yourself, create and maintain a
list of editors in your target market that accept articles. This
will save you from having to do the research all over again when
you write future articles! Include a brief 'cover letter' with
your publishing guidelines each time you distribute an article.
Building Your List Over Time ------------------------------
An easy way to continue to build your list of editors is to
place a simple form on your website, inviting editors and
webmasters to subscribe to your article distribution list. This
one technique has grown my list by about 15%!
Websites Where You Can Promote Your Articles
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There are many niche websites that accept articles. Here are a
few to get you started; these are sites that accept articles on
most topics and make them available to others for reprint:
= Article Announce, an email distribution list,
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/article_announce/ =
EzineArticles.com, http://www.ezinearticles.com/ = GoArticles,
http://www.goarticles.com/ = Hot Launch,
http://www.hotlaunch.com/ = IdeaMarketers,
http://www.ideamarketers.com/ = MakingProfit.com,
http://www.makingprofit.com/
Of course, there are a large number of sites that accept
articles on specific topics such as health/wellness, small
business, active living, and so on. Distribute your work to
these sites as well.
At first you'll find that your articles may only bring in a
small trickle of traffic. Over time, though, as you become
better known, you have the potential of creating a steady stream
of targeted traffic from the newsletters and sites which publish
your work. And to think it all started with a simple article!
About the author:
__________
Angela is the editor of Online Business Basics, a practical
guide to building a profitable Internet business on a beginner's
budget: http://onlinebusinessbasics.com/article.html . Request a
series of 10 free reports to get you started:
mailto:businessbasics@workyourleads.com
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