Article Marketing - Are You Making These Mistakes?

Article Marketing is a great way to get the word out about yourself and your business. Even people that have never written before are finding success writing short informative articles and marketing them through Article Directories. The great thing is you don't have to be a professional writer to benefit from this Internet based form of marketing. It's simply a matter of writing about something you know or are interested in, and writing your article as if you were talking to a friend sitting next to you. While I believe just about anyone is capable of writing an article that is worthy of being published, there are a few things to avoid when writing your article to keep it from winding up on the publishing scrap pile.

Of all the mistakes that writers make, gross spelling errors is one of the most blatant. When I speak of spelling errors, I'm not talking about the occasional misspelling of a word, or using the word in the wrong context like using 'there' instead of 'their' but we are talking about articles that are written as if the writer has never opened a dictionary before. The thing is, there really is no reason to submit an article full of misspelled words. All one needs to do, is use a 'spell checker' to proofread their article. Some article directories like 'Ezine Articles' even provide a free spell checker that will let you check your spelling before submitting the article. No matter how good you think your spelling is, my advice is to use a spell checker before submitting your article. I always use one before I submit an article, and I'm amazed at the spelling errors I find in my writings.

Another mistake that writers make is writing an article that is either too long or too short. You want to try and get in the habit of saying what you have to say as concisely as possible. I usually try to compose my articles with a structure of 5-7 paragraphs and word count of between 400-700 words. Any less than 400 words, and most newsletter publishers and owners of websites won't bother to use it for publication. It's the same with articles that run on forever. Remember, you are not writing a book, you just want to compose a short, entertaining or informative article that others will read and hopefully post on their website. Your goal is to have your article distributed around the Internet as much as possible. Keeping your articles short but concise will help you to accomplish this goal.

One of the most egregious errors that I see some authors make is the misuse of the 'Resource Box'. It's a shame to see a well written article about some topic only to see the Resource Box not being used properly. For instance, if you're writing an article about Tropical Fish, you wouldn't want to include a link in your Resource Box that takes the visitor to a site that tells them how they can save money on their taxes with a piece of software. You want to link the information in the Resource Box to the article as much as possible. If you are writing a somewhat general article about making money, you're probably safe in linking to most other sites about making money in one form or another. On the other hand, if your article is written about a particular niche, then use the Resource Box to send your visitors to a website that relates to what your article is about.

Another vital ingredient to Article Marketing success is submitting your articles to the right Article Directories. There are literally thousands of directories to submit your articles to on the Internet. While some people will suggest that you submit your articles to as many directories as possible, I try and submit my articles to the highest ranked directories on the Internet. The reasons for this are not only because you receive more visitors from these directory sites, but your articles will oftentimes receive a higher page ranking by the search engines which leads to long term traffic for you. One technique I use to check on the effectiveness of an article directory is after submitting an article, going back a week or two later to check on the article stats. If I find that the article is waiting to be reviewed or hasn't been downloaded much, then I'll most likely avoid submitting any more articles to that directory in the future.

Article Marketing can be a great way to bring traffic to your website. If done properly, your article can bring you traffic for years to come. While your article writing probably won't lead to a new career as a novelist, it can lead to greater exposure for you and increased profit.

William J. Thomas is actively engaged in Internet Business pursuits. He also contributes articles on life, business and other topics. His current website is..Create Income from Home With Your Own Cash Generating... Internet Business

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