Marketing Experts News

How To Write A Great Online Article - Step-by-Step - By Bob Cefail

Here are the exact steps you need to take to write an effective internet article to use with article distribution Hubs.

Step One: Article Title

The purpose of article placement is two fold. First, you want to drive traffic to your web site when people see and read your article. Second, you want to gain exposure through placement on search engine listings. To do this you have to develop a compelling article title that will attract attention and you want to use words in the title that a large group of people are using in their internet searches (popular keywords). As an example, if you were in the weight loss business you would want to focus on the concept of “losing weight and keeping it off” when writing your articles. You would incorporate some, or even all, of those words in an effective article title. Just remember that the article title is your “first impression” so make it a good one.

Step Two: Initial Paragraph

The first paragraph of your article is where you SELL your story idea. You must close the reader on continuing their reading of your article in the first 3 or 4 sentences in the first paragraph. You must encapsulate your whole story theme in this first paragraph which is also sometimes referred to as a “summary paragraph”. You article must focus on one story concept just like the paragraph. Just make sure that you sell your story in the first 3 or 4 sentences.

Step Three: Article Body

The article itself, which includes the first paragraph, should only be 400-500 words in size. The article must focus on one theme. You should include quotes in the article if at all possible. The article should contain two or three compelling facts that surprise or teach the reader something. You should also place your web site address (URL) in the first or second paragraph as well as at the bottom of the article.

Step Four: Authors Bio

It is important to have a two or three sentence author’s bio which contains credible information about the writer. Many article content hubs insist on some type of biography of the writer.

Step Five: Article Resources

At the bottom of most articles it would be smart to include a brief description of the company itself including web site URLs where more information can be found about the subject of the article.

Step Six: Keywords

Some article content hubs ask the writer or author if there are specific keywords that the article should be pointed towards. You should prepare a list of 3 or 4 keywords where you would like to find your articles on the internet within the internet search results section.

Follow these simple step-by-step actions to write great articles that will get indexed by the search engines.

Bob Cefail
In Touch Marketing

Great Sales Leads: Are They An Endangered Species?

GREAT SALES LEADS:  ARE THEY AN ENDANGERED SPECIES?

Whenever the subject of leads is brought up these days most lead buyers will talk about how bad the leads are getting, how hard they are to find, and how expensive that they are to buy. In addition to these challenges, the companies that have traditionally supplied leads are dropping like flies. This is because the methods used to generate leads are disappearing fast such which includes email marketing, telemarketing, and fax broadcasts.

What is the ultimate lead and how can one possibly find them these days? The ultimate sales lead has the following characteristics:

The prospect is ready to buy right now

• The prospects IS the decision maker
• The prospect has the money to buy now
• The prospect has already seen your offer and
• Has made the decision to buy from you
• The prospect is not being talked to by a large number of your competitors

Does this sound like the perfect lead? Of course it does. Is there some magical potion to produce such a lead? Actually there is, but only if you set the program up correctly. What is this program? Search engine marketing, otherwise known as paid search advertising coupled with a carefully designed lead generation site.

Google is considered by many to be the major player involved in the search engine field. Their service is very effective if the campaign is set up correctly. That is a big if though. It has been found that over 50% of all companies that attempt to use Google fail in their efforts.

One can use a firm like InTouch Marketing (www.intouchmarketing.us), a company that was awarded the highest expert level bestowed by Google, to correctly set up one’s campaign. There are independent consultants who promote a certain level of expertise, but whose qualifications are unverifiable. If someone claims that they can set up a campaign overnight one should be very wary. It is simply not possible to establish a proper and successful search engine campaign without several weeks’ worth of detailed research and testing.

The other key to lead generation is the use of a proper web presence that is designed to create leads. Many web sites are simply designed to graphically impress a visitor, yet produces nothing in terms of leads. A good lead generation site or page educates the prospect and then gives them specific action to do..

By having the right web site presence and driving traffic to the site, through paid search ads, one can truly create the ultimate lead. Remember that people who are searching for something on the internet have already made a buying decision. The key is how economically one can push prospects to a web site and then whether the site is effective or not. The prospects are certainly out there on the internet looking.

On a typical day at the end of 2004, some 70 million American adults logged onto the Internet to use email, get news, access government information, check out health and medical information, participate in auctions, book travel reservations, research their genealogy, gamble, seek out romantic partners, and engage in countless other activities. That represents a 37 percent increase from the 51 million Americans who were online on an average day in 2000 when the Pew Internet & American Life Project began its study of online life. This trend is ONLY going up.

Another Pew study identified that fact that over 50% of all online purchases are now PRECEDED by an internet search. 36% of all internet users under the age of 30 say that they could not live without internet search engines. This illustrates what many in ad agency executives now take for granted—that people, in higher and higher numbers, are using internet information, not mainstream media related advertising, to make buying decisions. Every day, more and more people are turning on computers versus the TV set for information and entertainment.

The lesson to be learned here is that one has to control one’s own lead generation. Companies can no longer depend on third party lead providers as a sole source for their new prospects. The ultimate lead can be found. They are all over the internet searching right now.

Bruce Prokopets
Executive Editor
Press Direct International
In Touch Media Group

Great Marketing Mistakes - Time & Money - Don't Sell Yourself Short

Marketing Mistakes – Time And Money – Don’t Sell Yourself Short

Time and money are the age old problems that we’ve all had since the dawn of civilization.

In the business of marketing, I have often had prospective clients come to me with little time and little money frantically wanting to accomplish an heroic marketing or sales feat.

If you’ve ever been short on time, or money, or both and needed to sell a lot of merchandise quickly, this marketing advice is for you.

First and foremost, you need to live in the real world.

In the words of the great Zig Ziglar, “Prior Proper Planning Prevents Piss Poor Performance” and another popular quote: “time is money”; both of these sayings should be memorized by anyone who has anything to do with selling or marketing anything.

If you want to market something successfully and are on a limited budget, you need to start EARLY. Don’t wait until the last minute.

If you have a large budget you can get more done faster and with better quality.

Essentially, the more time you have the less money you need; and, the more money you have, the less time you need. So if your budget is tiny START EARLY and be prepared to invest a great deal of time.

Investing the time may seem difficult or unreasonable but this is reality and it’s important that you face it if you want to enjoy any success.

Conversely: if you’re short on time EXPECT TO PAY. The more quickly and professionally you want your project to come off, the larger your budget will need to be.

If you have both time and a decent budget you can expect to do well with professional help if you’re not a marketing pro yourself.

So save yourself a lot of stress. Plan your marketing early and make sure your budget allows for what you want.

---- Toli Cefail

Toli Cefail is a 30 year veteran marketing professional and has owned and operated businesses for her entire adult life. She is currently the Co-Founder, COO and Creative Director for In Touch Marketing, parent company of ITM Pro Solutions.