Today I'd like to talk a little about article marketing. Article marketing has long been a favorite method of gaining traffic and back links to many a web-site. It is not as effective as it used to be but it is still VERY Worthwhile.
I would also like to take this opportunity to clarify a few issues around duplicate content. You see, the old method of submitting your articles to as many article directories as possible has recently come under a lot of scrutiny, as Matt Cutts from Google started to talk about duplicate content penalties.
Well, as always, it pays to test. So, here's what I did. I tested three different methods:
1. I created one article and posted it on my site to an 'orphan' page i.e. not linked in. I then wrote another article and linked that to that page. I then submitted that article to Ezine.
2. On another orphan page, I created another article and then posted that same article to Ezine articles.
3. On another orphan page, I created another article and then posted that same article to Ezine PLUS every other article directory.
I then placed tracking code on each of my 3 pages and waited. The results are not what I expected at all?and if you don't get this right then you are going to waste a heap of time, effort and money following the wrong strategy. So, this is what happened:
{Results only available to subscribers} It is important to keep in mind that there are several different types of writing and each writer might be highly skilled in one area, yet lack in another. For example, there is creative/fiction writing, biographical writing, news writing, general informational article writing, critical writing, copy-writing, poem/verse writing, technical writing, medical writing, essay/report writing, and sports writing. Although a writer may be highly skilled in one area, many freelance writers spread themselves out into others areas as well. So, it is critical that the writer you choose can produce the type of content that you need.
To find a freelance writer, you can look at various freelancing websites that will allow you to post the specification of your project and your budget.
From there, writers will make bids on your project and provide you with writing samples so that you can get an idea of their skill level. Make sure that you choose a writer who gives you a sample of the type of article that you are looking for. For example, if you are looking for a copy-writer, do not hire someone who only sent you a sports writing sample. He or she may be an outstanding sports writer, but copy-writing is about selling (a product, service, or yourself) to your website visitors.
In conclusion, the more you are willing to pay per article, the more bids you will get from quality writers who know how to entertain and inform your website visitors so that they keep coming back for more. Writers know that you will eventually make a ton of money off of each article or content piece.
Free Internet Security And Antivirus
Today I was just about to get into the shower when I heard a once familiar call and the clip clop of a horse. I couldn't believe what I heard and had to look out of the window to check that I was hearing right. I saw a sight which I haven't seen for many years - a scruffy man with horse and cart collecting other peoples junk from which he was planning to make money - a rag and bone man.
It reminded me of Steptoe and Son (Sanford and Son in the US) the popular sit com from the sixties and seventies, the rag and bone man even looked like Harold Steptoe from a distance. Harold and his father Albert ran a scrap yard and the rag and bone men went out on their rounds daily collecting junk, some free some paid for, the junk was recycled for profit proving the saying that one mans rubbish is another mans treasure.
I used to love watching Steptoe and Son and I'll never forget the phrase "You dirty old man" said by Harold to his father in such a despising way. The humour probably wasn't politically correct, but sometimes I think that PC has gone too far anyway.
Seeing the rag and bone man made me think about entrepreneurship and Internet marketing in a roundabout way. It made me realise that just as he collects free products for resale you can use free products and free tools and resources to build your Internet business and there is no better time to start than now.
We keep hearing about the credit crunch and how it is affecting the lives of millions. When recessions hit many people lose their jobs and struggle to find other employment, but it is also a time when entrepreneurs rise from the ashes of high unemployment. Some create empires from real world businesses like my rag and bone man. Others get involved with business opportunities on and offline. Many don't succeed but some do and it is because of those success stories that so many try.
New businesses need different levels of start up capital depending upon the type of business that is being launched. Real world businesses generally need more start up capital. For instance the rag and bone man would need a horse and cart and somewhere to store his 'stock'. He would also need the know how to renovate or recycle his 'stock' and where to sell his goods.
An Internet business can be started with nothing except a computer, an ability to search and learn, a commitment to hard work and patience. There is no need to throw your life savings into Internet marketing because there are an awful lot of free products and free tools and resources waiting out there for you to make money with providing that you realise that it takes time and that you have a lot of patience.
Following you will find a list of the types of low cost or free tools of resources available on the internet to help you to build your internet business:
Webspace (hosting, blogs, Squidoo, Hubpages)
Website and Blog Templates
Products (ebooks, software, templates, graphics and scripts)
Product & Service Affiliation
Free Advertising
Search Engine Submission (limited)
Article Directories (mostly free to submit articles)
Auction Sites (small fees
Forums (For knowledge & marketing)
Marketplace (Payloadz & Tradebit – small fee)
Free Informative Courses
Link directories
Email Marketing
Autoresponders
Google Publisher Tools
Just do a search for any of those and you will find that there is a massive amount of free tools and resources for Internet marketers out there, plus more than I have listed.
Be Warned
This is sad but the other day I read a forum post from somebody new to Internet marketing. In his late fifties he had just been made redundant and believed that at his age he wouldn't get another job. He was planning to blow every penny that he had on starting up an Internet business. I don't think that it was because he believed in himself, more likely that he believed the BS 'you'll make a fortune' sales spiel that you see everywhere.
I wanted to tell him not to be an idiot, that only a small percentage ever make fortunes, that those who blow all of their money on pipedreams and without knowledge are the ones who go away broke and disheartened, but hey somebody got there before me!
Both Mamta & Patricia A. Jones 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.
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