Let me start by saying that it is not sales copy. In most cases, if not all, sales copy articles are not even accepted into article directories. These directories are looking for good content articles that have something to offer their readers. They are looking for original content in a market that thrives on original content.This market demands it. The search engines reward you for it.

On the other hand, copied material will result in severe search engine penalties including loss of page rank and even blacklisting. Called plagiarism, the search engines take a dim view to this. Its not intended to be personal,but it is simply business.

The search engines main business is to supply information. Duplicate content and plagiarised articles only serve to gum up their efforts to supply that information. So they took steps to streamline their results. These steps involved identifying which pages were original material and which ones were not. Hence the penalization of duplicated material.

Of course, this is an over simplificaion of the process. The exact methods used by the search engines to determine that is a little more complex.

Now that we have covered what article marketing is not, let's take a look at what it is.

In one very real sense, article marketing is a form of niche marketing. They are being written to people who have interest in a specific subject (I.E. the niche.) The article marketer writes articles related to the market he is interested in. These articles can be specific concerns, tips, tricks of the trade, informative, how to, etc.

Of course,the articles have to make sense. If they do not, the reader will likely move to another while scratching his head wondering what the writer was trying to say. This, in turn, translates into a severe lack of traffic to the writer's site.

The point is that that articles are written in such a way as to keep the reader's interest without trying to sell anything. In this way the writer is establishing a relationship and building his own reputation as well. This increases the possibilties of high quality traffic to the writer's site. Why? The reader is interested in your site and what it has to offer.

The best approach to article marketing is what I like to refer to is the coffee table approach. With this approach, the reader is put at ease. After all, you are not trying to sell anything. Following that,you talk about a specific concern or topic. It is important that the articles do not sound like lectures. If you have any experiences to add, include them as well. Doing this, the writer is adding a personal touch to the work. It will be something the reader can relate to.

Include information that the reader can act on. This helps keep their interest and gives them the feeling that they can walk away with something of value.

Remember that keeping the readers at ease and giving value are two musts in article marketing today. Avoid sales letter approaches and talk to readers, not at readers. Share information without lecturing. It works. The more information you share, in the right way, the more readers you will have.