Articles

When you think about writing an article, especially if you have been away from high school or college for some time, do you feel paralyzed by the thought of putting words onto paper? It does not have to be this way! There are some easy general guidelines that apply to writing articles for your web site or to distribute in article directories. These guidelines also apply when you are posting to your blog. Keep working at it, and it will become easier with the more articles you write.

These are some things that I have learned that have helped me, and I am much a beginner. Make your articles brief, informative, and user friendly. Articles do not need to contain technical information, but rather be written to give the reader useful information in an easy to understand manner.

Make your articles brief and direct. The most sought after web content gives factual information on specific topics. Usually a one-page article is just about the right length. If your articles are too long, the user may lose interest and leave your to web site. If your article is too short, you will not be able to include enough information to tell the reader what he or she needs to know. Usually, unless you are not able to get the information you are trying to get to the reader in one page, an article containing three to six paragraphs is perfect for your web site or to submit to an article directory or even to post to your blog.

When writing your articles, cover the general information you wish to pass on to the reader and make it easy for readers to locate additional information on the topic. A web site containing many pages with brief, informative content is much better than a web site containing several pages with extremely long, hard to understand articles. Keeping the interest of the reader is your top priority. The average web site visitor does not want to spend a lot of time finding the information they need, but rather to be able to locate general information quickly.

Creating user friendly content is very important to keeping the interest of the reader. Begin your article with a description of what information your article will contain, continue with the information written in a short, direct style, and end with a summary of what the reader has learned from your article. If you have a well designed web site, you will be able to lead the reader to further information through links placed to at the end of your article. If your article is for advertising purposes or to submit to an article directory, a short resource box at the end of your article containing your name, a short bio, and a link to your web site will be the best approach.

Do not overwhelm the reader with too many details. Focus on your subject and keep your articles brief. Choose your keywords carefully so that readers will easily identify the article as a great information source. A one page article containing precise information and links allowing the reader to easily find additional information is the key to writing a great article.

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Making Money With Your Blog

By: Nell Taliercio

I’ve sure you’ve heard before that it’s a possibility to make money with your blog and you may be wondering how this is possible. And were they really meant for making money or just for journaling your personal thoughts? I’m not sure what they were intended for but they are great ways to make money.

I have a personal blog which is just my own private little place to go online and jot down my thoughts, but I also have my business blogs.

Back In the Beginning

To be honest with you in the beginning of my blogging experience I really wasn’t sure what I should do with my blog. I knew I wanted to make money with it, but I didn’t know how. I didn’t know what I could do to not only be a value to others so they would come back to my blog, but that I would still enjoy writing it.

So it was really important to me that I find a topic in which I would be excited about, and have enough to offer so that I could blog every week or so. After starting a blog that was meant to just be an add-on to my business at MommysPlace.net and struggling with the direction of that blog, I came across one of Alice Seba’s blogs, which she used to write about her experience through a traffic product.

So every couple of weeks she would update her progress through this course. She would tell us all about her successes with this product and how great it was for her business. And it made me think of how I could do something similar.

Product/Service Focused Blog

And this is when the light bulb moment went off in my head. This is when I realized what I should have been doing all along. I have been a member of an exclusive coaching program for mothers in business.

Since joining this program my business has seen great success. My income has increased more then 10 times what it was before I joined, and my traffic has increased even more then that.

I enjoy and believe in this coaching program and it happens to have an affiliate program. I often got emails from other work at home mothers who wanted to know my thoughts on this program.

Taking a cue from Alice’s blog I decided to start my own such blog. And named it Mom Masterminds Grad and it can be found at http://www.mmgrad.com

I use this blog for the purpose of documenting my successes with my business. My projects, new content added to my website, keyword phrases I was ranking for…etc. Basically anything that has to do with my business that was directly or indirectly because of my joining Mom Masterminds, I jot down.

Not only was this the best move I could have made for my promoting this affiliate link it also served as a great way to really see for myself the successes my business was achieving and also to keep me on track.

This is one way you could make money with a blog. There are other ways you could make money with a blog if you don’t want to devote a blog to one service or product you’re promoting.

Side Kick Blog

For instance, my blog at http://www.telecommutingmoms.com is a side kick to TelecommutingMoms.com and my forums. This is a blog in which I update my members on additions to the website, newsletter and forums. And also use it as a vehicle for updating members on any important telecommuting news and promoting affiliate programs.

So this blog serves more then one purpose. My main goal with this blog is to get traffic to certain sections of my website. I have a large website and it’s not always easy for people to find my information. This is a great way for me to keep certain new pages or sections of my website in the public eye and get traffic to those pages. It also serves as a way to make money with affiliate programs. And lastly it gives exposure to my forum and my newsletter.

There can be many ways and, many topics in which you can make money and gain exposure to other businesses you may have, or can help in creating you as an expert in a certain field.

Just take the time to really think about what you could be writing about and then how you can make money with that as well. You can take a look at others blogs to get an idea and see what other people are looking for.

Making Money With Your Blog - Resources:

Blogs to Riches- is an e-book that details ways you can make your blog profitable. And the really cool thing with this is if you list the publisher’s link on your blog for 45 days he will give you this e-book for free! If you don’t want to wait that long you can also purchase it for a low price. Read more about Blogs to Riches - www.blogstoriches.com

Increasing Adsense - is an e-book about how to increase your adsense revenue. This e-book isn’t specifically geared towards blogs, but the information you will learn you can use with your blogs. (As well as websites and forums…anywhere you have adsense.) www.adsense-secrets.com

* Don’t know what adsense is? Go to www.google.com/adsense to learn more.

Ready To Blog?

Are you ready to take the leap into a blog? If so, it’s really very easy to set up a blog. The one resource I have used for my old blog is blogger.com and what I use for my current blogs is WordPress. Blogger is a great option for the newbie and you can host it with them. WordPress is a bit more complicated and must be hosted on your own domain, but it’s by far my most favorite option for blogs.

Submit Your Blog

After you create your blog you will want to submit it to blog directories to help get your blog out in front of the public. Some of the directories you can try are:

BlogWise - http://www.blogwise.com
Blog Search Engine - http://www.blogsearchengine.com
Blog Hub - http://www.bloghub.com
Blog Daisy - http://www.blogdaisey.com
Get Blogs - http://www.getblogs.com
Is Blogs - http://www.lsblogs.com

Feeds

Next, you need to add feeds to your blog. For adding a feed you add a little graphic to your blog. It can be a “my yahoo” feed, msn feed, or many other options.

When they click on that they can add your blog to their personal feed page. Then every time you add a new post they are alerted on their yahoo page that you have posted AND it even shows the topic of the post and how long ago it was posted.

This is one of the best resources I’ve found in keeping people coming back to your blog. They can subscribe to it so easily and they will be automatically updated whenever you have posted. It’s pretty easy to add an RSS feed to your blog. The resource I personally use is at www.feedburner.com

Watch Out Blogging World - Here I Come!

Now, see how simple this really can be? You can make money with a blog, gain exposure for another business or websites, can build yourself as an expert on a certain topic, can create a blog for free, get it listed for free and start an RSS feed for free! Now get out there and start blogging.

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Want to learn more about Nell Taliercio, the author of this article? She is sharing the secrets that grew her business by 10fold in only one year! Go to www.mmgrad.com to learn more!

This article is available for reprint with author’s resource box intact and all links live and clickable. Copyright is reserved by author.

How To Use Free Reports To Promote Your Website

By: Lynn Terry

Viral Marketing is the method of creating something that people will want to share and pass around. This type of buzz, or word-of-mouth advertising can be incredibly valuable. Not to mention relatively inexpensive to launch, if not free.

This quick tutorial outlines a method to start a viral marketing campaign, build a highly targeted and responsive mailing list, and improve the conversion rate of your landing page… all by using free reports.

Start A Viral Marketing Campaign With Free Reports

The goal with your report is to impress your reader, and gain their trust and respect as an expert in your niche. The more you give away, the more people you will attract in your target market. This is a great way to build a highly targeted and responsive mailing list, which is an incredible asset to any online marketer.

1. Write your report

It doesnt take long to write up a Special Report for your niche. Start out by listing 7-10 tips or solutions for something of great interest to your ideal reader. If you have a hard time coming up with ideas, simply visit discussion forums in your niche to see what interests them most or what topics they are asking about.

Your report can be as short as 5-10 pages, as long as it makes valuable points and presents a solution for the reader.

2. Set Up a Landing Page

This step is important, as it allows you to connect with your market and also compel them to subscribe to your mailing list. The main purpose of the page is to give away your free report and make a personal connection with that visitor.

You may use a photo of yourself and a brief description of the report they are about to download. Keep in mind that you still need to use sales copy to sell people on free things. Their time is valuable, and so is their hard drive space, so make it a no brainer for your visitors!

On that same page, offer them another freebie. This can be a follow-up report, a free trial, or something that your readers would want as much as they want your Special Report. Invite them to sign up for this second offer, by joining your mailing list.

Be sure to let them know what they can expect from you in the future (ie more great tips & resources to [insert solution]). You can also include a link back to this page at the end of your report, offering the second download if they did not have an opportunity to download it when they got your original report.

3. Send Traffic to Your Landing Page

- Write a 600-800 word Article that relates to the topic of your Special Report. You may want to write several articles, but start with at least one. Submit this article to niche article directories, and to webmasters and ezine publishers that reach your target market. Include a link to your landing page in the Byline or Resource Box and include mention of the special report that readers can download free for even more information.

- Try to land a spot on a niche internet talk radio show, or an interview with a popular expert in your niche. Create a personalized version of your landing page for these readers and/or listeners, such as: mysite.com/xyzshow or mysite.com/xyzreaders. They will be compelled to click to see what you have put together for them specifically.

Another method that you can use, particularly if you write an in-depth Special Report of 20 pages or more, is the “bonus method”. Instead of giving your report away freely, you can approach product developers in your niche about giving your Special Report to their buyers as a Bonus. As long as your report is not available freely on the web, this will increase the value of their product and most will gladly include your Report.

The key with this method is that you are getting in front of buyers in your target market. The people who receive your Special Report as a bonus have already ordered something online in your niche. These are highly valuable readers, and you may want to put more emphasis on getting them to a landing page for another freebie or tip sheet… encouraging them to sign up for your mailing list.

Either way, Special Reports are a great way to gain exposure in your target market and build a responsive mailing list… You will want to keep this list warm by continuing to send them valuable tips and resources.

Once you have established a trusting relationship with your readers, you can introduce them to your own products, or products that you recommend as an affiliate.

Best,
Lynn Terry

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For even more tips on writing Special Reports that you can sell or give away to increase website traffic, see: www.clicknewz.com/writereports.htm . Start using the power of free reports & viral marketing today!

This article is available for reprint with author’s resource box intact and all links live and clickable. Copyright is reserved by author.