Six Easy Steps to Marketing Your Business With Articles - Part 1

by Adam Urbanski

It’s not a secret that many successful professionals position themselves as experts in their field by writing and publishing articles. In the past getting articles published took weeks and months. Nowadays, with thousands of online publishers constantly craving for fresh content you can write an article in the morning and see it published in the afternoon.

If you doubt that writing articles is worth your time and effort, consider these obvious benefits:

• Writing informative articles helps crystallize your ideas and express them in more powerful ways – which in turn makes you more attractive to your clients.
   
• Sharing your expertise through articles helps you gain greater visibility, positions you as an expert and establishes your credibility.
   
• Sending your articles to clients and prospects is a great way to keep in touch and educate them about your products and services – without being perceived as a pushy salesperson.
   
• Publishing articles gives you a chance of catching interest of even the most lukewarm prospects that otherwise would have never given your business a minute of their time.
   
• Placing articles on web sites frequented by your potential clients attracts targeted, “pre-qualified” visitors to your web site.
   
• Regularly adding new articles to your web site gives you fresh content and entices people to visit your site more often.

Still, relatively few professionals take advantage of this powerful marketing strategy. Many don’t think the task is worthy of their time. Many others can’t seem to zero-in on the “right topic”, worry about not having enough expertise on the subject, think that no one will value their opinion and feel stuck trying to search for the “right words”. Frustrated with the entire process, they frequently give up before they even get started!

Here is the good news – you don’t have to be another Shakespeare to write articles people will love to read. As a matter of fact, if your solutions help your clients solve their problem – you are expert enough to share your opinions and how-to tips.

Here is a simple to follow, six step process to getting started with writing and publishing articles.

STEP ONE – SELECT A TOPIC

This seems so easy, yet many people convince themselves they don’t know what to write about. If you are in this group try these ideas to jumpstart your creativity:

• ask your clients what they most want to learn about your area of expertise,
   
• make a list of the top ten solutions to the biggest problem your clients are dealing with,
   
• make a list of the top ten resources on a specific topic,
   
• make a list of the most common mistakes your customers make and how to fix them,
   
• review a book,
   
• interview an expert,
   
• have someone interview you,
   
• answer a customer’s question (This is one of my favorites; I often find myself taking 20-30 minutes writing an email response to a question from a client. Later, after editing out the specifics pertaining to that client, I end up with a great how-to article)
   
• share a case study,
   
• answer a most frequently asked question (if you have several clients asking you the same question – chances are more people would like to find information on that topic)
   
• share the “top five sure-fire strategies to fail” – this could bring a little humor even to the most serious topic!
   
• comment on current news events and how it affects your customers,
   
• comment on emerging trends you spotted,
   
• evaluate a hot resource you just found,

There are dozens of ways to get ideas for article topics but these should get your creative juices flowing.

STEP TWO – TITLE YOUR ARTICLE

Personally, I like to title my article before I even write it. You may want to do it in reverse. Either way, the title is an important part. It must entice people to read what follows; it’s like a mini commercial. Make it fun, exciting, controversial and make sure to communicate the benefits of reading it.

If you feel stuck and can’t come up with any good ideas for titles I suggest you hop over to a local Kinko’s store. Why? Because they usually have a display with popular how-to books and audio CDs – and they have great titles. Don’t have any Kinko’s around where you live? Then go to amazon.com and take a look at their bestsellers list. I’m sure you’ll find plenty of inspiration there.

But in case that’s not enough here are a few “title templates” you can tweak to fit your needs. (Just replace the words in brackets with your own.)

• (Provide a Number) Fun and Easy Ways to (Generate Pre-qualified Web Visitors) by (Writing Articles)
   
• How To (Negotiate Like a Pro) And (Create Win-Win Deals)
   
• Top (Ten) Tips You Can Use to (Keep Your Dog Healthy)
   
• (3) Deadly (Marketing) Mistakes and How To Fix Them
   
• The Lazy Way to (Make Your First Million)
   
• (7) Steps To Achieving (Financial Success)
   
• (12) Amazing (Life) Lessons I Learned From (My Cat)

OK, you get the point, right? Oh, if you wonder what’s with the numbers in all those titles – well, they simply work! Numbers indicate a system. They tell the reader that you've given some thought to the process or solution you are about to share with them.

As a matter of fact as I was writing this article I got an mail from Jay Conrad Levinson – the father of Guerilla Marketing – titled “12 Things That Keep You From (Dominating Your Market)”. There you go – that’s another template for you.

STEP THREE – GATHER INFORMATION

OK, don’t panic. I’m not talking about reading dozens of books here. If you write on topics within your area of expertise most likely you already have enough information in your head to last you for dozens of articles.

But depending on the type of article you write you may need to do a bit of research to add depth to it. Also comparing and contrasting different concepts or opinions can make for a great read.

As you get more savvy with your writing process it’s a good idea to create your own editorial calendar. What’s an editorial calendar? In a nutshell it’s a plan of topics you want to write on and a schedule when you will write each article.

It can be a simple folder where you keep title ideas and resources you can refer to when you need them. Whenever an idea for an article pops into your head – write it down and scribble a few key points you would like to refer to later and stick into your folder. This will help you collect many great ideas and make your writing so much easier.

########

In part two of this tutorial I will share with you tips on the writing and editing process and give you links to the top places where you can submit your articles right away. I will also give you two super-shortcuts to writing articles – they will amaze you!

(c) 2004 Adam M. Urbanski

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Adam Urbanski, the Marketing Mentor, helps Independent Service Professionals and Small Business Owners attract more clients. For more promotional tips and a FREE 32-page marketing guide go to http://www.themarketingmentors.com