Article Marketing Guidelines – Write Articles Without Going Mad

Article Marketing is an excellent way to drive solid targeted traffic to a new website.
The use of free article directories should be a key component of any marketing campaign. As with any new endeavor, writing articles can be intimidating at first. However, with a few basic guidelines, you can eliminate a lot of the problems associated with this important marketing tool. Learn to write quickly and effectively to drive targeted traffic to your site.
Here are a few guidelines that I find helpful when sitting down to write an effective article.
• Don’t try for perfect when writing articles! All of our lives we’ve been taught to do the best we can at anything we do. This still applies, but don’t over do it. Simple well thought out information trumps flowery prose every time. Article writing works best if it seems like you are having a conversation with a friend.
• Keywords are the backbone of your article marketing campaign! They are very important when it comes to SEO or search engine optimization. Try to write good content while using them in a manner that fits your article body naturally. Over use or “keyword stuffing” can lead to penalties by search engines, so keep your keyword ratio to less than 2 percent.
Each title should have a keyword, preferably in the front part of the phrase. I like to begin an article with a keyword in the first paragraph and also have one in the last paragraph so that a person finishing up the article will automatically keep my subject in mind.
• Don’t make a sales pitch when you’re writing articles. The text body should be used to impart information about a particular subject. People want to be informed when they search for a subject. Turning your article into a sales page will turn people off and may even affect your credibility on the subject.
Many article directories have strict guidelines against the overuse of “selling” in an article body, so be sure to read their rules on the issue before you begin.
• Use the resource box for your “call to action.” At the end of each article you should provide at least one link to a website landing page where you can make your sales pitch. This can be the home page of a site where you are selling a product or service or you can deep link to a specific blog post within your website.
You could also use your resource box to promote a free product such as an eBook or.pdf report that ties in with your website.
When your article is done, read through it and give it an honest evaluation in your own mind.
• Did it answer the question that was posed when it was searched for?
• Was it an easy read or did it sound like a boring college thesis?
• Did it make you want to learn more about the subject?
• Will you look for more articles by the same author?
Hopefully the answer to all of the above will be yes. If so then you may have written an article that will be picked up and published by hundreds of sites!