2 Online Marketing “Tweaks” That Generated 1 Million New Readers in Under a Year
I’m going to start this off with a short confession… and then CHALLENGE you to not just “listen” to my advice, but instead… to try and prove me wrong. (because you’ll have far more success if you do)
I have been writing articles for what feels like a VERY long time. I started my online business, like most people… trying a zillion different zany strategies that never seemed to work. (but looked pretty good on the sales page promise where I read them)
It wasn’t until I discovered article marketing, or the idea of creating content for cash, that my business really started to take off, and I could finally STOP chasing silly strategies, goofy guru’s and other nefarious nonsense that holds most of us back.
But my confession is… EVEN though I found writing articles to be a very “freeing” way of building my business, I still held on to some myths, and misconceptions from my “guru” chasing days which really hurt my progress. I’m going to share both of those with you below, and hopefully… if you are having similar challenges, these ideas will resonate and ring true, and your solution will be at hand.
Tweak #1: A RADICAL Re-imagining of Keyword Research
Like you, I was really, really pre-disposed to doing lots of keyword research… simply because it’s what I was “taught” was important. The truth is, It’s really NOT critical at all. As a matter of fact, it’s counterproductive for most folks, simply because the amount of time spent on things like “keyword density” and supply and demand, and all of that sort of silliness takes you OUT of your flow… and into the status quo. (where everyone is hunting for the same keyword combinations and NO ONE really wins)
For me, learning to write articles, especially article TITLES that focused on curiosity, controversy, confrontation, comedy and other hooks increased my “opens” by 500% or more… and literally overnight. In one niche I went from 20,000 readers, which I thought was respectable to over 1 MILLION in under a year, purely part time, and based 100% on changing my focus from keywords, to creativity.
Tweak #2: A New Approach to Niches
For the first year of my business, I tried to “attack” small niches that no one knew about… or that were obscure, or that I could dominate due to the small amount of competition. What I learned, contrary to what I had been “taught” was that the REAL money, the real volume and the real success was swimming in the same sea as the big boys and girls… and using FREE traffic to compete where they were paying through the nose using PPC. Diet, Dating, Divorce, and the other HUGE evergreen niches literally transformed by business in under 90 days, simply by being aggressive and welcoming competition, rather than avoiding it. (Quick Note: In one project with a partner, I literally saved $100,000 in PPC costs by using article marketing RATHER than the ad spend he had budgeted we’d need to compete… and conversions, on FREE traffic were almost as good as what others were getting spending $1.50 or MORE per click!)
Online Marketing Advantages
There are many advantages to internet marketing. Advertising principles are the same despite how big or little your company is. First brand your product or service, and then find out exactly what your niche is, get the sales and also establish repeat clients. Internet marketing is quite successful in handling all four of these guidelines.
Companies place their business and products on the internet to gain access to millions of customers. Internet marketing is far more than placing your advertising on the web. Marketing online consists of such areas as conversing with your customers, marketing your business or service on the internet along with being sure that your internet site content is helpful and informational. The best thing regarding web marketing is that people don’t have to have an enormous budget to build an advertising campaign that’s successful. There are applications you can use to make your advertising and marketing tactics effortless and worthwhile such as internet site templates, shopping cart templates and website marketing templates.
There are a few essential items you should take into account before you jump into online marketing. Efficient websites incorporate a personal touch with a fast response time to customers. The objective is to change the visitors to your website into buyers. The typical time frame for your return e-mail will be from 48 to 72 hours. If you delay any more to e-mail back your chance of losing the customer goes up.
An important part of online marketing is how you respond to your customer’s e-mail. You don’t want to lose potential customers after they have made the effort to visit your website and then contact you for more information. E-mail is a very useful and cost efficient way for you to make additional revenue.
Deciding what you want to accomplish online is important. After you’ve recognized there exists a need for your goods and services you’ll be prepared to decide your company’s goal plus if it is possible to meet this goal online. You will have to determine which kind of promoting you should employ online to realize your objectives. Small businesses need marketing and advertising efforts that are highly accurate and targeted.
Infinity Sponsoring 2011. Dean Black is creator of Infinity Sponsoring, a website dedicated to helping network marketers generate endless leads and cashflow for their business.
Online Marketing: Are Poorly Composed SEO Articles Acceptable?
If you have spent much time searching for a product or service online, you have probably encountered them: search engine optimization (SEO) articles that sound like they were written by a sixth grader-who is failing English class.
At a time when the marketing value of SEO content is at all-time high, the standard or quality for the content has hit a low. Part of the problem stems from SEO companies that cheaply compensate foreign writers to produce web articles. But SEO clients are accepting those articles. Are they to blame, too?
If so, their complicity in the creation of bad content is understandable: someone is selling them on the idea that bad SEO writing can do the job, that the links it contains, and where it ranks in Google search results, is all that matters.
If a web visitor is determined to buy something, perhaps the interlude of reading, or glancing through, a web article on the way to a product page is a triviality. Most consumers do not approach online shopping with blinders on. Competing deals are everywhere, and the means sellers use to draw customers in, including web articles, impact sales.
Web articles lead consumers to take the first step in the online sales process – and that is visiting the website the article links to – and compelling content is what motivates them to take that step. Even when articles are used solely to generate web traffic, the longer they hold readers’ attention, the more likely readers are to take the next step and visit the website.
You win more flies with honey than vinegar, as the old saying goes.
Should SEO Writing Be Held to Copywriting Standards?
SEO writing and copywriting have a fundamental difference: depending on how it is used, copywriting can be an end in itself, whereas SEO writing typically serves a commercial end: the sale of a product or service, or the gathering of contact information.
Because SEO writing is not viewed as an end product, online marketing gurus and their clients seem to have a high tolerance for sentences like the one below, which comes from a real article about laser cutting machines:
“Laser cutting machine processing as a new processing method, it is quietly [sic] prevalent in leather, textile and apparel industry because of its precise, fast and simple operation, high automation advantages.”
Say what?
Bad composition might not sabotage web content marketing from a technical standpoint (if the keywords are applied correctly, Google will index the article), but it weakens its human appeals and professional integrity. Sub par content simply isn’t interesting to read; and when you compare it to good website copy, it seems like a banged up Honda sitting next to a new Acura.
Even so, some content producers might argue that raising the bar for SEO writing would result in more cost to customers, and decrease the bottom line results of SEO. However, you don’t need senior copywriters to create the type of content that SEO writing should be. Instead, you need writers who are fluent in English, have some writing experience, and are willing to take pride in their work.
Hiring writers of this pedigree doesn’t require a talent search or a significant increase in payroll; it requires a minimum payroll investment that can result in the SEO provider receiving more clients, and its clients receiving better results from their online content.