Archive for the ‘Article Distribution Service’ Category

Go Offline to Get More Business Online

Monday, July 12th, 2010

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There certainly is an excellent variety of online marketing tools that can effectively drive traffic to your website and generate impressive sales. However, the offline world of marketing has almost been completely forgotten about by some companies. Even companies that conduct 100 percent of their business online can still greatly profit from incorporating offline methods in their business marketing campaign. Remember when we told you how putting more marketing lines in the water will help you catch a whale of a client? Employing the power of both offline and online marketing methods will sweeten your arsenal, giving you the fire power you need to blow the competition out of the water.

Build a Sales-boosting Bunker

Combining offline and online marketing will establish a lucrative symbiosis within your marketing—where all your marketing pieces strengthen each other (as opposed to marketing parasitism where one marketing piece simply feeds off the results created by your other marketing pieces).

You will create the most solid marketing campaign if you continuously execute a campaign that ties all of your marketing together. For example, if you’ve created a landing page for a specific product promotion, you can complement this by sending out mailers to your target audience, directing them to visit the landing page online. This combination of marketing can actually be really fun as it adopts the aura of a chess game, putting multiple elements into play through strategic maneuvers.

Sales-generating Seminars

Go public for increased exposure: Informational seminars put another marketing line in the water to attract big fish to your online efforts. Offer a free seminar that will help prospects build their businesses, live healthier lives, have more fun—the possibilities are endless. Just make sure to maintain an information-based approach and keep the sales speak out of it. Presenting a helpful seminar is sure to set you up as an authority!

This is also one of the best ways to simultaneously generate a large group of leads. Presenting a free seminar will make it obvious that your business is the real deal, so you won’t even have to actively pitch your actual business here. Make it very clear as to how they can get more information about your product or service (post your website URL everywhere throughout the room), and then let them come to you. And even if they don’t contact you, you now have their contact information from the seminar and can start email marketing to them or put them into your drip campaign. An easy way to get their contact information is to explain that you need it in order to send them the details about the seminar, such as time and place. Multiply the number in attendance by offering a free gift to anyone who brings 10 friends with them. (Use a simple three-step form: 1) Name, 2) e-mail and 3) Referred By.)

As if these reasons weren’t solid enough, you may also consider hosting a seminar in a vacation destination and writing it off as business expense…did we just write that?

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle Your Marketing

While it’s always a good idea to be as efficient as possible with your budget, reusing your marketing pieces in the wrong places could end up doing more harm than good. For example, many companies are unfamiliar with the issue of duplicate content on the Web (also referred to as dupe content by extra cool Web techies). Repeatedly posting the same content within your website or across platforms such as on your blogs could end up penalizing you in the search engines. Search engines pick this up as either a form of keyword stuffing or a fraudulent business plagiarizing other people’s content. (Use a professional article distribution service to submit mass articles in a search-engine-friendly manner.)

The good news is that you can reuse your current online articles as much as you would like offline. For example, you can print your online articles and send them out in direct response mailers to your leads. Providing helpful information in your mailers adds a great deal of value and helps establish why your business is the clear choice. Plus, adding an information-based piece in any marketing you do helps soften your sales approach, making it much more attractive than a standalone promotion. Due to a daily bombardment of advertising, people are naturally skeptical about these standalone promotions. When you provide something for free that people can use to make their lives better they’re much likelier to let their guard down and actively consider your offer.

To your success,
Andrew Rossillo

Andrew Rossillo is Content Crooner’s Marketing Blogger and Staff Writer. He’s ready to put his years of copywriting and online marketing experience to work for your business—he’ll help you get noticed!

Why Content Producers Need Article Marketing Automation and Other Features of a Good Service

Friday, May 28th, 2010

Writing content for widespread distribution on the Internet demands a plan for your writing. Knowing the needs of your target market ensures you create articles they crave.

Article distribution for securing significant backlinks demands a plan as well. That plan should include article marketing automation and other features a good service offers.

Many article submission sites exist on the Web. It’s your responsibility to choose the best service for your business. A premium service has certain features which give internet marketers good ROI for their investment.

Here are those features:

Article Marketing Automation

This is a mechanism to get your work out to your target market in a regular orderly fashion. You input your content set once; you then schedule when you want those pieces to go out to publishers. You schedule distribution for up to a year in advance.

This feature frees time up for other activities, including some R&R time away from your PC. There’s often much to do when it comes to online marketing. Anything that simplifies your operations so you’re not always working is something that’s beneficial.

Mobile Capabilities

A quality content distribution service only requires you having a password to get into their members area. Therefore, wherever you are, you can access their service via the Internet.

A good service doesn’t require you downloading and installing software. You can only engage in article submission from your home PC if they require you to download software.

Being able to submit your work from anywhere at any time is convenient. It’s a desirable option for busy internet marketers and writers who are always on the go. Any campaign your running doesn’t have to be on hold just because you’re traveling.

A Comprehensive Distribution List

When it comes to submitting, you want abundant choice in publishers. You create content on a host of topics suited to the different affiliate products you promote. You need publishers suited to each topic.

Having a limited list to submit too means some of your articles won’t be a good match for publishers. Certain articles you write may be highly specialized.

They only fit niche specialty publications with a select readership. A service with a significant publishers list will have these types of publications in their stable.

Unlimited Submission of Content for One Fee

This is an attractive feature, especially if you’re a prolific writer. A quality content distribution service charges writers’ one fee, once, for a subscription. They offer monthly, yearly, or lifetime subscription packages for an affordable one-time fee.

Paying per submission is a quick route to inflating your promotions budget. So is aligning yourself with a service that charges additional fees for going beyond their stipulated submission level.

These days, budgeting wisely for marketing is essential to surviving as a business. Unlimited submission means creating and submitting to your heart’s content without paying anything extra.

Quality Review Process

Your writing will only be better when another set of eyes gives it a look. A good service provides expert editors who understand what constitutes quality work.

They know what publishers require and what causes rejection of content. Knowing what not to do in writing is as important as knowing what to do.

An experienced editor offers advice and tips on the tone of your writing. They caution writers to avoid creating blatantly promotional pieces.

They know readers don’t want to read content that sounds like a late-night hyperactive TV commercial. People want useful information presented objectively and an editor shows writers how to achieve this goal.

Keeps Attuned to New Publishers

A good content distributor always knows “who’s who” in the online publishing world. They look for new players on the scene. When these players arrive, the service gets your previously submitted work to them.

That’s a service working behind-the-scenes for you while you engage in other activities. Your older content continues to reach new readers, without you having to do anything.

That’s distribution done right. It’s something that builds links back to your website consistently each month.

It takes the headache away of having to search out new publishers yourself. Remember, any time saved in performing distribution is time you have to do something else. Of course, that something else should always include more content production for future campaigns.

Utilize article distribution with article marketing automation and other features that a service offers. They facilitate the exposure you desire for your writing and your website links. This exposure leads to pre-sold traffic that is essential to building an online business with staying power.

To your success,

Mike Lawson

Mike Lawson is a freelance consultant to internet marketers. His service provides quality reviews for article marketing automation programs. Read review of Content Crooner.

Follow Us on Twitter: ContentCrooner

“Crooner Rocks”

How Article Marketing Automation and Other Initiatives Grow Your Cyber Venture

Friday, May 21st, 2010

In internet marketing, the riches go to those who engage in consistent effort to grow their businesses. The get-rich-quick schemes are exactly what they purport to be, schemes.

Building your cyber venture, promoting affiliate or other products, means hard work on different initiatives. Working on article distribution with article marketing automation, and other web initiatives, does pay dividends.

Autopilot Distribution of Your Content While You Sleep

That sounds good doesn’t it? It’s not a pipe dream, in fact, it’s something serious internet marketers engage in all the time. Why do they? They do so because they understand there are only so many hours weekly for accomplishing marketing goals.

The best online entrepreneurs perform multiple marketing duties. They don’t rely on just one avenue for promoting their products and services. They write for blogs, websites, and for their email campaigns.

They write advertisements and engage in submitting their links to directories. They also make videos and contribute to social forums. Therefore, they can’t spend all their time distributing articles to different publishers.

Through the article marketing automation tool from a quality content distribution service, they save time. They schedule distribution of their quality content upfront.

While they sleep, or do other work, their articles go out to Web publishers like clockwork. It’s automatic, and set to build their income even when they’re not actually working.

Unique Banner Creation and Ad Writing

Whether you promote your own products or products from affiliate programs, you want to be unique. This ensures you stand out from your business competition.

Banner creation programs exist whereby you create banners suited to your particular business. Your banners don’t have to look like the other affiliate banners a host of affiliates use.

In addition, writing your own ads accomplishes the same goal. Focus your ad writing using your own voice and style. Match this to your blog and website content.

In this way, you project a unified voice and message to your niche. This presents you as a professional with a clear message to your intended audience.

Create an Informative Monthly Newsletter

You’re already a quality content producer and distribute your articles to your niche. Why not write a monthly newsletter to distribute to them as well.

It doesn’t have to be the size of a Shakespearean play. In fact, a couple of pages are sufficient.

Send out this newsletter and include links to your website or affiliate sites. Don’t make the newsletter one giant commercial, though.

Make your newsletter writing as informative as your article writing. You still have to offer useful information to your readers, no matter the platform you’re using.

Your newsletter can include detailed specs on an affiliate product along with product comparison reviews. It can include updates on product upgrades.

It’s good to have a few short pieces promoting nothing. These are informational pieces on topics related to your products but not actively promoting them.

Blog Commentary

Let people know about your cyber venture through making comments on blogs. Browse blog directories to find blogs of your niche. Check these blogs out by reading the various posts that reside on them.

After perusing and reading, comment on some posts. Be respectful and offer top-notch advice, tips, and resources. Include an affiliate or other link in your post.

Give insightful, informative comments that truly seek to contribute intelligently to the blog conversation. When people believe you are trying to help them they often link back to you.

Who knows, you may glean some useful information yourself from someone’s blog. It may be information that you can apply to your online business. Therefore, blog surfing can work for you in two ways.

Devote Some Time to Your Downline

Your cyber venture may include being a leader of other affiliate marketers. Set aside time each month to help them build their incomes. You contribute to your own success when you do this consistently.

You enjoy when others offer helpful advice. Maybe an editor at an article submission service helped you become a better content producer. Their tips paid off and you are benefitting from the increased pre-sold traffic heading your way.

You can offer helpful advice to your downline. This builds your reputation with them so they work harder for themselves and by extension you. Together, you both grow your incomes and develop a relationship of mutual respect as you do.

Make consistent effort in the above initiatives part of your monthly online business routine. Using article distribution with article marketing automation, in tandem with other tools, helps build traffic and income. It’s a way to get your cyber venture on a solid foundation for continued growth.

To your success,

Mike Lawson

Mike Lawson is a freelance consultant to internet marketers. His service provides quality reviews for article marketing automation programs. Read review of Content Crooner.

Follow Us on Twitter: ContentCrooner

“Crooner Rocks”

Article Submissions: Twitter on Steroids

Wednesday, May 19th, 2010

Want to keep your prospects and clients well informed? While Twitter and other social media outlets are ideal for broaching topics and attracting potential clients with tidbits of useful and entertaining information, they should only be used to lead your prospects to the real information they want. Article submissions are the meat and potatoes to your appetizer of a Twitter tweet.

Social Media as an Accelerant

While Twitter can help your company enjoy massive exposure on the Web, it still only represents a slice of the online market. You’ll miss out on plenty of potential customers if you fail to extend your marketing efforts beyond that. Today’s Internet users are more information-hungry than ever before. They’re going online to research your product or service first before they reach for their credit cards. Although Twitter has the power to create initial interest in your offer, it doesn’t quite possess the power to convince them to spend their hard-earned cash.

Use Twitter as the match to ignite your other marketing pieces. Twitter tweets are like headlines to articles. The main point of a headline is to grab someone’s attention and pull them in to read more. Essentially, your tweets are headlines for your other marketing pieces. Social media platforms provide an ideal opportunity to speak with enthusiasm about your product or service. Generate excitement and interest and then direct them to more information or directly to your offer.

Employ Multiple Marketing Techniques

An army doesn’t go into battle with just one type of weapon — they bring an entire arsenal. That’s because you never know for certain exactly what you’ll come up against in the field. The same goes for your marketing. The sheer volume of Internet users dictates that you must combine several marketing tools to ensure you successfully speak to as broad an audience as possible.

And just as each of our troops support the soldiers around them you’ll get the best results when you support each of your marketing pieces — never leave a marketing piece behind. Complement your social media marketing with a solid series of information-based articles. You can actually copy and paste one of your article headlines directly into your Twitter tweet and then simply provide a link back to the whole article. But don’t stop there — you can use Twitter or Google Buzz to tie anyone of your marketing pieces together simply by posting a short, intriguing blurb about one of your pieces and providing the link.

Caveat: There’s a tenuous balance to be achieved here with the number of marketing projects you undertake. Don’t spread yourself too thin in your efforts to appeal to as many people as possible. You’ll run the risk of killing your budget and just might go crazy trying to track all of your marketing projects. Ten units of energy spread out over five projects is much more effective than being spread out over 10 projects.

Shout it from the Virtual Rooftops

Use social media platforms to quickly spread the word about special promotions. Get them fired up about a discount, no-risk trial offer, unique satisfaction guarantee, free gift or anything else that will make it impossible to resist the temptation of clicking through to your main promo and marketing pieces. (Tip: Always double check your URL’s and actually click on them to make sure you’re sending people to the right place.)

And what better place than a social media platform to announce conventions, seminars, informational meetings and other social-business events? Social media tools give you a louder voice to reach a larger audience and invite plenty of prospects to your next function.

To your success,

Andrew Rossillo

Andrew Rossillo is Content Crooner’s Marketing Blogger and Staff Writer. He’s ready to put his years of copywriting and online marketing experience to work for your business—he’ll help you get noticed!

Article Distribution Using Article Marketing Automation

Friday, May 7th, 2010

It’s a competitive online business environment out there. Being an affiliate marketer, you need to use the quality resources available to build income streams.

Article distribution using article marketing automation is one of several resources for building your business. Used in tandem with other resources, it can help you grow your income faster.

The following are five ways to help you promote your affiliate products and affiliate programs. Set aside time each week to engage in at least one of these activities. Try them and develop processes suited to your working style so you benefit from these initiatives.

Here they are:

Article Marketing

This involves you being a consistent content producer. You write articles loaded with useful advice, tips, instruction, and plain old good information for your audience.

You use a quality content distribution service to get your work to market. They distribute your writing throughout cyberspace.

An excellent service provides article marketing automation. What is this exactly? This is you scheduling the distribution of your writing ahead of time. You submit your writing once and schedule when they go out, up to a year in advance.

Then you go your merry way onto other affiliate marketing work. Distribution happens automatically, on autopilot, when you’re not even thinking about it. This simplifies marketing and is a perfect example of excellent time management.

Viral Marketing

Viral marketing is a way to build your affiliate income. It involves using existing social and other platforms to get the message out about your business.

Therefore, your links spread around the Internet. This is akin to getting extensive link exposure when you distribute your articles.

Viral marketing can involve sending out your eBook, brandable software, video clips, images, text messages, emails and such. The viral aspect comes from the spreading of your information. This can happen fast.

Consider an email, video, or text message you send with your link. Many people you send it to may forward it on to others. These people can then forward it on as well. That can add up to significant link distribution.

Guerilla Marketing

Guerilla marketing is a non-traditional way of promoting yourself. It involves creative marketing and requires an investment of time, energy, and imagination. Again, it’s the same as your quality content writing, which requires the same effort.

Guerilla marketing could involve you doing something as drastic as standing on a street corner in a “guerilla suit.” You have, in your hands, a host of product samples you’re giving out.

You’re attracting attention to yourself and your affiliate products. The point is, you’re engaging in an unconventional form of product promotion.

You can do guerilla marketing digitally as well. You send out unique, even wacky advertisements, ads, videos and such that startle.

The shock value provokes a reaction from your potential customers. Just go about it in a dignified, un-crass way so you don’t alienate your target market.

In Person Marketing

Talking, in person, to someone is still a great way to build your business. Take every opportunity to talk up your business, when and where appropriate. Someone you meet may need exactly what you’re promoting. They won’t know about it unless you tell them.

Consider numerous business events in your city or town. Your local business association may have various networking events throughout the year. Check a few out and talk about your business.

Meet up with others who work to promote various affiliate programs. Share tips and experiences. Let them know what you promote and you may secure a new downline member.

Blog Writing

Blog writing is a great way to keep your niche market current on your business. Blogs allow you to post information quickly. You can do this daily, even multiple times in a day. Provide useful information, of the quality you submit to an article submission service, and you build a following.

When you post on your blog, provide links to your affiliate parent’s site. Provide links back to your own website, where you can engage your readers further. You can offer product suggestions on your blog, as well as reviews.

You can then elaborate more on your website once people link back to it. You can offer product suggestions or additional helpful resources to your readers.

Explore the options available to you for building your affiliate business. Get writing and get that content ready for running multiple campaigns.

In addition, try other methods for building your business, in concert with article distribution using article marketing automation. Together, they generate that relevant traffic to your website that converts to customers.

To your success,

Mike Lawson

Mike Lawson is a freelance consultant to internet marketers. His service provides quality reviews for article marketing automation programs. Read review of Content Crooner.

Follow Us on Twitter: ContentCrooner

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Business Is Always Personal—How to Sell to Strangers

Monday, May 3rd, 2010

Whether you own a brick-and-mortar store or run a website in which you will never meet your clients, business is always personal. Submitting articles about your company and services grants people an intimate view into how you can help them. It’s very simple—would you prefer to buy from a company you know more or less about?

Since people are more likely to buy from people they know or through referrals, you need to transcend the stranger threshold. Ultimately, the Web is faceless—avatars are cute and profile photos may show prospects your physical face, but they don’t show the true face of your business. You need to inject a personal touch into your business to increase sales. Article marketing provides a unique platform for establishing sales-inciting intimacy. Automated article distribution insures a steady stream of information and communication between you and your prospects and clients. This enables them to continuously learn more about you and how you can help them with their challenges and dreams.

In order to survive in today’s highly competitive marketplace your business must be three-dimensional. An automated article distribution service creates a three-dimensional environment through the regular provision of useful information and value-based content. It provides you with the opportunity to tell your prospects more about yourself and your employees. Get personal! Tell them your dreams, what you’d like to accomplish…your favorite color. Don’t worry—you can still maintain professionalism while sharing your personal side. These elements work together to put your prospects at ease. It establishes a sense of community and makes them feel connected. This is an ideal sales environment.

Regardless of how motivated you are to make money you should never let the almighty dollar blind you. Treat your prospects like your neighbors, offering help whenever possible. People are more likely to spend money with you when they perceive genuine compassion. As part of that, make an effort to actually get to know your prospects and clients. Take notes! Write birthdays down, take note of what they tell you about their family, record insights to their dreams and other such issues. Reference these notes later to ask them about issues they hold dear—show you care. And how thrilled will prospects be when they see their birthday or their kid’s latest sports accomplishment mentioned in your next article?

Maintaining a personal touch encourages your prospects and clients to confide in you. This helps you better understand their needs, which allows you to provide them with the most appropriate solution possible and achieve increased customer satisfaction. Plus, it promotes a more relaxed business environment which lends itself to you having more fun!

In addition, establishing a personal side to your business is ideal for older generations and Web skeptics. Although trends show more people above the age of 65 are now using computers, they’re still hesitant to submit personal information such as credit card numbers. Similarly, even younger audiences still approach the Web with extreme caution. Unfortunately, this skepticism is all too often justified. There are countless unscrupulous entities online that spawn new scams on a daily basis. Frequently providing people with helpful content legitimizes your company not only by providing useful information, but simply by showing that you’ve made an effort. Online scammers usually come in the form of fly-by-night schemes and rarely ever make a concerted effort to fully disguise their evil. The sheer fact that you’re taking the time to write and distribute helpful articles automatically separates you from black-hatters and con artists—a true credibility booster!

Frequent article distribution prevents clients from experiencing a hollow feeling after their purchase. It’s not uncommon for consumers to feel put off by the usual one-and-done sales method. Instead, maintaining continuous contact and a personal touch with your business will promote greater confidence in their purchase of your product or service. Why should you care after the sale is made? For one, it supports greater customer satisfaction which improves repeat business and client retention. It also makes your clients more likely to refer your business.

To your success,

Andrew Rossillo

Andrew Rossillo is Content Crooner’s Marketing Blogger and Staff Writer. He’s ready to put his years of copywriting and online marketing experience to work for your business—he’ll help you get noticed!

Article Marketing Automation and 6 Other Features of a Quality Content Distribution Service

Friday, April 30th, 2010

As an affiliate marketer engaged in various affiliate programs, getting exposure for your business is crucial. A host of marketing initiatives exists that you can undertake to build your business. Article marketing is one of them. It’s an affordable way to gain link exposure, with article distribution using article marketing automation a major element.

Of course, other major elements make up this kind of marketing as well. All together, they work to ensure you receive maximum exposure for your writing. That leads to relevant backlinks to your website where you promote affiliate products.

The following are seven features of a good service:

1. Have a Huge List of Quality Publishers

A quality content distribution service works to secure and maintain a large list of good publishers. They align themselves with publishers across all disciplines. In this way, they present choice to you.

As a content producer, you write on a variety of topics. Each topic relates to a specific affiliate product you promote. Therefore, you need the availability of many publishers of diverse niches. You submit your work on a regular basis and get useful information to readers of those publications. This builds your reputation as someone knowledgeable in a certain field.

2. Offer Writing Resources

Whether you’re new to content producing, or experienced, it’s nice to have resources that help your writing. A good article submission site offers a best practices guide to their membership. This guide sets forth the style, format and other requirements of the Web’s top publishers. Following the tips in this guide expedites the publishing of your work.

A quality service also provides live editors who go over your pieces. Experienced in the article marketing discipline, they give expert advice on how to make your writing better.

3. Charge One Upfront Fee, Once, in a Subscription Period

A premier service doesn’t charge you per submission. They have a monthly, yearly, or lifetime membership plan. They tell you upfront exactly what they charge you for each. They don’t tack on additional fees; they don’t surprise you with other ‘administration’ fees and the like. You pay once and then don’t pay again until it’s time to renew.

4. Allow You Endless Submissions in a Subscription Period

A quality content distribution service encourages productivity. They charge the aforementioned one time fee for a subscription period and allow unlimited submissions. They don’t cap how many pieces you can submit.

Unlimited submissions are conducive to running multiple campaigns. That truly is a way to garner exposure for your business. Unlimited submissions are also conducive to staying within your affiliate marketing budget. The more you write and submit, the less it costs per submission to get your links coursing around the Web.

5. Helps You Utilize Social Media

The new social media sites are all the rage today. Love them or hate them, you probably need to use some of them to promote your business. Upon distribution of your writing, a quality service allows you to promote it through your social networking accounts.

They facilitate this via the user-friendly links they provide from your author account. Therefore, you instantly update others that you have a new piece published on a certain topic. That drives traffic to your article and subsequently from it to your website.

6. Offer Detailed Distribution and Exposure Reports

You need to know if your writing is paying off for you. Distribution and exposure reports let you know who is publishing what, concerning your work. You soon learn what’s resonating with publishers and readers.

Knowing what topics publishers and readers like helps you focus your efforts for your next campaign. Unpopular article topics mean focusing in another direction for your next efforts. These reports help you fine-tune your writing for success.

7. Offer Automation for “Always Happening” Distribution

A quality content distribution service encourages affiliate marketers to streamline their businesses. They enable them to go on autopilot through scheduling distribution of their work ahead of time. A writer can schedule distribution for up to one year in advance.

This makes running a business more efficient. Not having to schedule time each week for distribution activities means more time for other marketing. Time to engage in a variety of marketing activities means more chances to build multiple streams of affiliate income.

Explore what article marketing can do for you as a promoter of affiliate programs. Look for a service that offers article distribution using article marketing automation. Make sure they offer the other features as well. Then get to work using those features to build good income streams for years to come.

To your success,

Mike Lawson

Mike Lawson is a freelance consultant to internet marketers. His service provides quality reviews for article marketing automation programs. Read review of Content Crooner.

Follow Us on Twitter: ContentCrooner

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Article Marketing Promotes Use of Your Core Strengths for Better Business

Wednesday, April 21st, 2010
Michael Phelps wins 8th gold medal
Creative Commons License photo credit: bryangeek

Although we’d all like to think that we have fantastic abilities that span a great number of skill categories, the truth is that we’re experts in just a few areas.

Of course, you can write and you may have even found a few free article submission sites, but your business is guaranteed to suffer when you take time away from your core capabilities.

Employing the help of a professional article submission service ensures not only that your articles are well crafted and only submitted to verified sources for the greatest potency, it also promises that you’ll stick to your core strengths.

Highest Income-producing Activities

Take a few minutes and look through your accounts receivable—which factors produce the most amount of revenue for your company? Pinpointing these areas will help highlight the activities that you should invest the most time and effort into. However, there will be overlapping or several contributing factors to consider as well. Perhaps your article marketing produces the most revenue—this doesn’t necessarily mean you should dedicate all your time to that though. It might be the networking you’ve been doing with prospects that’s been getting people to read those articles. Get the picture?

Identifying Core Strengths

Is it more profitable to struggle at writing an article, dedicating five hours to what should be an hour-long task, or to employ your natural networking skills and actively generate new business contacts, taking just one hour to complete an hour-long task? Whether you want to refer to it as maintaining efficiency in the workplace or simply not wasting time, sticking to what you do best enables you to hit your target with less effort and greater strength. Do what you’re best at and then employ the help of others to supplement your core skills.

Improve Your Career Satisfaction

You can also look forward to a greater degree of career satisfaction when you work at what you’re best at. Of course, it can be very rewarding to overcome a challenge that falls outside of our usual realm of skills, but you’re sure to enjoy more consistent rewards when you build off of your strengths. Executing tasks that you excel at creates immense gratification because you’re using your top skills. An administrative assistant with a mind for management will feel like they’re suffocating in the workplace. Give them the opportunity to delegate a few tasks and they’ll breath easier.

Take a Mental Inventory

To help you get started you can take a mental inventory of what you’re good at. What comes easily to you? Start with a bird’s eye view such as determining that you’re good with numbers. Then take a closer look at this ability to see what tasks you most aptly use your number skills with. Keeping track of your business’ taxes is quite distinct from identifying statistical trends in web-user behavior. And what do you enjoy doing? Our enjoyment of activities is often linked to our ability to actually perform them. You can also look into services that are designed to help you identify your core strengths.

Confidence Booster

Not only will establishing your core strengths give your company greater clout in the marketplace, it will also create a confidence booster. A solid grasp on your abilities arms you against the anxieties that can accompany major business challenges. All you have to do in those situations is take a deep breath and remind yourself of how your core strengths will power you through to a successful end. You can also use specific successes in your past to bolster yourself for new challenges. For example, I ran with the bulls in Pamplona, Spain and now use that as my mantra when things seem to be stacking up against me. Find a point of power, a specific success you’ve experienced, and use it to fuel your next triumph.

To your success,

Andrew Rossillo

Andrew Rossillo is Content Crooner’s Marketing Blogger and Staff Writer. He’s ready to put his years of copywriting and online marketing experience to work for your business—he’ll help you get noticed!

Hitting Hot Buttons on the Head Is Key to Selling More

Tuesday, April 6th, 2010

Buttons
We mean the other kind of buttons!
Creative Commons License photo credit: ahisgett

Marketing plans often fall short of their goal because they failed to zero in on their prospects’ hot buttons.

Your marketing plan must establish finite targets before you launch your campaign. Get a lock on the factors that trigger emotional responses from your prospects and you’ll figure out how to best present your offer.

Bang on those hot buttons

Hot buttons go far beneath the surface. Your product or service is not what’s in question. It’s what they help your target audience accomplish. Look for alternate dimensions to your product to hone in on the best way to present it. Use article marketing to effectively hit hot buttons right on the head.

Hot buttons consist of fears, worries, goals, aspirations and basic needs. They are all directly tied to people’s emotions. Many types of marketing simply don’t have the right platform to thoroughly appeal to emotions. On the other hand, article marketing grants you the perfect opportunity to connect better with your audience. For one, articles automatically have a better chance of digging below a prospect’s surface, since article readers are naturally more attentive. If they’re taking enough time to read your full article, then you’ve got enough time to truly speak to them. Whereas, T.V., radio and online banner ads can only quickly shout at someone and hope for the best.

Start by conducting some market research first to get a lock on demographics (sex, race, age, income, geographical location) and psychographics (attitudes, personality, values, lifestyles and interests). Study these factors  to narrow down your target audience and understand which emotions to appeal to. Don’t try and sell convenience items to single-parent homes—they’re looking for supplemental income opportunities and products or services that will grant them some time freedom. Push the convenience factor with a more affluent audience instead.

Accurately targeted hot buttons create a eureka moment, helping your prospects discover the perfect solution for their needs. Figure out what keeps them up at night and they’ll thank you with their credit cards for the full-night’s sleep. The fun part about crafting these articles for your business is that you won’t necessarily address the actual needs of your prospects. Play to their emotions—get a reaction from their heart and their brain will automatically follow suit. Consumers put their wallets away instead of taking them out when they think with their brain and not with their heart!

Learn to hone in on your audience

One of the biggest benefits article marketing provides is the ability to try again. Even if your market research led you astray and you missed hitting your prospect’s hot button on the head, you can make multiple attempts through an automated series of articles. Track the links back to your site and you’ll know what’s working and what needs to be improved.

And if you just can’t seem to figure out what’s most important to your prospects, feel free to simply ask them. Directly sampling your target audience through tools such as online polls and e-mail questionnaires will provide you with some excellent insight. Provide them with incentives such as discounts on your products to encourage them to provide helpful feedback. This not only increases the quantity of responses it also encourages more direct sales!

Understanding hot buttons not only helps you bring in first-time buyers it also encourages brand loyalty. Among the platforms for building solid business relationships is the understanding of what makes your clients sad or happy, what they value and what motivates them. Automate your article distribution to build an ongoing relationship. Build up value over time and continuously provide them with points that they can use to assuage their hot buttons.

Human behavior is a deeply rooted, almost unchangeable element. Never try to change your prospects’ behaviors. Instead, put yourself in their shoes and adapt your marketing messages accordingly.

To your success,

Andrew Rossillo

Andrew Rossillo is Content Crooner’s Marketing Blogger and Staff Writer. He’s ready to put his years of copywriting and online marketing experience to work for your business—he’ll help you get noticed!

Are you failing to convert confused prospects to clear-minded clients?

Monday, April 5th, 2010

Classic sales tips dictate that a confused mind never buys. Prospects require a mind clear of doubt before they’ll reach for their wallet. Why purchase a product or service if you have any residual reservations about it?

With the sheer quantity of services and products readily available on the Web there’s no reason why people should buy from you if they’re confused about your offer. Sales come through the path of least resistance!

Write informative article submissions regarding your product or service to wipe away doubt and clear people’s minds for a smooth purchasing process.

Understand your audience

The first thing you need to do is comprehensively identify your target audience. Every successful marketing plan is founded on thorough market research. Carefully consider exactly who you’re trying to appeal to and adapt your tone accordingly. Studying key demographics will help you do this. The most common demographic factors include sex, race, age, income, disabilities, employment, education level, mobility (vehicle ownership), home ownership, and geographical location. Add extra strength to your marketing approach by studying behavioral variables such as usage rate and loyalty.

“Firmographics” may sound like a big word, but it’s just about studying businesses instead of people. If you’re selling to other companies, understanding firmographic variables such as industry, seniority and functionals area relating to the characteristics of an organization create even more poignancy for your marketing plan. Firmographic factors include industry, employee size, revenue size, number of locations and geographic location of headquarters.

Once you’ve identified your key demographics and firmographics, take it a step further and develop your key psychographic values. This is just another big-sounding word that is just about knowing what makes people tick – things related to attitudes, personality, values, lifestyles and interests.

See the other point of view

Complement this approach by adopting your prospect’s perspective. What issues do they want to resolve?  Explain to your audience how your product will benefit them. What questions need answering? Use an automated article system to give them a continuous stream of useful content to provide those answers. What are their dreams? Share your service’s ability to help them excel. Their biggest fears? Let them know that your business provides a constant support network.

Fail to extend your thoughts beyond the immediate features of your product or service and you‘ll leave your prospects confused as to how your offer will directly help them. Address their most important issues and you’ll efface doubts and confusion, giving them the go-ahead to buy from you.

And you may be thinking that your complex product or service requires complex terms and explanations—not true! When in doubt, apply the K.I.S.S. rule (keep it simple and stupid). Use straightforward language and you’ll eliminate points of confusion about your offer.

Avoid the urge to discuss all of your product or service’s features and benefits at one time. The best approach is to break your offer down into manageable chunks. These chunks of information and value are easier to process and will not overwhelm your prospects. Article writing grants you the opportunity to introduce new value points in controlled stages. You will gradually build value while insuring that your prospect has mastered a feature/chunk before you move on to the next point.

Are you excited about your product or service? Great! Just make sure you’re not too excited. This can cause you to get swept away and relate the details of your offer in a very confusing and whirlwind manner. Excitement can be a great catalyst for writing your business articles if you harness it. And remember: always take a step back from your article after you’ve written it and revisit it later to see if you need to tone it down in spots.

To your success,

Andrew Rossillo

Andrew Rossillo is Content Crooner’s Marketing Blogger and Staff Writer. He’s ready to put his years of copywriting and online marketing experience to work for your business—he’ll help you get noticed!