1. Longer Articles Isn’t Better!

Irrespective of what you may have heard, articles should ideally be relatively short with the word count being 300 to 500 words. Bear in mind that when the average person reads through a article they simply skim over it and take in the most important points. If your article is too long, it’s very unlikely that anyone will read it from beginning to end. Also, you should try to ensure that each paragraph only has three or four sentences.

Furthermore, you need not be a skilled writer in order to write articles, but instead, you should simply write them as if you were speaking to someone.

2. Create Multiple Articles

You simply cannot expect to make a huge amount of money if you’re only willing to write one or two articles each month. Instead, you need to create numerous articles relative to the niche you’re involved with. Ideally, you should aim to write approximately 20 to 30 articles each month, and they should of course all be targeted on certain keywords. By writing numerous articles each month you’ll be giving off the impression that you’re an expert in your field.

3. Maintain Quality

You need to realize that even if you’re write 100 articles each month, nobody will want to waste their time reading them if they are all of a poor quality. Basically, good quality articles should contain useful information such as techniques and tips which people in turn can use. In fact, when someone focuses primarily on quantity rather than quality, the concept is known as bum marketing.

4. Submit to Multiple Directories

Irrespective of what you may have heard with regards to submitting articles to one directory, the truth is that you should submit articles to several directories. Remember, the more directories you submit to, the more readers you will have, and the more people reading your articles, the more visitors you can expect at your website.

Here are the top 5 article directories, determined by performance, in my opinion:

1. EzineArticles.com
2. GoArticles.com
3. Buzzle.com
4. ArticleBase.com
5. IdeaMarketers.com

5. Outsourcing

Obviously if you’re a little strapped for cash then you’ll simply have to get by without outsourcing your article writing needs. However if you can afford it then it’s something you should seriously consider, simply because it can save you a vast amount of time. Also, the time you save can of course be better spent elsewhere.

Admittedly, article marketing can require a little bit of time in order to master it but in the end it will prove to be worthwhile. Bear in mind that if you make a point of creating two or three articles each day, you’ll have more or less 100 articles within a month, and when you can do that then it’s only a matter of time before you start seeing money come in.

Edit: Bonus #6 – Target Long-Tail Keywords! Learn more about why you should use long-tail keywords here.

Best,

P.S. If you have any questions or comments on article marketing, please feel free to post them below.

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So, rather than waste any time, let’s get straight to it…

1. Use a Killer Headline

Contrary to what you may believe, having a killer headline is crucial. For example, let’s say you’re fortunate enough to have as many as 10,000 people scanning the page on which your article link appears. I can assure you, only a small percentage of those people will actually click on your title in order to read the full article. In fact, let’s just say 1% of the people who see your headline end up clicking on it and then reading the full article. Now I’m sure you can see where this is going – 10,000 reading your headline but only 100 people reading your article.

Okay, if we take into consideration what’s been mentioned above, what would you suppose we should be focusing on more – headline or article?

2. Keyword Targeting

Let’s face it, SEO rankings aren’t just going to happen. In fact, the only way you’ll get them is if you’re absolutely serious with regards to the use of keywords. The bottom line is, the vast majority of Internet marketers are willing to use practically any keywords, or they simply choose to use the most commonly used keywords relating to the product of service they’re promoting. Of course, the more common your keywords are, the harder it is to get decent SEO rankings. Instead, you should be aiming to use the less common keywords which relate to your product in order to have a higher ranking. You can be rest assured that if you write a killer headline, and you follow the other advice being offered in this article, then hitting page one on the search engine results pages (SERPs) should certainly be within your reach.

If for example you’re promoting wind or solar power systems which one can build yourself, then instead of using keywords such as “wind power” or “solar power”, you should rather use ones such as “DIY Wind Generators”.

I assure you, it’s been proven time and time again that this strategy pays off. Finally, once you’re satisfied that you’ve got all your long-tail keywords covered, you need to move on to the next level, eventually ending off with your primary keyword.

3. Quality Content

Let’s face it, it’s incredibly frustrating when you’re desperately searching for specific information on the Internet, and you come across a headline that suggests you’ve just found what you’re looking for, only to then discover that the article has no useful information. The sad truth is, with webmasters being increasingly desperate for traffic, many are outsourcing their article writing to people who simply couldn’t care less about quality content. Of course not everyone is able to write quality articles and as such, there’s nothing wrong with outsourcing but the problem is, good ghost writers can be hard to come by. The fact of the matter is; if you want your articles to generate traffic to your site, then it’s imperative that they provide readers with something of value.

4. Simple Format

While this may seem obvious to some, particularly to content writers, articles need to be presented in a simple format. In other words, rather that single 1000 word blocks of text, break it up into numerous short paragraphs. Remember, people want to be able to quickly scan your article before they actually read it. After all, they need to know if it’s what they’re looking for.

5. Link, Links and More Links

I know, creating backlinks to your articles may well not be your favorite activity but the fact is, it’s absolutely vital. Remember, you need to ensure that the search engines are looking for your articles and then ranking them. While rankings are largely influenced by the popularity of the sites which link to your articles, if you’re aiming for SEO traffic, you’ll need to promote your articles on an ongoing basis.

Okay, one last thing before I finish up with this. Each and every article you write should be worth writing in the first place. Unlike in the past, if you want to achieve real success nowadays with article marketing, you simply cannot churn out a hundred articles each week without doing adequate research. Instead, you need to focus on one article at a time, and you need to promote it for all you’re worth before you move on the next one.

Got any article marketing tips you’d like to add? Feel free to post them here in the comments below.

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We all have made them, those little mistakes we notice later in our writing. We may even have had the blog comment to a post or ad which tells us we made a grammatical error.

In some businesses, one single grammatical error can make the difference between a huge company mistake and a huge success during a business deal.

Just like big corporate businesses, the success of your website or blog depends much on your ability to write effectively. To make your writing effective you need good grammar. That will pave a foundation which will set your marketing or ideas above the rest.

Here are eight of the most common grammatical mistakes:

1. Your vs. You’re

“Your” is a possessive pronoun. “You’re” is a contraction of “you are.” This mistake is becoming common among bloggers. It absolutely drives me nuts. This one simple mistake can be easily corrected by simply thinking first about what you are trying to convey.

Choose your words wisely, your blog grammar matters.

Look for this common mistake while you’re out reading other people’s blogs.

2. There vs. Their vs. They’re

“There” is usually a reference to a certain place. “Their” is a plural possessive pronoun belonging to a group of people. “They’re” is a contraction of “they are.” Nearly every Internet marketer and writer has trouble with this sometimes. Usually it’s just a simple typo. Be sure to watch for it when you write and when you proof read. Often it is hard to work with contractions when we write. It’s even more difficult, at some points in our writing, to decide if we need a contraction when its non-contracted homonym sounds so much like it even when we read it out loud.

Are you going there?

Their blog made sense grammatically.

They’re going to have to wait.

3. Affect vs. Effect

“Affect” is a verb. Verbs have past tense. “Effect” is a noun. If you can put “the” in front of it, then you will need the noun. You may need to stop and mentally sort these two out when you want to write it. It is a very common mistake, one that makes all the difference to your readers. Some people see it as merely a typo, while other will stop dead in their tracks and try to figure out what is really meant.

Your ability to communicate your thoughts clearly will affect your reader’s understanding.

The effect of the fireworks was amazing.

4. It’s vs. Its

“It’s” is a contraction. It can be divided into either “it is” or “it has” easily. “Its” is a possessive pronoun. It means that something is owned by something else. This common mistake can be avoided by following a simple guideline. If you can separate “its” into “it is,” and it still makes sense in the sentence, then you need “it’s.” Repeat your sentence out loud using “it is” and if it doesn’t sound right, then you need “its.”

It’s become evident that knowing the correct usage of a contraction will serve your writing well.

Your blog will sound better when its correct grammar is in place.

5. Then vs. Than

This one is easy to a trained eye. Are you trying to compare two things or are you showing a cause and effect? “Then” is used to organize events or show a cause and effect. “Than” is used to compare two objects, events, or people.

If your grammar is incorrect, then your readership may be low.

This blog is easier to read than that blog.

6. Different than vs. Different from

Many writers and Internet marketers slip up on this one. I bet we all have messed up from time to time. You can easily tell which one to use if you just remember which one makes more logical sense. “Different from” is used to compare one subject while setting it apart from the other. Using the word “than” after “different” is really a grammatical mistake.

Incorrect way:

Your blog will be different than mine.

Correct way:

See how this sentence is different from the previous sentence.

7. Could’ve, Would’ve, Should’ve, Might’ve

While “could’ve,” “should’ve,” “would’ve,” and “might’ve” are correct, it’s that the ending of those contractions are slurred when spoken. While making the contracted form is grammatically correct when writing, its readers will slur them. If your writing is to be read out loud, and especially if it is on the Internet, you should have a non contracted form so that it sounds grammatically correct as well.

Incorrect way:

I should of taken tennis training more seriously. If I would of, then I could of been a better tennis player at the outset and my trainer might of had fewer frustrations to begin with.

Correct way:

I should’ve taken tennis training more seriously. If I would’ve, then I could’ve been a better tennis player at the outset and my trainer might’ve had fewer frustrations to begin with.

8. P.S.S. vs P.P.S.

Have you ever stumbled upon an email or a salesletter and found that the writer has used “P.S., P.S.S.” instead of “P.S., P.P.S.?”

Knowing the difference between these when we write will make all the difference. While they may look closely related, they mean far different things. Many people add a “P.S.” at the end of their script to bring up something important to the reader’s attention or simply because they use it to express an afterthought.

P.S. stands for “Post Scriptum.”

P.P.S. stands for “Post Post Scriptum.”

P.S.S. is added by people who don’t know the difference between the two above and who add an extra “S” because they assume that is correct. In reality, does “Post Scriptum Scriptum” really sound logical?

Why Good Grammar Makes a Difference

We all make mistakes when we write. And English grammar can sometimes be quite a chore. Even I have had my fair share of grammatical blunders.

Aside from a patient editor constantly reminding you of your mistakes, the only real solution is to write and edit with a careful eye to detail. Proof read at least twice, once to fix mistakes and once out loud to check it. If you have a willing friend at hand, ask them to be your second pair of eyes and read your stuff through one last time.

If you really want your blog or website to stand out above the crowds, then your marketing needs to include grammatically correct writing. In fact, your whole website will be taken that much more seriously and you may even see a boost in your revenues, if your writing is meticulous.

Do you know any other grammatical mistakes that we must avoid? Share it with us, so we all can be better writers and Internet marketers. Please post your comments and questions below.

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