{Hooking for Cash 101} Top 3 Secrets of Smart Article Marketers

Top Secrets of the Smartest Article Marketers on the Web

1. Write useful articles on topics your audience wants. i.e. Solve a problem, entertain them, OR educate them
2. Optimize your article for most results. i.e. Do keyword research before writing
3. Utilize the author box to generate leads NOT talk about you. i.e. Offer something of value related to your article and have the link take them to a landing page.

What is Article Marketing?

Simply, writing articles with the purpose of claiming your expertise on a subject and driving traffic to your landing page or blog.

Read – Article Marketing for Handmade Business a guest post I wrote for Handmade Artists Blog.

Where to Write Articles?

I’ve been writing articles since 2005. The first site I wrote on was Ezine Articles.

In 2007 I found Squidoo.com and have written on that site ever since. It is by far my favorite place to write.

Recently I started writing on Seekyt.com and Hubpages.com. Both sites have proven to be excellent  resources.

Wizzley.com is a site similar to Squidoo. I have a couple of articles on there as well. (Update: 2013 I’ve removed many of my articles and published them on this blog.)

Why Write Articles?

One of the main reasons I write articles is I can share in the ad revenue. I write the articles anyway so earning a small amount in addition to getting traffic to my blog is a bonus. (p.s. You can easily do this with your blog using Google AdSense.)

Outline Your Article with a Mind Map

I find that following a simple mind map for article writing makes it easier to come up with ideas. Just place your main idea in the middle of page. Branch off 4 sections and add your supporting ideas. (Example of the one I use)

You just write your first paragraph based on your main idea while introducing your supporting ideas. Then write one paragraph each for the 4 supporting ideas and wrap it all up in one final conclusion paragraph.

 Today’s Assignment:

Write an article about a subject you know a lot about. Add it to an article directory. If you choose Ezinearticles then you can add your blog url in your biography box.

 Go to lesson 24

Are You Just Joining Us? Here is What You Missed:

• Lesson 1: Choosing Your Money Maker & Setting Your Goals
• Lesson 2: Find Your Identity and Spruce Up Your About Me page
• Lesson 3: Choose a Form and Add it to Your Blog
• Lesson 4: Choose One Money Maker
• Lesson 5: Burn Your RSS Feed with Feedburner
• Lesson 6: Setup Google Analytics for Your Crochet Blog
• Lesson 7: Setup Google Alerts 
• Lesson 8: Setup an eMail list either on Mailchimp or aWeber
• Lesson 9: Create and Use a Blogging Calendar
• Lesson 10: Create a Valuable Thank You Gift for Your Subscribers
• Lesson 11: Add Categories and Tags to Your Blog
• Lesson 12: Sign up for Twitter Using your Blog Name or Real Name
• Lesson 13: Facebook vs Google Plus – Which Will You Choose?
• Lesson 14: Pinterest for Your Crochet Business or Blog
• Lesson 15: Work It! Get to Work on Your Money Maker
• Lesson 16: Learn It! Going Back to School ‘Cause You’re So Cool
• Lesson 17: Write It! Write Guest Posts, Patterns, and Press Releases
• Lesson 18: Finish It! Weave in Your ends – Business and Crochet
• Lesson 19: Test It! Make Sure Everything is In Working Order
• Lesson 20: Plan It! Schedule Everything Ahead of Time
• Lesson 21: Market It! Plan Your Promotional Schedule
• Lesson 22: Web Traffic Basics – 10 Ways to Bring People to Your Blog
• Lesson 23: Top 3 Secrets of Smart Article Marketers (You Are Here)