Writing articles is, by far, the number one way to receive large amounts of traffic on a consistent basis.
Especially if you're just starting a new website or online business. I am now convinced that, after putting together hundreds of successful advertising packages, articles have tremendous power for attracting visitors that will actually do something while at your site. What I mean by that is when a visitor comes to your site after reading an article they already know you have some knowledge of the topic. Once they land on your site they are more apt to sign up for your newsletter, buy a low cost product, spend more time at your site... which leads to building a relationship and a repeat sales.
Those two things, relationships and repeat sales, should be your main goal. It does no good to sell something to someone and then never see them again. For a long lasting business, you need repeat sales. You need people to continue coming back to your site, time and time again, for their information, news, how-to's, facts, and any other type of niche content you can give them. Doing this and you'll see a successful online business continue to grow month after month.
However, to do that you need to get people there. Articles will do that.
Here's how you can use three simple steps to use articles to successfully advertise your website.
Know Your Stuff
You're not going to receive any type of traffic if you don't know what you're writing about. People want real, relevant, and informative content. They don't want what you think is funny, cute, or cool.
Writing about what you know will help you build those all important relatioships with the people reading your article. If they think you know what you're writing about they will want to know more of what you know. For example, I was writing a few articles for a friend of mine on the topic of snowsledding. Now, it just so happens I live in Northern Maine and know a little bit about snowsledding. So, it was an easy fit. However, he lives in Arizona. He couldn't write about snowsledding if his life depended on it. Those articles are helping him become a major player in selling snowsled parts as an affiliate.
Which leads me to a very important point. If you have a website in a niche you know nothing about... find someone that does and hire them to write for you.
Crank them out one after another
This is where most people fail to see any success from their article advertising. They put out a few articles, submit them to a few article directories, and expect their traffic, and sales, to take off from there. Now, it does begin to take off, but it lands just as quick.
There just isn't enough power in a few articles to keep a large amount of traffic visiting your site.
So, what do you do?
You keep cranking them out week after week. At least 7 to 10 new articles each week. That sounds like a lot of writing, and it is, but one of the keys to successful advertising is to be in the front of people all the time. To do that you need to write and write and write and write and...
People who blog know all about this. If they up and stop writing new posts... they whither and die. Most successful bloggers crank out two to three new posts a day. By doing this they are cementing their place within that particular niche as someone that can be depended on for great information.
Articles carry the same weight. If you are not noticable on the article directories for a long time, people forget about you.
Keep writing those articles.
Think in terms of one
When you write a letter to someone, or an email, are you thinking that hundreds of thousands of people are going to read it? No. You want to create an environment where the other person reading your letter "feels" what it is you're writing to them.
The same thing goes for writing articles. Don't think about the thousands who will read it, just think about one person at a time. Just one person.
Then write from your heart. That person will feel it. And they will act on it. It's what advertisers in all mediums focus on. When you read a magazine, the ad pulls you in because the person creating it was thinking of you. When you watch a commercial on TV, you don't go get that sandwich because the person who created that ad had you in mind.
You need to do the same thing. Write for one person in mind. Now that person might be anyone of thousands, but just picture one. Make it between you and that one person.
Remember it's all about the relationship you can build with that person. Write like that's the most important thing to you instead of getting that person to visit your site.
