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Part 8: Use Articles To Build Your List?

This is the eighth article in an eleven part series on how to Grow Your Business using Opt-In lists. Opt-in lists are THE critical success factor of increasing sales.

One of the easiest ways to build up traffic to your website is by marketing with articles. Well written articles full of content and useful information will help build the opt-in list. Articles contribute to your success in many ways

• They incentivize people to join your list
• They can posted in article directories and draw people to your website
• They build your websites value by providing valuable information that people want to have
• They can be used to develop emails, courses and other products which can either be sold or given away as bonuses with other offers

Articles help with search engine optimization and will get you ranked higher with Google and Yahoo for example. As more people use the internet to get their information using articles on your site will increase your website traffic. With more traffic the opt-in list will grow and then leads and sales will increase. More sales means more profit which is why we are doing all of this Internet ’stuff’ to begin with.

Well written articles also boost your sites credibility, enhance your reputation, and establish the business as a subject expert. If the articles are filled accurate and relevant information you will be regarded as an expert on the subjects that you write about.

Obviously articles must be relevant to the business and the types of services and products that are being sold. The topics can be broad, for example if you have a site selling a medicine for a specific disease, your articles can be about health or diseases in general. However whatever the content of the subject is the material must be accurate and valuable to reader.

Most articles most in demand are those offering help, tips, guidelines, methods, manuals and so forth. “How To” articles and ebooks are always popular (just check out the self help shelves in your local book store). If you provide these articles to your customers the will go to your site for help and advice as well purchase from you.

Good articles motivate people to opt-in to your emails in order to receive the information being offered. If you provide them with the answers they want they will be glad to receive your newsletters and emails, as well as other promotional materials that keep them informed. Excellent articles get forwarded to others and may even become ‘viral,” that is explosively distributed throughout the market and Internet.

Simply write an article that is on the same topic as your website or product. Make sure that it contains useful information that people will want to read. After your article is complete submit it to article directories with a link back to your website in the resource box.

After your article is submitted people who are looking for information on your topic will read it, then visit your website and publishers that want content for their newsletter or website will use it then even more people will read it and visit your website.

Three of the top article directories are:

http://www.ezinearticles.com

http://www.goarticles.com

http://www.searchwarp.com

There are also mass submission services that will submit your article to a large number of directories and “distribution lists”. A couple of these are:

http://www.isnare.com

http://submityourarticle.com

What To Write About

When you are writing to promote something you must first ask yourself several questions. Determine what you want to promote, how you want to promote it and then you can begin to write your article.

The basics in writing the article are much the same, no matter how you plan to use it. It should be written to present the positive attributes of your product or service without being obvious or making it sound like a sales pitch.

Remember readers are looking for information because they want to learn something. If you provide them with good information they will be more likely to click on your link and see what else you have to offer.

Solve A Problem

A good way to write a popular article is to find a problem that the people in your target audience have and then provide them with an answer that will help them solve it. People like to read things that offer solutions to problems and preferably ones that are not too hard. Articles that contain easy to follow steps work very well in just about any situation. For instance; Three Steps to Super Clean Windows or How to Stop a Leaky Faucet in Four Easy Steps.

Give It A Name

Do not underestimate the power of a good title when it comes to getting your article read. The right title can help your article be picked by interested reader and published by newsletter owners. Your title should be descriptive and catchy, It should make the reader want to know more about the content in it. The idea is to capture the reader’s attention with a casual glance and let them know what it is about at the same time.

This may sound a little tricky but with some practice and testing you will easily get the hang of it.

A Good Start

What should you include in your opening paragraph? Your opening paragraph should not only introduce the reader to the subject but also give them a reason to continue reading. It should give them a brief overview of what they can expect to learn from the rest of the article.

Let them know what problem you are going to help them with. Assure them that you have a solution that will save them time, money or trouble. When you are writing your opening paragraph keep in mind that you have to give them a good reason to keep on reading or they may lose interest and look elsewhere.

What Makes You So Special?

It is important to establish credibility with the reader. After all why should they listen to you? Have you had this problem and if so how did it affect you and your business? When you solved the problem, what benefits did it bring you and how did it make things better? If you can establish credibility with your reader they will be willing to listen to follow your advice. If you lack credibility in their eyes, they may be unwilling to follow your advice and will most likely be uninterested in what you have to offer.

“Feel Good” Moment

Don’t forget to reassure your reader. When you are offering the solution to a problem in your article make sure that you are reassuring to the reader. Let them know that if they follow your advice they can not only solve the problem but they can also avoid it ever happening again in the future.

Use examples to tell them that everything worked out with the problem for you and others by using the same advise and reassure and that it will for them too.

Tell Your Story

Telling a story or sharing your personal experience can be a great way to encourage your reader to keep reading instead of losing interest.

Let the reader know what you have gone through. Give them a reason to empathize with you so that they can see themselves in the same situation. Once you get your reader thinking “he’s one of us”, you will be perceived as an understanding individual offering a solution and not just an anonymous writer.

Then share with them the solution the problem. Let them know how it worked for you and how it can help them too. Once you have finished your story your article will be complete.

Make Them Feel Your Pain - and Theirs

When the content of your article relates to solving a problem and you have done your best to explain the benefits of following your advice then it is time to get your reader to empathize with you. Help them to understand what it’s like to be in your shoes.

Point out what can happen to them and what has happened to other people who didn’t follow advice that you have provided for them. If you can get them to recognize and understand exactly how it will feel if they don’t choose the right course of action your article will have a big impact on them.

Research has proven that people are more motivated out of fear than out of success. Avoiding pain is a much bigger motivator than even pleasure. Another important psychological fact is that people don’t change without significant motivation - read that pain. Your biggest competitor is inertia - doing nothing.

This is a major part of any effective sales campaign: emphasizing the negative consequences of inaction. Many would be marketers and salespeople are squeamish when it comes to this area. Being timid about developing a prospects pain actually does them a disservice. Will your product help them or not? Will it save them from terrible things or not?

If you believe in what you are doing you have to find the successful messages that push people past their laziness and out of their comfort zone to take action. Even if this makes you and them uncomfortable. Sometimes medicine doesn’t taste good. Operations often have long and painful recoveries. However getting a great outcome is always worth it.

The Article Isn’t The Only Important Thing!

Article sites don’t want articles that are merely sales pitches or even articles that are only about a company or a specific product. Therefore they provide a special area called the resource box for you to introduce yourself and provide contact information. It is very important that you pay attention to the way that you write your resource box. The resource box is where you will put your information and links. Often it will be the only way a reader can find you or your website if they liked your article and want to read more from you.

As you can see the information you put into the resource box is very important. Don’t just put a list of links to your websites. Let them know who you are and give them an idea of what you can do for them. Include one link to your web page or product that is likely to be useful to the reader. If you can include some anchor text (a clickable link to your website) that will entice them to click through and see what you have to offer by all means do it.

Proof Reading

When you have finished writing your article make sure that you proof read it at least twice, then set it aside for a day or two, so that you can go over it again when you are in a different frame of mind. That way you can view it as though you were the reader and this can help you to get a better prospective.

If you would like a second opinion ask a family or friend to read through it and see if they suggest any changes. There are also services that will proof read your articles for you. Try doing a search for “article proofreading service” if you need to find help.

Make sure to keep your subscribers happy and interested in your newsletters and promotional materials. Keep on posting and writing good articles for your site and newsletter. If you are not interested in writing them or if you just don’t have the time, there are many available well experienced and knowledgeable writers available to help you out. This is an investment that will pay for itself in time.

Part 9 -5 Things To Consider when Publishing A Newsletter