Increasing Site Traffic Through Article Marketing

Online articles may be the single best way to get traffic to your web site. Writing articles and submitting them to free article directories is certainly one of the least expensive ways. To make it work, though, you have to be persuasive.

Maybe you wonder what persuasive writing has to do with articles. You're not exactly selling something with an informative article, are you? Actually, you are. First, you have to persuade the reader to keep reading until he gets to your link at the bottom. Then you have to give the reader a reason to click through to your site. Use the following tips to get more traffic by writing persuasively.

E-mail
E-mail has become one of those quick forms of communication. We type them out real quick, using the first words and phrases that come to mind, and then send them off without a second thought, like leaving a voicemail. But in the case of article marketing (and everything else you use e-mail for), the e-mail is the first writing sample a buyer will read. If your e-mail is not professional and well written, there is no reason for a buyer to move onto the actual article. You will have failed the ever important first impression.

This is a failure that can be avoided by taking the time to edit the e-mail. Make sure that there are no grammatical mistakes, that your sentences make sense, and that you don't have more words necessary. Other things like making sure the subject line is eye catching or addressing the e-mail to a specific person instead of a company or a "To Whom It May Concern" can make your article stand out in the crowd.

Appropriate Sites
This one sounds like a no brainer, but at least now you can't say nobody told you. Make sure that you send your articles to places that will actually publish them. This obviously applies to content (don't send an article about high New York Society to a Mountain Climber's website), but this also applies to style and voice and things like that. If you're an edgy, sarcastic writer, you probably don't want to be submitting to a serious, boring site. They simply won't publish your article, and your article marketing campaign will be a waste.

Also, don't just write an article and then try to get it published. This method might produce some results, but they will be few and far between and will require a lot of time and selling. Instead, write your articles with a specific site in mind. Go and read other articles on the site. Know the voice and structure of the already published articles. Review the submissions guidelines. Be familiar with policies. In the e-mail, include reasons that your article is a perfect match for their site. An article written with purpose for a specific site or group of sites will be more successful than one written without a destination in mind.

Grammar
The whole point of article marketing is to convince people to click on the link to your site that you've included in your byline. You will lose a lot of credibility if your article is full of grammatical mistakes and poorly thought out sentences. Write several drafts of your articles. Make sure you're saying what you mean. Once your article is perfect, have someone else read it to make sure you're not blind. You'd be amazed what you miss in your own writing, even if you're a professional editor. Doing this will A. Make editors more likely to accept your work and B. Give the reader the impression that you are professional, which will in turn make them try to find out what else you have to say.

Article Links
If you can, include links in the body of your e-mail that will lead back to your site. After all, that is the entire point of article marketing. A good way to do this is to refer to an article that you've written in the past that is 'coincidentally' posted only on your website. People like more information, and if you tell them there is more on another site, chances are that they'll go there, and you just got another hit.

Be careful not to overuse this technique. Too many links will make them commonplace and readers won't notice them. Including one or two makes them special and probably worthwhile. Also, don't link to irrelevant articles. Readers will just get annoyed and not browse around your site. The object of article marketing is to get people exploring your site. If they wind up at a random article, they'll just close the window and go back to what they were reading, instead of stumbling across your affiliate marketing links.

Signature
Don't ever forget about the signature or byline at the end of your article. This should include your name, of course, but also a link directly to your site's homepage. You might also consider linking to a few related articles that are posted on your site. Anyone who enjoyed the article will take the time to see who wrote it and what their background or own personal ventures are, and chances are, they'll click on the link to read more by you. The signature section is the climax of your article marketing campaign. It is where you are trying to guide readers with your article so they will see your links and visit your site and make you money. It's that simple.