Right Now Marketing Group

 

Internet Marketing:  Tips on Writing a Great Article

 

By: Mark Marcus Maupin

 

A lot of online marketers like to write articles to generate credibility for themselves or to market themselves as experts in their field.  A good article is one that grabs your attention and keeps you interested while you read it.  No one likes to read an article that drones on and on about how great and knowledgeable the writer is.  Short paragraphs with lots of good information will hold a reader’s attention.  Adding some humor helps too, if it is appropriate for the subject in which you are writing about.  Here are some tips about writing each of the essential parts of an article.

 

 

The Title

 

The heading is important.  It should be something that catches a reader’s attention and clearly describes what the article will be about.  The title should contain 25 to 65 characters; not to exceed 100 as many article submitter sites will place a limit on how long the heading can be. 

 

Tips and strategies are good, for example; Tips Every Internet Marketer Should Know or 6 Proven Strategies for Successful Online Marketing.  Secrets are good too, like Secrets to Marketing Yourself Online.  ‘How to’ is another good example; How to Effectively Market Yourself with Articles.  Numbers are good.  5 Proven Strategies for Successful Online Marketing.  7 Reasons to Learn about Internet Marketing.  The Top 10 Mistakes that will Kill Your Business. 

 

Starting your heading with keywords followed by a colon, like the title of this article, Internet Marketing:  Tips on Writing a Great Article, is another way to structure your heading. 

 

The Introduction

 

The first paragraph of an article is the introduction.  This will contain about five to seven sentences telling what the article is going to be about or topics that will be covered.  The introduction should contain the promise of good information to follow to keep the reader interested.  Each paragraph should end in a sentence that flows nicely into the next paragraph.  For example, the last sentence in the introduction could say something like, ‘following are some tips on writing a great article.’

 

The Body

 

The body of the article is “meat and potatoes” of the article.  It should be educational and interesting to read.  Some articles are just for fun; they may be humorous, yet still contain some kind of moral or lesson, or they might just be fun to read nonsense.  In any case, each paragraph should be short, around 5 to 7 lines, and each paragraph should flow smoothly into the next paragraph. 

Be careful to stick to your subject and just say what needs to be said.  Don’t elaborate too much on any one part or you will lose your reader.  Remember, one reason you are writing the article is to show your reader that you are knowledgeable and experienced in your field so that they will be interested in doing business with you. 

 

The Conclusion or Summary

 

The last paragraph is a conclusion of your article.  This paragraph should summarize the article, using about one sentence for each paragraph that the article contained or just covering a few of the most important points of the article. 

 

The Resource Box

 

Finally, you get to mention yourself and your business.  This is the “about the author” part, where you mention your name and a little something about you and your accomplishments.  Don’t forget to include a hyperlink to your website; this should be your reader’s next stop.  This is one reason you submitted your article, to generate traffic to your website.

 

You will say something like, “This article was written by Ms. Article Writer, an experienced journalist and noted author of several books.  She has been a mentor to many small business owners who have discovered how successful they can be with good internet marketing skills.  Visit Ms. Article Writer’s website at http://www.yourwebsite.com to read more articles or to order one of her informative books.”

 

It is important that your article begin with a good title and an introduction of what is to follow.  The body of the article should deliver what you promised in a way that will hold your reader’s interest.  By the time the reader finishes reading the article, they should have learned something of value.  When they get to the resource box they will be very interested to know where the link takes them to.  If your website designing skills are as good as your article writing, you are well on your way to success.  Website designing…hmmm…that’s a topic for another article!

 

This article was written by Mark Maupin, a college instructor who teaches internet marketing and search engine optimization classes.  Mark has been hired by many national franchises to do their internet marketing and he has been very successful at getting them to the top of a Google search.  To get Mark’s FREE CD of market proven strategies that he uses every day to generate traffic to his website and his business go to http://www.imtruegrit.com

 

 

 

 

Unfortunately, 4 out of 5 small business fail within their first year because there are so many things to focus on, including a business plan, a place of operation, hiring help, building a client base and marketing, just to name a few.  Marketing can be very expensive, especially if you are using billboards, TV and magazines.  But, have you thought about the power of internet marketing?  Internet marketing is free, or relatively inexpensive and much more effective.

 

What happens when you are watching your favorite TV show and it comes time for a commercial?  If you’re like most people, you use this time to go to the refrigerator; when you’re listening to the radio, you change stations; postcards and sale ads received in the mail usually end up in the trash.  TV, radio and direct mail are 3 very expensive and ineffective marketing tools.  What makes internet marketing the better choice?

 

Internet marketing reaches out to the people who are actually looking for you; therefore, it is much more effective.  Let’s say you have just opened up a scrapbook supply store.  One would Google search “scrapbooking supplies,” followed by the city and state where they live, to see what the search engines find.  Wouldn’t it be great if you were at the top of the Google page?  You can be, very easily, and it is virtually free to accomplish!  Let’s get started.

 

Press Releases

 

A press release is a newsworthy media report announcing something about you or your business.  You have just purchased or leased the empty building on the corner.  Business owners in the area have been complaining about this run-down, empty building where kids have been hanging out.  This is newsworthy!  So write a press informing the public that you have resolved this issue.  This is a great way to create your own credibility and announce your new business.

 

The headline could read “Scrapbooking Supply Store Opens in City, State; Where will the Troubled Kids Hang out Now?”  The heading is very important; it must grab the reader’s attention and contain keywords that people will enter into a search engine when they are looking for you.  You will need to be creative here because if your heading sounds like a classified ad your press release might be rejected.  A press release must be newsworthy; it cannot sound like an advertisement, but with creativity, it can be a great marketing tool.

 

A well written press release introduces you at the beginning, contains newsworthy information in the following paragraphs and does not sound like pure advertisement.  Of course you get to put a hyperlink to your website somewhere in the press release and provide your contact information at the end.

 

Articles

 

You can always write articles about scrapbooking or whatever is appropriate for your business.  Articles show that you are an expert in your field; they should be interesting and educational to grab the attention of your reader.  Start with a title, like, “10 Great Tips for the Creative Scrapbooker.”  Begin with an introduction paragraph, a body that contains lots of fun scrapbooking tips, and a summary to recap the important points of information from your article.

 

The resource box is at the end of your article.  This is the “about the author” part where you mention yourself, a little something about your accomplishments, and a hyperlink to your website.

 

Classifieds

 

There are many free classified sites on the internet where you can advertise your business.  Internet classifieds are not like the small ads that you see in the newspaper.  They can be much longer; you can actually copy/past your press release or article to the classified template.  Change the heading to read something like “Quality Scrapbooking Tools and Supplies – City, State”.  Be sure to include all your contact information and a hyperlink to your website. 

 

Social Blogging

 

A blog is simply a weblog, or an online journal.  Social blogging is not only fun, but it is a great marketing tool.  Look at how popular MySpace is for teenagers.  MySpace is also used by business owners.  FaceBook is another social blogging site.  ActiveRain is a great site for real estate people and it is a more mature, business-like, social blog than MySpace.

 

Internet marketing has quickly grown as the most effective marketing and advertising tool available to small businesses and large corporations.  You can find virtually anything by searching the internet.  It is free to advertise on the internet and show your business to the consumers who are looking for you, rather than annoy those who are not.  Online marketing is a great way to advertise on a shoe-string when you are opening a new business.

 

This article was written by Mark Maupin, a college instructor who teaches internet marketing and search engine optimization classes.  Mark has been hired by many national franchises to do their internet marketing and he has been very successful at getting them to the top of a Google search.  To get Mark’s FREE CD of market proven strategies that he uses every day to generate traffic to his website and his business go to http://www.imtruegrit.com

 

 

Online Advertising:  Successful Internet Marketing with Classifieds

 

Business owners and entrepreneurs know that success breeds success.  When you surround yourself by successful people and do what they do, you increase your chances of being successful.  What are the successful business owners doing today to market themselves?  If you ask them, the majority will say they are using the internet.

 

The internet is a powerful marketing tool that is free to use for posting classified ads.  Remember the small classifieds from the newspaper?  These cost money and they are no longer an effective way to advertise.  Newspapers are quickly losing popularity now that so much is available on the internet.   You can post a one-page classified ad on the internet free; it would cost you a small fortune to do this in the newspaper.

 

One reason the internet is such an effective marketing tool is your ad contains a hyperlink to your website.  So, when people read your classified ad, they can immediately go to your website to learn more.  Yes, you can include your website in a newspaper ad, but then the reader will have to remember to visit your site when they go to their computer, if they have one.  If they’re reading the paper, they might not own a computer, which means they will have to remember to visit your store or office when they are out.  Classifieds ads in the newspaper are often read while one is eating breakfast or having their morning coffee, just to forgotten about as the day goes by.

 

There are many internet classified sites where you can post free classified ads.  The idea is to use sites that show up on the first page of Google when people are searching for your product or service.  The hottest classified sites today are Craigslist, BackPage, Kijiji (owned by eBay) and Hoobly.  Yahoo, MSN and Google are also good for posting free classified ads. You can find many more sites just by doing a Google search for “free classifieds.” 

 

Post as many classified ads as the site allows.  Change the headings to use different keywords and market areas that you service.  Make changes to the ad itself for variety and test your ads to see which ones are the most effective by offering a special discount or free gift if the customer presents the ad or mentions it when they visit your business.  Ask your new clients where they heard about you and they will most likely say “the internet.”

 

Successful business owners are using the internet for marketing and advertising their business.  They are aware of the changes that have taken place in the market and the growing amount of competition they face to make the public aware of their existence.  Direct mail and the newspaper are advertising tools from the dark ages.  They do make great bon-fire starters, but there are products on the market for this as well, so they are quickly becoming obsolete.  If you want to succeed in business today, you must be observant; look at what the successful people are doing and model your program after them. 

 

This article was written by Mark Maupin, a college instructor who teaches internet marketing and search engine optimization classes.  Mark has been hired by many national franchises to do their internet marketing and he has been very successful at getting them to the top of a Google search.  To get Mark’s FREE CD of market proven strategies that he uses every day to generate traffic to his website and his business go to http://www.imtruegrit.com

 

 

By: Mark Maupin

 

This is about how to put yourself, your business, product or service at the top of Google.  What does this mean?  It means more of the people who are doing an internet search for your product or service will find you.

Internet Search Engines

 A search engine is a set of programs which searches an index and returns matches to a specified keyword.  In other words, it is a directory of internet content.  If you are looking for information on a specific subject, a search engine will list the websites or internet content where you will be likely to find what you are looking for. 

 The Top of Google

 Google, the most popular search engine, is used by over 60% of the market, followed by Yahoo and MSN.  Let’s say you have a pet boa constrictor snake that isn’t looking too healthy.  How do you go about finding a doctor who specializes in snakes?  You could do a Google search, using the keywords, “reptile doctor” or “reptile veterinarian,” followed by the city and state where you live.  There is a shaded area at the top of the page, labeled sponsored links.  There are more sponsored links going down the right side of the page.  These businesses pay Google to appear here.  It’s like having one of the larger ads in the Yellow Pages of the Phone Book (remember phone books?). 

 Then you have what is called the organic searches.  These are all the others who show up on a Google search.  Look at the top of the page, where it says something like “Results 1 – 10 of about 603,000 for reptile doctors” (or, whatever keywords you used in your search).  This means that there are many pages of information about reptile doctors.  Of all these results, about 42% of the people are going to click on the first of the organic results, followed by around 11% on the second one.   This is where you want to be if you have a business.  Only about 4% of the market is going to bother going to page two or further of a Google search.  Why should they when the good information is right where you want to be…on top!

 So Would You Like to Be on Top?

 Ok, again, I remind you; we are talking about internet marketing, and putting your business at the top of a Google search.  There are many ways to accomplish this through online marketing, including press releases, articles, classifieds and blogs. 

 Let’s go back to the shaded area of Google.  Some people wonder why those who are in the sponsored links aren’t necessarily the most popular.  Remember the Yellow pages in the old fashioned telephone books?  The companies with the larger ads paid dearly to take up this much space on the page.  Therefore, they were either very successful or they charged dearly for their services.  Most people would take the time to read through the smaller ads and even call several of them before selecting one to serve their needs.

 People who search the internet feel the same way.  They feel that the “underdog” who makes the effort to be number one in an organic search will be one who takes the time to provide a good service.  This company will be more “customer friendly” and nicer to work with than the “Fat Cat” corporation who just writes a check to be in the number one position. 

 The same principle applies to television.  The special guest who is interviewed on CNN or Fox News will be given more credibility than the sponsor who is advertised during the commercial break. 

 How to Get on Top

 Now you know how good it is to be on top!  But, how does one accomplish this?  There are free websites where you can submit your work and have it published online.  You can use the Google search engine and keywords to find these sites.  Just type in “free press release sites”, “free article submitters”, or “free classifieds.”  You get the idea.  Most of the sites you find will be user friendly and they will provide instructions as to how to use them.  Some will provide marketing tips to help you get started.  Many of them will look familiar to you if you have Google searched other businesses and services and found press releases or articles submitted to their sites to be on page one of Google.  If this is the case, this is a good site to submit your material to. 

 Join many of these types of websites and write lots of material, using good keywords in your headings.  Be sure to use these keywords as many times as you can throughout your material as that is what the search engines will be looking for when people start doing Google searches when looking for your products or services.  These are just a few tips to get you started with online marketing.

 This article was written by Mark Maupin, who always likes to be on top!  Mark is a college instructor who teaches internet marketing and search engine optimization classes.  Mark has been hired by many national franchises to do their internet marketing and he has been very successful at getting them to the top of a Google search.  To get Mark’s FREE CD of market proven strategies that he uses every day to generate traffic to his website and his business go to http://www.imtruegrit.com

By: Mark Maupin

 

 

Online Marketing:  Tips on Writing a Press Release

 

You can get free publicity for your business or your website with a press release.  A press release is a write up about you, your business, product or service.   A press release is the best way to create your own credibility.

 

The purpose of a press release is to generate traffic to your website, but you can use press releases to increase your client base even if you do not have a website.  If you have a business, product or service, that you want to advertise, a press release is a good way to get started.  Begin by deciding what your story will be.  What do you want to inform the public about?  You might be launching a new product or making a change in your company that will affect your customers.

 

There are many free press release submission sites on the internet.  Simply go to the site, sign up for a membership, fill out your profile, and submit your press release by filling out a template.  The press release submission service will generally publish your press release within 24 hours; some publish within minutes, others publish them immediately. 

 

Some services have certain requirements and they may reject your press release.   One important thing to remember is that a press release is not a classified advertisement; it must be newsworthy.  One way to make your press release newsworthy is to say something like,  Mr. Business Owner was recently interviewed and he said “put your quote here; what was said about your business.”   Another example would be Mrs. Service Provider was a guest speaker at a local event where she addressed the following topics:  list some topics of interest, followed by a quote from someone who attended the event.  One attendee said, “I was amazed at how unique their products or services are.  I am going to tell all my friends about Mrs. Service Provider.”  Attending meetings, speaking at events, donating a portion of proceeds to charity or receiving awards are just a few examples of newsworthy content you can put into a press release.

 

Other essential parts of an effective press release include your contact information, name, address, phone number, fax number, email address and website.  The headline should be very concise and descriptive and contain keywords and the city and state of your service area.  Keywords are what people type into a Google search engine when they are looking for you.  For example, if your service is dog grooming, one would type “dog grooming city state” into a Google search to find someone who provides this service in their area. 

 

Make sure your first paragraph contains the most important statements, answering the five critical questions:  who, what, when, where and why.  You want to gain your reader’s attention in the first paragraph so you don’t lose them.  You want them to continue reading to the end where you will put your “call to action” statement with your contact information and a link to your website where they can learn more about your product or services.

 

Keep your press release around 300 – 500 words and proof read carefully to be sure it is grammatically correct with no spelling or punctuation errors.  One tip to proof reading is to write your press release, and then put it away for a couple hours while you focus on something else.  Read it again later as if it is the first time you have seen it.  You will be surprised at the errors you will spot that you did not see earlier.  Remember, the public is going to read your press release like they read the news.  Your press release is going to represent you, so you want it to be professionally written and error free.

 

It takes some time and effort to write a good press release but the rewards of free media exposure, resulting in new clients and generating more profits for your business make this a very worthwhile investment. 

 

This article was written by Mark Maupin, a college instructor who teaches internet marketing and search engine optimization classes.  Mark has been hired by many national franchises to do their internet marketing and he has been very successful at getting them to the top of a Google search.  To get Mark’s FREE CD of market proven strategies that he uses every day to generate traffic to his website and his business go to http://www.imtruegrit.com