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March
2009
Article
Marketing Strategies - Part 1
Let's
continue our look into low cost marketing strategies.
Probably the easiest, cheapest, and most powerful method
is article writing. Here are some other things that
you should consider when using articles as a marketing
tool.
Several
years ago, when I wrote articles for print publications,
all you had to do is choose the subject of your article,
do some research if you needed to, and then write your
article.
The
articles were sent to publications targeted to the home
based business industry. You knew that you would be
getting some responses to your articles, because the
people who would read the publication would likely be
interested in the topic of your article.
Back
then, it was much easier to sell a low cost product
or program at the end of your article in the resource
box. The resource box gives the writer of the article
the opportunity to list their contact information so
readers of their article can ask for more information
or to take advantage of the offer for the low cost info.
product.
When
using articles as part of your marketing strategy it's
best to have a clear understanding of what you
want to accomplish. Next we'll take a look at how to
do this.
Article
Marketing Strategies - Part 2
Here's
an easy strategy that can be used to generate leads
for entrepreneurs who need to learn effective marketing
strategies.
What
we want to do is build a small list of about 300 people
who have an interest in learning effective marketing
strategies. We want to build this list by using
articles to generate leads.
Our
first step is to formulate a step-by-step plan
to build this list by positioning ourself as a marketing
expert. We do this by writing a series of informative
articles to demonstrate our marketing expertise.
So,
where do we start? As always, the main goal is to gain
the trust and confidence of the people who read our
articles. But first, we have to produce the articles
always keeping that main goal in mind.
Here's
what I would do. Write a series of 5 to 7 articles detailing
effective marketing techniques that work in the real
world of marketing. Remember, an article is a
teaching tool as well as a marketing tool. So I need
to use my articles is teach as well as market.
The
content of my article will be the teaching part but
I will also be indirectly marketing my info product.
Next time, we'll go into this in more detail.
Article
Marketing Strategies - Part 3
When
I first started writing articles my goal was to get
as many people as possible to respond to the offer in
my resource box. My articles were always related to
the mail order marketing business, but I didn't have
a clear objective of what I wanted to accomplish. I
would just choose a subject to write about based on
my experience, write the article, and then decide on
what kind of offer I would make in the resource box.
This would be based on the information or opportunity
that I was trying to market at that time.
Now,
this is what learning through trial and error is all
about. I didn't understand at that time that I needed
a logical, step-by-step plan on how I was going to go
about building a relationship with the people who were
interested in what I was writing about.
Throughout
these bulletins I have tried to stress the importance
of building a relationship with the people who inquire
about your products or services. One of the biggest
mistakes that I have made in marketing was concentrating
on just making a sale. And also thinking that if I could
keep making single sales it would lead to making profits.
I
wasn't thinking about real relationship building. I
thought that if I just continued to compile names and
build a huge mailing list I would begin to make the
money that I wanted to make.
As
I said, this was a big mistake. Now, over a period of
time I DID compile at least 3000 names. But I had no
plan in place as to how I would work my list, and begin
to build a lasting relationship with those people.
What
I ended up doing was just letting all of those valuable
names go to waste, because I had no real plan. I hope
you are not making this same mistake!
Article
Marketing Strategies - Part 4
The
inquires that you get from people who read your articles
are some of the best, responsive leads that you can
get to build your list. The reason is people who take
the time to read an article really have an interest
in learning about the topic of the article. Many of
the people who take the time to read your article are
more likely to call for your information, click on the
link in your resource box, or even purchase a low cost
info product from you.
Now,
here's another tip you should consider: Most entrepreneurs
think it's best to compile a list of thousands of names
in order to begin making lots of money. The truth is,
there are people who have forty or fifty thousand names
on their list and still don't make any real money. On
the other hand, there are people who have only three
to five hundred names and make good profits from their
list.
Why
is it that some people who have thousands of names on
their list don't make any profits and others who may
have only five hundred names make good profits from
their list?
The
key is how the list is built. If you build your list
by making a bunch of unrelated free offers, what you
will have on your list is a bunch of free-loaders who
will never buy anything from you.
If
you are willing to take your time and do it right, you
won't need a list of thousands of names to begin to
make money. Article writing is one of the best ways
to build a responsive list but you have to be patient
and be aware that there is a lot of competition to
deal with.
It
doesn't matter if you have only five or ten names to
start with. As long as you have a plan in place, and
you have qualified the people on your list, you will
stand a better chance of beginning to make some profits
in your business. We'll continue with this subject
in the next few lessons.
Warmly
Greg Bey
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