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Casual Articles - How to Measure the Value of Your Article Marketing Campaign
A plague has spread across the Internet.It’s not a virus, although it certainly is harmful.It isn’t the con artists and thieves who take your money and run, although it is costing a lot of people a lot of money.And it isn’t the broken dreams of the thousands of decent, hardworking folks who have tried and failed to make a living online, although it surely has played a part in dashing their hopes.It is the wanton abuse of the English language.Whatever the reason – laziness, ignorance, neglect, a disregard, sloppiness, an uncaring attitude or a simple lack of understanding – far too many network marketers have turned their emails, ebooks, sales pages, ezine and safelist ads, articles and web pages into repositories of grammatical and narrative trash.Navigating this linguistic garbage can be a nightmare. I collected the following examples of bad writing in about 10 minutes of surfing online. Although they are not nearly the worst examples I have seen, they give y
Email addresses gathered for newsletter signup/downloads/free service
Yeah you're being published in someone else's email newsletter but that doesn't mean you can't try to drive signups to your own newsletter! We had this happen when I worked at WebProNews, where we published all free content. One author's article marketing strategy focused on driving subscribers to her newsletter. I think, but I'm not sure, that it was Dianna Huff, who specializes in B2B article marketing. As an aside, be sure to check out her site.
Pageviews to info pages on your site
If you lin
When shopping for child health insurance first things first, are there any programs that will work with the parents income? If ineligible for Access, the next step would be to look into the Kids Care program. Kids that do not currently have health insurance are likely to be eligible, even if you are working. The states have different eligibility rules, but in most states, uninsured children 18 years old and younger, whose families earn up to $34,100 a year (for a family of four) are eligible. For more information you can call 1-877-KIDS-NOW.Here are a few good tips for the car insurance shopper.Tip #1 Maintain a good driving record and clean credit history -- you could save up to 25% on your auto insurance rate on your next policy.Tip #2 Comparison shop for yourCar Insurance company which necessarily doesn’t need to be in . For Car Insurance, the best combination is a low cost auto insurance rate and excellent service.Tip #3 Before buying a car in , determin
Here are some of my preliminary thoughts on what's measurable in regards to article marketing, (and what you measure should depend on your predefined article marketing goals, but you knew that already):
Number of new of links to your site
This is a big one of course, and just about the easiest to measure with a simple "link:" search in the major engines.
Since I submitted "Build Links and Your Brand: Article Marketing Delivers" to 8 directories on January 26th Google has logged 24 instances of my article (I did have a little help from search engine expert Andy Beal's mention in his blog), MSN search shows 59 instances and Yahoo has me down for 10.
Now, all those mentions aren't links... just instances of my article title.
Google currently shows no links to my main blog site. Yahoo and MSN both show 14 to http://articlemarketing.blogspot.com.
I'm also currently ranked 3rd in Yahoo for the term article marketing - woo hoo! Not bad for only 3 days. We'll see how long I stay there - things may change dramatically after an update. I'm currently nowhere to be found in MSN. Ditto for Google, except the post from Andy's blog about my article marketing blog that puts me at 4th for "article marketing."
To give some idea of scale, here are the number of millions of results for article marketing per engine: 12 million in Yahoo; 17 million in MSN; 27 million in Google. I don't think Article Marketing is a phrase that currently generates much competition.
Article submission sites like EzineArticles get the freshbot treatment because of their regularly updated content and I think that speeds indexing.
Article submitted 1-26-05, searches conducted 1-29-05.
Number of readers/impressions
To borrow a bit from the world of online advertising you can measure impressions, that is, the estimated number of readers/site visitors who had the opportunity to at least read your article title and, let's hope, associate it with your business name.
To get an idea of how many impressions your article may have gotten talk with those who republish your article. If you submit to EzineArticles you can see how many writers and editors have viewed your article's page.
It's great to have your impressions high, but it's better to have them targeted to your audience (and by audience I mean customers... here are my thoughts on client as audience). The more care you give your content creation process the more your content will appeal to your target audience.
Which brings us to...
Placement in previously identified key industry media
If at the beginning of your article marketing campaign you identify key industry publications you'd like to be published in... and you get published or don't get published, that's something you can measure.
This is more of a branding initiative than a linking initiative, though it can certainly generate at least one solid link. And once your article's been published and your editor says "go" you can submit it to your article submission directories of choice. And then measure links.
Lead generation through reader inquiries
This is a fun one. There are specific industries and products that are likely to sell well through article marketing... namely information products. If your primary goal for article marketing is sales though you should construct your article campaign in a particular way. Many of the same rules still apply, but the strategy needs to be a little different. Let me know if you have questions about creating sales generating articles. And you still have to follow responsible article writing guidelines.
Email addresses gathered for newsletter signup/downloads/free service
Yeah you're being published in someone else's email newsletter but that doesn't mean you can't try to drive signups to your own newsletter! We had this happen when I worked at WebProNews, where we published all free content. One author's article marketing strategy focused on driving subscribers to her newsletter. I think, but I'm not sure, that it was Dianna Huff, who specializes in B2B article marketing. As an aside, be sure to check out her site.
Pageviews to info pages on your site
If you link
Apply the following bits to your eBay operations and tell me the story of business explosions almost immediately! You want to make real money and be one of the super-sellers, then learn their secrets here!Go Through the Pathway of Viral Marketing. Is it possible to sell to your buyer over and over again? Can you, through persuasion, motivate and propel your buyer to patronise your eBay shop over and over again? This can be done through this simple tool of viral marketing! You will follow up your past highest bidders and encourage them to buy more from you. You can also encourage your past buyers to persuade their friends to buy from your shop! You will surely need to learn more about these tricks of effective viral marketing, hence visit my and get a detailed analysis on my web page.Place Headlines that Pull Persuade and Propel. Your headline can make or mar your online (eBay) sales. If you have been long online, you would have discovered what brought to many websites where yo
Now, all those mentions aren't links... just instances of my article title.
Google currently shows no links to my main blog site. Yahoo and MSN both show 14 to http://articlemarketing.blogspot.com.
I'm also currently ranked 3rd in Yahoo for the term article marketing - woo hoo! Not bad for only 3 days. We'll see how long I stay there - things may change dramatically after an update. I'm currently nowhere to be found in MSN. Ditto for Google, except the post from Andy's blog about my article marketing blog that puts me at 4th for "article marketing."
To give some idea of scale, here are the number of millions of results for article marketing per engine: 12 million in Yahoo; 17 million in MSN; 27 million in Google. I don't think Article Marketing is a phrase that currently generates much competition.
Article submission sites like EzineArticles get the freshbot treatment because of their regularly updated content and I think that speeds indexing.
Article submitted 1-26-05, searches conducted 1-29-05.
Number of readers/impressions
To borrow a bit from the world of online advertising you can measure impressions, that is, the estimated number of readers/site visitors who had the opportunity to at least read your article title and, let's hope, associate it with your business name.
To get an idea of how many impressions your article may have gotten talk with those who republish your article. If you submit to EzineArticles you can see how many writers and editors have viewed your article's page.
It's great to have your impressions high, but it's better to have them targeted to your audience (and by audience I mean customers... here are my thoughts on client as audience). The more care you give your content creation process the more your content will appeal to your target audience.
Which brings us to...
Placement in previously identified key industry media
If at the beginning of your article marketing campaign you identify key industry publications you'd like to be published in... and you get published or don't get published, that's something you can measure.
This is more of a branding initiative than a linking initiative, though it can certainly generate at least one solid link. And once your article's been published and your editor says "go" you can submit it to your article submission directories of choice. And then measure links.
Lead generation through reader inquiries
This is a fun one. There are specific industries and products that are likely to sell well through article marketing... namely information products. If your primary goal for article marketing is sales though you should construct your article campaign in a particular way. Many of the same rules still apply, but the strategy needs to be a little different. Let me know if you have questions about creating sales generating articles. And you still have to follow responsible article writing guidelines.
Email addresses gathered for newsletter signup/downloads/free service
Yeah you're being published in someone else's email newsletter but that doesn't mean you can't try to drive signups to your own newsletter! We had this happen when I worked at WebProNews, where we published all free content. One author's article marketing strategy focused on driving subscribers to her newsletter. I think, but I'm not sure, that it was Dianna Huff, who specializes in B2B article marketing. As an aside, be sure to check out her site.
Pageviews to info pages on your site
If you lin
So you've got an online business and you've been told that to make the big money you need a list. A list of hungry and passionate buyers that ravage your offer when you send it out.But you've probably found out that it's not as simple as you first thought to create that list of buyers. First there is the squeeze page where you get people to opt in to your list. That page has to be finally tuned to ensure people are bribed and satisfied that you are not about to send them a whole lot of spam.Then there is the double opt in part where you lose people because they don't remember opting in to your list. And then the email messages in your autoresponder need to be mini sales letters mixed with great content to keep your list subscribed. Oh, and then you want to send the messages at the right time intervals so your subscribers don't forget who you are, or worse, get upset because you are emailing them too often.It's a finally tuned science to get it right and sometimes requires a lot of
Article submitted 1-26-05, searches conducted 1-29-05.
Number of readers/impressions
To borrow a bit from the world of online advertising you can measure impressions, that is, the estimated number of readers/site visitors who had the opportunity to at least read your article title and, let's hope, associate it with your business name.
To get an idea of how many impressions your article may have gotten talk with those who republish your article. If you submit to EzineArticles you can see how many writers and editors have viewed your article's page.
It's great to have your impressions high, but it's better to have them targeted to your audience (and by audience I mean customers... here are my thoughts on client as audience). The more care you give your content creation process the more your content will appeal to your target audience.
Which brings us to...
Placement in previously identified key industry media
If at the beginning of your article marketing campaign you identify key industry publications you'd like to be published in... and you get published or don't get published, that's something you can measure.
This is more of a branding initiative than a linking initiative, though it can certainly generate at least one solid link. And once your article's been published and your editor says "go" you can submit it to your article submission directories of choice. And then measure links.
Lead generation through reader inquiries
This is a fun one. There are specific industries and products that are likely to sell well through article marketing... namely information products. If your primary goal for article marketing is sales though you should construct your article campaign in a particular way. Many of the same rules still apply, but the strategy needs to be a little different. Let me know if you have questions about creating sales generating articles. And you still have to follow responsible article writing guidelines.
Email addresses gathered for newsletter signup/downloads/free service
Yeah you're being published in someone else's email newsletter but that doesn't mean you can't try to drive signups to your own newsletter! We had this happen when I worked at WebProNews, where we published all free content. One author's article marketing strategy focused on driving subscribers to her newsletter. I think, but I'm not sure, that it was Dianna Huff, who specializes in B2B article marketing. As an aside, be sure to check out her site.
Pageviews to info pages on your site
If you lin
"I respect those who know their own wishes. The greatest part of all the mischief in the world arises from the fact that many do not sufficiently understand their own aims. They have undertaken to build a tower, and spend no more labor on the foundation than would be necessary to erect a hut." — Johann Wolfgang von GoetheOver the years we've been involved in too many "vernacular engineering" debates as management teams argue about whether the statement they've been crafting is a vision, a mission, a statement of values and goals, or the like. Often these philosophical labeling debates are like trying to pick the flyspecks out of the pepper. Unless we're lexicographers and our company is in the dictionary business, we shouldn't worry about the precise definition of vision, mission, values, or whatever we may be calling the words we're using to define who we are and where we're trying to go.What does matter is that our teams have discussed, debated, and decided on the answers to these thre
Which brings us to...
Placement in previously identified key industry media
If at the beginning of your article marketing campaign you identify key industry publications you'd like to be published in... and you get published or don't get published, that's something you can measure.
This is more of a branding initiative than a linking initiative, though it can certainly generate at least one solid link. And once your article's been published and your editor says "go" you can submit it to your article submission directories of choice. And then measure links.
Lead generation through reader inquiries
This is a fun one. There are specific industries and products that are likely to sell well through article marketing... namely information products. If your primary goal for article marketing is sales though you should construct your article campaign in a particular way. Many of the same rules still apply, but the strategy needs to be a little different. Let me know if you have questions about creating sales generating articles. And you still have to follow responsible article writing guidelines.
Email addresses gathered for newsletter signup/downloads/free service
Yeah you're being published in someone else's email newsletter but that doesn't mean you can't try to drive signups to your own newsletter! We had this happen when I worked at WebProNews, where we published all free content. One author's article marketing strategy focused on driving subscribers to her newsletter. I think, but I'm not sure, that it was Dianna Huff, who specializes in B2B article marketing. As an aside, be sure to check out her site.
Pageviews to info pages on your site
If you lin
Sustainable success for small businesses is very much like a puzzle with a lot of pieces. Every small business owner's success puzzle is different. What works for some doesn't always for works for others. Yet, one piece in everyone's success puzzle is commitment. The piece may be a different shape and size, but it is always present.Commitment by its very nature implies some action to be taken to achieve a desire, a dream or what also can be called a goal. Think about a recent business achievement and your level of commitment. Then, think about a goal that wasn't successfully achieved and your level of commitment. Compare the two levels of commitment – were they the same or different?For example, a colleague and myself publish a monthly newsletter Power Choices as part of our marketing plan. She and I are committed to creating value in this monthly newsletter based on our own goals, values and what we have learned from our readers. Sure, we could cite some statistics and writ
Email addresses gathered for newsletter signup/downloads/free service
Yeah you're being published in someone else's email newsletter but that doesn't mean you can't try to drive signups to your own newsletter! We had this happen when I worked at WebProNews, where we published all free content. One author's article marketing strategy focused on driving subscribers to her newsletter. I think, but I'm not sure, that it was Dianna Huff, who specializes in B2B article marketing. As an aside, be sure to check out her site.
Pageviews to info pages on your site
If you link out of your article to more info pages on your site you can measure for an increase in traffic on those pages. Have some kind of call to action on these pages though. Don't just boost page views for the sake of having higher page views. Get them to do something on that page, such as give you an email address or visit your products or services page.
Requests from editors for articles
If it's your goal to have more involvement with your target market then be sure to accept all requests from editors for new articles. In fact, cultivate any relationship with an editor you can. This is one fantastic way of staying in front of your target audience and getting new ideas for articles.
How can you increase this likelihood? Contact editors from publications within your target market. In addition, include a mention in your author bio that you'd like to work with editors to help them have happier, more engaged readers.
Audience involvement/questions
This is another fun one, and something I tried to promote during my time at WPN. The level of reader feedback I received led to my creation of the "Ask the Expert" section of WPN (now untended) as well as my proposal for the WebProWorld forums, now with over 50,000 members. (To be fair iEntry had rolled out forums before - they were just scattered across all our publications rather than targetted on the flagship. WebProWorld was definitely a home run.)
So if you'd like to establish more of a relationship with the online audience in your publications contact their editor and see if you can field audience questions.
What else is measurable? Those are a few of my thoughts for article marketing measurables. Did I miss any? Let me know your measurable ideas and if I use them in an upcoming article I'll throw you a link with your link text of choice.
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