You certainly want to create compelling, informative content, but you know that article marketing is going to be a big job! The following checklist might make it easier for you to keep it simple and organized and keep you sane.

First Five Minutes: Pay close attention to your titles. You must know that as an article marketer, your success in getting people to read what you’ve written will chiefly depend on the quality of your headlines. Well-written, benefit-driven, succinct, fascinating, attention-grabbing titles are more likely to be opened.

Second Five Minutes: Craft a convincing article summary. Your article summaries, together with your headlines, are what will influence online users to open and read your articles. The key is to give your readers just enough information to tickle their imaginations and leave them wanting more.

Third Five Minutes: Use the inverted pyramid technique to plan your article. Remember that online users will measure the quality of your articles based on the first 100 words. You can be certain that your readers will close your articles immediately if they do not find anything worth reading or knowing in your first paragraph.

Last Fifteen Minutes: Use the preferred online writing format to create your article. Online users have limited attention spans, so your article should be easy to scan, using lists, tips and questions and answers.

Remember, just say NO to breaching copyright. Copying someone else’s article is one of the big no-nos in article marketing. Ensure that your articles are written using your own words and that they offer your target market unique information.

It’s sad that there is a significant number of people who just can’t seem to “get it” when it comes to article marketing. It’s high time you change tactics or perhaps begin anew so you can profit from this online marketing tool, especially if you’re one of the people who can’t seem to “get it.” Today I am going to shed some light on what may be holding you back:

1. Not focusing on your titles. The first thing you need to “get” is that 98% of your success in article marketing will depend on your titles. If they are well written, salient and benefit-driven, you stand a great chance of having online users take a second look at your articles.

2. Not kick-starting your articles with a fascinating observation or a compelling question. Always start your article with a bang. A comment such as “Affiliate marketing makes more millionaires every day than the stock market” is sure to spark interest.

3. Not keeping it simple. Use short sentences and clear, easy-to-understand language. Include examples and personal stories to give your readers a clearer picture if needed.

4. Not making it informative. You need to ensure that all your articles have extensive information about your selected topic if you want your customers to feel that your content is worth their time.

5. Not proofreading. Don’t even think about posting your articles online without proofreading them. Remember that online users will form opinions about your knowledge and your reliability based on the quality of your content.

Article marketing is one of the most common and popular tools to use in internet marketing right now. The reasons for this are many: it is cost-effective and it usually delivers a fantastic return on your investment. Here’s the article marketing cycle broken down into 4 simple parts:

1. Figure out how to use it most effectively. Start off on the right foot by reading applicable blogs and articles, where you’ll get quite a few guidelines, methods and ideas. Keep in mind you can’t just start writing your articles and posting them on submission sites without having an idea of what you need to include in your content and what system you must follow.

2. Get a grip on search engine optimization. Make your articles search-engine friendly to make them easier to find online. Spot the most popular search terms within your selected niche by performing keyword research, and scatter the search terms throughout your article content.

3. Understand what makes a successful article. For your articles to be considered the best in the online arena, you must give them convincing and attention-grabbing titles, and make sure that they are well written and highly enlightening.

4. Learn the rules of the distribution sites. Raise the odds of your articles being accepted the first time you distribute them by making each of them publisher-friendly. Blatant ads/sales pitches, inappropriate content, and URL’s have no place in your article body.

The bottom line for most authors is that they need to write as much as possible – having multiple articles published is the key to success in this field. You can write 1-3 articles a day when you’re just starting out. Gradually increase the amount of your output once you get the hang of it.

A great website, together with fantastic products and services, are all requirements for success in today’s online world. Many online entrepreneurs have also seen the value of article marketing and what it can do for their businesses. Below are some reasons why you need to do article marketing:

1. It gives you the chance to provide your customers with pertinent, useful and important information. Even when readers are busy they’ll willingly devote the time to read information that is applicable to them.

2. It allows you to present yourself as an expert in your niche. Be very discriminating in the topics you choose for your article writing. As you are making your choices it is essential that you think about what is of greatest importance and value to your readers.

3. It is a cheap form of advertising. Instead of paying for search terms, you will be optimizing them in such a way that your articles are keyword-rich. Your objective is for the articles you produce to be search engine friendly and do well on related searches.

4. It is easy to do. All you need are above-average writing skills and the ability to create compelling article titles. Your success depends on potential readers actually opening and reading your articles. Your open rate will improve if you use attention-grabbing, inspiring titles.

Control your desire to advertise in your articles. Be sure to talk about your products very subtly. Don’t appear as someone who is there to sell and only sell. Your article-writing objective is to distribute high quality information that your readers find of value.

Too many article marketers do not care about the quality and quantity of the articles they produce. They submit articles only when they feel like doing so and they don’t go all-out to present their readers with quality content. If you’re determined to leave the pack and become an alpha wolf in article marketing, you’d do well to have a look at these emerging trends:

1. Writing only on topics related to your niche. Marketers are now writing about their own products and services, about the questions and problems of their target markets, and new issues that directly impact their chosen niche. This helps them capture the interest of those people who are most likely to purchase from them.

2. Targeting the best keywords. Do keyword research and analysis before you begin writing your articles, so you can decide on the best search terms for your products and services. We suggest that you target those that are used most frequently by your potential customers to ensure that your articles will show up prominently on the different search engine results.

3. Writing for the readers. These are the people you need to impress, so forget about your own preferences when you write. Talk about the things that they find interesting and thrash out their problems and burning questions. Create your articles using a format that’s easy to read from a screen, and use language that your readers can identify with.

Keep in mind the policies of the publishing sites when you write. Your articles must be well written and free from any kind of errors. They must also be free from any sales pitches/blatant advertisements and unsuitable content. Finally, they should be short and they must contain an article summary, keyword list and resource box.