“Is Article Marketing Dead?”

Oddly enough, this question often pops up in popular online marketing forums. Sometimes I even see people get pretty upset about the answers they get, demanding proof that a person is making money writing articles. So I thought maybe it’s time to add my own two cents.

Yes, article marketing is dead if you’re referring to posting junk articles on article directories and expecting people to knock down your virtual door. Thanks to the changes in Google over the years, those days are over and done. Even posting an outstanding article on a site like Ezine Articles likely won’t garner you more than a few website visits a week at most – probably not enough to make it worthwhile. Because if you’re writing quality content that people want to read, there are far better places to place your articles.

For instance, you can place them on your website. These days, Google rewards sites with quality information and better rankings, so why not fill your website with great articles?

What do I mean by quality information? First, it’s got to be material people want to read. This means you’ve got to have some essential writing skills, or readers won’t go past the first paragraph. Second, the content must empower them, improve their life, or solve a problem. In other words, what’s in it for them to read your article?

Third, it has to be relevant. Offering up last year’s SEO techniques isn’t cut; it will earn you some nasty comments and a hit to your reputation. Either know what you’re talking about or find an expert who does.

Okay, so you’ve got some great articles on your website – time to find other sites looking for your content. Ideally, you want places that get a lot of traffic but don’t post much content. This way, your article will stay featured for a more extended period, and it’s more likely to appear in the “most popular posts” section.

Once you’ve got some guest articles (or guest posts, if you prefer) out there, contact those site owners about possibly writing for them continuingly. If you’re submitting a report a month to ten different sites, that’s ten sites sending visitors back to your site. And that can be far more powerful than Ezine Articles ever was.

Lastly, see if you can get articles published in real-life magazines. That’s right – magazines like Entrepreneur and Wired. Sure, breaking into those is more challenging, but what a coup if you do!