Article marketing, if done well, offers proven benefits.  A well written published article can market your products, services, and you as an export.  Article marketing has been around for more than 100 years, and submitting and publishing your articles is most often free and can expose you to a huge audience.

Marketing yourself this way is not limited to print media.  Articles can be published to your BLOG, industry BLOGs, and article distribution (AD) websites, which can be a great way to get your article into circulation.  AD websites have many benefits, including positioning your brand, increasing visitors to your website, and is free advertising.  Don’t forget about social media websites, like Facebook and Twitter.

No matter how many people see your articles, the time and effort to produce them is wasted if the quality of them is poor.  To make your articles suitable for being published, the following guidelines are suggested.

Provide helpful information rather than sell yourself.  Writing self promotional articles is the biggest mistake you can make.

• Have a narrow focus when selecting topics and provide value (how-to or new information).
• Value time spent selecting a great headline.  It should be enticing.
• Fill your article with keyword-rich text and links.
• Make sure your article doesn’t have any grammatical mistakes.  Sites like www.dailywritingtips.com, www.editorialservice.com/11ways.html, and grammar.quickanddirtytips.com are great resources.

All articles should have a link to your bio, or include a brief bio at the end of the article.  It should include your name, your professional title, and a short plug.  If a link to your website is included, your bio can include more information.

Marketing yourself by circulating articles is a simple process.  It consists of well written articles that add value, deciding on your distribution method, and posting your work.  Give it a try and let me know how it benefits you!