Does the prospect of article marketing send you into a state of paralysis? A couple of tricks to get you started.

  Written by Tanya Outridge on Mar 10, 2010 2:16 pm

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I was speaking with one of our consultants today about the best free lead generation strategies available to online business people (in my opinion at least - I'm sure that if you asked a dozen different online marketers, you would get a dozen different responses about this).

And I have to tell you that one of my favorite, is article marketing (especially in combination with video marketing - very powerful). But our consultant was pretty iffy about using this strategy in her own business. Her argument was that she was "too new and inexperienced to have anything of value to write about".

Now, this is a pretty standard response I get when I make this suggestion to new people. But my reasons for recommending this type of lead generation strategy form the basis of a plan that is so cunning you could whack a tail on it and call it a weasel.

Let me explain.

My first reason for recommending this strategy is that it is FREE (hellooo, do we not all love free?). The only thing you will need to undertake this is time, and an understanding of how spell check works.

Your article is a piece of content which stays out on the web forever and a day, and when you archive your written material to your blog or personal website, you are building up the content on your blog, which is an essential SEO strategy.

Next, this is a great way to learn about and understand the power of keywords. In order for your article to be found by your particular niche, you will have had to complete very thorough keyword research. This is a skill which is critical to master, regardless of what marketing methods you use, and if you miss the mark on a particular search term, at least it has only cost you your time.

Third, it is particularly easy to record a video about your article, and post it at the same time. Think about it for a moment. You have done one piece of keyword research, but posted two separate pieces of content off one piece of work. A very clever way to manage your time if it is a premium.

Often, when people seem a little nervous or uncertain when they create a video for marketing purposes, it is because they are not entirely confident about their chosen subject matter. If you create a video about an article you have just researched and written, you should (unless you were half asleep when you wrote it), feel very confident about your subject matter.

And when a potential customer or business partner views your video, they are more likely to go further into your business if they believe that you are confident about your topic. Remember, people are looking to do business with those they believe to have a certain level of expertise in their field.

And so to the topics you should cover in your article marketing (and coincidentally, the next part of my cunning plan ;-).

Writing articles based on your own training is a great place to start.

I strongly suggest that as you embark on your training, you write down the key points as you go. My reasons for this recommendation are twofold.

As I have explained before, when you engage your hands in something physical as you read or listen, it triggers the creative centre of your brain. And your unconscious mind will go to work and start turning over the problem or challenge before it.

Forgive me as I go off on a little rant here, but too often, when I am speaking with people about the training they are doing, I get a very definite sense that they are simply going through the motions (e.g. they literally rip through the recommended reading), just so they can tick it off their list. They are not actively and consciously participating in the learning process.

How do you do this? By getting away from your screen, and any other distractions, taking a pencil or highlighter, and making notes as you read or listen (if it is a training call). It is important that you think about what you are learning in the context of your own business. Think about how you will apply what you are learning in your own system. And write it down.

Now, when you do this, a couple of things happen. Your understanding of what you have read will be deeper. Nothing consolidates understanding faster than having to pass information on to other people.

Secondly, you will have started to put together a business plan to work to, that is specific to you in your own business.

Some other topics to consider are the most common questions people ask about your business, and the answers to accompany them. Before you argue that no-one has asked you about your business yet, think back to the questions you had about it before you started. Write them down, answer them if you know the answers, research the answers if you don't, and create an article and video (or series of videos if necessary) about them. This will also place you on the front foot when you do get asked these questions by a real prospect.

Then create a series of articles about what people should be aware of about your business, but don't ask. Another powerful way of positioning yourself as an authority and a leader. How do you come up with this list of questions? Simply think about the issues that came as a surprise to you when you got started.

Mike Koenig's 10 x 10 x 4 training goes into great detail about this technique. It is excellent, and you must tap into this, and listen as many times as you need to to consolidate your understanding.

You can write reviews of books that you have read that you found useful. Write about mindset techniques that have inspired you. Write stories from your every day life that contain a little lesson or message.

But, (and here is the most important thing I am going to say about this - drill this thought into your brain):

Thou shalt not pitch - EVER.

I've said it before, and no doubt I will continue to rant about this - it cannot be over emphasized. Leave "old school" marketing techniques where they belong - back in 1980.

So just because you are new to the game, don't assume you have nothing of value to communicate to people who are looking for what you have to offer. Everything you learn places you in front of 90% of people out there.

Not convinced? It is not my job to convince you. It may well be that you need to work much harder on your mindset. And there is an article topic in itself.

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