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[joseph young Contribution Level: 2]

I think we have all read many opinions about article marketing. Some have never done it and never will. There are many ways to advertise. It is not for everyone. But, is it really DEAD! Has the juice finally run out? Some may be ready to quit something they may need to stick with......What is your thoughts.






More on article death here:
http://www.betternetworker.com/articles ... s-it-dead/

[Tama DeBoer Company: Viridian Energy Contribution Level: 2]

Hi Joe,

I feel article marketing can be very educational, thought provoking and can peak ones curiousity as to "whats next". It does take some time and work to craft a quality article to make prospects want to know more.

If time, dedication and focus are lost, article marketing for someone may indeed be DEAD.

http://www.success-with-an-onlinebusine ... ?sid=nf225

[Chris Tryon Contribution Level: 4]

Good question. I haven't explored article marketing yet, except for a couple of posts on this site. I have been exploring blogging. I have 4 blogs posted on the Hub pages. Best thing I have done to date to create relationships and generate serious interest.

[Greg Martin Contribution Level: 4]

One thing I have learned while I have been attempting to build business is that I hate creating content. Like I am over it.

I have tried article & video marketing and have had some success with both. I have also created Hub pages, Squidoo lenses, multiple blogs, backlinking, SEO... you name it. For me I am very weary of the results you get from it and the labor that is involved.

One of my favorite marketers won't touch any social media. You won't find him anywhere except for the occasional YouTube video to use on his sites. Everything else is PPC and websites. No blogs, articles, lenses, hubs... nothing.

I notice most of the top producers in this industry don't waste their time on it, they go straight for PPC because it is so direct.

This is just my rant and you can take from it what you like but I am just at a point where i am going to take marketing in a new direction and get totally from the labor intensive content creation cycle.

[Peter Grimes Contribution Level: 3]

Naah, it's not dead at all and really never will be. While there is someone with something to say and equally someone prepared to listen, article marketing will remain alive and kicking.

I do agree with Greg, very labour intensive and at times you just ask yourself, why oh why? For me and many others though, it is a free method (apart from our time) to market this way. Time and talent will tell the ultimate story I am sure.

[Cesar Fasano Company: PRO U Contribution Level: 3]

Article Marketing is NOT dead at all.

People are turning their to the Internet for solutions now more than ever and giving them valuable content through Articles is a great way to attract buyers to your opportunity.

Be a source of knowledge and they will listen.

To do it effectively, you can follow this 3 steps:

1. Proper Keyword Research
2. Competitive Analysis
3. Massive Posting & Bookmarking

Cesar F.

[Kurt Henninger Company: Shaklee Corporation Contribution Level: 5]

Article marketing is alive and well, and yes, there are still alot of internet marketers who use this as a way to build their business, especially beginners.

However, you simply can't write an article or two, and expect to just see the traffic and leads to start flowing in any more and then you are done with it.

The value in strictly article marketing comes from leveraging the authority of the article directories (or other sites) in the search engines.

You can always build links to whatever website you want and out-rank articles posted on article directories, but for the beginner, this is a viable option to start to generate traffic.

I was listening to a speech by Chris Knight (the guy who runs ezinearticles.com, the biggest article directory) and his advice was to go for quantity of articles on a consistent basis, rather than trying to write the perfect article.

Here is a bit of advice with the whole thing though.....write a couple articles and get the feel for it, but then you can outsource all or most of it if you want.

I'd even recommend doing that, as you have many other things you need to be doing to grow your downline and build your business other than writing articles all day.

You can scale it up to a fairly good amount of traffic and targeted leads for your business if you outsource it......

One advantage of article directories is that they are, for the most part, supportive of somewhat promotional content.

Other sources of free traffic are great, but I've seen TONS of people get their Youtube accounts banned in the last year or so.....even many so in the last month. You have to be careful what you post on that site absolutely.

@Greg, I hear what you say about PPC marketing. Same goes for other forms of paid advertising.

Paid advertising is always preferable, IF you have an offer that converts well enough to support it.

But, for your average mom and pop starting out online, PPC is a VERY tough gig these days, even with using a funded proposal, because of all the repeated Google slaps and EVER increasing bid costs.

If anyone needs any specific article marketing advice, I've done a ton of it, so just shoot me a message.

[Dave Kotecki Company: One-24 Contribution Level: 5]

I firmly believe in Article Marketing as a foundational strategy.

I also believe that the days of spewing out crappy articles and posting them
to hundreds of directories are rapidly coming to an end.

Soon you'll see author's accounts deleted just like YouTube because the information
is not what it should be, etc. Much the way Better Networker is starting to clean house,
I see the same thing happening with the article directories.

A strong presence with good articles on a few of the top directories is, I think, the
best strategy for using article marketing.

And PPC rules.
Always has.
Always will.

It's just not as easy as the other stuff, and you need money.

The tragedy is that there is no way in hell you can start with social media,
(or articles, etc.) and get to where you're profitable without some fairly deep pockets
and/or a very good business sense. Since everyone and their brother is telling newbies
to go about it that way, they're going to have a tough time.

The answer is to set up those accounts and use them, but don't count on them for
your bread and butter. Once you've got some friends and a footprint on the net, you
can use PPC more effectively. Why? Because when someone clicks your ad and wants
to know more about the person they're dealing with, they'll find some good stuff about
you when they do their search.

Then you'll have a better quality score, lower cost per click, and a better chance at
being profitable with your PPC campaigns. Sweet.

Or maybe not.
But the good news is that Google and others have just done some massive house-cleaning,
which means that you have just as much chance as the people who have been around a while
because everything is starting over with the new rules.

Maybe that's why my blog outranks a bunch of the top earners in one of my companies.
My strategies are working, at least for now.
Who knows what it'll be next year?

[Greg Martin Contribution Level: 4]

I firmly believe in Article Marketing as a foundational strategy.

I also believe that the days of spewing out crappy articles and posting them
to hundreds of directories are rapidly coming to an end.

Soon you'll see author's accounts deleted just like YouTube because the information
is not what it should be, etc. Much the way Better Networker is starting to clean house,
I see the same thing happening with the article directories.

A strong presence with good articles on a few of the top directories is, I think, the
best strategy for using article marketing.

And PPC rules.
Always has.
Always will.

It's just not as easy as the other stuff, and you need money.

The tragedy is that there is no way in hell you can start with social media,
(or articles, etc.) and get to where you're profitable without some fairly deep pockets
and/or a very good business sense. Since everyone and their brother is telling newbies
to go about it that way, they're going to have a tough time.

The answer is to set up those accounts and use them, but don't count on them for
your bread and butter. Once you've got some friends and a footprint on the net, you
can use PPC more effectively. Why? Because when someone clicks your ad and wants
to know more about the person they're dealing with, they'll find some good stuff about
you when they do their search.

Then you'll have a better quality score, lower cost per click, and a better chance at
being profitable with your PPC campaigns. Sweet.

Or maybe not.
But the good news is that Google and others have just done some massive house-cleaning,
which means that you have just as much chance as the people who have been around a while
because everything is starting over with the new rules.

Maybe that's why my blog outranks a bunch of the top earners in one of my companies.
My strategies are working, at least for now.
Who knows what it'll be next year?

Dave I agree with this, and everything else that people are saying.

I believe in social media and marketing through channels like articles... but I don't like the idea of totally relying on it.

I believe in creating offsite content like video and articles or hub pages etc, but not so much as a lead generator but more from a "presence" point of view. Especially video. So that your prospects can find out who you are from these various sources.

Of course, any leads you may get from your articles or videos or other content is a bonus, but I personally believe that big business is built with direct response marketing channels. That is "paid advertising".

[joseph young Contribution Level: 2]

Thanks everyone for your replies. Very meaty and they cover a great range of thoughts about the whole subject. One thing we can all say it is good for is establishing personal credibility. Good point Kurt about quantity vs just the quality. The thing about Getting the SEO juice out of articles is it takes time. Good written articles will gain strength in time.

One of my sites http://www.energydrinkresources.com/, the search engine traffic is still coming in from articles I posted manually and on auto weeks and weeks ago using some training solely from Fernando Ceballos and Ray Fong. That is the long-term benefit to article marketing, it is a patient passion.

But it does establish your name out there as some of you mentioned. One point Ray and Fern mention during the SEO Networkers Mastermind training is making sure you are in control of your own credibility. There will always be some negative person out there with something negative to say about you. It is nice to know how to SEO there opinion off the front page!

Cheers,
Joe