Articles: A Powerful Marketing Tool
| Category: Copy Writing - ad copy | Date: 2003-05-14 |
Getting your article published in a newsletter is a sure shot way of getting free advertising. And if I’m not exaggerating, it is many times more effective than paid advertising. Just imagine, you get to write 500-600 words about your opinion, which is the outright representation of your intellectual attitude. If you hit the right chord, you’ll find most of the readers humming your tune and swirling towards your site. What more do you want? And anyway, do I subscribe to a newsletter to read the advertisements? No. I subscribe to read the informative and thought provoking material encapsulated in the newsletter.
Writing an article should be taken as seriously as doing the actual business, and it should not read like an extra-curricular activity carried out while watching The Adams Family on the cartoon network. Your words should have the propensity to keep the reader glued to your presentation and make him/her click on your hyperlink or the subscription address. Make the reader think, If this person writes like this, he/she must really be something outstanding!
To write a good article, don’t force yourself -- it always shows in your work. Only say something when you really have something to say, which, by default, should be informative, and in some way, must benefit the reader. And if you are passionate about your work, if you are really serious about it, you’ll always have something to say.
In some of the posts, what Ive come to observe is, there is nothing but blatant and bland advertisement for a product. The first paragraph starts like this: "The XYZ has been selling ABC like hotcakes...." and in the end, "CALL US NOW!!!" Do we call this an article? Theres nothing wrong in promoting a product, we all do that at some point. But there are ways. If you want to advertise, say so; dont compose a propaganda malarkey.
An article should be informative, the reader should gain something from it, and it should be creative and entertaining. Even if you are writing about a product, state how the reader is going to benefit from it, not how great the product is or how fast it is selling. To be frank, Im not bothered if you sell 1 widget or a million widgets in a week. Yes, Im interested if that widget can improve my life without costing a fortune in the near future. And that, you have to explain how. If you can do that, youve written a good article.
And in some of the newsletters I receive, Ive noticed that the publisher uses his/her comments to promote a product. Nothing wrong in doing so. But if you give the same comment in four or five consecutive issues, then more than the content of your newsletter, you are worried for that product. A publisher has to maintain a certain standard, and should not sound desperate to promote a product or a service. At least change the language and presentation! I wonder how these kind of people can expect to do business.
Last but not the least, your facts should always sound credible. Numbers and statistics are always re-assuring. So if you are saying that some percentage of people utilize some service, state the percentage like n%. If you are saying something controversial but right (like Galileo), back it up with quotes from a well-known personality.
On the technical side, be authoritative and spell check the article thoroughly; bad spelling really gives a bad impression. Many times I’ve pressed the delete key just because the writer had committed very silly spelling mistakes.
A newsletter is a powerful media tool, and if you learn how to make good use of it to benefit your business, you are destined to go and see places.
About the Author
:To contact see details below.
amrit_h@vsnl.com
http://www.bytesworth.com
Writing an article should be taken as seriously as doing the actual business, and it should not read like an extra-curricular activity carried out while watching The Adams Family on the cartoon network. Your words should have the propensity to keep the reader glued to your presentation and make him/her click on your hyperlink or the subscription address. Make the reader think, If this person writes like this, he/she must really be something outstanding!
To write a good article, don’t force yourself -- it always shows in your work. Only say something when you really have something to say, which, by default, should be informative, and in some way, must benefit the reader. And if you are passionate about your work, if you are really serious about it, you’ll always have something to say.
In some of the posts, what Ive come to observe is, there is nothing but blatant and bland advertisement for a product. The first paragraph starts like this: "The XYZ has been selling ABC like hotcakes...." and in the end, "CALL US NOW!!!" Do we call this an article? Theres nothing wrong in promoting a product, we all do that at some point. But there are ways. If you want to advertise, say so; dont compose a propaganda malarkey.
An article should be informative, the reader should gain something from it, and it should be creative and entertaining. Even if you are writing about a product, state how the reader is going to benefit from it, not how great the product is or how fast it is selling. To be frank, Im not bothered if you sell 1 widget or a million widgets in a week. Yes, Im interested if that widget can improve my life without costing a fortune in the near future. And that, you have to explain how. If you can do that, youve written a good article.
And in some of the newsletters I receive, Ive noticed that the publisher uses his/her comments to promote a product. Nothing wrong in doing so. But if you give the same comment in four or five consecutive issues, then more than the content of your newsletter, you are worried for that product. A publisher has to maintain a certain standard, and should not sound desperate to promote a product or a service. At least change the language and presentation! I wonder how these kind of people can expect to do business.
Last but not the least, your facts should always sound credible. Numbers and statistics are always re-assuring. So if you are saying that some percentage of people utilize some service, state the percentage like n%. If you are saying something controversial but right (like Galileo), back it up with quotes from a well-known personality.
On the technical side, be authoritative and spell check the article thoroughly; bad spelling really gives a bad impression. Many times I’ve pressed the delete key just because the writer had committed very silly spelling mistakes.
A newsletter is a powerful media tool, and if you learn how to make good use of it to benefit your business, you are destined to go and see places.
About the Author
:To contact see details below.
amrit_h@vsnl.com
http://www.bytesworth.com
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