How To Get The Free Publicity You Crave!
| Category: Copy Writing | Date: 2001-06-01 |
(Overcoming "Article Saturation!")
Every good internet marketer wants it - free publicity!
But with so many new articles mass-produced and poured out onto the internet each day - "article saturation" is rapidly becoming the new problem!
Article saturation - or article overload - is where there are so many good articles to choose from that your new article is easily overlooked!
And its a real problem now for even experienced webmasters seeking free publicity!
Why? Because everyone seems to be doing this lately - writing and sending out articles.
And while there are still many, many ezines and content-oriented web sites, its becoming more and more difficult to get the free exposure that once came almost instantly with each new article!
So how do you overcome this latest obstacle? How do you get your article noticed among the flood of new articles coming out on an almost hourly basis?
RATE YOUR ARTICLE BEFORE SENDING IT OUT
Take a good look at your new creation. How good is it really? Come on - be honest.
Where does it rate - exceptional - good - average - mediocre - or poor when compared with others?
If its in the mediocre or poor categories - dont expect to get much, if any, response after sending it out.
Because it now often takes four or five days (or longer) to
post an article to a free content newsgroup. Used to post the next day!
And response from publishers used to come immediately. Now, if you receive a single response - you may consider yourself lucky! And that only happens if your article is good - really good!
Thats how bad its getting!
So, with the flood of good articles out there - is this form of free advertising (article writing) dead?
Should you just "pack it in" and find another way to promote?
No - not yet!
Lets take a look at how you can distinguish your article from the crowd - and still get the response you crave - free publicity in multiple publications!
QUALITY WINS OUT EVERY TIME
Are you one of "those writers" who sends out a steady stream ofarticles day after day hoping to get lucky - hoping that one will eventually get published?
Perhaps you are able to churn out a dozen articles at one sitting, but these "production-line" articles usually have one thing in common.
They ramble on and on. Theyre "word-count" rich and "good-content" poor!
Your reader starts reading and soon realizes that there is only one little, very small gem buried somewhere deep inside the middle of the article and thats about it. The rest is fluff - a wordy diatribe that struggles - then finally (mercifully) winds its way to that one very small gem!
Many readers are lost after the first paragraph or two - and needless to say, stop reading about then as well.
THERES A BETTER WAY
Instead of playing "article roulette" (sending out article after article - hoping one will get published), aim instead for one very polished, high-quality, information-packed article!
And youll see results immediately! Because editors are still very hungry for this type of article! And believe me - there are still too few of these articles available!
IDEAS THAT WILL PRODUCE RESULTS
Here are ideas that will help create that one "high-quality", "information-packed" article that will produce the immediate results you crave!
1) Pack each article with great information!
Ever notice how the best articles are usually "loaded" with good information!
Offer more than just one great tip! Offer many! Really pour the effort in! Load the reader with one great idea after another!
2) Thoroughly research your topic!
Many articles fail at this point. They are obviously poorly conceived and quickly put together with little thought and then sent out.
Spend some time with the specialized search engines! Go out and look for and find the extra information that will produce the high quality article thats in high demand! This extra effort will help you fill in the blanks - and give you the valuable content you need to craft an exceptional article!
3) Scan a similar article for more great ideas!
Go to one of the great article libraries on the internet and look for a similar article.
Places to look include:
http://www.wilsonweb.com/webmarket/
http://www.ideamarketers.com
http://www.themestream.com
http://www.soaringprofits.com/articles.htm
http://www.ezinearticles.com
http://216.147.104.180/articles/
When you find that similar article, you will find additional links that will help in writing your article! You may also find a great idea or two that you can expand upon and include in your own article - adding your own knowledge! But, be careful at this point, taking (er ... stealing) article content can put you in direct violation of copyright law - and make an enemy or two in the process! Use ideas and your own wording - dont randomly copy article content and links from these articles. People will soon realize you are snatching their material! And they will be angry!
But remember its ideas that you are after. One great idea can lead to another and then another and another - all drawing upon your own knowledge and experience!
4) Add links!
Most great articles include link after link after link where you can go for more good information. You end up with many great resources!
When youre done reading, youre almost winded trying to absorb it all!
And, to be truthful, these articles are not always well written - but you know that the writer gave the topic a lot of thought. And you come away filled with new ideas and methods to try!
5) Give it a sharp focus!
Give your article a sharp focus! Use a main idea, then several subtopics!
Not everyone can write well.
But most are able to link their thoughts together in a way that makes sense - so the reader can understand the point of the article.
Organization makes the difference!
Unorganized? Try a "Venn Diagram" First
If organizing and focusing your ideas into a central theme is a problem for you - try using a "Venn" diagram before you write - to connect your ideas together.
A "Venn" diagram uses a main idea (usually circled) with a "web" of lines going out to other circled ideas (subtopics).
With this method of topic organization, you will soon have a very big web of ideas - each connecting back to your original topic (the central - or main - idea). This will give your article a very sharp focus.
Now, start writing - connecting each idea back to your main theme!
Making an outline (or using a Venn Diagram) before writing can eliminate the tendency to ramble!
6) Rethink What You Just Wrote
Let your article sit for a day or two. Then come back to it!
Youll see it differently the next day. You may even catch some mistakes you overlooked the first time through!
Sometimes youll end up rewriting key parts of your article and greatly improving them! This has happened to me many times!
IN SUMMARY
While the market may be saturated right now with good article content, there is still a tremendous hunger for high-quality, information-packed articles!
Write a great article (using some of the tips above) and your success in getting it published and obtaining the free publicity you crave will greatly increase!
About the Author
Ron Knowlton is the founding editor at soaringprofits Subscribe to "Articles To Boost Your Success Online!" "Download a great marketing e-book!" *FREE* *$49 value* Limited-Time Offer!free-ebook.
:To contact see details below.
ron@soaringprofits.com
http://www.soaringprofits.com/
Every good internet marketer wants it - free publicity!
But with so many new articles mass-produced and poured out onto the internet each day - "article saturation" is rapidly becoming the new problem!
Article saturation - or article overload - is where there are so many good articles to choose from that your new article is easily overlooked!
And its a real problem now for even experienced webmasters seeking free publicity!
Why? Because everyone seems to be doing this lately - writing and sending out articles.
And while there are still many, many ezines and content-oriented web sites, its becoming more and more difficult to get the free exposure that once came almost instantly with each new article!
So how do you overcome this latest obstacle? How do you get your article noticed among the flood of new articles coming out on an almost hourly basis?
RATE YOUR ARTICLE BEFORE SENDING IT OUT
Take a good look at your new creation. How good is it really? Come on - be honest.
Where does it rate - exceptional - good - average - mediocre - or poor when compared with others?
If its in the mediocre or poor categories - dont expect to get much, if any, response after sending it out.
Because it now often takes four or five days (or longer) to
post an article to a free content newsgroup. Used to post the next day!
And response from publishers used to come immediately. Now, if you receive a single response - you may consider yourself lucky! And that only happens if your article is good - really good!
Thats how bad its getting!
So, with the flood of good articles out there - is this form of free advertising (article writing) dead?
Should you just "pack it in" and find another way to promote?
No - not yet!
Lets take a look at how you can distinguish your article from the crowd - and still get the response you crave - free publicity in multiple publications!
QUALITY WINS OUT EVERY TIME
Are you one of "those writers" who sends out a steady stream ofarticles day after day hoping to get lucky - hoping that one will eventually get published?
Perhaps you are able to churn out a dozen articles at one sitting, but these "production-line" articles usually have one thing in common.
They ramble on and on. Theyre "word-count" rich and "good-content" poor!
Your reader starts reading and soon realizes that there is only one little, very small gem buried somewhere deep inside the middle of the article and thats about it. The rest is fluff - a wordy diatribe that struggles - then finally (mercifully) winds its way to that one very small gem!
Many readers are lost after the first paragraph or two - and needless to say, stop reading about then as well.
THERES A BETTER WAY
Instead of playing "article roulette" (sending out article after article - hoping one will get published), aim instead for one very polished, high-quality, information-packed article!
And youll see results immediately! Because editors are still very hungry for this type of article! And believe me - there are still too few of these articles available!
IDEAS THAT WILL PRODUCE RESULTS
Here are ideas that will help create that one "high-quality", "information-packed" article that will produce the immediate results you crave!
1) Pack each article with great information!
Ever notice how the best articles are usually "loaded" with good information!
Offer more than just one great tip! Offer many! Really pour the effort in! Load the reader with one great idea after another!
2) Thoroughly research your topic!
Many articles fail at this point. They are obviously poorly conceived and quickly put together with little thought and then sent out.
Spend some time with the specialized search engines! Go out and look for and find the extra information that will produce the high quality article thats in high demand! This extra effort will help you fill in the blanks - and give you the valuable content you need to craft an exceptional article!
3) Scan a similar article for more great ideas!
Go to one of the great article libraries on the internet and look for a similar article.
Places to look include:
http://www.wilsonweb.com/webmarket/
http://www.ideamarketers.com
http://www.themestream.com
http://www.soaringprofits.com/articles.htm
http://www.ezinearticles.com
http://216.147.104.180/articles/
When you find that similar article, you will find additional links that will help in writing your article! You may also find a great idea or two that you can expand upon and include in your own article - adding your own knowledge! But, be careful at this point, taking (er ... stealing) article content can put you in direct violation of copyright law - and make an enemy or two in the process! Use ideas and your own wording - dont randomly copy article content and links from these articles. People will soon realize you are snatching their material! And they will be angry!
But remember its ideas that you are after. One great idea can lead to another and then another and another - all drawing upon your own knowledge and experience!
4) Add links!
Most great articles include link after link after link where you can go for more good information. You end up with many great resources!
When youre done reading, youre almost winded trying to absorb it all!
And, to be truthful, these articles are not always well written - but you know that the writer gave the topic a lot of thought. And you come away filled with new ideas and methods to try!
5) Give it a sharp focus!
Give your article a sharp focus! Use a main idea, then several subtopics!
Not everyone can write well.
But most are able to link their thoughts together in a way that makes sense - so the reader can understand the point of the article.
Organization makes the difference!
Unorganized? Try a "Venn Diagram" First
If organizing and focusing your ideas into a central theme is a problem for you - try using a "Venn" diagram before you write - to connect your ideas together.
A "Venn" diagram uses a main idea (usually circled) with a "web" of lines going out to other circled ideas (subtopics).
With this method of topic organization, you will soon have a very big web of ideas - each connecting back to your original topic (the central - or main - idea). This will give your article a very sharp focus.
Now, start writing - connecting each idea back to your main theme!
Making an outline (or using a Venn Diagram) before writing can eliminate the tendency to ramble!
6) Rethink What You Just Wrote
Let your article sit for a day or two. Then come back to it!
Youll see it differently the next day. You may even catch some mistakes you overlooked the first time through!
Sometimes youll end up rewriting key parts of your article and greatly improving them! This has happened to me many times!
IN SUMMARY
While the market may be saturated right now with good article content, there is still a tremendous hunger for high-quality, information-packed articles!
Write a great article (using some of the tips above) and your success in getting it published and obtaining the free publicity you crave will greatly increase!
About the Author
Ron Knowlton is the founding editor at soaringprofits Subscribe to "Articles To Boost Your Success Online!" "Download a great marketing e-book!" *FREE* *$49 value* Limited-Time Offer!free-ebook.
:To contact see details below.
ron@soaringprofits.com
http://www.soaringprofits.com/
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