7 Simple Steps to Transform Article Marketing into Sales

by Marnie L. Pehrson, creator of IdeaMarketers.com

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Article promotion is one of the staples of online marketing. But, I've seen people churn out hundreds of articles and get very little results from their efforts. Why? Because they aren't thinking of their article marketing as part of their overall sales strategy. They think just because they write hundreds of articles and put them on popular directories that they will magically generate sales.  

This isn't true, but there is a way to make it true IF you shift the way you think of article marketing AND if you have a few important things in place.  

Step 1: Have a clear objective.  
In almost all cases, your objective should be to get people on your list where you can stay in contact with them until they buy. Every piece of content you create should be created for that purpose -- to drive people to a page that invites them onto your list.  

Step 2: Stay focused. 
If you have created an obedience-training system for small dogs, an article about ways to keep your cats from scratching your furniture isn't a match for your typical small dog owner audience. Write something for the small dog owner. For example, the article might be "3 Tips for Crate-Training Your Small Dog."  

Step 3: Be informative. 
Give good information in your article. It should be compelling, well written, proofread and valuable. An article is NOT a sales pitch! Each reader is assessing you and your message by the value of your article. This is why keyword stuffed, poorly crafted articles are a waste of time. The reader doesn't click through to your site because he thinks if your article is shoddy, your product is shoddy.  

Step 4: Ask for action. 
Once you have your article for small dog owners written, create a compelling action-oriented resource box that entices the reader to visit your web site to learn more. This could be something like, "Your small dog will never have an accident again! For a free video on how to housebreak your small dog in only three days, go here."   

Step 5: Link deep and link specifically. 
In the resource box above, link "go here" directly to a page on your site that has one function -- to deliver what you promised and get the person on your list. This may be sending them to a page other than your home page. That's fine! On this page, you could have a short video with the first step for housebreaking a small dog. Then the page would invite them to sign up for your list to get a full series of videos with the remaining steps for housebreaking their small dog.  

Step 6: Keep your follow-up emails informative, 
but do link to your product on each of them. Don't turn every follow-up email into a sales letter, but do have a PS or a signature line that links to your full product. Something like "Get the full small dog crate-training system at [your link]." Remember, research says it takes at least seven interactions with you before people buy.  

Step 7: Ask for the sale. 
After people finish the series of videos, then ask for the sale. Send them a solo-email or something that drives them to the sales page for your product or service.  

Remember, make every piece of content you create have a purpose. Whether it's a video, an audio, a blog, a press release, or an article, it should entice people to take action. Most of the time that action should be to visit your site and sign up for your list. Your follow-up emails should be crafted to lead the person to the point where they feel comfortable buying from you when you ask for the sale. And yes, you should ask for the sale -- when the time is right!  

IdeaMarketers.com is the only content directory designed to make it easy for you to use articles, audios, videos, press releases, and information products as part of your overall sales strategy. List any of these on the popular site and leverage your message to reach thousands of potential subscribers to your list. 

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