What is Article Marketing and Why Should You Be Doing It?

One of the key ingredients to making money online is to generate quality traffic to your website or blog… and there are many ways to achieve this. You have to work on getting traffic to your site both directly and indirectly, and you should work on building your reputation within your niche at the same time. One method that can help you accomplish these goals is article marketing. When used correctly, article marketing can be an extremely powerful method of traffic generation, and the best part is it is FREE. Well it’s free if you write the articles yourself.

Article marketing is the actual process of first writing an original article(s) and then submitting it to a variety of online directories, databases, and magazines, but most everyone I know usually just submit their articles to article directory sites like; EzineArticles, GoArticles, ArticleBase, etc….

Once your article has been accepted by a directory (or directories) it is then added to their large database of articles and it will then become accessible for anyone to copy and paste into their newsletters, blogs, magazines, etc…. The more directories you add your article to the better, as you are exposing your articles to potentially thousands and thousands of people with each directory you submit them to. At the bare minimum you want to submit each article to the top 3 to 5 directories for sure!

The person using your article must display the article EXACTLY how you wrote it, and they must also include your resource box at the end of the article which contains all the information about you and your site, but we will get more into that in a minute. The key to understand here is once you submit your article (and if it is well written on a fairly hot topic)… there is a good chance many people will take your article and share it with all their readers. If lots of people do the same thing… your article could easily be viewed by thousands and thousands of people in a very short period. Plus your article will stay in the database for many years, so there is a good chance it could be viewed for many years to come and hopefully continue making you money online.

Now getting back to the actually writing of the article… generally you write articles that are relevant to the nature of your website. You can’t directly promote your site, and you wouldn’t want to anyway because it would just turn people off and that is the last thing you want to do.

Instead, you want to provide valuable, worthwhile information that can help solve a problem, answer a question or teach them something new. In doing so you will be proving yourself as somewhat an expert in your field, and hopefully people will begin to trust and respect your opinion. In this way you can make a name for yourself within your niche, and your reputation will grow.

While that’s great (and important), what’s even better is that every time you write and submit an article you get to include some information about yourself with a link or two in the resource box at the bottom of the article. These links can lead back directly to your site, targeting whichever pages you choose. Additionally, since you are the one creating the link, you get to decide the exact anchor text you want to use. This provides an opportunity to build up a bunch of highly targeted, highly valuable one-way links leading back to your website or blog.

By doing this, you will be increasing your site’s value in the search engines like Google, and hopefully you will start getting ranked higher for your desired keywords. This is because incoming links leading to your site are one of the largest factors for determining your site’s Google PageRank. Not all links are created equally however, and you want to go after links that really provide a good amount of value. Links from the best article directories are extremely valuable because they are from high ranking sites, and they are one-way links that you didn’t have to pay or exchange for. Additionally, you can control the anchor text and destination page, so the links have the potential to be very powerful.

Therefore, with article marketing you are indirectly boosting your traffic and your online presence by raising your search engine ranking. Additionally, you will also directly see an increase to your website’s traffic when people read your articles and then click on your links to follow through to your page. The more valuable and original your articles are, the more people will click through to your site, and the more interested these prospects will already be about your ideas, products and services.

Article marketing brings along many different benefits. By providing high quality articles you can help build up your reputation, both within your community and within the search engines. You will see an increase to your site traffic and you will end up finding more prospects for your website and online business. If you aren’t article marketing yet, you are leaving a valuable opportunity sitting on the table.

So if you are serious about making money online… go and write an article right now and get the ball rolling.

Please Tell Me When I Have Something Hanging From My Nose

Be honest… did the title of this post intrigue you a little? I am sure it is not the best title to help drive search engine traffic to a site about making money online though. But I do think it is the perfect title for this post, as it is about helping out your fellow blogger, or anybody for that matter and that is what today’s “Quick Tip” is about.

Have you ever had something hanging from your nose, or maybe a little ranch dressing (from whatever you ate earlier) dried up on your chin and no one tells you about it? I know I have. Usually, the only way you find out is when you are going to the restroom and see yourself in the mirror. You think… “How embarrassing, how come no one told me about it?”

Of course you do have those certain friends that will give you a little nudge, point to where it is on their own face and then whisper in your ear… “Hey, you got a little something right there”, and you thank them, grab a tissue or napkin and give it a little wipe and that would be that. I really appreciate those types of friends, and that is the kind of friend I try to be.

So where am I going with this post? Well like the “there’s something hanging from my nose” analogy, I really appreciate it when someone tells me when something is wrong with one of my websites, or they think something can be done better. Three times in the last week I have had people tell me that something wasn’t working correctly with this site.

First Lax from over at Tech Zoom In emailed me to let me know that in my Feedburner Emails, at the bottom it was showing the word “Array” nine times in list format for no apparent reason. I did a little investigating and found out it was a simple setting in my DamnSexyBookmarks that was causing the problem and with a simple uncheck of a button the problem was solved. I am sure other readers probably noticed this for weeks, but no one ever let me know before Lax, so I never knew to fix it before then. Thanks Lax!

Also, in regards to my Email RSS Feed, not only was it not displaying correctly to the subscribers I already had, but the subscription form on the homepage was not working either. Alfredo over at Asswass.com contacted me last week to let me know about that. We probably lost a bunch of subscribers in the last few weeks because that was not working. We won’t lose them anymore. Thanks Alfredo!

Then just yesterday, Jared over at The Money Cult let me know about a problem that was happening with the comment editing plugin that we were using. When you clicked the edit your comment link, it opened up someone else’s comment, which was not good. So I ended up deactivating that until I get it fixed. Thanks Jared!

As for me, I am notorious for letting people know when something is wrong with their site, or if I think doing something another way might be beneficial to them. I honestly just like to help people out, and I probably overstep my boundaries sometimes, but no one has ever complained (at least to my face) about it. If you read my post “2 Simple Fixes that Could Increase Comments on Your Blog” you know I am NOT a big fan of Captcha in the comments sections of blogs, and from reading all the comments, most other readers are not either. So whenever that I am surfing the net reading blogs and leaving comments… if a person is using Captcha in their comments section (after I write my comment) I usually mention to them that they might get more comments if the get rid of it.

Now that is just one example of things I do. I also send out emails if I notice something doesn’t look right with someone’s site in my browser or if a link is not working correctly. You name it… if I see something wrong, I usually try to let the owner know. Now I am definitely not trying to brag here that I am this great guy, because that is not what I am trying to do at all… even though you would probably say that is you met me.

What I want you to get out of this post is we are all just one big giant family on this planet, and the Internet has brought us a lot closer together. We all need to help each other out and if you see something hanging from the nose (you know what I mean) of one of your fellow bloggers or website owners, let them know about it, as I am sure they will appreciate it. Remember, what goes around comes around, so the nicer you are… the nicer people will be to you!

I also read a great post the other day from Liane over at Better Blogging for Bloggers where she talks about how friendly most people are on the Internet. I have found in general that usually is the case.

So how about you guys? Do you go out of your way to help your fellow bloggers or website owners out? If not, maybe you should!

How to Get More Comments

Today’s weekly quick tip on Making Money Online Dot Com is not for everyone, but it could help you in the future. As you probably know I love comments and I also love to comment on other bogs. One thing I like to do to help build our online presence is to leave comments on the blogs of the people that comment on our site. I also like to visit the sites of the people who comment on their blogs as well and leave comments. The reason is simple… you already know these people leave comments on blogs, so there is a good chance if you leave a comment on their site, they might return the favor and comment on yours. Even though this is a “Great Tip”, this is not the tip of the week.

One thing I have noticed when following commentors (which is not a real word, but should be) to their sites is that some people use the URL to their main site versus their blog and wonder why they are not getting more comments. A good example of this was my buddy Brian Bell. He was leaving lots of great comments on our site and I wanted to return the favor, so when I would click on his URL… it would take me to his BlogEngage site, which at the time I had NO IDEA what it was, so I would usually just leave.

Then one day Brian left a comment on our site on the post “Hey Bloggers, Scratch Our Blog and We’ll Scratch Yours” saying that he should try that method, as he wasn’t getting any comments on his blog. So I suggested that he use his Blog URL in the comment box instead of BlogEngage… which he started doing and is still doing today.

After he made that SIMPLE change I personally started visiting and commenting on his site all the time. Not only because he was commenting on our site, but because SEOMkt.com is a GREAT BLOG and has lots of great information on getting more high quality traffic to your site. Also from reading his blog I actually learned what his BlogEngage site is actually about and I started submitting my blog posts regularly to it. I even added his BlogEngage Voting widget to our blog so readers can actually vote for our posts right on our site. It is an awesome tool and I suggest everyone gets it for their blog.

Okay… so we have learned that making that simple change (using his blog address versus using his main website address) that he has at least received a lot more comments from me personally. But did it make any difference to his overall commenting results? Well I decided to ask him 24 days later…

As you can see the answer is an overwhelming success! Now I am not saying everyone is going to experience these kinds of results, as everyone’s business models are set-up differently. I do think though… that there is a much better chance of getting more comments on your blog if you send people directly to your blog versus to another section of your site (or a completely other site like Brian was doing) and making the visitor have to search for your blog.

Do You Ever Get Distracted While Blogging?

I love the Internet! Unfortunately I think I am addicted to it… I have so many blogs and websites bookmarked it is scary. I can’t tell you how many times a day I check out sites like CNN.com and ESPN.com to see what is going on in the world, check the stock market, or to stay up with my favorite sports scores. Also I am subscribed to so many RSS feeds, as well as my favorite webmaster newsletter lists that there is always a continuous flow of emails I could be viewing. Plus I read at least a couple dozen of my favorite Blogger’s daily posts, and if I get the time I usually try to leave at least one comment on each.

Well as a blogger, this can be VERY DISTRACTING! Seriously… it seems every time I start to write a new post, I start out typing away… words just seem to flow out effortlessly. Next thing I know, my mind starts to drift and I start thinking about something else like, “I wonder if John has replied to my email yet”, or “I wonder if the S&P 500 is still down for the day”. So, inevitably I leave my partially completed post and go check on whatever distracted me. Next thing I know an hour or two has passed and if there is still enough time to get back to my post, usually I have lost my train of thought and it takes quite a while to get my mind back to the subject at hand.

Eventually I finish the post, but if I wasn’t distracted, I could have completed it in a fraction of the time. When I complain to my wife about this she always tells me to just disconnect from the Internet, so I can stay focused. Unfortunately, I just can’t find the willpower to do it.

Today I am testing my solution to my lack of willpower, and I will let you know how it works at the end of this post. I have owned a laptop (this is my second one) for several years now and the only time I HAVE EVER USED IT is when I go on business trips or vacations. I don’t think I have ever pulled it out at home, except for when I first purchased it to make sure it worked.

Well today is the start of a new day as far as my laptop is concerned. My goal for the summer and hopefully beyond is get out of the house every day and see if I can write a post or two while I am out of the office. Today I am sitting by the pool in my favorite outdoor chair with my boys, and they are playing in the water with a couple of their school buddies. They are having a great time and I am totally focused on this post… it is Heaven!

My boys actually have a week and a half left of school, as they are in year-round, so next week I am going to try a couple other locations and see how they work out. On Monday I am going to try writing at the Library, which I think is going to work out great, and one day I am going to head down to the beach and see how that works. I am really excited about trying this new routine.

OK… the post is over and I never stopped typing because of distractions, except once to tie my youngest boy’s swimsuit, as it kept falling down. So far this new technique is working! Now I get to jump in the pool and play for a while myself and then I might try and crank out another post for another blog!

How about you guys? Any of you get distracted by the Internet or just working at home? Do you have any tips for our readers to keep them focused? Please leave your comments below.

Test Drive Blog Masters Club for Only $4.95

I am sure you guys have heard of David Risley… one of my favorite probloggers. At the beginning of the week he opened the doors to his new Blog Masters Club, which is designed for those of you out there that want to actually make money with your blog(s). He definitely knows what he is talking about, as he has consistently earned in the 6-figures for the last several years just blogging.

Well I just got an  email from David a few minutes ago letting me know that he is going to let new members test out his new club for only $4.95. He letting people try it out to get those of you sitting on the fence about joining… to see first hand what an incredible program he is offering.

I could go on and on about what the club has to offer, but you can watch his video and see for yourself.

If You Really Want to Make Money Blogging… Read This!

How many blogs do you think are on the Internet right now? I have no idea, as at least a few more were just created while I typed these two sentences (I type slowly). All I know is that there are millions and millions out there, and thousands more created each day.

So why do you think all these people are rushing to create new blogs? There are tons of different reasons, but one of the biggest reasons I know is so they can make money online. People have heard of all these “Regular Joes” getting rich blogging and they want to grab a chunk of that money for themselves.

Another reason they have chosen to blog versus creating some other type of site is that creating a blog is so simple to set-up. Even my 6 year old son has created one. We actually have big plans for his blog, but we will let you know more about that in a few months.

Let’s get back to making money online with blogs. What typically happens when a newbie creates their first blog is they are super excited and all gun-ho to start. They start out writing a bunch of posts, as they were told they always need to keep adding new content. They sign-up for Adsense and add as many ads as Google allows on each page and then they fill the rest of the blank space with affiliate banners.

Next thing they know, a few weeks have past and they haven’t made a dime yet. So they check their traffic stats and see that they are averaging only 5 visitors a day and those are probably just friends and family.

They are a little discouraged, but not ready to quit yet, so they do some research and learn all the traffic secrets they can find and start implementing them right away.

Another few weeks pass by and they check out there stats again and “YIPEE” they are now averaging over 100 visitors a day! The only bad part is they have not made any money to speak of except for a few dollars from Adsense. Not enough to even pay for the monthly hosting service.

Now even more discouragement sets in, but they are not ready to quit just yet. What happens is they start posting A LOT LESS frequently for the next few weeks as traffic starts to dwindle back down and money never seems to come. Next thing you know they are swearing off blogging as a way to make money and they just let their blog lay there to die until their hosting account runs out, or their domain name expires. ANOTHER BLOGGER BITES THE DUST!

So the question is, “Can you really make money online blogging?”

Heck yeah! You just need to know that you are not going to make a lot of money just throwing up a bunch of Adsense ads and affiliate banners. You might make some money, but you are never going to make a living that way.

To make a lot of money online, you really need to learn the basics of Internet Marketing and apply those concepts to your blog. There are a lot of simple things that you can do to start getting people to start spend money with you.

One of my favorite pro-bloggers, David Risley has created a FREE 6-Figure Blogger Blueprint that explains the important ingredient that most bloggers are missing on their sites which keeps them from earning the kind of money they dream about. I have purchased lots of ebooks and courses over the last few years and nobody teaches this stuff. I find that absolutely amazing, as this is how the big bloggers really make their money.

If you would like to get a free copy of David’s Blueprint, you can download it here.

How to Come Up with Blog Post Ideas

There are lots and lots of ways to come up with blog posts and everyone has their own. I am going to share some of the methods and tools we use to create posts.

First let’s talk about the tools we use. I am the sort of person who can think of a great idea and 5 minutes later, totally forget what it was. We use the following tools so that doesn’t happen (as often).

1.    A simple notepad, notebook or post-it-notes. I actually use all 3 depending on where I am at. I have a big yellow notepad on my desk, plus some post-it-notes that I stick to my computer screen, when I want to remember something that I want to use right away. I also carry a small spiral notebook in my car in case I come up with something good while I am driving.

2.    A small voice recorder. A few years ago when I was at a JV Alert Seminar, I purchased a small Sony voice recorder so I would miss anything at the event. Now I try to keep it in my pocket most of the time, so I can record ideas easily when I am away from my desk.

3.    My cell phone. Even though I try and keep my voice recorder with me most of the time, inevitably when I come up with a really good idea I don’t have it on me and there is not a pen or paper to be found anywhere. Fortunately, I almost always have my cell phone with me. I just call my office phone and leave a message to myself with my ideas, or to remind me to do something.

I know this sounds very basic, but I can’t tell you how many times those tools have saved me from forgetting something important and I am sure if you tried implementing them in your daily life, it will help you tremendously.

Okay, so those are the tools you should be using so you don’t forget the ideas you come up with. Now how do you get the ideas? I see that question asked all the time, “How do bloggers come up with new blog post topics?”

I can’t speak for everyone else, but these are a few of the methods that we use:

Read, Read, Read, and Read Some More – By far the best way to come up with ideas for your particular blog is to stay on top of what is going on in your industry and related industries. Read books, trade magazines, news sites, blogs, anything you can find that is related to your niche. The more that you know and learn about your niche, the easier it is to come up with new ideas.

One thing I like to do is when reading is to take notes of things that I find interesting, and that I think other people would like to read about. Many times writers will write on very broad categories and address the sub-categories with only a few lines of text. I like to take one of the individual sub-categories and expand them to full blown posts.

Ask Your Readers What They Want You to Write About – Once your blog is established enough that people are actually leaving comments on it, it is time to start asking your readers what they want you to write about. For example, if you run a blog on Landscaping, simply create a post titled, “What do you want to know about Landscaping?” Then have your readers tell you what they want to know about in the comments section.

Search Your Comments for Ideas – A great way to come up with new topics for your blog is to read your blog’s comments and see what your readers are saying. I like to ask open-ended questions at the end of posts to encourage readers to leave comments… and as long as people are responding, it makes a great way to find new topics for future posts.

Mining Other Blog’s Comment Section – But what if your blog is new, or people are just not leaving comments? Then go and check out the comments on other blogs in your niche and see what their readers want to know. This is a great way to come up with new ideas, especially when your blog is just starting out.

Again, these are just a few ideas on ways to come up with ideas for posts. How about your blog? Where do you come up with new ideas for posts?