What Makes A Good Marketing Article?

Article submissions are a great way to grow your business online; that much is clear. Yet many people just like you are wondering, “What makes a good marketing article anyhow?” We are taught to use bold action words in sales copy. We are trained to present a problem and a solution. We are instructed to use an engaging second-person tone directed right at the consumer. These are all true. However, what you don’t want to do in your article writing is to seem desperate by pushing the sale. You want your article to appeal to a person who is seeking information, first and foremost. When that person feels comfortable enough, he or she will make a purchase. If your article has been particularly compelling, the subtle link to your page will be clicked and a sale will be made.

To understand what makes a good marketing article, you must first consider the similarities and differences between writing for print publications and writing for online mediums. Magazines and newspapers have hundreds or thousands of subscribers who will flip through the pages each week or each month, regardless of what’s there. Headlines can be witty and coy. On the other hand, internet marketing articles need to seek out an audience by using more direct headlines to attract search engine attention. Magazine and newspaper articles often have to write to certain editorial standards, with advertisers in mind. Online writing instead appeals directly to the readers, aiming to inform them, which will ultimately make them feel more comfortable with upcoming purchasing decisions. The attention span also varies greatly with print versus online writing. While someone may read 5,000 words in a magazine, 500 words is a more appropriate length for internet copy — and paragraphs should be shorter, rather than longer.

Every good marketing article uses keywords that target business-related terms typed into the search engines. According to a 2008 ComScore Study, there are six basic ways people will find a business; search engines (31%), the phone book (30%), internet directories (19%), Google or Yahoo Local search sites (11%), newspapers/magazines (3%) and social media sites (1%). As you can see, article marketing strategies must focus on finding what keywords people are searching for and filling out pages at the online phone book sites like www.whitepages.com, www.yellowbook.com and www.superpages.com. To find the best keywords, you can check out the free article marketing tool at www.adwords.google.com.

Lastly, your marketing article should be organized properly. The best article submission is 400 – 500 words long, with four or five short paragraphs. No more than one or two keywords are used for each paragraph. The article should be free from spelling and grammatical errors, naturally. The company itself should not be mentioned within the body of the article to avoid blatant promotion. Instead, use the box at the bottom of the article to give company details and links, directing readers to your site. Remember, readers are sifting through the article for useful information. If they are satisfied with the information they receive, they will be inquisitive enough to click to your site and perhaps even buy something.