Track Progress from Article Marketing

By Tiva Kelly

Article marketing is a very popular way to market a new business. The idea behind article marketing is to put an informative article with your name and a link to your website in front of as many people as you can. The more people view the article; the more likely they are to click on your link, visit your site and become a loyal customer.

The concept of article marketing is simple:

1. Write an article that closely relates to your niche topic.
2. Make sure you have a killer title that will attract publishers and potential customers.
3. Carefully place keywords in your title and throughout the article.
4. Submit the article to a distribution service.
5. Put your name, some background information about yourself and a link to your website in the author box.

Surprisingly, most people stop there. These steps will get the job done, but how well? Many people don't bother to see how well their article marketing efforts are doing. They submit them and forget them. They don't track their articles to see who is publishing them and where. Don't make the same mistake.

The only way to know if your article marketing efforts are effective is to track your progress. Determine which sites are sending you the most business and which sites are wasting your time. Gear the articles you write to the sites that are picking them up for publication. Only then will you maximize your time spent writing. This will provide more time for quality customer care and maintaining your website and less time marketing.

How to Track Your Article Marketing Efforts

There are a few ways to track where your articles are being published and how much traffic they are driving to your site.

* Most article distribution sites have a feature that allows you to monitor your article submissions. Once you register on the site and login, you'll be able to view the stats on your articles. While each article distribution site varies, a majority of the sites provide information by the article.

* You can see the number of times each article has been viewed or downloaded. This information gives you some idea of how popular each article is. It is helpful for future submissions on the same topic because you can tailor your articles to revolve around certain keywords.

* Your own website also gives stats and shows picked links. Studying the incoming links from other websites will give you a better idea of which articles are getting the most attention.

* Using a Google search on your name or the title of your article is another way to see where your articles are being published on the Internet. If you search Google again a few months after your article has been submitted to a directory service, you should start to see growth in the amount of websites that have picked up your article and published it.

Spending a little time reviewing your article marketing efforts will save you time submitting to sites that aren't working for you. Continue to submit articles to distribution sites that drive traffic to your business website. Regularly submit an article for distribution and you will see steady growth for your new business.

Article Source: http://www.articlehighlight.com

Tiva Kelly is the Head of Article Coaching and offers advice to authors at Article Marketer, a highly popular article distribution service. Learn how to market your small business by submitting articles through Article Marketer.

Is It Best To Push Or Pull With Your Marketing?

By Court

Marketing your new business can get complicated, especially when you have so many different options. Basically when you talk about marketing, there are two types - push and pull. Keep in mind that every business is different and every situation requires different methods. The important thing to remember is to just try and find what works for you and stick to it.

When you hear the term push marketing, it means that you are going to push your product upon the consumer. This means that you are going to make active efforts to get your name and business well known with mass e-mails, websites, plenty of paid advertising or even cold-calling. This generally requires a lot of effort on your part, but at the same time may be your only option if you are just starting out your business.

On the other hand, a pull marketing effort means that the consumer comes to you instead of you finding them. This is done by word of mouth, speaking at conferences, or other types of media like interviews with the press, etc. This could be considered a harder method but it may save you money at the beginning and reap better benefits in the end. No matter which method you pick, there are always a few things to think about when it comes to marketing.

If you decide to use the push method, one of your biggest steps is to get paid advertising. There are many different branches when it comes to this, but it is a source that can get customers quickly and easily. You can also start making an extensive e-mailing list. Or try an incentive based program offered to others in your same line of business. This is a good way to get others to promote your business and get your name out there. Many people who are in the same type of business as you will be willing to help you with other ideas of how they marketed their own business.

If you decide to use the pull method, there are also many options available to you. One idea is to develop good relationships with the media. Once one person hooks onto your business, everyone will start talking about it. This is the type of change reaction that your business needs. Try volunteering your knowledge to help others. This will help others and look good on your list of things you do. You could even start a blog and invite a few of your friends to read it. If they like it, invite them to share it with others. Word of mouth is the best type of free publicity available.

Don't forget that you don't have to decide between one marketing method or the other. If you are not getting the results that you want with one method, try something different. Maybe with a combined effort from both marketing strategies, you will find the right method for you and your business.

Article Source: http://www.articlehighlight.com

Court teaches people through Court's Internet Marketing School and helps people refine their internet marketing strategy.