Creating content for your website is a great way to promote your business. You can indirectly promote your business and encourage readers to become customers if you provide your readers with interesting information they enjoy reading.
Articles are an excellent form of content for marketing. Articles can be any length; they provide information that customers find useful, and they can be published regularly, often in a short time. These articles must be published online strategically so they can effectively promote your business and give your website the engagement it needs to succeed.
How do you achieve this? How can you ensure your article marketing reaches your audience?
1. Give your readers something unique
Article marketing is the presentation of written material that gives customers useful information about your product. This means that the articles you write must give your customers something no one else can. This content should be unique and interesting, as well as encourage readers to visit your website again. A really good question to ask yourself when thinking about what to write about is: “How can I serve my customers?” By making it about your customers, and not about you, you will provide value.
2. Summarize your article
To convince your customers to read your article, try writing a summary paragraph to accompany the full article. Beyond a catchy headline, a summary will give your readers a better idea of what your article is about so they will be more inclined to read it. In article marketing, a summary could be the deciding factor of whether someone browsing the Internet will devote time to reading your business’s material. The one or two line summary should reinforce the headline and suggest the article’s value proposition. You want to reassure the reader that the article will be worth his or her time.
3. Build authority
Obviously, you should share your own content to your followers. However, you should also share good material from other authors. Why? Because doing so will help you build authority in your niche.
The key word here is good material. Try to find articles that will provide high value to your followers. The more value you provide, the more likely people are to trust your judgement. You will become an authority in your industry, and you will find more people willing to share your articles.
4. Publish your articles elsewhere
While it is necessary to publish your articles on your own website, it is a good idea to publish them on other websites, as well. Some websites only accept new and original guest articles, while others allow you to republish material from your site. Readers that might not have previously heard of your business can be directed to your website, opening up new possibilities for potential customers.
Where should you publish? Where your customers are, of course. Rather than just submitting your articles everywhere and hoping for the best, it’s a good idea to figure out what your potential customers are reading and submit your work there. This will have two benefits: First, you will help search engines understand what your site is about if your inbound links come from places that are semantically related to what you do. Second, the best inbound link is one that also sends you visitors.
5. Use social media to share
Social media is an excellent tool for increasing your website’s visibility and engaging in valuable article marketing. Sharing your articles regularly on these newsfeeds will remind your followers of your business and brand. As well, customers can re-share your posts to their own networks.
6. Ask for the share
If your articles are well written and informative, other websites will probably link to them or share them organically. However, it doesn’t hurt to gently remind readers occasionally to help you get the word out. This can be done via share buttons at the bottom of your page, or in your status update (e.g., if you like this piece, please share it with your friends!)