Wednesday, May 7, 2008

Article Marketing for Virtual Assistants

So, are you ready to get your name and your Virtual Assistant business in front of hundreds (if not thousands) of people who are looking for exactly what you have to offer?

What are you waiting for?

Article marketing is one of the very best ways there is to position yourself as an expert in your field, and earn credibility and visibility for your Virtual Assistant business.

When online business owners talk about article marketing, they're usually referring to writing an article on your area of expertise and then submitting it to various article directories around the Internet.

At the end of each article you write is a short bio that tells who you are, what you do, and includes an active link to your website. This information is included every time someone reprints your article.

The idea behind article marketing is that other website owners will reprint your article in exchange for keeping your bio and the link to your website intact. It’s a win-win situation for the article author and the publisher. The publisher gets great content, and you, the author, get more exposure for your website.

To be effective, your article needs to be highly informative and relevant to your target market. Give your readers the information they're looking for, otherwise you'll be wasting everyone's time. Supply real answers to your market's burning questions – but don't give away all your tips and secrets! At the end of the article, you want to leave your reader wanting more so she'll gladly click the link in your bio to get it.

If you don't have time to write articles, or if you just don't like writing, you can always hire a ghostwriter to write articles for you. Outsourcing your writing is a very common and completely legitimate practice for small (and big) business owners. If you're thinking about working with a ghostwriter, you can see my writing services on WAHM Articles.


Once you have your article in hand, article directories are a really good place to begin your article marketing campaign. Most directories have frequent visitors who are always looking for new, quality content. As well, the article directory owner will market her directory, and your articles along with it.

But, article marketing isn't limited to submitting articles to directories. In fact, investing a little more energy and creativity in your article marketing can get you even better results.

Article Marketing Begins at Home. Your article marketing strategy should include publishing your articles on your own website for your visitors to find. New visitors will come back regularly if they know you consistently provide updated, useful content. With each visit, the chance that they will become customers increases. Sending out your new articles to your opt-in list is another form of article marketing.

Niche Directories. Instead of submitting your next article to all the article directories you can find, look for niche directories that would attract your target market. For example, if your target market includes small business moms, submit them to directories that specialize in topics of interest to moms, like WAHM Articles. Doing this little bit of research will increase the likelihood of your target market finding and reading your articles.

Offer Exclusive Articles. When you find one of your articles reprinted on a site that's popular with your target market, contact the publisher and see if you could write an article for them that you wouldn't publish anywhere else. Most publishers love original content when they can get it, and will usually give your article prominent placement in return for writing an article just for their site.

Take it Offline. Article marketing isn't limited to online publishers. Look for local print publications that would appeal to your target market. Contact the publishers to see if they would like to publish one of your articles in return for including your by-line.

Don't limit yourself to just one form of article marketing for your home business. Every business and every target market is different. Try to combine a few of the above strategies to see what works best for yours.

Your Write Assistant

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