Free Article Marketing Coaching for Small Business Moms

Starting next week, May 20, I'm giving free one-on-one coaching sessions to work at home moms who are members of WAHM Articles, but don't have any approved articles in our database.

Here's how it works. Members who don't have any approved articles can send me one question per day from May 20 - 23, 2008. You can ask me your most burning questions about writing or submitting articles, and I'll answer!

You can even ask me to proofread an article you've already written, or give you editing tips on one you're working on right now. How about some help crafting that oh-so-important author's resource box?

If you're not already a member, you can sign up here. But this opportunity is ONLY for work at home moms who don't have any approved articles with us.

Then ask away, one questions per day, May 20 - 23. Send your questions, and your WAHM Articles author name, to contact at wahm-articles.com

Happy article marketing!

Hire a Ghostwriter to Make Your Website Go Cha-ching

Hire a ghostwriter? You?

But you're a good writer. Besides, is that even legal?

You bet it is - and even the best writers sometimes depend on ghostwriters to help them out.

Below you'll find a few ways a Virtual Assistant can use a ghostwriter, and a Virtual Assistant freebie you won't want to miss out on.

First of all, here's how a VA can use a ghostwriter to generate more revenue from his or her website:

• To create an eCourse for potential clients
• To write an eBook that promotes your business
• To write an eBook you can sell for a profit (when you use a ghostwriter, all the rights are yours, so you can do whatever you want with the results.)
• To submit articles to directories to drive traffic to your website
• To outsource some of your overflow
• To add valuable content to your website so your visitors keep coming back

Today on the WAHM Articles blog I'm giving away free copies of the eBook, Ghostwriters from the Inside Out, and you'll find a valuable discount if you're ready to try a ghostwriter - with minimal risk to you.

The book is totally free - I don't even ask for your email address. The discount is for subscribers of the WA blog only, but it's easy to subscribe (look on the top, right-hand side) and you may unsubscribe at any time. Click here to get your own copy of Ghostwriters from the Inside Out and to find your discount.

Making Headlines - How to Write Copy that Will Persuade Your Reader

Touching your readers on an emotional level is key to writing copy that sells, or articles or blog posts that get read. This is the tool I use to create headlines and titles that strike an emotional chord with readers: headline analyzer from the Advanced Marketing Institute. It's so handy, and it's free to use!

How Writing Articles and Giving Them Away Helps Your Virtual Assistant Business

How can writing articles and giving them away for free help your VA business? Here are a few benefits of article marketing:

• establishes you as an authority in your field by sharing your knowledge
• a simple way to earn some backlinks from related content by submitting to article directories
• great way to get recognition for your name and or company name in your field
• draws your target market to your website looking for exactly what you have
• a good way to drive free traffic to your blog or webpage
• a way to get free press and be heard by millions of people every day
• puts your content on other people's websites and drives traffic right to you
• a basic approach towards both advertising and link building for your company
• showcases your expertise

In fact article marketing can be so effective that many of the WAHM Articles authors tell me that writing and submitting articles is the main way (if not the only way) they promote their businesses.

The benefits of article marketing are definitely worth the time and effort it takes to do it well.

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.

Keep Potential Clients Coming Back to Your Virtual Assistant Website

The success of your virtual assistant website will depend on returning visitors. Returning visitors are easier to convert into paying clients because the more often they return to a site, the more they will grow to trust you and your site. As visitors return to your site and again, you will slowly gain credibility with them, and they will be easier to convert into paying clients.

Here are some ways you can keep potential clients coming back for more:

1) Start a forum, chatroom or shoutbox

When you start a forum, chatroom or shoutbox, you are giving your visitors a place to voice their opinions and interact with their peers, and with you. As conversations build up, a sense of community will also follow and your visitors will come back to your site every day.

Starting a forum doesn't have to cost a lot. FreeForums.org offers free forum hosting and is easy to get started with.

2) Start a blog

Keep an online journal, or blog, on your site and keep it updated with latest news about yourself, your business, and information of interest to your target market. Human beings are curious creatures and they will keep their eyes glued to the monitor if you post fresh news frequently. You will also build up your credibility as you are proving to them that there is also a real life person behind the website.

You can set up a blog for free at http://www.blogger.com and find free and affordable Blogger templates at Designed by Lara.

3) Carry out polls or surveys

Polls and surveys are other forms of interaction that you should definitely consider adding to your site. They provide a quick way for visitors to voice their opinions and to get involved in your website. Be sure to publish polls or surveys that are strongly relevant to the target market of your website to keep them interested to find out about the results.

Survey Monkey is another free, easy-to-use program. It offers a lot of flexibility in creating surveys to get the answers you need.

4) Offer puzzles, quizzes, games and prizes

Just imagine how many office workers procrastinate at work every day, and you will be able to gauge how many people will keep visiting your site if you provide a very interesting or addicting way of entertainment. You can also hold competitions to award the high score winner to keep people trying continuously to earn the prize.

5) Update frequently with fresh content

Update your site frequently with fresh content so that every time your visitors come back, they will have something to read on your site. This is the most effective method of attracting returning visitors. No one will want to browse a site that nv, so keep your site updated with fresh bites!

You don't need to spend a lot of time writing content. You can look for quality reprint articles from an article directory such as WAHM Articles.

Build Your Mailing List by Writing Articles

You’ve probably heard the saying, “The money is in the list.” To make money online, you need to have a list of people who are interested in your virtual assistant business and who want you to keep in regular contact with them.

That makes sense, but when you're a new virtual assistant, how can you build a mailing list quickly and easily?

One of the best ways to build your list is by writing and submitting articles online.

To use this technique, simply write and submit articles on your topic of expertise to popular article directories where ezine publishers and readers are looking for the information you provide.

This is called article marketing, and it’s a very valuable tool; you are actually proving your worth and demonstrating your expertise through the articles you write.

Article marketing can help build your mailing list too.

In your resource box (also called the author’s bio) which you submit with each article, include a brief detail about yourself and your business, along with an active link to your website.

If you want to focus on building your list with your articles, the link in your resource box should be to your mailing list’s landing page. Then you can capture your visitor’s name and email address, which will in turn help you build your mailing list at no cost.

If your articles are well-written and worth sharing, ezine publishers and bloggers will republish your articles together with your resource box for their readers and subscribers, so even more potential subscribers will be exposed to your article.

WAHM Articles’ author Terri Seymour uses this technique very effectively. Here is the resource box she includes with each of her articles:

Terri Seymour has several years online experience and has helped many people start their own business. Visit her site at www.seymourproducts.com for help, resources, support and more. Seymour Products also offers resell ebooks for $1 each, free affiliate programs and a free weekly ezine. mailto:subscribe@seymourproducts.com

Each of Terri's articles provides informative and well-written content that publishers and readers value, so you’ll find her articles reprinted on many websites and blogs.

You can start building your own list today by writing and submitting your articles to trusted article submission sites such as WAHM Articles or Ezine Articles.