How To Promote Your Business by Writing Articles in Your Field of Expertise

By: Dave Peterson

While it's easy to put up a web site, generating traffic
is not so easy.

Writing articles for publication is the quickest and
easiest way, and usually the first step, in building a
reputation as an expert in your field.

Why bother writing articles?

=> Just one really good article submitted to an online
resource site, a magazine, a newspaper or a trade journal
can bring a company hundreds of leads and thousands of
dollars in sales.

=> Writing articles makes you a recognized authority
in your field.

However, you should not write an article that is
blatant self-promotion.

Instead, your article should be pure information,
advice, how-to, strategy, or ideas.

The "advertisement" for you in the article comes
in the form of the byline and the brief bio of you that
runs with the piece.

The bio should give your name, company, a brief
description of your product or service,
and a way for the reader to contact you.

A good article educates the reader, and gives
you excellent credibility. The reader will feel more
comfortable doing business with you once they
discover you're an expert.

Your article is a way of providing valuable information
to the reader.

However, the hidden benefit is; you're using a
"soft" sell approach and is non-threatening to the
reader. This breaks down sales resistance.

The strategy behind articles is to get people
interested in you and your business.

Most article resource sites have specific
guidelines you must follow:

- Title: The maximum amount of characters you're
allowed in your title is usually, 150.

=> Tip! - Spend more time on the title or headline of the
article then the article itself. If the headline/title is not
interesting no one will read the article.

- Author byline: Include your name just below the title.

- Article Body: Begin with a short attention-grabbing first
sentence like: "It was amazing". The idea of the first
sentence to get the reader to the second sentence and
so on.

=> Tip! - Stick to the tried and true; "Say what you're
going to say, say it, and then say what you already said".

- Character width: Format your article at a maximum
65 character width.

- Total length of article: Maximum of 15,000 characters.
(Or roughly 2,500 words.)

- Closing: Craft a few sentences that summarizes the
article.

- Author Bio: A well written, targeted, benefit-laden 4-6
line description that encourages readers to subscribe to
your list, including your web site.

- Copyright: Include your copyright at the bottom of article,
as follows:

- Spelling: Don't forget to run spell check! If you can,
let someone else read it before publishing the article.

Writing and submitting articles takes time and effort.
But the effort will pay dividends for your business.

A well-crafted article will compel the reader to find out
more about you and your business. I highly recommend
this low-cost internet marketing strategy to anyone
looking to generate more business!

Best Regards,

Dave

P.S. Writing articles can be a daunting task especially if
you've never done it before.

If you're uncomfortable with the writing process, I do offer
article writing and sales copywriting services.

=> Dave Peterson is a highly sought after professional web designer
and marketing consultant. To download free e-books, get free
articles, signup for newsletter, and more information on Dave's
services please visit: http://www.dave-peterson.com