Article Writing and Clients: When Things Do Not Work Out

In each of my business relationships, I expect that mutual respect and trust be essential ingredients in my association with the other individual. If one or both traits do not exist, then the relationship shouldn’t proceed any further.

So, what do you do when you have an uncomfortable or odd feeling about working for someone, but you can’t put your finger on it? Should you continue the business relationship or move on?

I really cannot answer these questions for you, but I have learned that in my many years of working for or with people that it is simply fine just to move on. In other words, if I believe that a business relationship is not mutually satisfying, than it is okay to end it. There are plenty of employers out there and plenty of other projects to work on. The same can be said about the other person: if you leave them or they drop you, they will find someone else.

In my opinion, you need not have a specific or tangible reason either. Sometimes you have a gut reaction to a particular project while other times there may be something about the project that simply goes against your principles or just doesn’t sit well with you. No matter, simply end the business relationship and move on.

How you end the relationship is up to you. If you want to leave a door open, telling the person that you are busy with other projects is fine. If you want to shut the door, you can tell them specifically why you no longer want to work for this person.

In all cases, season your words with kindness, but don’t waffle and certainly don’t tell lies. You can’t worry about what others think about you; to do so is a waste of time and will certainly impact your ability to develop new and solid business relationships down the line.

Article Writing: Can It Help Grow My Forum?

Question: I’ve got a forum and it’s a ghost town. How can I get people to my forum? &ndash NobodyLovesMe

Dear Nobody Loves Me,

Building a forum into a happenin’ place is a LOT of work. Don’t be discouraged if your efforts aren’t paying off yet. It does take time.

That being said, there are ways to boost your forum and keep boosting it, without having to spend a lot of money. Let me share one of my favorite ways to get traffic, writing articles.

You may not be familiar with article sharing. Basically, you write and share your articles with other websites and newsletters that need content. They publish your article with your author resource box (including your website URL). This helps both of you. The website publisher needs interesting, informative content and you need the exposure.

But, what does this have to do with building your forum? It can help you in two ways.

1. In your author bio, include a link directly to your forum so people that click through your link can sign up immediately and get chatting with the other members.

2. Or link to your website and have your forum prominently displayed on every page. The more incoming links you have pointing to your website content, the more important the search engines will think your site is &ndash and you’ll get more natural traffic from google, msn, and yahoo.

So, how do you take advantage of this method of generating traffic? You can start today.

1. Choose a topic. You can even use your own forum posts for inspiration. If you’ve recently answered questions in a post on your forum about any topic, turn it into an article. (Of course you may only use the materials you yourself have written and any and all names should be changed.)

2. Include your Author Resource box. Make sure to think about this part a lot. Many people just skim over it and, frankly, have useless resource boxes. What do you offer to the visitors? Do you have a free incentive for joining? Think this one through. Make it enticing.

3. Submit your Articles. Find article directories where you can share your articles.

4. Then, don’t sit and wait for traffic, repeat the process over and over and watch your forum grow.

The results will be long-lasting as your articles will float around the web for years and years to come.

Article Writing: Your Personal Library of Books

We write and we write well. At least we hope that we do. Still, we writers need our own library of “go to” books to help us write with strength, market our wares, and simply to inspire us to greater works. I’ve compiled a brief list of useful books for the serious article writer’s library. Some I own, while others I plan on buying.

The Chicago School of Style, 15th Edition &ndash Considered by English speaking authors as “the Bible” of proper grammar usage and style, this 950 plus page reference book is everything you need to have on hand when you simply are not sure about punctuation, grammar, spelling, etc. Surprisingly, the book is not stuffy as it allows serious writers some flexibility with the rules. If you have been writing for some time, you know that rules do change. I was shocked when even the Chicago School started a sentence with “and” in it. Oh me, oh my!

Guerilla Marketing For Writers — I am very curious about this title as I have seen reference to it on various writers’ web sites. Essentially “Guerilla Marketing” espouses the need for writers [particularly book authors] to spend as much as 33% of their time marketing. Hmmm…writing in and of itself is so involved. Who has the time?

Writer’s Market — Every year since this reference book was first issued in 1921, the Writer’s Market has served writers in finding places where they can submit their work for payment. The book lists contact information, submission guidelines, and tips on all the who/what/when/where/why of the “word” industry.

Random House Webster’s Pocket Grammar, Usage, and Punctuation Guide Okay, I admit it. When I don’t feel like lugging the “Chicago Style” around, this Random House book meets most of my needs. 300 power packed pages that will easily fit in your laptop carrying case, purse, or suit jacket pocket.

No, I rarely use a dictionary anymore nor do I rely on a thesaurus. Everything I need is right online or part of my Word program. I don’t know about you, but I am definitely a 21st century writer who manages to write, edit, rewrite, submit and accomplish a multitude of related tasks from the ease of my laptop computer. No pencil and paper for me, except when lounging by the river or down at the beach. Oh, for more of those types of experiences!

Article Writing - Why Bother?

There are thousands of articles to be read on the World Wide Web, and many more are being added everyday. If you take the time to do more than skim them, you will find that many articles are about similar things. Why would you take the time out of your busy schedule to add one more? We all suffer from information overload- so why add to it?

Why should I bother?

Here are some good reasons to consider why it would be to your advantage to take up article writing:

1. Expert Status,

By writing articles in your niche area you begin to establish your credibility as an expert in that field. When writing your article it is important to include key words in the article that relate to your specific area. This will make it easier for the search engines to link your name to your area of expertise, and your reputation will grow into ‘expert status’

2. Your Articles Are Needed

Webmasters, ezine editors, and publishers are looking for fresh content to publish to their subscribers. It is to your advantage that they find you. Then your article will get reproduced all over the world, and that will increase your exposure and reputation.

3. To Use your Resource Box

The resource box at the end of your article is your space to “sell” and promote you and your services, products, and expertise. To reprint your article, publishers have to include the resource box. Here is your opportunity for FREE advertising and unashamed self promotion.

4. To Gain Traffic To Your Website

By including a live link back to your site in the resource box your will increase your web traffic to your website. This is a good marketing strategy, as search engines look for links into your site and it will improve your ranking and you will get even more traffic directed your way.

5. Content is King

Quality content is king on the internet. The more places your articles are found on the Internet, the better it is for you. This is because when a search for your subject, name or company is done the more hits will be found by the search engines, and you will place closer to the front of the listings. (of course there is a way for your article to come up as Number One, but that is a topic for another day)

How do You Get Your Article onto The Internet, and Get Noticed?

There are several ways to do this, here are four important ways:

1. Publish your article on your website. To get it noticed quickly , you can submit a sitemap to Google (it’s a free service)

2. Register and submit your article to free article submission sites such as .EzineArticles.com , .articlesbeyondbetter.com . There are lots out there- do a search for them. You can also sign up to several Yahoo groups that focus on article writing and submission.

3. Submit to a service that will submit to sites for you. Well known submission services include Isnare, Article Marketer, Submit Your Article and thePhantomwriters.com.

4. Buy software that will not only submit articles for you, but help with the formatting and make them search engine friendly as well. If you intend to write articles frequently this is a great time saver. I recommend Article Announcer

So What Next ?

Start writing and increase your expert status, web traffic, and promote your

business product or service for free.

Article Writing: Can It Help My Virtual Assistant Business?

Question: I’m a Virtual Assistant. Can I use articles to promote my business?

Signed, Eager VA

Dear Eager VA,

Virtual Assistants are springing up all around the internet. It’s a very viable business option and more work at home moms are jumping on the bandwagon every day. The real go-getters will whip up a “business card” website right away with their contact information, ‘about me’ information, and their rates and services offered.

But, then that website sits and collects dust while they wait for the traffic to roll in. So, what’s a Virtual Assistant to do to generate traffic to their website?

Oftentimes VAs overlook one of the best methods of marketing their websites &ndash article writing. Virtual Assistants can write about all kinds of topics &ndash how to organize emails, customer service, hiring or firing a VA, ways a VA can benefit a business, or accounting among other things. Then, they can share the articles, just like any other website owner to drive traffic to their websites and establish an expert status in their field.

If you’re a VA who’s new to article sharing, it’s actually quite easy. You write a helpful article and include your author bio at the end. (See the end of this article as an example.) Then, you submit your article to Article Directories where hungry website owners, blog owners and ezine publishers eagerly grab your article to publish it on their sites.

Now, there is stiff competition so it’s not quite that easy, but that’s the gist of how article sharing works. And, you know it works because you’re reading my article that I’ve written and shared with article directories. There’s my URL in the author bio and you’ve found my article because someone has published it on their website, blog or in their newsletter. If it works for me, it can work for you, too.

Article sharing is underutilized in the Virtual Assistant field and I hope to see that change in the coming year. Go grab that free traffic and grow your VA business. Not only will your VA business grow, but you can share this method of marketing with your clients and blow them away with your knowledge of internet marketing. Best wishes.

Article Writing: Can It Help Me Get More Newsletter Subscribers?

Question: I’ve got a newsletter that just isn’t growing. I’m posting my site on free classified ads and I’m paying for advertising, but I’m just not seeing results. What can I do?

Signed, Nobody Loves Me

Dear Nobody Loves Me,

Let me start by saying you are not alone. I believe you are working hard. Unfortunately, just because you are working hard doesn’t mean you’ll have success. You need to also work smart and invest in long-term ways to grow your list.

Let me tell you about my favorite way to grow your list &ndash giving away articles.

If you’re not familiar with using articles as a marketing method, then you’re in for a big treat. Website owners and blog owners are always looking for content to share with their web visitors. So, there are places called Article Directories (basically a library of free articles) where they can go to find articles that they can use &ndash free.

All of these articles have an Author bio at the end. (See the end of this article for an example.). The author bio is the primo space where the authors get to talk about their business. Their brag space, so to speak.

What does any of this have to do with you? You can write and distribute articles to these article directories, too. And, in your author bio, instead of linking directly to your main page of your site, you can link to a page where you have a signup box for your newsletter. Voila. Everyone who clicks through that link will be taken to the page where you can offer them your wonderful newsletter (with a great incentive they can’t pass up.) Of course your page will lure them into signing up and your newsletter list will grow.

Article Writing: Can It Help My Online Radio Show?

Question: I started an online talk radio show. I have the equipment set up and my guests lined up. But, how do I get listeners? I feel like I’m talking to myself.

Signed, Talking to Myself

Dear Talking to Myself,

First of all, Congratulations! What a big step you took to start a show. You’ve got the equipment ready, the interviews lined up and are ready to roll. I’m assuming you’ve already spent money on equipment so you don’t want to spend more on advertising. What’s a frugal online radio host to do?

Lucky for you, there are many ways to get traffic to your online radio show. One of my favorites is writing and sharing articles. If you’re unfamiliar with this method of traffic generation, it’s actually quite simple. In fact, it’s working right now. You’re reading an article that I’ve written and shared &ndash and you can see at the bottom of the article, my author bio, where I get to share a little bit about me.

If it’s working for me, it can work for you, too. All you need to do is to find some topics, write effective articles with an author bio that works, and submit it to everyone who wants it. And repeat, repeat, repeat.

Not only will you get traffic to your website, but you’ll get more people inquiring about being guests on your show. And, if you sell advertising on your radio show, you’ll get exposure to more potential advertisers as well. Article sharing is definitely a great way to get your name out into the cyber-world.

And, the best part is that every article you send out is working for you for years to come. One article won’t likely get you a flood of traffic, but it’ll give you a ongoing drip. Fifteen articles will get you a trickle, and so on. So, get writing and get your message out there. You’ve got nothing to lose and everything to gain.

Article Writing - The Midas Touch of Link Strategies

Everyone in the SEO community is aware of the power of having an effective link building strategy, but since recent updates at Google took place the playing field has changed.

More emphasis is now being given to one way incoming links, and far less value for reciprocal links. The big question is: “How can I get a good crop of one way links?”

By far the easiest way is to write articles for publication on websites. The principle is simple and it works because webmasters are hungry for page content. In return for giving webmasters free content they agree to publish your profile, which contains a link to your website.

It should not be underestimated just how powerful this can be, but there are guidelines that need to be employed if you are to be successful. If you are new to article writing and wish to cash in on this invaluable technique, then the guidelines are listed below.

Firstly, at most of the article directories to which you wish to submit your article there will be guidelines, read them and comply. Otherwise your article will not be accepted and you are wasting your time.

A requirement of all article directories is that the submitted article should be grammatically correct and spell checked. Many directories use human editors who will reject articles with bad grammar or misspelled words. Avoid this by composing your article in Word, or similar, with grammar and spell checking turned on.

Keep paragraphs short. Research has shown that people browsing the internet are put off by large chunks of text. Short paragraphs will attract more webmasters to read and possibly publish your article.

Do not include tables or lists in your articles, some directories forbid it. Webmasters will format your article as they want it anyway. For the same reason do not use bold or italic.

Make sure you are writing useful informative content, otherwise why would anyone want to publish it? Also, as your objective is to gain links to your website, write content that is related to your sites content.

Try to make an interesting title for your article. Something that clearly states what the article is about, but is also distinctive. This separates your article from the thousands of others on the same subject.

By publishing articles on the internet you are establishing yourself as an expert on your chosen subject. Reflect this in your profile. Also, make sure you include a live link in your profile. The anchor text of this link should contain the major keywords for the page it is linking to.

Conform to these simple rules and you will be successful.

Earlier in this article I recommended that you compose your article in a word processor, so that it could be grammar and spell checked. However, the completed article should be copied and pasted into Notepad or similar text editor.

The reason for this is that if you copy from a word processor document you will be copying hidden characters that the article directories don’t want. Copy to a text only editor and then make sure that word wrap is switched off.

If word wrap is switched on then the article will contain hard line breaks, which some directories don’t accept.

Now all you need to do is find some article directories to submit your article to. The following link lists many article submission sites: .articlesbeyondbetter.com/linkdevelopment.php , but is by no means comprehensive.

Do a search for article directories in your search engine of choice to find many more.

The more you submit to, the more success you will have.

Good luck and get writing.

Article Writing & Article Marketing: 7 Ways Articles Increase Your Prospects, Publicity & Profits

Writing articles and marketing with articles is one of the best and fastest ways market your business. In fact, if you can write a 7 item grocery list, you can write an article that will help you increase your prospects, publicity and profits.

Here are seven ways that you can benefit from articles.

1) Articles will quickly position you as an expert in your field.

The written word is incredibly powerful. Writing articles sets you apart from your competition. You never have to say “Listen to me, I’m an expert!” Your articles do that for you, because articles increase your “expert-ability.”

2) Articles can become little 24/7 salespeople.

Once you have an article published, especially on the internet, you now have a 24 hour, 7 day a week, 365 day a year international salesperson working specifically for you and your business.

3) Just one article can be used in many ways.

This is called leverage. Just one article can be used a free report, a bonus, featured in a newsletter or ezine, become part of an online e-course, become part of a book, and many other ways.

4) Articles spread the word about your business and your services.

One article that I wrote 5 years ago was recently used in one of my internet newsletters. A newspaper reporter that is on my mailing list saw it and interviewed me for a story. When he pitched it to his editor, the editor liked it so much that they turned it into a feature article. They ran it on the front page of the paper, and it has been picked up and run across the country.

5) Marketing articles is simple, easy and inexpensive, especially when compared to other ways of marketing online.

It costs you nothing to write an article. It also costs you nothing to have it listed on article directories such as EzineArticles.com. Imagine what it would cost you to pay for that kind of exposure and publicity.

6) Articles can help you build a mailing list that you can market to over and over again.

Once you have a few articles out there, you will reach a certain critical mass where the prospects begin to flow in. Continue to grow past the critical mass, and you will grow to the point where you could not stop the traffic and prospects flowing in if you wanted to.

7) Articles allow you to stay in touch with customers/clients and sell more products.

We know that it can take from 5 to 8 contacts or more for new prospect to be ready to become a customer. Articles allow you to stay in touch with prospects and provide them with quality information.

These seven benefits are really just the tip of the iceberg of all the many benefits of article writing and article marketing.

Article Writing - Increase Traffic and Drive Up Your Sales

Article writing is a great way to increase the amount of traffic to your website, more importantly increasing your exposure to the world. Writing articles is all about getting links to your website, usually done from within what a “resource box.” Your resource box should contain links back to your website, after someone reads your article if they are looking for additional information on the subject they are re-directed to your website.

Resources boxes play an important role in developing back links to your website, which are very important to search engines for ranking your site against your competition. Back links are one of the key factors that search engine use to rate your website based on relevance of a specific keyword, or topic. Creating an effective resource box will drive traffic to your website each time a reader would like additional information about the topic.

Article writing by far is the fastest way to build your back links, drive traffic to your website. Traffic is ultimately, what you want right. You did not build your website just to sit there and wait for people to stumble upon it occasionally. In addition, article writing is a fast and effective way to get your website indexed with the major search engines. When articles are published to directories that already have a lot of traffic your site is “picked” up by the search engines crawlers the next time they visit their web site, this means faster indexing and inclusion in search engines

Once you write an article you have to get it published, this is very easy to do, find article directories that are high traffic and user friendly. High traffic sites are your best option, your article spread around the internet much faster, and therefore getting you traffic faster.

The more articles that you write the more traffic you drive to your website. A good number to start with is five articles, write and publish a minimum of 5 per day, or at least 150 per month. In the right directories and distribution, you can build thousands of back links a month.