Article Marketing - Are These Simple Mistakes Reducing Your Response?

By: Paul Hooper - Kelly

I'm a great fan of article marketing -- and of reading articles. But I'm always amazed how much money most authors leave on the table, because they fail to properly execute the two most vital parts of the operation.

These are:

The headline and summary paragraphs

The signature box or resource box

The reason these are so vital is they are the two important "gateways" you have to move the reader through to achieve the purpose of your article.

First, let's be clear about your purpose: the prime purpose, among several, is to attract qualified visitors to your web site.

With this in mind, it's obvious you have less chance than the proverbial snowball in hell, if your article headline and teaser copy doesn't stand out among all the other articles on the article bank or web site. The way many article banks display their articles, the headline is all you have to "sell" your article. So it's no exaggeration to say you have ten seconds in which to live or die!

So it will pay you handsomely to bring some of the tricks of copy writing -- which is really psychology in words -- to your articles.

The reason is this: your headline is just as crucial as the headline on any sales letter -- generally agreed to be 80% of the whole. The purpose is the same, because you are also selling a product: your article. So your efforts must be equally strenuous. A good tip -- which us copy writers always follow -- is to write as many headlines as you can think of. And then leave them for a day or so, sleep on it and then choose, or further modify, the best one. It really is that important!

The summary copy is almost as important, because, when this is also shown, it's a further chance to get the reader to decide to read the full article. Just like in copy writing a sales letter, that first paragraph is almost as crucial as the headline. The best way to handle this is to write the very best summary, you can and spice it with a pinch of curiosity -- preferably curiosity that further enhances your headline.

When writing both headline and summary, always remember curiosity is one of the greatest human motivators. So always ensure your headline and teasers have a certain enigmatic quality -- but always keep on the right side of reality. There's no point in enticing your reader into your article, only to have them feel they've been duped.

It's also a psychological fact people react far more readily to the fear of a loss than the prospect of gain. So, if you frame your headlines and teaser with this in mind, you'll find your response rates rise.

For example, take one of the most effective headlines of all time: "Do you make these mistakes in English?" The reason it's proved so effective for so many years is because it immediately gives the reader an itch. And it's an itch that can only be scratched by reading the copy to discover exactly what mistakes you might be looking a goof by making.

So, let's pretend you're writing an article about -- say -- kite flying. And let's say you wrote: "Ten Top Tips On How To Fly A Kite". Now that's pretty good, because "tips" headlines pull well, because of curiosity and fear of loss. After all, you might only know nine of those ten tips -- then where would you be?

But, knowing what a powerful psychological trigger that headline is, try this one: "Do You Make These Fatal Mistakes Flying Your Kite?"

If you were a kite enthusiast, you would immediately feel the fear rising in your throat. Suppose you're making one, or --heaven forbid -- more than one fatal mistake! Even if the house was starting to burn down, I bet you'd ignore it, click on that headline and devour the article. Tests show, switching to that style of "negative" headline can increase your response rate by up to three times!

Come to that, you're reading this article because my headline: "Are These Simple Mistakes Reducing Your Response?" induced you to.

So having got your reader into the article, it goes without saying the article should be of sufficient quality and content to get them to read it all the way to the bottom, where lurks your resource box. So the core idea of the article is to be full of useful information, but sufficiently incomplete to compel the reader to seek more information. This is a further psychological technique, called a "nested loop", based on the deep need humans have for closure. You see this in action every day on the news broadcasts, when the anchor person reads out the headlines of the upcoming items, designed to keep you watching the entire broadcast just to catch the last -- and most intriguing -- item.

This desire should be translated into action by the words in your resource box. In copy writing, this is the second most critical part of the sales letter, after the headline -- and so it should be for you. When I tell you that, in copy writing, this part is known as "the call to action" you'll get the idea. And the idea is to get the reader, having been interested in what you have to say in your article, to take action and come to your web site, where you can further enhance the relationship, the eventual aim of which is to turn them into long term customers.

But, unless you get your reader through this next gateway, you have wasted your article. So these are the vital points of a resource box that works:

Your name must be included (to build your "brand") and you must give a compelling, but succinct, reason why your reader should now visit your web site. This should have an urgency about it and be built around the promise of a free report, or other information which must be closely related to what they have just been reading.

Then, when your reader comes to your site, they will be a qualified prospect. In short, they know a bit about you (from your article and resource box) and are interested enough to pursue the same theme further. So, be sure to capture their name and e-mail before you provide the freebie and then follow this up, later, with a closely related offer.

Never make the mistake of making more than one offer in a single resource box. Confusion kills response. One of the cardinal rules of marketing is always make it easier to buy than to not. Therefore you must have a live link in your resource box, that the reader only has to click to be on your site. Test and retest that before you send your article to the bank.

That live link is the focus of your entire article marketing, so make sure it is a keyword phrase that encapsulates your offer. Being a live link, it will be picked up by the search engines and may just pick you up some bonus web site traffic.

Copyright Paul Hooper-Kelly and www.InternetMarketingMagician.com

Article Source: http://www.content.onlypunjab.com

Paul Hooper-Kelly has been called "The greatest copywriter in the world" and uses this skill and his forty years in marketing to turbo charge the tried and tested method of article marketing, taking it to new heights. He reveals all in his new book "How To Ignite A Free Traffic Volcano in 2007" grab your FREE chapters by clicking this link >> Free_Traffic_Volcano
Paul Hooper - Kelly - Our Articles Expert Author

Please Rate this Article

Not yet Rated

Click the XML Icon Above to Receive Internet-Marketing Articles Via RSS!

Additional Articles From - Home | Internet And Businesses Online | Internet-marketing

Free Content
Free content from users at Onlypunjab.com
Our Traffic Rankings

	Print This Article
	Post Comment
	Add To Favorites
	Email to Friends
	Ezine Ready

Submit Articles
Member Login
Top Authors
Most Popular Articles
Submission Guidelines
Ezine Notifications
Article RSS Feeds

New Stuff
About Us
Site Blog
Forum
Link to Us
Contact Us
Privacy Policy
Terms of Service

Arts and Entertainment
Astrology
Casino-Gambling
Humanities
Humor
Language
Movies
Music
Philosophy
Photography
Poetry
Tattoos
Automotive
Mobile-Audio-Video
Motorcycles
Trucks
Business
Advertising
Branding
Careers-Employment
Change-Management
Customer-Service
Entrepreneurialism
Ethics
Management
Marketing
Marketing-Direct
Negotiation
Networking
Outsourcing
PR
Presentation
Resumes-Cover-Letters
Sales
Sales-Management
Sales-Teleselling
Sales-Training
Small-Business
Strategic-Planning
Team-Building
Top7-or-10-Tips
Workplace and Communication
Cancer
Breast-Cancer
Colon-Rectal-Cancer
Leukemia-Lymphoma-Cancer
Lung-Mesothelioma-Asbestos
Ovarian-Cervical-Uterine-Cancer
Prostate-Cancer
Skin-Cancer
Communications
Computer
Certification-Tests
Data Recovery
Games
Hardware
Mobile-Computing
Personal Technology
Software
PHP
Web
html
Family
Babies-Toddler
Crafts-Hobbies
Elder Care
Holidays
Home Appliances
Home Audio/Video
Home Improvement
Home Security
Interior Decorating
Kids
Landscaping-Gardening
Parental Care
Pets
Pregnancy
Bankruptcy
Credit
Currency Trading
Debt Consolidation
Debt-Relief
Estate Plan Trusts
Insurance
Investments
Loans
Mortgages
Mutual Funds
Personal Finance
Real Estate
Real Estate FSBO
Structured Settlements
Taxes
Wealth Building
Food and Drink
Chocolate
Coffee
Cooking-Tips
Recipes
Wine-Spirits
Health
Acne
Aerobics Cardio
Alternative
Anti Aging
Beauty
Build Muscle
Depression
Diabetes
Exercise
Fitness Equipments
Hair Loss
Medicine
Meditation
Mens Issues
No Smoking
Nutrition
Obesity
Polution
Sidha
Supplements
Weight Loss
Womens Issues
Yoga
Home Based Business
Network-Marketing
Internet and Businesses Online
Affiliate-Revenue
Auctions
Audio-Streaming
Autoresponders
Blogging
Domain-Names
E-Books
Ecommerce
Email-Marketing
Ezine-Publishing
Forums
Internet-Marketing
List-Building
Podcasting
RSS
Security
Spam-Blocker
Video-Streaming
Web-Design
Web-Development
Web-Hosting
Kids and Teens
Legal
Identity-Theft
Living-Will
News and Society
Dating
Divorce
Economics
Love
Marriage-Wedding
Politics
Relationships
Religion
Sexuality
Reference and Education
College University
Education
Future Concepts
Home-Schooling
Science
Self Improvement
Addictions
Anger-Management
Attraction
Coaching
Creativity
Goal-Setting
Grief-Loss
Happiness
Innovation
Inspirational
Leadership
Motivation
Organizing
Positive-Attitude
Spirituality
Stress-Management
Success
Time-Management
Shopping and Product Reviews
Book-Reviews
Fashion-Style
Jewelry-Diamonds
Sport
Baseball
Cycling
Fishing
Football
Golf
Martial Arts
Running
Soccer
Swimming
Triathlon
Technology
Broad band
GPS
Mobile
Statellite
Video Conferencing
VOIP
Travel and Leisure
Aviation
Cruising-Sailing
Outdoors
Vacation-Rentals
Website Promotion
PPC-Advertising
SEO
Site-Promotion
Traffic-Building
Womens Interests
Writing and Speaking
Book-Marketing
Copywriting
Public-Speaking
Teleseminars
Writing
Writing-Articles

| |