Exceptional Article Marketing - Become an Expert

Article marketing is an effective, low-cost way to promote a website or business. Although there are innumerable article marketers saturating the web with countless articles, few will experience notable success. Most will fail through lack of effort and focus; some, of course, will use poor or even unethical techniques and they will be ferreted out soon enough. To reach the upper echelon, one must become an expert in the industry about which they write, and that requires work, dedication, and integrity.

Thankfully, becoming such an authority is a learnable skill, not an art or inborn trait. There are three essential keys to exceptional article marketing: research, revision, and repetition.

Research

Obviously, a high degree of knowledge about a particular subject is what truly defines an expert. Naturally, reading is an invaluable way to expand your own knowledge base and broaden your horizons. Books are not the only source for your reading, however. Go on any of the many good article directories on the internet, or simply use your favorite search engine. You are very likely to find a number of articles (many written by other article marketers) on your chosen subject. Not only will you learn new things, you may find some new ideas for your own writing. Find a respectable online newsletter and subscribe to it. Learning cannot be easier than having your reading material come to you automatically.

Isaac Newton said, "If I have seen farther than others, it is because I have stood on the shoulders of giants." To become an expert in any field, you must emulate that attitude. The pool of collective knowledge that already exists is vast and accessible. Tap into it. Acquire a capable mentor, or interview an established expert. Asking questions may often be the most valuable and rewarding thing you can do.

When most people think of "learning," they think of books, classrooms, and teachers. Consider this - the world is your classroom, and life is your instructor. Rely on your past experience, venture fearlessly into new experience, and then write about it.

Revision

After all the research, your skull will be bursting with all the new knowledge packed within it. Now is the time to write; but anyone who simply jots down a few hundred words and quickly posts them as articles is fooling themselves if they believe they will soon be perceived as an authority. Write what you know, and then do a thorough spelling and grammar check. Next, very importantly, you would be well advised to put the article away for a while. When you come back to it later - maybe tomorrow or maybe next month - you can approach it from a fresh perspective. You will often find mistakes or omissions that you would not have caught had you immediately posted your article to a dozen article directories. Your patience will be rewarded by a growing readership, drawn to you for your clarity and veracity.

This does not mean that your article marketing productivity will be limited. When you put one article away, write an outline for your next two or three articles. Soon, you will be ready to churn out heaps of well-written, factually accurate content. You put down one article, outline two more, pick up and revise another, and post yet another polished piece of work to the article directories.

Repetition

Let's imagine that you woke up one morning with the secret to world peace. You decide that you will reveal this secret at the next town hall meeting and never again. Do you think you would be considered an expert or a hero? The answer is probably, "no." Why would people believe you? Have you compiled a body of work that would lead them to believe that you knew what you were talking about? Even if some people did believe you, would they be taken seriously by those that they tell?

If you have knowledge to share, do so often. Tell those who will listen, those who are seeking the information you have. Approach your topic from different angles and explain it in various ways. Find niches within your niche and give detailed accounts of the inner workings.

Utilize the many options available to distribute your articles. Many very good article directories will allow you to submit your work for no charge. You may use a mass-distribution service to deliver your article throughout the internet. Social networking facilities are becoming an ever more powerful method to spread your word. Be on the lookout for other methods, as well.

Success requires sincere effort and dogged determination. Article marketing is very effective, especially once you establish yourself as an expert in your industry. The good news is that article marketing gets easier with practice. With that in mind, sharpen your pencil or stretch your typing fingers, and begin your journey to the top!

Article Ranger is a free submission article directory where authors may post articles about subjects of interest, and publishers may pick up articles for use in ezines, newsletters, etc. Michael Rasco is the Owner and Chief Editor of Article Ranger.