Article Marketing for Animals Part I

If you want to get the word out about products and services you offer for animals, you can find over 100 marketing methods alone at major websites like the one for the Small Business Administration at: http://sba.gov/ . A popular marketing method used by many marketers, both online and off, is article marketing.

Article marketing is using articles that you write or have permission to use, to generate traffic (visits by search engines and / or people) to your website or point of purchase (could be a phone number, fax, postal address, email, etc.)

For the how-to's, read on...

Article Writing Tips

Begin by researching other articles in your industry. For example, if you are selling pet gates and maybe pet stain and odor remover products, begin by entering these key phrases into a top search engine like Google.

You can also head directly to online article directories to search their pet content. Search "article directory" in Google and you'll come up with hundreds of these. Look through top ranked ones like GoArticles.com and Ideamarketers.com, for starters. And see which articles are good ones.

You don't want sales content or ads. You want an article that:

• Introduces an interesting topic right away in the title.
• Grabs you from the get-go with a pulling lead paragraph.
• Is eye-catching with subheadings, bullet points or other formatting to break up an otherwise dull read.
• Presents good (interesting, new) content with good grammar and English (or language intended).
• Comes to a conclusion and wraps up with a main point or call to action.
• Includes a byline AKA resource box with the author's name and contact info, maybe a call to action there, too; for example, By George Dogwood, who invites you to download his Free Report on Pet Safety Tips at: HisURL.com

That's it. Most online article directories seek 400-500 words in length; others higher word counts. Print media vary in length, so check a Writer's Guide (available in bookstores like Amazon.com and at WritersDigest.com and of course at local public libraries). You can also check with websites of individual media or publishers in the industry for their guidelines.

Writing Help

Need help getting your message out? No problem. A couple popular ways to get writing help are:

1) Hire a Ghostwriter - Search the web for "ghostwriters" and / or visit writing and specific industry forums for writers who can help. Also head to freelance bid sites like Elance.com and post our project to attract bidders. Tips on posting projects:

a) Write up your project with bullet points for a quick read, handy reference list for writers

b) Ask for rates per word count (like 500 word articles), their turn-around time, & ask them to submit for samples of their writing.

c) Let them know you want all rights to the content + it must pass Copyscape, so you know it's original and not copied.

2) Purchase PLR and Revise - Search for private label rights (PLR) sites on the web. Many turn up, so search through them. You want to look for:

• a) Ones that have content in your niche, like pets / dogs. If the site does not say, contact the owner/ operator via their email or phone number listed on the site. If they have no way to contact them, move on. No need to waste time with a purchase where you have no customer service.
• b) An affordable rate for your budget. If you can't spend much, only buy a little to start or try to hire a ghostwriter.
• c) A license you can work with for your projects. For example, some licenses do not allow you to sell or in any other use their products (content) on eBay. So if you were going to package a book with this, won't work - can't do.

That's all for now!

Stay tuned for Part II: Article Submission Online & Off / Queries / Follow Up