Business Marketing Plan

 

Business Marketing Plan Outlines, Templates, Samples. . .

More important than your overall business plan, the marketing plan is a must. This is where you put into detail the marketing strategy; how, what, where, and how much of all the marketing and advertising efforts you will be doing to promote your business. Below you will find the most recent articles to help you plan out your marketing efforts. You will also find previous marketing plan articles in the Marketing Plan Basics section.

Business Marketing Articles and Ideas

Once you have written out your marketing plan, it is not supposed to sit on the shelf and collect dust. The marketing plan is a living document, meaning that it should be used and updated frequently. In this section you will find business marketing ideas and articles to help you generate new advertising and marketing concepts to help you refine your efforts and generate new leads and sales for your business. Here at BMP.net, we provide updated articles to help you with your online and offline marketing.


 

Latest Article

Article Marketing

marketing planArticle marketing is promotional internet advertising in which authors write articles related to their business. These articles are then distributed to various publishing networks and websites for syndication. Throughout the article, or within an article footer, references are made to attempt to lead the reader to another website. Although article marketing is not new, it has been dramatically increased due to the internet.

Most article syndication sites allow you to post your content for free. Once they are published, your content becomes available to the general public.  When done properly, articles you post on syndicated article sites can then become “link bait” for other sites. This can sometimes dramatically increase the number of visitors to your site.

It does not take much effort to distribute published articles on the web, and doing so is a great way to let people know that your business exists. it you have any web presence, and almost every company does nowadays, article marketing should be added to your business marketing plan.

Article Marketing Techniques to Increase Website Visitors

Article marketing is a great way to increase the number of visitors to your website. When it is used in conjunction with other promotional activities, it can dramatically improve your website rankings as well.

How can article marketing be so effective at driving highly qualified traffic to your website? One of the biggest reasons that article marketing is so effective at driving qualified traffic to websites,  is that when someone reads an article, and clicks through to a linked website, they already know where they are going, and what your product, promotion, or brand is about.

However, just writing articles and publishing them on your website, and on other article directory sites is not the most effective way of going about it. There are a number of article marketing techniques that you should be aware of so that you are wasting time.

The first point is that web surfers need to find your article. Just posting an article does not mean that anyone will come across your article by randomly surfing. More than likely, the way someone will find an article that you have published is by typing a search string in Google. However, the fact of the matter is that unless your article appears on the first page of the search, your chances of anyone seeing your article are greatly diminished.

The next question then becomes, how do I get my articles within the first page of a search engine?

The answer to this is by using specific target keywords within your article and article titles. There are many resources on article keyword techniques, and you should read up on them before attempting acticle marketing. It will greatly improve your results.

The second point is that the articles that you create must be well thought out and informative. It also needs to be written in such a way that the reader will find the information they were looking for, but at the same time leave them wanting more so that they continue on through the link you have provided at the bottom of the article.

There is a fine balance to attain and it is not always easy. If the article is too weak on facts and does not satisfy the reader, they will not find it useful to read more information that you have to give on your website and so they will search elsewhere. If you provide everything that the reader was looking for, again, they will not feel the need to continue to your website.

The key here is to give enough information to show that you are knowledgeable in the area that you are writing about and then provide them with some good teaser information. They will continue to your website in the hopes that because you know what you are talking about that you will give more details there.

These two important techniques about article marketing are necessary components. Without them, your efforts will not result in increased visitors to your website, it will only result in a waste of resources.

How to Write an Article for Article Marketing

Article writing is an effective form of marketing your business if properly done. It’s another great tool to use to build a powerful online presence.Here are some basic ideas on how to write an article for online article marketing:Determining your TopicObviously you have to choose your topic before you write about it, however, you need to think about how you will be presenting your topic as well. You do this by thinking about your audience. Write your article in such a way that it is interesting to your reader.Determine the main keyword phraseDetermine the main keyword phrase based on the article topic. Check the article idea by searching for it on Google, then look at the results at the bottom of the page. (Some people refer to this as the Google Wonder Wheel.) Those results can help you better focus your key phrases than the one you came up with.For example, if the title of this article would be “Article Marketing Checklist”, enter that into Google and check the bottom of the first page of search returns. The first suggestion is “Article Marketing Tips”. Another one was “Article Submission”, which could be used as the secondary key phrase. Combine them both to form the title of our example article, then put on an attractive word such as “checklist” for extra appeal.

Quality over Quantity

Your articles must have good content.  Although in article marketing, most online publishers will have restrictions on the length of your article, usually about 500 words, if the article is full of fluff, it does no one any good and will not attract readers to continue to your website. Bring value to your readers and they will continue reading.

Style

Write articles in conversation mode. Connect with the conversation that is already running in your reader’s mind. Complete every thought for your prospect. Build trust and respect with your readers. Get in touch with their passion.

Be able to pass the “so what” test. Provide benefits to your reader. A good example is – “Now you will be able to write an effective article. Now you will be able to increase your sales 120%”…If your article writing doesn’t pass the “so what” test, go back and tweak it.

Every word has to earn its keep, especially your headlines. The language can’t be boring and stiff. You aren’t trying to win awards, you are trying to make money. Keep it exciting.

Keep your article simple and specific. Write in a simple language. You want your articles to be full of information and content, but in a language that the average person can understand. The less you deviate from the specified topic the better the conversion rate.

Did you know what the most important word in article writing is? You. Yes, the most effective and important word in writing any article is “you”. Appear at all times as if you are on the readers’ side. You are their advocate.

Article Writing and Search Engines

You will want to integrate key words in your article writing so that you can be found in a search engine. But always write for the individual first. Writing articles can be fun and a large part of promoting your business, but you want your readers to read your article from start to finish. If an article is stuffed with keywords, it can be tedious to read and the reader will not continue towards your goal.

Effective article marketing requires a few good keywords and key phrases. These words and phrases should be relevant to the topic, and the article context. These keywords and key phrases must appear seamlessly in the article, and not disrupt the natural flow of the content.

Conclusion

Summarize the article.Go over the key points again and end the article. Make sure you give a call to action if necessary. If you want the reader to follow a link at the end of the article, ask them to do so.

Another way to get high conversions is to end the conclusion with an intriguing question. This will make the readers think and want to know more as they fell as if they are in an actual conversion.

Check over your piece for presentation.

Check for faulty information. Have you double-checked your facts? Delete any unnecessary or contradictory information. The only time you should have information that doesn’t support your topic is if you’re doing a “point-counterpoint” piece. Eliminate anything that is just taking up space. Don’t fill your work with fluff. If you need to do more research, go ahead and do it. Check for grammar and spelling errors. Read it aloud to yourself to make sure the text flows smoothly.

Article marketing can be a great way to increase visitors to your website however the you must provide a good article that leaves the reader wanting more.  Writing a poorly written article that gives the reader no new information will not be in the best interest of either you, nor the reader.

Keyword Research for Article Marketing is Important

It is usually quite easy to choose a topic to write about for article marketing distribution, however, it is not always easy to have your article found. There is no point in writing a great article if there are no readers.This is where your keyword research becomes very important.Keyword research is the process of looking for those exact words, or phrases that your target market will use when performing a search in a search engine. There are usually many ways to say the same thing, and sometimes by just slightly adjusting the terminology in your article, you can greatly increase the rankings of your articles.It is important in article marketing, therefore, after having decided upon the topic of your article, you find out the best keywords to use within it.Performing keyword research involves taking the time to discover which keywords visitors are most likely to be searching for, and among those search terms, which keywords have the best chance of ranking highly in search engine results pages.

Efficient search engine keyword selection is a balance between the popularity of a keyword or keyword phrase and the competition that already exists in trying to rank for that keyword phrase.

There are various tools that can be used to discover the frequency of searched for keyword phrases. Although there are a number of paid for tools on the market, I will point you to the free Google Keyword Tool. You can use this research tool to help you find keywords and phrases that are popularly used. Be sure you understand the difference between Broad, Phrase, and Exact searches.

Once you have found a set of keywords, the second step is to check the competition level for those keywords. If the competition level is too difficult, then your new article will not be highly ranked and the chance of receiving visitors will be low.

There are too many specifics depending on the topic of discussion as to how many searches is ‘enough’ or how much is too much competition for your keyword. These are things that you will have to figure out by trial and error. After a while, you will get a sense of what are appropriate numbers for you.

It is important to perform your keyword research before you attempt any internet article marketing efforts so you won’t be focusing on search engine keywords that no one is using in a search or on keywords that are far too competitive for your site.

The basic idea of this article then is to remind you that just writing an article, even a very good one, may not be enough. You need to add an extra level of sophistication and do some keyword research before publishing any article in order to augment the chances of someone actually finding your article in a search engine.

Article Submission for Article Marketing

Once you are done writing your article for article marketing, the next step will be to submit your article to an article directory. There are thousands of directories, and obviously some are better than others. There are also a number of ways in which you can distribute your articles.
Article Submission
There are three main ways in which you can submit an article. Each will have it’s drawbacks and advantages. The choice will depend on the submission tactics you believe will most help your type of article.

  • Manual Submission
  • Article Submission Services
  • Automatic Article Submission Programs

Manual Submission of Articles

Self submitting to the larger article directories is very popular. There are a number of directories to choose from, each one with it’s own set of rules to follow. Some directories also manually review each article that is submitted before it is published. Here is a listing of a few of the more popular ones:

  • Ezine Articles
  • ArticlesBase
  • Buzzle
  • Go Articles
  • Squidoo
  • Hubpages

If you plan to submit articles to more than one directory, then it is a good idea to ‘spin’ your articles which basically means writing multiple articles about the same keyword/subject in such a way that most of the content is the same, while differentiating them so that they look different to a search engine. This would include changing the title of the article as well.

Article Submission Services

Outsourcing the submission of articles to a company that provides a submission service is another way to deal with your article marketing. There are two main divisions of services and typically you will get what you pay for. There are companies that will manually submit your articles to directories, and there are companies that will use software to to distribute your articles.

Always ask for a list of sites that your article will be submitted to. Make sure to look a number of these sites to see if they are worthwhile directories to have your article listed in. You can look at the Alexa ranking to get a sense of the number of visitors, Google Pagerank may provide some more value in your decision. Also, by typing into Google “site:www.sampledirectory.com”, you can get a sense of how many pages from that site are actually indexed.

Many of these article submission service companies submit to directories that are essentially worthless, as far as traffic is concerned. Of course there may be some value in the backlinks that the article creates, however search engines are getting more sophisticated and upon finding the same exact article hundreds of times, may render the backlink worthless as well.

Ultimately there is questionable value submitting the same exact article to multiple sites that don’t generate any traffic. It is not the quantity of the directories you submit to that makes the difference, but the quality of those directories.

Automatic Article Submission Programs

There are two types of programs or software that can automatically submit articles for you.

Some will have the capability of submitting to hundreds of directories in one click. Similarly to the above, it is important to know what directories your article will be submitted to. Submitting to hundreds of worthless directories, even in ‘one click’, is still worthless. Do not be deceived by the number of sites the article submission software submits to.

How specific is the category that your article will be submitted to?

Does it just support submission to generic categories such as ‘Arts & Entertainment’, or specific categories like ‘Arts & Entertainment:Music’ or ‘Arts & Entertainment:Movies’?

This is important because most generic categories are overloaded with poorly targeted automated submissions. If your article lands in a generic category it is more than likely that it will get lost in the crowd.

The second type of automatic submittal program is not one submits to article directories, but will submit your article to other websites that have signed up with the creator of that software.

A few examples of this type of automatic submittal software are:

  • Unique Article Wizard
  • Automatic Article Submitter

Website publishers can download the software to install on their website. Typically this is free. Writers who want to submit their article will pay to have their article posted on the sites that have installed the software. There are features within the software to make sure the article content matches up with the theme of the publisher website.

These programs sometimes also offer a ‘spinner’ option, meaning that you are able to change the article slightly so that the same exact article is not submitted to hundreds of sites.

Lastly, you must be aware of the extent of automation that the software will do. There are many article marketers that have been severely disappointed because they expected too much of the software. It is important to do your research on the software before you make a purchase so you know its limitations.

There you have it, the three ways in which you can submit your article to online article directories. Although, manually submitting an article is more time consuming, you probably will end up with better results. Of course this depends on the marketing strategy that you have chosen.

Article Marketing Techniques to Increase Website Visitors

Article marketing is a great way to increase the number of visitors to your website. When it is used in conjunction with other promotional activities, it can dramatically improve your website rankings as well.

How can article marketing be so effective at driving highly qualified traffic to your website? One of the biggest reasons that article marketing is so effective at driving qualified traffic to websites,  is that when someone reads an article, and clicks through to a linked website, they already know where they are going, and what your product, promotion, or brand is about.

However, just writing articles and publishing them on your website, and on other article directory sites is not the most effective way of going about it. There are a number of article marketing techniques that you should be aware of so that you are wasting time.

The first point is that web surfers need to find your article. Just posting an article does not mean that anyone will come across your article by randomly surfing. More than likely, the way someone will find an article that you have published is by typing a search string in Google. However, the fact of the matter is that unless your article appears on the first page of the search, your chances of anyone seeing your article are greatly diminished.

The next question then becomes, how do I get my articles within the first page of a search engine?

The answer to this is by using specific target keywords within your article and article titles. There are many resources on article keyword techniques, and you should read up on them before attempting acticle marketing. It will greatly improve your results.

The second point is that the articles that you create must be well thought out and informative. It also needs to be written in such a way that the reader will find the information they were looking for, but at the same time leave them wanting more so that they continue on through the link you have provided at the bottom of the article.

There is a fine balance to attain and it is not always easy. If the article is too weak on facts and does not satisfy the reader, they will not find it useful to read more information that you have to give on your website and so they will search elsewhere. If you provide everything that the reader was looking for, again, they will not feel the need to continue to your website.

The key here is to give enough information to show that you are knowledgeable in the area that you are writing about and then provide them with some good teaser information. They will continue to your website in the hopes that because you know what you are talking about that you will give more details there.

These two important techniques about article marketing are necessary components. Without them, your efforts will not result in increased visitors to your website, it will only result in a waste of resources.

Article Marketing: Article Brokering

Content is still king.. but where can you get it from? Workers in India, Malaysia and other foreign countries are now competing with Internet writers in the US, Canada, and England to deliver content for U.S. companies. By setting their prices low, they simply force native English speaking writers to drop their prices to keep up.
However, there are still American writers who can do a very decent job at $1 to $1.50 per 100 words of unique articles. The secret lies within finding them, but I will get back to that in a little bit.
So how’s this relevant to online marketing? Here’s an idea that’s been used in retail and e-commerce stores since the late ‘90s, yet for some reason it’s not very popular in the realm of article marketing. I like to call it “Article Brokering”, and it’s the same “drop-shipping” business model that’s made people millions of dollars on Ebay. The idea is quite simple (the implementation isn’t as easy, though). In fact, I can narrow it down to 3 bullet points:
1) You find upscale clients who are willing to pay top dollar for QUALITY articles
2) You act as the “middleman” by finding a “supplier” (effectively, another writer) to do the job for a smaller fee than what you got paid
3) You verify what your supplier wrote, send it off to your client, pay your supplier, and keep the difference
It’s the same old real estate fixer-upper model. It’s the same old site flipping. And if you’re a content creator like me, then you work with internet marketers on a daily basis. So why haven’t you implemented this model yet?
There are numerous benefits to doing this as opposed to writing articles yourself.
First, a solid 500-word article should require quite a bit of time to research, compile, edit, and proofread. This takes me about an hour. As a content creator, how much can you charge for articles? Let’s say you charge $2 per 100 words. So that’s $10 an hour, right? In an eight-hour work day, you can earn $80 at the most. That’s not a lot of money for a very busy 8-hour work day that requires THIS much thinking. Wouldn’t you rather do half the work and earn two to three times more money?
Second, you can build a reputable brand doing this. Since you’re paying your suppliers for original content, you get full rights to it. Therefore, no one has to know that you’re outsourcing the labor.
Third, you quickly find a loyal clientele that uses you over and over for all of their content creation needs. I personally have 5 of those clients, and I get steady work from them on a weekly basis, which is very nice for an “Article Brokering” model that runs 80% on autopilot.
If you switch from being an Article Creator to being an Article Broker, you can still maintain a high standard of quality, without having to work as much. The key lies within finding an upscale clientele and a network of low-cost suppliers. The bad news is that this can be complicated if you’re inexperienced; however, with just a bit of effort, this is a lot easier than it sounds.