Introduction

Online marketing is a rapidly changing landscape. One of the few main-stays in spite of the perpetually evolving Google algorithm is article marketing and its associated disciplines. Although there are many vastly differing schools of thought with regard to the most effective means of generating online visibility and success through the publication of original content via blogs and articles, the foundation principles are always the same. These cornerstones of success are not closely guarded secrets, nor something for which someone can legitimately charge aspiring web-trepreneurs a fee for imparting through an e-book: they are quite simply that quality content is the be all and end all in this industry. In this article I hope to outline the key steps to creating a viral piece of writing which will benefit your website and interest your readers.

Subject Matter

Engaging subject matter is at the heart of high quality content, regardless of your writing skills, a boring topic will also come across as boring. As such, the first task when creating a blog or article is to carefully choose the subject on which you will write. Generally the most successful viral content tends to fall into one of two categories: topical or educational.

- Topical

The most popular topical pieces tend to take the form of a news ‘scoop’- whether that be the first publication of a current affairs story, a juicy snippet of celebrity gossip or a relevant figure’s opinion on either of the other two forms. Obviously such valuable stories are few and far between, unless you have great connections or are incredibly fortuitous. Given the rarity of a ‘scoop’, the majority of bloggers or online article writers will aim to write around a topical theme rather than simply reiterate the initial story. This is where creativity is key: if you can think of a way to re-package a recent news story in an original manner which applies your expertise then you’re well on your way to potentially viral content.

- Educational

A more accessible form of article writing for the majority of online marketers is the ‘How to...’ guide. This form allows you to condense your own experience in a chosen field (however niche) into a piece of writing which serves to help others emulate your success. Covering topics as diverse as chicken coop construction, cutting costs on office supplies and writing potentially viral online content: the ‘How to...’ format exploits the renaissance in information sharing brought about by the internet. If you believe that you know all there is to know about a specific subject, then let others know the secrets to your success and your article will be a hit.

Writing Style

Once the subject matter has been chosen it is time to engage in the hardest part of the process: actually writing the article. As with anything associated with the mystical world of SEO (search engine optimisation), there are no universal rules for the best way to write about a subject. As the aim of this article is to help you to create something with the aim of reaching and appealing to the widest audience as opposed to creating search engine friendly content however, the focus in this instance is upon readability rather than keyword enrichment or sales conversion.
The single most important factor here is that the content of the article is engaging and the subject matter easily digested. The language used should be in-keeping with the lexicon of the intended readership and if industry specific jargon is used, it is useful to explain it in Lehman’s terms so as not to put off a proportion of your readership. The ultimate goal is to keep the reader interested, not attempt to dazzle them with your rich knowledge of obscure words or alienate them for their inferior knowledge on a subject. It is equally important to make clear concise points and use relevant titles and headings as opposed to rambling or risking confusing the reader.

It goes without saying that a spell checker and proof reader are imperative prior to publishing your piece. It may be easy enough to amend errors on your own blog post, but if your post is popular enough to be republished elsewhere then the mistakes are almost impossible to get rectified. Simply asking someone with a decent grasp of written English to read over your work can save blushes later.

Getting it Seen

Having meticulously crafted an article that you are truly proud of, all that is left is to make sure that it is seen by as many people as possible. Admittedly that is somewhat easier said than done, but persistence and strategy are just as effective as good fortune when it comes to article distribution. Once the article has been posted onto your blog, the key to getting it out to as many potential readers and re-publishers is the co-ordinated use of social bookmarking outlets, social networks and article distribution channels. There are a huge number of websites which can be used to put your article in front of potential readers, so utilise as many as you can to increase the chances of success. Social networks will allow you to showcase your article to your friends or followers, whilst social bookmarking websites allow you to reach people across the globe who are interested in your chosen topic. Submitting to both of these outlets is quick and simple, and whilst results are by no means guaranteed there is always a chance that your article will strike a chord with people and go viral before you know it.

As social bookmarking and social networking can be hit and miss in terms of generating interest it is important to also submit your article to article directory sites. If your piece is accepted then not only will it be visible on the directory site itself but is also likely to be re-published on websites related to the topic. Provided you put a link to your website in the resource box when submitting to a directory, every time the article is re-published you will receive a link back to your website as well as imparting your words to more individuals.

Hopefully these simple tips will help any aspiring article writers to get the most from what can be an extremely rewarding practice. By focussing on your own expertise, keeping it simple and taking the time to utilise as many distribution outlets as possible, a couple of hours spent writing a high quality article can be converted into increased traffic to your website and the multitudinous benefits that brings.


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This is the final post in my series on link building and although this subject has lots of different topics and has the potential to be my longest blog post ever I’m going to keep it short as feel I have given enough of my top tips out on the subject of link building.

So what is link baiting? Link baiting is the method used to obtain inbound links to your website by offering the linkorati something they couldn’t possibly refuse.

There are lots and lots of different things that could be considered as link bait but probably the most common are clever widgets. Widgets are anything that grab the attention of the potential link partner enough for them to want to link to it. They are usually based around a variation of one of the following:

• Online Tests
• Videos
• Games

This is where you can stand out from the competition and is where you can allow your creative juices to start flowing. The better your idea the more links you will attract. Probably the most important aspect when producing a widget is originality. There is no point in creating something that has been done before as nobody will link.

Articles, blog posts and great on site content can also be used as effective link bait but to succeed with these your content has to really be first class not to mention 100% original and as current as possible.

Videos have fast become quality link bait especially since You Tube was born. It is so easy for anybody to post a video up today you can find allsorts on there. Don’t ignore the power of video. Another top tip when creating a video is to go with your original idea as people will generally pick up on a staged video and will not link.

Sorry for the UN structured post on this subject but it’s that big I could have gone on all night and anybody who has read any of my previous posts will know that I tend to go off track and then come back.

In summary I believe that link baiting will be the preferred form of link building throughout 2010 so I suggest that you start reading up everywhere you can on the subject and to start getting creative.

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Ok, so I know it’s been a long time since I first started the series on link building, and after reading back through some of my old posts I could re-write them as things in the SEO world change so quickly. That said I suppose the basics are still the same so still definitely worth the read.

So where am I up to? Articles and Press releases. These methods for link building in my opinion can be very hit or miss. Anybody can string a 500 word article together with very little research, and then push it out through hundreds if not thousands of article directories. So how do you make this type of link building effective?

I can only speak from my own experience, and perhaps there are people out there who will disagree with me, but I feel that the only way article writing can be effective is if you put the time and effort in to making a top quality read that then gets re-published on quality sites or blogs.

Simply churning out a run of the mill 500 word article which is the same as every other article out there will not benefit you or your client at all, because the only place it will sit are on the directories that you submit them to, or useless blogs that just grab articles indiscriminately.

There are no short cuts for longevity in the SEO world and anybody who tells you there is should be ignored. Yes I agree shortcuts can get you rankings in the short term but long term you need to take it seriously and put the time and effort in. For tips on how to write a good article check out Jamie’s first post on the subject Writing? Boring?.

I’m sorry for such a short post on this subject but there isn’t really much to say other than do your research before writing an article, then do some more, then read Jamie’s article and finally take your time and write something that is worth re-publishing.

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The quest for links is ever ongoing and everybody strives for the holy grail of links - the one way link. Dependant on the PageRank of the site linking to you, it's always best to receive a one way link rather than to reciprocate, although I'll talk about that in another post.

This may sound daft but a one way link is as simple as site "A" linking to your website and you not linking back (sorry I had to explain that.) Why is this good I hear you say? The answer is because site "A" is obviously giving you a selfless thumbs up, an extra vote if you like.

There are many reasons why site "A" would do this but we are hoping that they have done it because they really do feel that your site is worthy of sending traffic. The key thing here is great content. As hard as it is to believe if you produce great fresh and original content, people will link to you naturally, so bear this in mind when creating any new site or when taking a fresh look at your current site.

Unless you provide top quality content on your website I'm afraid there is no chance of people giving you one way links. The moral of this post in obtaining one way links is produce great original content

"CONTENT, CONTENT, CONTENT IS KING"

Other ways to obtain one way links include social bookmarking, article marketing, forum participation, link baiting, and blog posting all of which will be covered in other post.