Creating article content is an essential marketing strategy. It establishes you as an authority in your niche or on a particular topic, increases your visibility and readership, and brings traffic to your site. It also broadens your marketing reach, which helps bring more traffic to your site.
Bringing traffic to your site to sign up for your mailing list is the primary goal to any marketing strategy, even more so than selling a product. The reason for this is that a person on your mailing list gives you the opportunity to build a relationship and promote various products and services – it provides the basis for multiple sales
In fact, Jeff Herring (Article Marketing Guy) says, “Article Marketing, when done correctly, is one of the most powerful forces online.”
If you notice, Herring says, “when done correctly.” Part of doing it ‘correctly’ is to have your article content properly formatted.
If you’re taking the time to use article marketing, whether posting to your blog, guest blogging, or submitting to article directories, you should create quality content, use proper grammar and punctuation, and have it formatted properly. Any content you publish or share is a reflection of your writing skills – make those skills shine.
Three Steps to Properly Format Your Article Content
1. Article Titles and Subtitles
According to EzineArticles.com, “Better Titles = Additional Article Views = More Resource Box Clicks = Higher Website Traffic.”
Your title should be reflective of the article content and the first letter of each word should be capitalized.
Not Effective or Correct: Article marketing: formatting your content
Effective and Correct: Article Marketing With Properly Formatted Content
If at all possible leave out punctuation that can break-up the article’s url. Notice above that the ‘effective title’ eliminated the ‘colon.’
Titles should also be keyword effective. Try to include the keyword at the beginning of the title, not at the end.
The same rules hold true for your subtitle.
2. Include Keywords in the Body of Your Article
Unless you don’t care if the search engines pick up your article, or if it gets more distribution in the article directories, you need to include keywords throughout your article. But, don’t overdo it.
3. Spacing Your Article Content
Every paragraph in your article should have an extra line between it and the next one. If the formatting calls for it, the beginning of each paragraph should be indented.
You should also keep your paragraphs relatively short. Readers like plenty of ‘white space.” This ‘white space’ allows for easier and quicker reading.
Notice my formatting in this article.
There you have it, three formatting tips to help you create great article content.
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Thanks for these tips. I think it is so important the way things look to people as well as the content. This is especially true of young readers. I remember when I was in high school and picked up a classic novel--where the same paragraph would go on for pages and pages and pages. I was already thinking: OH BOY--this is not going to be good, without giving it a chance. White space helps people read your work. Nice tips!
ReplyDeleteShort paragraphs with plenty of "white space" really do make me more inclined to take the time to read somethig online. I didn't know about the problem with punctuation in the article title. Thanks for the tips!
ReplyDeleteVery helpful-- I need to be more conscious of the search engine aspect. Thank you.
ReplyDelete