In a previous post I discuss the importance of internet article marketing and its benefits as a free and simple way to drive traffic to your website, build back links and increase exposure for your business. Many article marketing directories are free to use making it an ideal choice for start ups or small businesses where marketing budgets are small. But how do you get started? Here are 6 steps to get  you up and running.

1. Sign up with an online article directory. Choose one that has a high volume of traffic and good page rank. Ezine Articles is the most popular with millions of unique visitors every month.
2. Optimize your account by adding your bio and photo. These will be included on your author page and is your opportunity to tell the reader more about you. Remember to also include your social media account information so your articles are automatically published to your social media profiles increasing your reach even further.
3. Create a relevant resource box.  This is where people can read more about your business and is one of the most important steps when creating your account as the information here is published with every submitted article. Including a call to action and a link to your website or blog will greatly improve your chances of increased web traffic (one of the main purposes of article marketing) and building back links (improves your site’s position in the search engines). Alternatively, you can direct readers to a squeeze page sign-up for a free giveaway – a great list building strategy.
   
4. Craft an article on your chosen topic. This should be something relevant to your business and target market, ideally 400-750 words in length. You can re-purpose a blog post or newsletter but ensure you don’t copy it word for word. Remember to use keywords. Every article you publish will be indexed by the search engines and you have a better chance of people finding your article if you include relevant keywords in the body and title. Make your article informative and share your expertise, do not submit promotional sales copy or a press release.
5. Create a good, catchy title that will entice people to want to read on. This is one of the most important parts of your article and will determine its success so make it keyword rich.
6. Remember to include, yep you’ve guessed it, keywords (again!), a summary and category for your article before you submit!

Article marketing isn’t a one-off process. For the best results you should submit a number of articles. This will not be a problem if you are producing content in another format or have done so in the past. Think good, relevant content and consistency, and put a plan in place to keep track of your submissions. If you want the rewards of article marketing but don’t want to spend your time on the submissions, outsource to a internet marketing support specialise who can manage your activity as part of their virtual assistant services.