Article marketing is a great way to build links back to your lenses. I’m already getting some questions about this so I think now is a great time to look at how you can use article marketing to build links. Like with blog posts and lenses how you use article marketing and the tools you choose to use will depend on your purpose.
Purpose: Get Fast Traffic
Ezinearticles.com
Ezinearticles.com is an article directory. They allow people to post articles to their directory, and in turn other people can come and read the articles, but they can also use the articles for their own purposes ~ blog posts, newsletters, emails etc (as long as the article and the resource box are left intact)
One of the ways to use EZA (ezinearticles.com) is to get quick traffic to a new site, and that’s how we’re going to use it at this point in time. It is pretty simple, and only takes a few steps.
EZA doesn’t accept product reccomendation articles so how do I write an article for my product?
It’s a good question ~ we’re driving traffic to a lens about a specific product so how do you write an article if you can’t write about the product?
1. Determine the benefits of the product.
ex. the Ironman lens ~ one of the benefits of inversion tables is it can relieve back pain.
ex 2. a coffe pot lens ~ save money not buying coffee
2. Identify 2 or 3 other things that also have the same benefit.
ex. chiropractic care and kinesiology can also help back pain.
ex 2. carpooling, packing your lunch,
3. Create an article about 3 things that have that benefit.
ex. 3 Ways to Manage Back Pain Without Drugs
ex 2. 3 Ways to Save Money in a Bad Economy
Now I will talk about chiropractic care, kinesiology, and then inversion therapy, or for a coffee pot lens I could talk about the three ways I mentioned to save money.
But what about my product???
In my resource box I am going to talk a bit about inversion therapy and if they choose to try it they should get the ironman gravity 4000 inversion table. (of course the keywords will be linked to my lens)
For the second example I would talk about if you decide to nix your starbucks addiction and start making your coffee at home using the “coffee pot product name” you won’t even notice the difference, except in your wallet.
Sidenote:
A resource box is a small paragraph at the bottom of your article. There is some skill in writing a good resource box but if you remember a few key things you’ll be ok.
1. It’s not about you. Don’t write so and so has been doing this for 500 years and they’ve written 698 books on the subject etc etc etc. (people don’t care)
2. It’s all about the reader ~ how can you solve their problem? If people believe they are going to solve their problem by clicking your link ~ they will.
Now back to our previous programming…
Using EZA in this way is all about getting traffic to your lenses ~ if you have an interesting article and a resource box that makes them think you will solve their problem you are likely to get some traffic.
You DO want to make sure you use your kw as the anchor text for your link in your resource box. You might also add the url of your lens at the end of your resource box as well. You do this because some unscrupulous bloggers may strip the code out of your resource box, and when they do your anchor text link will be gone, but at least if you have the lens url you will have some way for google and people to still find your lens.
Your Article Title:
For this purpose just write an interesting title for your articles. Yes, there are times when you want to include your keyword in the title of your article ~ however, it’s going to be difficult if not impossible with these product lenses to do that. Just write an interesting title about the benefit ~ it will draw attention from people who could benefit from using your product.
Here’s some examples:
3 Ways to Treat Back Pain without Medication
How to Manage Back Pain without Drugs
3 Simple Ways to Treat Back Pain without Medication
Writing the article:
These articles don’t have to be novels ~ you can go as low as 250 words, but usually 300 words is a good amount for an article. So for this article I would write a brief introductory paragraph. My second paragraph would be about how chiropractic can help alleviate back pain. My third paragraph would be about kinesiology and how it can help with back pain. My 4th paragraph would be about inversion therapy alleviating back pain. My last paragraph is going to be my resource box, but I’m also going to use it as a closing paragraph and a call to action. 5 paragraphs is really all you need, and each paragraph only needs 2 or 3 sentences.
(I will link to the article I write for this once it is live at EZA ~ s o you can see an example article. I’m NOT linking to the article from my lens)
If you don’t know anything about your product ~ or the benefits of it do a little reading. I’m sure there are other people who have talked about the benefits ofy our product ~ go ahead and do a search in EZA for your product or your benefit. I’m sure you’ll find something to give you some ideas. I know this goes without saying, but DON’T just reword someone else’s article ~ that’s a HUGE no no ~ and it’s wrong. Chances are EZA will catch the similarity and they won’t publish your article anyway. It’s fine to get ideas from other articles, but write your own unique article.
Well again this turned into a novel and I’ve only covered one way of using article marketing ~ I guess I’ll do another post to cover the second, and sometimes more beneficial way of using article marketing. 
If you have any questions about how to make this work at EZA just ask in the comments section and I’ll do what I can. This is a big topic ~ and there are people who spend their entire internet marketing career talking about only article marketing, so remember how you do article marketing is a lot about your purpose too.
No related posts.
I too have not had good experiences with EZA. They do take an age to aprove articles and I have been accused by them of copying other articles. If it had been true I wouldn’t have minded but everything I write is original. I do however ioke Go Articles to be found at http://www.hoarticles.com. They are quick to approve articles and I have them most helpful.
Thanks for this article Jackie, I have been thinking about getting into some serious writing and you have given me the nudge I need.
Regards
Tony
Tony´s last [type] ..About Combination Microwaves updated Mon Dec 26 2011 5:11 am EST
I agree that article marketing is a very efficient way to get quality traffic back to your site. If e zine does not work for anyone the they should consider other article directories which are more lenient and hence offer them the opportunity to market themselves.
I had no idea of link building opportunities available at EZA. I must admit I had not really looked into that much until I came across this post, thanks.
Jackie,
In reading your article here, I see that I need to do some work on my resource boxes.
Thanks for the tips!
Alan
I love Ezinearticles – except for the length of time it takes to get articles accepted. Sometimes it can take up to 5-6 days which drives me crazy!
Julie@First Birthday Party Supplies´s last [type] ..Strawberry Shortcake Birthday Party Supplies
Jacki, how are you today?
You made great post, keep it up!
I liked your title formulation techniques, it’s awesome!
Not only this but also most of your posts are very informative and useful!
Thanks for this reminder, Jackie. Some of my best articles at Ezine were written with your advice. Now, I just need to keep writing more!
There are so many articles that can be searched in ezinearticles.com. Inhere you can read all the information’s that you need including some advantages and disadvantages. You can even post your own article as long as it will be accepted.
Jackie,
I appreciate your writing style, your understanding of where the Newbie is and the steps we must take to move past the “newbie” phase. And, I try to read every word. I am confident that if I follow you, I will become successful. That’s my plan.
I’m having a problem with that pop up about 2 hour blog. It is so irritating! Yet, I don’t know how to take it down. It pops up on all of your stuff.
This may not be the place to ask that question, but you can see the straw broke the camel’s back here!
Thank you,
This problem (pop up) was also with me, if you get any clue then let me know please!
Thanks
Alex Pablate´s last [type] ..What is a Page Title Tag and How to Optimize It
IF EZA no longer allows linking to Squidoo you’d be better off using a different article directory. Articlebase.com is one that works quite well and seems to have less restrictions than EZA.
Question, I am still learning, but I thought I read that EZA does not allow links to Squidoo lenses anymore. If so do you have to cloak it somehow? Thank you.
Tom I don’t think that’s true. I have live articles there that link to my lenses.
Jackie, do you write articles and submit to different article directories plus post at free ad blogs for all your lenses? This is what I am doing (and mixing up the content) along with bookmarking. It’s a lot to do every day! Are the free ad blogs sufficient or should I do article directories too?
Lisa @ sporthunter 800´s last [type] ..Sporthunter 800 updated Tue Jul 27 2010 9-03 am CDT
If you are talking about finding out your search ranking you do NOT use quotes. You want to find out where you are showing up just as someone would see it if they searched. Most people don’t search with quotes.
Great info Jackie! I submitted my first article EZA this past week and just waiting for approval. Once that happens (hopefully!) I think I’ll have the confidence to write more.
I have on off-topic question (if that’s ok)…when you’re trying find out your Google page rank, do you enter you keyword in quotes?
Thanks, as always!!
I enjoy reading other people’s questions in here is like attending class. Sorry Jackie I will be downloading the Christmas blue print, I can’t find the my first download.
Thank you for all the help
Mosidi
Right ~ you don’t want to use the same keyword you’re targeting in your lens because you don’t want the article to come up higher in search results than your lens. Just make sure you use your keywords as the anchor text of your links back to your lens.
Just to clarify – with the Ezine articles, I don’t need to be overly concerned about the keywords etc – it’s more a way of getting a back link rather than a high page view article, right? (understanding, that of course, if it gets a lot of views, that’s even better!)
Check out this post. While it’s written on a free blog it could also be used for EZA.
Inversion therapy with the Ironman Gravity 4000 inversion table
Give each of your benefits 1 paragraph. Save your general topic for the last paragraph of your content. Then in the resource box (usually a different space at EZA) talk about if they’ve chosen your “general topic” that the “your specific product” is a good choice for that because… kids love it, it works, it’s well recommended, best on the market, will make someone happy ~ whatever the reason they should try the product.
And really ~ don’t make this too complicated ~ there is NO right or wrong way to do this, as long as you get your keywords in the anchor text of your links.
You are so good!! That makes so much sense – I sure hope that eventually this all comes so easily to the rest of us.
So, I would point out all of those “benefits” in a few separate paragraphs and then in the last paragraph I am pointing to my lens or my blog? I’m having a tough time wrapping my head around that part I think.
How about:
let’s say the benefit is helping your kid learn to use their imagination.
what are 2 other things that would help kids use their imagination?
maybe: reading to them, play dates with other kids or creating puppet shows?
give a paragraph for each, and in the last paragraph of your article talk about your toy(in general) and how it also helps the kid use their imagination.
In your resource box talk about if you’re looking for this kind of toy to help encourage imaginative play for your kid, the Your specific product keyword is a great option.
or something similar. Hopefully that gives you some ideas
Jackie – I am stuck on how to write articles about the “benefits” of may particular products. The first two lenses I have done are about toys. I can understand your example of the benefits of a coffee maker (DUH – I’m from Seattle) and the Ironman…. but what would the benefits be of a toy? That seems to have me a little stuck on how to write the article without sounding like a sales pitch.
Hi Jamie,
No problem about all the questions, however they aren’t really related to this post at all.
If you read this post on how to get html from Amazon I think most of your questions will be answered ~ if not, ask there and I can probably help you more.
Hi Jackie,
I’m following your Squidoo Christmas Blueprint and I need some help. I’m using Amazon to get my products from, I am already an associate so do I use the Amazon module to put my affiliate link in?
Amazon has videos of the product, how can I upload them to my lens and use my link?
Can I add a link to my photo since I’m using Amazon?
If I’m signed in to Amazon and I’m on the page of the product that I’m using, can I just copy that URL for my link that I use on lens?
Sorry for all the questions.
Thanks,
Jamie
The only way you’re going to know for yourself is to read the terms of service at EZA. I have not used that strategy there, so you’ll have to check for yourself, I’ve stuck to the strategy outlined in this post ~ of course it may not be the ONLY way to do it, but it’s what I do. If you want to do a product review, you’ll have to check what the rules are.
http://ezinearticles.com/editorial-guidelines.html
Hi Jackie,
I’ve been browsing through EzineArticles.com to get ideas, etc. and was noticing that many people are actually using the specific product name, model number, etc. in the titles and body of their articles. I thought this wasn’t allowed? Anyway, can you clear this up for me as I don’t want to break any rules when submitting an article, but there is a section for product reviews on Ezine articles and many people appear to be using specific product names in their articles – is this ok to do?
Thanks so much!
Kim
NOW I got it. Thanks Jackie.
Getting someone to write articles for you can be pretty expensive. I outsourced some of my writing a while back. I posted an ad on craigslist in the phillipines. I had people send me some sample articles and I picked who I worked with based on that. I was able to get articles at a couple dollars a piece. The quality wasn’t that great, and I am a writer so it seemed silly to me to pay for so so quality articles when I could just do it myself.
The other option I would suggest is to start making use of article templates. These are basic outlines for articles ~ like the one I provided here. You don’t have to be a great writer to add a couple sentences to an article template.
Jeff Herring is the king of article marketing and has a BUNCH (like 26) article templates. That’s probably what I would try before I tried outsourcing, especially if money is tight. It may cost a little bit for the templates, but it will only be a one time payment, each article you ever get from an outsourcer will cost you money.
Hi Jackie,
I really like your website, it’s very informative. It’s really good to hear from another female that is doing affiliate marketing. I’ve been trying to get this going for about a year now. I’m using Word Press Direct to make blogs and I’m making Squidoo lens also. Where I’m having a problem is writing articles to create my blogs, lens and to get traffic. I’m not a writer at all and I need some help with this or I’m afraid I’m going to fail at affiliate marketing. What do you recommend me to do? I thought about getting someone to write me some articles, have you had any experience with that? Is there someone you might be able to recommend?
Any help you can offer will be greatly appreciated.
Thanks for your time,
Jamie
Hi Ivona,
I’m just going to post it here so you all can see the example.
no plugin, just an example. I am NOT posting a link to my article in my lens ~ this is not the purpose of the lens ~ the purpose is to lead people to my amazon product.
Hi Jackie,
I’m still not clear on the link you’re talking about. You made a lens, you wrote an article, article was approved, so you go back to Ezine, grab the link and post it on your lens. Am I right? But what module are you using to post it? RSS, Link list, or something else? Also can you confirm this: are you creating backlink to your lens from the article you posted? What is the purpose of linking back to the article from your lens. Isn’t this 2-way linking then? I thought one-way linking is better. Thanks.
Hadn’t heard that ~ I doubt it though. My guess is the problem is new people make their articles too promotional and that is what they are getting denied for. Write your article as suggested, submit and see what happens.
I was told(or rather read about) that if your new to EZA it is very hard to get an article approved with any links or bio, until after your 1st 10 articles. Do you have any insight or suggestions on this?
You’re quite welcome. I am glad I can help.
I’ve learned more about internet and affiliate marketing from this series of blog posts than anything else out there.
Again, thanks so much for sharing this information.
No ~ I haven’t gotten the article written, and it will take a day or two for it to be reviewed and accepted at EZA, once it is accepted and is live at Ezinearticles I will come back and post the link.
Hi Jackie,
Can you explain more on this: (I will link to the article I write for this once it is live at EZA). Are you using RSS modul for this? Thanks.
About revenue sharing sites ~ I think you should submit them to EZA ~ at least. Because EZA gets 15 MILLION unique visitors a month searching for information. That’s worth getting in front of.
It probably isn’t a bad idea to submit some content to the sites you’ve mentioned, just keep in mind where the revenue sharing comes from ~ if it’s google adsense then it’s not going to be worth it if the kw you are targeting aren’t worth much. However ~ you will also get links back to your lenses which is always a good thing.
For this specific plan it’s a bit of overkill, and the key to is to get each lens done and promoted quickly so you can get as many done as possible before the Christmas shopping rush ~ but at other times of the year yes, submitting content to those sites is a good idea.
re backlink checker ~ it completely depends ~ I’m not sure how that backlink checker works ~ and remember it takes google time to find your links. Just because you’ve put a post on your blog with a link back to your lens doesn’t mean google knows it’s there yet. So… I wouldn’t worry too much about the NUMBER of links, just get your links out there, get on to the next lens, and if in a couple weeks your lens isn’t where you want it to be in the search results I’d do some more link building.
Jackie
Thank you so much for this! I’ve been really dreading the article mktng part of all this, but by breaking it down to its parts, you’ve made it sound more doable.
I have a question. What do you think of writing these articles the same way you have outlined them here, but submitting them instead to places like Hubpages, Triond, Bukisa or Infobarrel, which, like Squidoo, give you a cut of advertising revenue, while EZ gives none?
Thanks again!
Oh, one more question. Thanks for the Squidutils tip! I pinged my lenses and then saw the backlinks checker. I have a blogger blog up and each of the four lenses has a post on it, but according to Squidutils, they don’t exist! Nor the ones here from the comment boxes. What do you make of that?
Well to tell you the truth I don’t always write articles at EZA for these product lenses ~ it is a great way to get traffic and make sales while you’re waiting to get indexed and move up in the rankings.
Hi Jackie,
Great article. I was really hoping writing articles for such specific items wasn’t going to be necessary. I guess wishful thinking…