Is Experience Needed to Make Money With Articles?

A quick answer to the title question might be: “No experience is needed to make money with articles! And the reason this might be the most appropriate “quick” answer, is that when the subject of article marketing is studied for a longer period, the answer might be very different. The quick answer is easy because there are no applications to fill out – no employment history to provide – and therefore no questions about a job applicant’s experience. This is because article marketers do not often begin their careers as salaried employees within a company structure.

Most article marketers acquire knowledge and writing skills, as well as the tools and resources (computer, Internet access, website, etc.) needed to become top-tier article marketers through trial and error in the early stages of what can otherwise be referred to as independent agent careers. So the independent nature of this type of business might categorize those who are active participants more as self-employed entities than prospective employees who must provide proof of their abilities/histories.

That having been said, the road to a successful article marketing career is well traveled, but not without the collection of hurdles, obstacles and pitfalls, as well as the inevitable setbacks that article marketers can expect to encounter along the way. For any individual to make money with articles, s/he must have the unique ability to write in a way that is satisfactory to both humans and machines; and while s/he begins writing articles to attract readers to a website or blog it soon becomes clear that in order to monetize articles there is a lot more to be learned.

Acquiring the skills necessary to make money with articles can only be made possible with trial and error, which effectively translates to experiences the article writer accumulated during a period long enough to be considered meaningful in academic terms. So while that individual doesn’t really need a previous career as an article marketer in order to become one, s/he can certainly learn the ropes over a period of time.

Most article marketing skills are self-taught; some picked up along the way while writing for self-owned blogs/websites, and others from the teachings (books, articles, videos, etc.) of those already successful in the field. In view of this particular method of “learning the ropes,” aspiring article marketers would seldom enter such a competitive field devoid of any knowledge about that field in which they expect to make a satisfactory income. They would, at a minimum, need a working knowledge of a few basic steps similar to those outline below.

 

First, they’ll will need to know how to select article content that is most likely to make their marketing websites successful, because these websites will most likely be the showcase for their work. Types of article content range from free content (self-written and rehashed) to high dollar content, and each comes with its own advantages and disadvantages (although high dollar content is more likely to provide more of an opportunity to achieve success).

Second, article marketers will need to know how to choose keywords that can help them attract a good amount of traffic; although such keywords should not be overly competitive, but can compete for first or second page ranking. They must realize that selecting highly competitive keywords used by large, mammoth websites are likely to impede ranking on the much desired first or second search results page.

Third, they will need to know how to optimize their websites for various search engines (a skill they should really try to develop – at least partially – during the early days of website/blog ownership), especially if they wish to attract generic (free) traffic from search engines. These search engine optimization (SEO) skills will be the foundation upon which an article marketer’s career will be built, because they will enable marketers to consistently get high rankings for their chosen niche keywords, thereby attracting more visitors (from the search engines) which will often translate into income.

Fourth, an article marketer must choose early on between a large website on which to base his/her internet marketing career, or a small website. Each size will attract a specific type of of reader and the marketer must take the time to study, track and cater to that readership. This is all part of knowing how to market a particular sized website to the intended audience, and whether or not certain ads (paid banner ads, text links, videos, etc.) will appeal to that audience. Small niche sites are usually 2 to 5 pages, and large sites can run into the hundreds of pages.

Article marketers who have developed and mastered these skills and attack them aggressively while still in the early stages of website ownership, or the first few months of learning the ropes of writing articles for money, will eventually become experts in this field and achieve success. Keep in mind that nothing can replace hard work and determination; but if an aspiring article marketer studiously learn the ropes and glean all the available information (tips, techniques, sales tactics, etc.) before s/he delves into a new career, knowledge acquired and skills developed will alleviate some of the grind from such hard work.

Give it all you got

 

Catchy URLs Can Add Value to Money-Making Articles

One of the first things an article marketer will need to do after deciding on a niche topic is to choose a catchy URL (Uniform Resource Locator or web address); and if the marketer needs a little inspiration s/he might leave the choice of an article URL for last. Whether such a selection is first or last, however, it is important that whatever the URL is, it should be one that will stand out and be easy to remember for those visitors who plan on returning to the site.

Before proceeding further, it may be helpful to take a closer look at exactly what is being referred to with the terms “URL” and “Web address,” since a URL could be used to describe a number of different things. Think of it in the sense that every website, Web page and blog must be located at an extension of a domain name or the domain name itself, such that when a particular site is being searched for the first thing the searcher might type is www.example.com (the domain) and then type “/” after which the extension is typed (“index.html,” “pagename.html,” or other identifier).

“Most web browsers display the URL of a web page above the page in an address bar” which in most cases will be displayed with “http://” preceding the domain. Thus http://www.example.com/index.html is the format which typically describes a URL or Web address of a site, page, document or other resource found on the Internet. While there is much more that can be said about URLs, URIs, domains and Web addresses, the information provided above should be enough for the purpose of this article.

That having been said, it is important to note that article writers are often in search of creative ways to convey thoughts to their readers, and to that end they need new ideas as well as inspiration; but even after they have completed an article it is still necessary to find a “catchy” or creative URL to adequately describe their article’s location on the Web if they expect to get maximum exposure for their work, thereby increasing its monetary value.

One suggestion for finding a catchy URL is to take a look at the various keywords that have been selected for use with the niche being written about to see if any of those keywords have a catchy or memorable quality. For example, if the niche is “oomph”, suggested names might be “MegaOomph,” “Oomph4u,” “HouseofOomph,” or “OomphKingdom;” All be original titles which explain what the niche is and, most importantly, will be easy for visitors to remember.

The ease with which a URL can be remembered is among the most important elements in marketing an article, product, website or anything else, because folks have a tendency to gravitate towards that which is easy to deal with (“path of the least resistance?”); So if you are the article marketer, visitors to your site (or URL) will respond in a similar fashion by returning to your site – since you have made it easy to remember – instead of clicking on other affiliate links.