| By :
Steve Shaw
One of my most enjoyable activities is answering questions from people who are: a) thinking about article marketing but aren't sure exactly what it is b) wanting to start submitting articles to publishers, but not sure where to begin c) just getting started, and wondering what to expect If you are a beginner or even a pre-beginner, then it's likely that you have a lot of excellent questions around these topics. Sometimes newbies feel awkward about making their questions known--I just want to assure you, there are no silly questions! I'd like to address some of the most common questions that I receive from beginners. Amid all of these wonderful questions you will see all the benefits that article marketing brings and learn why so many regular everyday people are submitting articles to publishers with great enthusiasm and success. 1 - Do I need a website to do article marketing? It will help to know the purpose of submitting articles to online publishers: People do article marketing to bring attention to their websites. That is the "marketing" part--the thing that is being marketed is a website. Mainly, people who do article marketing are looking for a higher ranking for their website in Google and the other search engines. Article marketing also brings attention to a website via the articles themselves, when people read an article and then click the link in the resource box that leads back to the author's website (more on resource boxes below). So, yes, in order to fulfill the purpose of article marketing, you would need a website. 2 - Why would someone want to publish my article on his website and give a backlink to my website for free? Article marketing is a win-win situation for publishers and authors. => Along with every article that you submit, you will include a resource box. The resource box is a brief author bio that should include your name, some information about yourself that would lend credibility to the advise you gave in the article, a reason why the reader should visit your website, and finally a link to your website. This "link" connects your article to your website. When the reader clicks on this link it takes him from your article to your website. The more of these links that you build, the better. Having more links creates more avenues for people from your target market to find your website. The number of links that your website has also plays a role in where your website is listed in Google's rankings. => The publisher wins because he gets to have excellent content on his website for free. This content adds value to his website--he can attract readers to his website by having useful content on it. In exchange for the free article, the publisher must publish your resource box with the clickable link. 3 - How long does it take to see results from article marketing? It will usually take anywhere from 3-6 months of consistently submitting articles to see the first fruits of your labors in Google. It is not uncommon to see results in other areas sooner (you can have a burst of traffic to your website if one of your articles is published in a major ezine, for example), but changes in Google usually take 3-6 months. 4 - Once I submit an article to a publisher and he publishes it, do I ever need to resubmit it? No, you should submit your articles only one time to each publisher. 5 - Can I submit articles that are published on my own website? Yes you can, but it is best if you reword the article so that the content on your website is unique. If the articles on your website are not to be found anywhere else, then it increases your website's value in Google's eyes. Submitting articles to publishers is a process that is very user friendly. That's why so many everyday business owners use article marketing as their web marketing tool of choice. Remember, there are no silly questions. If there is something about article marketing that you are wondering about, just ask! Don't let your questions hold you back.
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