SuperTips Ezine: Issue 08

May 19th, 1999
Harvey Segal, Editor:

IN THIS ISSUE

1. Greetings!

2. Feature Article "Getting Your Articles Published On The Web"
- by Chris Ayres

3. Readers Forum
3.1 An unexpected tribute
3.2 Offering a free book

4. More "Super" Tips

5. Next Issue

1. Greetings!

Hello folks,

Well, after explaining last week how I always have my newsletter ready to publish on the Sunday before it's due I have ended up racing to get this issue out on time.

I'll explain why. It starts with a confession.

These days we see people using the Internet to broadcast private details of their lives and I too have decided to go public on this matter.

I've tried to keep this a secret for four years but now it's time to 'come out'.

We're told that only 2% of the population are affected by this: my wife says she'll still stand by me.

The truth is... I am a Windows 3.1 user.

Well, I was .. until a few days ago when I got a new PC with Windows 98. It's come with a Zip drive so that I can easily make large backups. That's very important but don't be fooled into thinking that making backups means you'll have no problem if say your hard disc crashes. Just read my article 'When your PC Backup is not enough'

Now do you find that things never go smoothly when you make a big change to your PC ? I won't bore you with the details but I don't think that anything more can go wrong than what's happened over the last few days.

For example, I planned to copy all my files from my old PC to the new one using the Zip drive. But when I tried to connect it the pins inside the old PC broke off so I can't use it. Plus, since installing the Zip software my old PC is running very, very slowly - as if to spite me for getting it replaced.

As a result I have ended up copying countless floppy discs on a very slow running PC.

So this installation has kept me fully occupied for the last few days - hence the reason for nearly missing my deadline.

However I must say I am really impressed with Windows 98. Most of you are probably familiar with 95/98 by now so you probably take for granted all those great features such as shortcuts, taskbar, Windows explorer, recycle bin.

I'd never have left it so long to upgrade if I had known what Windows 98 could offer.

Now wait a minute you're saying, you didn't pay good money to read about my PC problems. Where are those marketing tips and web promotion ideas that we've come to expect?

Well, this is my way of leading up to them ... all will become clear soon.

Regards, Harvey

2. Feature Article

GETTING YOUR ARTICLES PUBLISHED ON THE WEB! How to Increase Your Chances by 300%
-by Chris Ayers

One of the VERY BEST ways to advertise your products, web site, or ezine is to have your articles published by others. This single method has accounted for over 90% of the rapid growth in my newsletter, Unlimited Traffic!

On the flip side, as a publisher I receive somewhere between 30-40 such articles each month from individuals wanting to make use of this low-cost method.

Month after month, I read and sort through these articles for the four that I can publish in my weekly newsletter. And about every other month, I have to solicit articles from other writers because what I have just doesn't measure up.

What do I mean by "doesn't measure up"?

Usually, it's one of three things. Sometimes, the article does not match the content and purpose of my newsletter. In others, there are too many references to their web site or affiliate web sites (too much advertising). Still others aren't written well and would require me to invest time to revise them.

So which ones do I keep?

Well ... it goes without saying that they are the ones that are on-topic for my readers, focus on content ... leaving the advertising for the resource information at the end, and are well written. But what else can you do to set your article apart from the rest?

Here is a short list of some keys to my success in getting my articles published online. To date, my articles have run in over 100 different newsletters and are featured on over 20 different web sites :-)

CREATE AN INTERESTING TITLE.

This is the first thing that readers will see and often use as a litmus test of whether to read on. Just like with advertising .... the title must capture the reader's attention.

I sometimes use a two-part title ... one part that sparks their interest and a second that is more descriptive of the information it contains.

LINK TO OTHER SITES OR ARTICLES.

This is a great way to bring more credibility to the points you make in the article. Don't over do it ... and remember to link to as many other sites as you can.

A link or two to your own site is OK ... especially if they're mixed with links to other sites. You really have to be careful that your article doesn't end up being a billboard for your web site.

USE EXAMPLES ... READERS LOVE THEM!

I can't stress this point enough. Readers want to see how they can take what you've taught them and put it into practice. To me, this separates the great article from the good one.

I gave you a taste of this earlier when I talked about the success that I've had with getting my own articles published and driving up my subscriber base.

WATCH YOUR FORMAT AND LENGTH.

I would caution you against submitting articles in excess of 1,000 words... unless they are REALLY GOOD! Most of the publications that I subscribe to seem to want between 500 and 750 words with 60-65 characters per line.

As far as grammar goes ...I won't ever be accused of being an expert in the field ... but I do try to watch the basics.

On several occasions, I have had several "experts" send me corrected copies of my articles. Yes ... I did miss some things, but I'm glad that I didn't publish their versions :-)

Just watch for things like always using complete sentences and agreement of your subjects and verbs and you'll be in pretty good shape.

One better than doing it yourself is having someone else ...

PROOFREAD YOUR WORK.

It's much better to let someone else do this after you take your first whack at it. After you read the same words over and over, they all start to run together.

It's important to email the article to your helper instead of just printing it for them. Let them see what the reader will see. Your article will look different on a monitor.

That's why you should ...

MAKE IT AN "EASY READ".

Apart from being "grammatically correct" ... try and make your article an "easy read" for the customer. Use shorter paragraphs than you normally might for other written works.

Don't jump from one idea to the next. Use transitions to go from thought to thought. And like any other form of communication where you have multiple ideas or thoughts, you need to move through them in a logical manner that makes sense to the reader.

TALK WITH THE READER .... NOT AT THEM!

Last but certainly not least, try to imagine yourself as having a conversation with the reader ... one-on-one. To me, this is a very effective method of connecting with your readers and building rapport and trust.

Now I will be the first to admit ... this does get me in trouble from time to time with the "grammar super powers" of the world. But I don't sweat it ... getting my message across to my readers is my ultimate goal and my conversational prose has worked very well to this end.

FINAL THOUGHTS

I hope these helpful hints will help you get published when you send out those articles. It truly is one of the most effective advertising methods on the web today.

*****************************
Chris Ayers is an Internet Marketer and publisher of the FREE newsletter, "Unlimited Traffic!" Put his 10 plus years of experience in Direct Marketing and on the Web to work for you. Visit his site at <http://unlimitedtraffic.com> or subscribe to his newsletter with message to mailto:traffic-on@mail-list.com

3. Readers Forum

3.1 An unexpected tribute

Occasionally I 'swap ads' with publishers of other Ezines which I find of interest i.e. they include my ad for promoting this Ezine and I do the reverse.

And sometimes I'm happy just to recommend an Ezine without any such exchange deal, for example Kim Skinners 'Answers' which I mentioned last week. It's one way I can bring good resources to your attention.

I'm delighted to say that the reverse happened to me yesterday in the I-Sales HelpDesk which, by coincidence, I recommended in an earlier issue.

One of our readers, Mary Ilha, wrote

Here's a resource for listees:

I've only been subscribing to SuperTips Ezine since April 1, but I was so impressed with the first issue I received I wrote Harvey a note of praise. I haven't been disappointed with the quality of succeeding issues.

This weekly newsletter lives up to its name by publishing super tips on advertising, marketing, and Web promotion. The knowledgeable contributing writers offer sound advice on everything from writing headlines to building traffic. And, Harvey does a great job of pulling all this valuable information into a smart-looking, easy-to-read email format.

3.2 Offering a free book

Once again a simple change to the wording at your website can pay off handsomely. Reader Ruth Rosen was kind enough to pass on this idea.

Harvey, this is how I used one of your free book offers to direct visitors at my web site to the pages I wanted them to see.

I placed a link on my home page with the words
- Get our free book "How To Make Your Ads Pull Like Crazy"

which took the visitor to a simple page with just two links.

The first link was to your book at http://www.supertips.com/adbook/

and then below it I had another link saying
"And now see first hand how WE have used the ideas in this book to write super ads"

and this is where I linked to my main products page.

It seems that just adding this one sentence ensured that the reader would click on our link and our stats show this made a great difference.

Thanks, Ruth

I think that what helped this succeed was having a sparse page with just 2 links and just a few lines of text which were nevertheless very powerful.

And here's how you can make it more powerful. If you put target="new" in the link to the book your visitor will return to your page after leaving the book page.

Now what he does he find on returning ?
A very simple page with two links, one of which he has already selected.

So where does he go next ?
He does not have to think - the decision is made for him.

4. More "Super" Tips

Hands up if you followed my advice last week.

I said that anyone should be able to write 7 short tips on a subject they were familiar with. The publication 'Top7 Business Daily Ezine List' is looking for such articles. You'll recall that I had a stab at this, submitted an article "Top 7 Tips for Ezine publishers" and was waiting to see if it would be accepted.

Well it did get published, on Monday, to a circulation list of over 3000 and as it included my signature information I noticed a surge of subscribers to this Ezine.

As I always say, it's free content and free articles which are the best way for getting traffic to your site.

So now that you are all experts in writing 7 short tips how about concentrating on some larger articles or a collection of useful information.

In our main article Chris has shown us some useful techniques for article writing. So that's a great start.

Stuck for a subject to write about ?

Here's a tip, just think about what someone might find really useful.

For example, cast your mind back to my opening section. When Windows 95 came along suppose you had written an article
"Why the online business man should move to Windows 95 - with tips on how to do it"

You then mention in business forums and discussion lists that this article is available at your web site.

I know I would have clicked to it - in a flash

And then at the end of the article you write
'Thanks for visiting ... please collect our free E-book'

Well, after reading your helpful article about Windows 95 I'm certainly going to get your free book.

And then, following Ruth's tip above, I'm going to end up at a link saying how you used the book to boost your sales and before I know it I've arrived at your favourite web page poised to make a purchase from someone who had never once advertised his product but just kept giving me good information.

5. Next Issue

Next week Christopher M Swift will tell us "How to Sell MORE on the WEB Faster!"

If you have your own article or tip please feel free to contribute it, with your bio information, and you will receive full credit if it gets published.

Also if you have any suggestions to improve this newsletter so that we can make it a great resource for all our readers please drop me a line.