At this point in time there is not an online entrepreneur left who does not recognize the immense power and promise that the use of an affiliate marketing article offers. Sure, text links and banner ads are great, but when it comes to creating the kind of advertising vehicle that consumers will hold on to and even pass on to others, you cannot beat article marketing! Of course, like any other good thing there are pitfalls to avoid.
As a matter of fact, the 10 deadly sins of an affiliate marketing article must be avoided at all cost, lest your company’s reputation will suffer!
1. Whatever you do with your affiliate marketing article, do not use it to spam a blog or a forum. Some self proclaimed marketers have attempted to use such articles as forum posts and while they might write different introductions for the article to make it look like an ad hoc posting in response to another forum poster, within a few short sentences it becomes painfully obvious that the post is little more than an unwelcome sales pitch.
2. Unless you are a seasoned wordsmith, have your affiliate marketing article ghostwritten. The sheer volume of badly written articles – be it diction, grammar, or punctuation – is legion and there is little more embarrassing than having your customers point out a number of mistakes and error.
3. Fact-check your articles. This is vital when you use statistical data but also quotes.
4. Keep it pithy. 400 to 500 words are more than sufficient to write a worthwhile piece of non fiction to market your company, good, or service. Exceeding the 800 word count is pushing it.
5. Do not put all of your advertising eggs in one basket but instead commission (if you use a ghostwriter) a number of articles that look at the topic and product form a number of different angles. This puts volume behind your marketing campaign and while one approach may not appeal to your readers, another one might have just the hook you need to get the reader to turn into a buyer.
6. Do not overdo the pitch in your affiliate marketing article. Sure, you want everyone to know that your products and company at the cat’s meow, but unless you tempter substance with advertising, you will not find too many readers.
7. Advertise one thing only per article. Choose your product, your company, or an email newsletter you are offering for free. Cutting down on the things marketed permit for the development of a great strategy throughout the article.
8. Forgetting to include an opt-in link to your mailing list or email newsletter subscription database is perhaps the most egregious of the 10 deadly sins of an affiliate marketing article. Each article that is not offering that option simply is not working hard enough for you!
9. Having too many articles that differ in tone. While some articles may lend themselves to be spunky but intellectual, the failure to have your article ghostwritten by one writer will lead to a number of different skill levels to craft your work. Instead, request that one freelancer be given the assignment to make sure the tone remains similar.
10. Last but not least, cutting and pasting freely available material from the Internet is a deadly sin that might not get you in trouble, but it will show that your company has nothing new to offer. This is not the impression you want your clientele to have of you, your product, or the company you represent!
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