Microsoft’s Bing can be likened to the Google search engine, although it is not being marketed as such. Rather than being a ‘search engine’, Microsoft calls it a ‘decision engine’. Bing’s technology allows users better access to relevant data, as compared to the Google user interface.
If you wish to build further backlinks through article marketing, how do you achieve the best results using Bing’s engine? What does Bing have over its biggest and most prominent rival, Google Search?
The Bing engine does a better job in terms of presenting relevant results and detailed information to Internet users who employ it, in comparison to Google. Some may argue that this only seems so because of the new user interface. Bing typically displays the information that one can access with Google Search with more depth, even without going directly to the page the info is on. Placing the mouse cursor over a search result causes the ‘expanded’ display of the information snippet. If the information contains associated meta-data, moving the cursor over the primary information will display this as well.
The new search engine may cause some people to consider revamping their article marketing endeavors, yet the tried-and-tested rules still apply. Creating well-crafted articles relevant to your niche, integrating the appropriate keywords, and submitting your articles to as many popular directories as possible (while creating the appropriate resource box or author biography) will still allow you to make headway over the competition.
The more detailed data that can be seen through Bing’s search results may equate to more convenient access to the desired information for any visitors. Of course, as the search engine evolves, it remains to be seen if a website owner needs to tweak his or her article marketing efforts to a greater degree, for purposes of gaining more website traffic. Despite the popularity of Google Search, you can gain traffic with Bing, as it promotes the information contained in your articles much better than Google.
There is no need to overhaul your article marketing strategies entirely, if you wish to cater to Internet users who utilize Bing. Bing is one of the best innovations in search engine technology, and simply using an article writing service while new developments come along will serve you and your website well enough.
Article writing is a very common practice on the Internet for so many reasons, not the least of which is to make money either directly or indirectly. As an income generator, article writing is an easy way to make money, albeit not a ton, unless you really spend a lot of time at it. In this article we’ll review some of the direct and indirect ways that you can make money from writing articles.
The direct way is always the easiest because you get paid directly through your article submissions. There are a number of companies on the Internet that will actually pay you for a well written article. The pay per article is not usually very much unless you’re writing an unusually long one. Most places will pay by the word and for the most part, companies will require that articles be a minimum of 500 words long. Some places will pay more for longer articles while others will pay the same amount regardless of how long the article is.
When applying for information regarding writing articles for a company, you should make sure you understand exactly what the pay is for each submission and also what articles they require. If a company is looking for articles on boating and you submit them an article on fishing, there is a good chance that you won’t be paid for your submission. Most companies have very strict submission guidelines so please be sure to read them carefully, if they’re posted on the site, or ask the company to send them to you if an email inquiry is required in order to even submit anything.
Another way to make a direct income from your article writing is to advertise your services as a freelance writer on the Internet. With the right kind of promotion, you’re bound to get people emailing you and requesting you to write articles for them. The great thing about freelancing is that you can charge whatever you want for your services. Obviously you want to make your rates reasonable or you won’t get much return business. As your business starts to pick up, you can then think about raising your rates, especially if you get an excellent reputation as an article writer.
Aside from making an income directly from article writing, there is also the possibility of making an indirect income as well. This can be done by writing articles for your own use and putting them up on your web site or submitting them to article directories. If you’re wondering how this can generate an income for you then you haven’t learned the power of the article on the Internet.
People are always looking for information on any number of subjects. By providing this information, these people are more likely to visit your web site if you give them content that has helped them. Once they get to your site, there is no limit to what happens from that point. You can have an email capture page to add them to your mailing list, Adsense ads to get revenue from and even lists of products that you can sell to generate an income from. The possibilities are endless. All because you wrote a few articles.
Online articles are different from print articles in many important respects. They need to be keyword optimized to be found by readers, for example. They need to be shorter, to fit the space requirements and short attention spans of the internet world. They need to not only satisfy the reader, but to get the reader to click through to the web sites they are written to promote.
There are “rules,” then, that you need to follow to maximize the effectiveness of your online articles. Break them, and you reduce the odds of turning your articles into streams of traffic and income. But not always. Here are some instances when breaking the rules is the smart thing to do.
Online Articles - Breaking The Rules
The Rule: 3 to 7 words in the title.
Short titles format better, and are often “punchier.” That is, they grab attention better. The fact that you are reading this article tells us that an eleven-word title can also grab attention. A title should have a decent keyword in it, indicate what the article is about, and be catchy. If it takes more than seven words to do this effectively, break the rule! Shorter words may help if you’re going have ten of them, though.
The Rule: Primary keyword in the title.
This makes it easier for people to find the article in the search engines. When should you break this rule? When you have already targeted the primary keywords for a topic in other articles, and you have more to write. In other words, if you have already written articles using the keywords “skydiving,” and “skydiving safety,” and any other good related keywords, you can go for a purely “catchy” title on the next article.
For example, “My Parachute Didn’t Open” may not contain good keywords, but it will certainly catch the attention of anyone browsing the directories where you have posted the article. This can mean more traffic to your web site, in addition to that which comes from your optimized articles.
The Rule: Keyword in the “anchor text.”
The idea here is to link to your site using keywords you want to optimize the site for. This is generally a good idea, but there are two reasons to break this rule. First, if you don’t have the full URL (starting with http://) of the site there, it is likely that some publishers will screw up your link. An article without a link to your web site won’t help you much. Second, if the keyword is already in the URL, you are all set. For example, 999ideas.com is already optimizing for “ideas” just by making a link of the URL.
The Rule: Short articles.
Short articles (300 to 800 words) are more likely to be published by others. They are also more suited to the short attention spans online. If your article really needs 1300 words to reasonably cover the topic - break the rule! Know that it will be less likely to be published on other sites, but it will be there for readers in the article directories that you submit it to - at least those that allow longer articles.
Another way to approach this problem, is to split the article into two parts. Post the first part in directories, noting that the article continues on your web site (link to that page in the resource box). This will almost guarantee that it won’t be published much, but on the other hand, if it a good article, finishing it is a very compelling reason for readers to click through to your web site.
There are other article-writing rules that can be profitably broken at times. For example, you normally want an article to generate as much traffic as possible for your site, but the nature of that traffic matters too, right? Perhaps getting less traffic - if that traffic is full of buyers - is better. You can see that knowing the reasons for the rules helps you know when to break them. The bottom line when writing online articles? Do what works. If it helps you get more income - break those rules.
Why do you write articles for distribution online? If it is just so you can be an “author,” you can skip this article. If it is to generate traffic to your website, you need to be writing for the reader. Here are some ways to do that.
1. Write articles on topics that interest you. This may seem contrary to the idea of writing for the reader, but it isn’t. It is safe to assume that you are not the only one interested in a given topic. Writing about your own interests keeps you motivated, and you’ll usually do a better job. You’ll also normally have more knowledge to share in an area of interest than in an area you just chose because it is popular.
2. Write a title that catches the reader’s attention. There are many ways to do this, and this is a topic worthy of it’s own article. The short lesson? Use words like “how to,” “easy ways to,” ten ways to,” “secrets,” and “try this.” Titles that are questions can be effective too.
3. Make your writing easy on the eyes. Don’t have sentences that go on and on endlessly, with more words than are necessary to make the point and without enough commas to break them up into digestible parts and with no good reason to be that long and which easily could have been cut into two or more shorter easier-to-read sentences that would have been more relaxing to read - in other words, avoid sentences like this one. Oh, and try to have concise paragraphs of two to six sentences.
4. You should, of course, write articles that are truly useful, interesting or entertaining. If you can do all three in one article, that’s great. At the very least, though, try to include something in your article that will be new to the average reader. Second best is describing things they already know, but in new ways. You often have to cover the same points as similar articles, but do more than that as well.
5. Keep the language simple. After scrutinizing many articles, I consider the evidence to be incontrovertible that pretentiousness in the elucidation of your information makes the loss of the reader ineluctable. In other words, use too many big words and you’ll scare away many readers. You can say what you like using simple words like the ones in this sentence. No reader will stop reading a good article because the language is too simple.
6. Write a resource box that make it easy for the reader to see where he can go for more information. A list of your dozen degrees and awards will not impress him or be helpful. Say something about yourself perhaps, then have a clear link and a description of what the reader will find at your web site.
This is a short lesson on how to write articles for readers. You should also use the right keywords, so readers can find the article, and write an article description that makes them want to read it. If you also want your articles to be used by others, you have to write articles not only for readers, but for newsletter and web site owners. That, however, is a topic for another article.
Article ideas can be easy to generate when you first start writing to promote you web site - at least if your site is on a subject you are passionate about. There are things you have been sharing with people for a long time, and now you just start doing that in articles. At some point, though, you’ll find yourself thinking, “What should I write about now?” Here are six ways to answer that question.
1. Use your web site pages. When I first started to write to promote my web sites, I just came up with article ideas as I went along. At some point, though, I realized that I had hundreds of pages on my sites that could be made into articles. This was a way to really crank out the articles fast too. If you use this strategy, be sure to sufficiently rewrite the content, so it will be “unique.” Search engines don’t value “duplicate content” as highly. If you have long pages, you can also use the content of a page for two or more articles.
2. Use your own experiences. Think about any experience that you have had that is related to the theme of your web site. There is undoubtedly a lesson in that experience. Use the story and the lesson as a basis for an article. For example, if you have a site on dogs, you could tell the story of your first dog destroying the furniture, and have that as the lead-in for an article on dog training. This is a great way to come up with article ideas, because stories really “hook” the reader.
3. Pick apart your previous articles for new article ideas. I used to write a lot of “ten ways” articles. These are easy to write, but the information for each of the ten items is often very limited. I found that I can often go back and pick out one of these items and make it into an article all on its own. For example, if you have an article on ways to relieve stress, you might have a three-sentence item on deep breathing. Perhaps this could be made into an article. There is certainly more to be said about deep breathing than can be put into three-sentences.
4. Listen to yourself. You know things that most people don’t know, and hopefully your web site is based on this knowledge. Suppose you have a website on frugal living. On occasion, your friends would probably ask you how to save money on this or that, and you would find yourself explaining something to them. Write about it! This is a great way to come up with ideas for articles that people really want to read. Any time you explain something to someone, and it’s related to your web site theme, you have new article.
5. Ask your visitors. If you have a newsletter, ask your readers what topics they would like to see covered in your pages and articles. If you have a contact form on your web site, you can do the same there. You know there will be demand for a given topic if several visitors ask for it.
6. Use keyword research tools. Using keyword research tools is a great way to generate article ideas. Suppose you have a site on hiking and backpacking. Type in a phrase like “backpacking,” and you get a list of a hundred related terms, from “backpacking food” to “ultralight backpacking.” Not only will these trigger ideas for articles, but you are also sure that there is search traffic for these topics when you get your ideas in this way.
If you would decide that you want to become a writer of a novel, you should try considering to become a romance novel author. Do you know how much money romance novel authors can earn today? Some are enjoying an earning of $7,000, $24,000 or more than that and to think that some of these hapless romantics have no formal education for writing. You see, a romance writing career don’t need you to have formal schooling for learning how to write. Romance books, whether fiction or non-fiction, were written based on the human heart’s emotions and affairs and that’s why, around eighty-percent of the total books published are romance novels or love stories & every year, more than 2,000 titles are written by individual romance novel authors, which means, if you can be a romance novel author, there is a bigger opportunity for you to get it made in the art of romance novel writing and again, learning it is not difficult and it can be easier with the help of this book guide called “Romance Writing Secrets”.
This book is already a staple for most budding romance novel writers today and they have found it very easy and very convenient in learning the true ways of a romance novel author. To write a romance novel, one needs to learn how to put one’s self in a very romantic mood and this guide is best to use when doing that. But there are other love story authors who are pressured to write romance novels because the publisher tells them to do so. But not this book guide. This book guide will also give an aspiring romance novel author on how to publish his own book and with that in mind, anyone can be his own writer and his own publisher and that means, he can enjoy more time and financial freedom.
As of this writing, many are already learning how to write a romance novel and most of them have learned from this book guide called “Romance Writing Secrets”.
There are many ways you can make money writing ebooks. Here are three of them. You don’t even need a website for the last two.
Ebooks - The Traditional Way
It may be a stretch to call something “traditional” in an industry that is only a decade old, but this method is as close as you can get to that. The basic idea is to write an ebook targeted to a particular market and sell it on your website. This is not as difficult as it sounds.
For example, suppose you know how to get a good deal on a used car. You could write 40 pages on that, convert it into a PDF (there are even free services online for this), and load it up to your website. You then create a page that links to it, allowing it to be downloaded there. This is called the “download page,” and it’s where buyers will be sent after they pay.
Then you create a sales page detailing why a person might want this book, and targeting the keyword phrases they might be searching (like “used car buying tips), so they can find your page. You sell it for $29, or cross that off and have it permanently on sale for $17. Certainly if you have good advice, it is worth that much or more to someone looking to buy a used car.
You don’t even have to take credit cards. Just set up an account at one of the vendors who handle digital products. Buyers click your “buy now” button, and the vendor handles the order for a fee. This leaves out the hardest part, of course, which is marketing - but that’s a subject of its own.
Make Money Giving Away Ebooks - Part One
There is more than one way to make money with ebooks without a website. One way is to give them away, but have affiliate links in them. The idea is to provide something of real value to readers while giving them an opportunity to buy something that you make a commission on.
For example, suppose making fishing equipment is a hobby of yours. You write a 30 page ebook on how to make your own fishing poles and lures. Prior to doing this you found a good ebook on how to catch trout, which you can promote for a $10 commission. You have several links to the book in your ebook, each with your affiliate code in it, of course, so you make $10 for each sale you refer. Now you just find places on the internet that distribute free ebooks, and upload your book there (of course there is much more you can do to distribute it, but that’s a start).
Make Money Giving Away Ebooks - Part Two
This method is about promoting whatever you have online. You write and distribute small ebooks or e-reports for free, and each one links to your online “property.” that could be your website, but if you want to do this really cheap, you could also have a free blog set up (there are several good places to do this), and send the traffic there.
Of course to make money writing ebooks in this way, you have to have a way to make money once the readers visit your site or blog. That could be pay-per-click ads or affiliate products that you promote there. You also have to get them there. A promise of something they’ll find on the site is a good way to accomplish this. In the example of the ebook on making fishing gear, you might say “visit the site for a list of the best suppliers of basic materials.”
Those are just three of the many ways to make money writing ebooks. Why not get started?
OK. So you've written your sales letter and put it up on the web. Or it could be that you've done your testing the traditional way and physically mailed it to your list.
The results have come in and they're kind of OK. But nothing to write home about.
What happens next? Should you knock the project on the head? Run with it? Or you could tear your copy apart and rewrite some or all of it to improve your response?
The best answer is that you should improve your copy. Which is where split testing comes in. If you don't split test your results, you won't know whether your changes have made any difference at all.
In traditional mail order, you'd split your list in two (hence the name split testing). 50% of your list would get version one and the other half of your list would get the second test. Being sure to only change one thing at a time, otherwise you won't know which "thing" worked or didn't work.
The headline should be the first thing you test. It's impossible to know whether your headline is a world beater until you've pitched it against a different one. Keep testing and testing.
The internet allows you to test things like your headline very quickly and simply. Upload two different copies of your sales pitch (probably called something imaginative like index1 and index2). Then measure which gets more orders over time.
As soon as you've determined the best version, repeat the process and test again. Either by testing a different headline or maybe a differnt variable entirely. Maybe your guarantee policy. Remember to test your headline color. Possibly the price tag you've put on your product. And remember to test a higher as well as a lower price. Sometimes higher prices get the same - or even more - orders, or they may just earn you more money.
One way to speed up the testing is to use specialist testing software. Software will allow you to test a number of variables at once. It will then use some complicated math to rapidly decide which is the best version of your split test. (You don't need to know about the calculations the software runs). You can find this split testing software here.