Now that you have a few articles under your belt and have a handle on basic techniques for promoting them, it’s time to take a step up and tackle some advanced skills. These activities will take your article marketing efforts to a whole new level:

1. Approach editors directly.

Once you’ve proven your ability to put out high-quality articles on a consistent basis, it’s time to see if you can bypass the middleman (the article directories) and provide regular content to a newsletter, blog, or website. Locate editors of publications or blogs in your niche. Pull together a short list (with links) to some of your favorite pieces that would be appropriate for their audience, and email them a short note introducing yourself, presenting the links to your material, and asking if they’d be interested in receiving regular, exclusive content from you for publication.

The benefit for them is that they know they can count on quality content that isn’t appearing elsewhere on the Internet; the benefit to you is that you can reach a target market on a regular basis, thereby compounding the “expert” effect.

My favorite resource that teaches this method can be found at:
Blog World Tour Guide

2. Include appropriate keywords.

Keywords are words or phrases that a potential reader would use in an online search engine to look for information on a specific topic. By using keywords, you have a greater chance of someone being linked to your article from an online search engine, thereby potentially increasing the traffic to your site.

The key to keywords (pun intended) is to think like your reader would think. For instance, if you want to draw people to your handmade greeting card site, you might want to include keywords and key phrases in your article and title such as:

• greeting cards
• greeting card use
• sending greeting cards
• occasions to send greeting cards
• selecting greeting cards
• handmade birthday cards
• anniversary cards

While keywords are no guarantee that your article will become the number-one ranked link on Google, it will certainly help people find you in the vast wasteland of the Internet.

3. Re-use your articles in other media formats.

Once you have a group of targeted articles, re-use them by recording them as audio or video and releasing them online. Some people simply respond better to other forms of communication, so by providing a variety of media types, you expand your reach. It’s just another way you can connect with your target market in the way they prefer.

Article marketing is a rich and complex strategy for drawing your audience to your site. There are so many different ways to continue to market your articles that you could spend all your time finding new ways to leverage the work you’ve already created. The best part is, there’s something for everyone!

For step by step instructions on how to convert your articles to podcasts and videos quickly check out the Sunday Night Cash Plan.

About the author

Mike Paetzold got started blogging in 2003 and has become an expert on using WordPress. He has become known as The WordPress Guy. After being an under ground niche marketer using his blogs he has surfaced to share some of the ways he uses PLR to enter various niches profitably.

Technorati Tags: article marketing, audience, editors, podcast, quality articles, target market, video

You can produce the most compelling, interesting video online, but without a clear call to action, your video is just pure entertainment. Whether you want a viewer to buy your product, sign up for your list, or take another action, you have to tell them what you want them to do.

A call to action can take many different forms. Do you want the viewer to click on a link, click the “buy now” button, watch another video, or take some other step? Know what you want from your viewer before you even create your video so everything you do points to that desired end result.

Some people believe that if you push your message on your audience, they will resist any kind of “sell” and turn away. While you want to avoid the used car salesman approach, remember that when you have the solution to your audience’s problems, you’re doing them a favor by sharing it with them.

Your call to action can take many forms. Here are some examples:

• Click here to download your free report on X.
• Click here to visit X and sign up now for more information!
• Enter your name and email below to sign up for the free teleseminar now.
• Fill out the form below to request your free consultation.
• Enter your information below to apply for this special program.

The logistics of creating a call to action within in a video will vary depending on the type of video you use, the location of the video and the rules of the site where you are hosting your video. Here are some ideas:

Mention in Video – You can include a call to action within the video itself. Create the video to capture the attention of your audience, give them the information they need and then tell them what action to take next.

Text on Video – Another way to tell your viewers what move to make after the video is to add it across the screen of the video. This text can be a link to your website or an explanation of any other action you’d like them to take.

Clickable Video – By using ‘Flash’ software or YouTube’s video tools, you can create video that, when clicked on, can link the viewer to the desired page.

Video Descriptions – You can add a call to action within your video descriptions. If you have uploaded a video to a hosting site, check the rules as to how you can link to your site and how promotional your videos and descriptions can be.

The most important part of your call to action is ensuring it fits with what your audience needs. When the call to action matches the exact needs of your audience, taking your recommended next step will be a natural next step for your viewers.

If you need help creating your video check out Lon Naylor’s Screencast Profits.

Technorati Tags: call to action, video, video call to action, video marketing

So you’re not a technical or audio/video whiz, or you’re so busy with your other business management tasks that you know you need to outsource your videos if it’s ever going to get done. It is possible to outsource your video successfully. But like any outsourcing you do, you need to prepare and be aware of who you are hiring.

Here’s what you need to keep in mind when hiring a freelancer for your video marketing:

Know What You Need: If you don’t know what you need from your assistant or your marketing, how can you expect anyone else to know? If you can describe exactly what you need from your assistant then you will have a great chance for getting just that back from them when the project is completed.

Check Their Video Portfolio: Check the abilities of the person you’re considering hiring to see if their style suits your needs. Ask for references – and check them!

Prepare Materials and Logins: If there are specific materials and login information your assistant will need, it will save you a lot of time if you prepare everything ahead of time. If your assistant needs to email you every time they need something, you’ll hold up the process while they wait for you to respond.

Find Reference Examples: Locate a few videos with the look and feel you like and forward those to your assistant. This will help your assistant make sure they’re clear about what you’re looking for.

Ask For Referrals: Asking for referrals is a great way to find qualified contractors. If you see a video online that you particularly like, contact the site owner to ask who created it. You’ll know what kind of quality you’ll be getting when you hire this way.

Be Open to Suggestions: Your contractor is an expert, so be open to suggestions from him or her. Explain your high-level goals, and then let them do their stuff.

Having a great team member or even a full team to handle your videos can be a real load off your mind. Just remember that successful outsourcing requires a careful blend of preparation and clarity on your goals, and willingness to let go and let the experts take over. Once you hit that sweet spot, you can cross one more thing off your To-Do list.

Technorati Tags: outsource video marketing, video, video marketing

Video has become more and more important for your marketing. The learning curve can be a killer and it takes a bit to become good using video. For the next 4 days, iFlash Video is re-opening their highly popular private membership.

Here’s what they’re doing:

They create 100% CUSTOM promotional videos for your business (no templates…all unique). They even include professional voice over with every video.

Again…these are all custom, made from scratch, studio quality, promotional videos that will just make you say “WOW!” once you get your production back.

Take a look at this. They are shutting down in 4 days or less and I really want you to consider this for your business.

iFlash Videos

I’m not 100% positive about this but this may be the last time they offer this at the charter price. I don’t know where you can get this quality and professionalism for less than 50 bucks…so lock yourself in. Once you get your first video back, you’ll be hooked.

About the author

Mike Paetzold got started blogging in 2003 and has become an expert on using WordPress. He has become known as The WordPress Guy. After being an under ground niche marketer using his blogs he has surfaced to share some of the ways he uses PLR to enter various niches profitably.

Technorati Tags: custom video, iFlash, iFlash membership, video

Well there is one more day left in January so time is definitely flying. I really hope your year is off to a great start and that you have set your plan and started to take action.

Hit a small speed bump this week that set me back a bit but was a great kind of speed bump. Her name is Olivia Paige she is the youngest Paetzold and arrived on Monday evening.

Because of her arrival it messed up a couple days of what I had planned this week. I did get the chance to go down and pick up my Mom and take her to see her great grand daughter. That was worth any delay in my business to me.

Of course while we were there we did need to spend some time with her older sister too who has not quite figured out if all the waiting for which she was very excited is a good thing or a bad thing.

Now there is a lesson to be learned there. Maddie was more excited last month about the arrival of her baby sister than she was about Santa coming.Now that it is here it is not quite what she had bargained for and starting your business is a lot like that.

You look forward to being your own boss and then you find out it is not easy being the boss and keeping motivated.In the end you adjust and Maddie will adjust and you come to love it but at the start it is not quite the rose garden you thought it would be.

It is the ability to just take off when little family speed bumps come along that makes it really worthwhile so take the action daily to get the freedom you desire.

Now to the blogs.

WordPress Made Easy

• 3 things to make your blog profitable
• Let me introduce you to…
• Understanding how your blog works
• Trackback, Linkback, Pingback what does it mean?

Three Turtle Marketing

• Avoiding the feast or famine

The PLR Secrets

• Could you use this to…

Whats Hot

Watch This video – Check out this video and see how someone sold over $2 mm in product with no list, no jvs and then sign up to get even more great free content. Yes this is for an upcoming launch but watch the video very carefully and if you are like me you will be taking notes and getting ideas.

Blog 3 Pack – For this weekend only I have put together the three teleseminars I did on the 3 main things you need to have a profitable blog at a special discount price. Each teleseminar comes with the recording, transcript and all of the work books. Over half off discount ends when the month ends so check them out now.

Twittolower – If you use Twitter you understand that the more targeted followers you get the more valuable Twitter becomes. Now I have tested numerous services that will get you followers but this is the only one that will find targeted followers. Watch the video to the very end to see exactly how this will help you.

Whitehat Copycat – You can copy a system used to drive a ton of traffic at no cost and profit from it using this simple copy and paste system.

Saturday Seven – This week the special is PLR to 24 IM Newsletters that you can use or sell. Just add your recommended products onto the newsletters and add them to your autoresponder today.

That’s all for this week. Remember to leave your comments below and above all go take action today and everyday on your business.

About the author

Mike Paetzold got started blogging in 2003 and has become an expert on using WordPress. He has become known as The WordPress Guy. After being an under ground niche marketer using his blogs he has surfaced to share some of the ways he uses PLR to enter various niches profitably.

Technorati Tags: blogs, twitter, Twittolower, video, Whitehat Copycat, wordpress

Marlon Sanders just released a video that shows you how to create videos super fast using live video. Marlon has been using these quite a bit of late.

Check out the video

Here is what he had to say in the email I got.

Marlon here.

You’ve seen the videos on my blog the last few days…

With the scrolling text….

Transitions…

Fire….

How would you like to SEE ME create one of those in 13 minutes
and 20 seconds?

I walk you through it and show you fun, simple and easy it REALLY
is…..in fact, it’s a blast…

Best wishes

So go check it out now.

About the author

Mike Paetzold got started blogging in 2003 and has become an expert on using WordPress. He has become known as The WordPress Guy. After being an under ground niche marketer using his blogs he has surfaced to share some of the ways he uses PLR to enter various niches profitably.

Technorati Tags: Marlon Sanders, video, video creation

5 Ways To Use PLR To Increase your Business

by Mike Paetzold – Copyright 2009 – All rights reserved

PLR or private label rights products are often looked down upon by a number of people but using them properly they can be a great tool to build your business.

Here are 5 different ways you can use PLR to increase your business.

1. Create your own product for sale
2. Create an ethical bribe for your list building
3. Create your email follow up series
4. Create blog content
5. Create video content

Before we get into each item you do need to understand that this will take a bit of that dang old 4 letter word – WORK. But it takes a lot less than it would to start from scratch. Someone has done the bulk of the research for you.

For an example we will discuss how you could take a few PLR products and make a complete sales and traffic system from it. This will usually take a complete PLR package or a few PLR products on the same topic. This is a model I use regularly.

Create Your Own Product

This is where most people usually start out using PLR products. You find a quality product on a topic you have researched and found to have profit potential.

Edit the book, audio or video that you got. Add in your own referral links for related products. Change up the graphics and either create or edit the sales letter. You now have a new product.

For more information on using PLR check out The PLR Tutorial Videos.

Create An Ethical Bribe

To get someone to sign up to your list you need to have something of value. I call this your ethical bribe because that is what you are doing. Bribing them to give you permission to contact them in return for what ever you are giving away. It needs to have a value that overcomes their reluctance to get more email.

Depending on what type of product you created this can be an audio interview, a free video or a report/e-book of some type.

The process is similar to creating your own product with PLR except this time you will be adding a squeeze page instead of a sales page.

For more information on list building check out Accelerated List Building.

Create An Email Follow Up Series

This will allow you to easily populate the follow up series for the people that have signed up through your squeeze page. You can use an article pack or split apart a report to create an ongoing series of emails each of which will send people to your sales letter or another related affiliate product.

Now you have a way to keep in touch with prospective customers and continue the conversation and build the relationship with your potential customers.

For more information on creating and using email marketing check out Email Promos Exposed.

Create Blog Content

Blogs especially properly set up WordPress blogs are loved by the search engines. This can allow you to get free traffic from the search engines. Using PLR articles that you have re-written or splitting apart a PLR ebook can allow you to target the keywords for your product.

Link from each blog post to your squeeze page system and you now have a good traffic source to start building your list. Let the email follow ups send them to your product.

For more information on creating and using blogs check out WordPress Made Easy.

Create Video Content

Video through You Tube and other sites can be a great way to generate traffic. PLR video can be easily edited to create these videos or you can use article content to create a power point video by adding the article content and doing a voice over of it.

You will find that video PLR is readily available and can make great products also.

For more information on using PLR video check out Using PLR Videos.

Conclusion

These are 5 ways that you can use PLR to build your business. Just make sure that you double check the rights document that comes with all PLR. Not all items called PLR have the same rights and you want to make sure that you do not violate the rights for any package.

Combine all 5 and you have a complete marketing system for your new product.

Mike Paetzold uses PLR extensively in various niche markets. To discover how to find and prove out niche markets check out his Niche Affiliate System.

You may use this article as long as it is unchanged (including the resource box) and all links are maintained.

Technorati Tags: blg, list building, plr, Private Label Rights, product creation, squeeze page, video, wordpress, you tube

Why aren’t you using video?

Copyright 2009- Mike Paetzold – All worldwide rights reserved

Video is quickly becoming the preferred way to deliver information online. This is the result of a few things coming together that have allowed it to be easily done.

1. Most people having access to a high speed network connection
2. Cheaper bandwidth
3. Preference of customers
4. Relatively cheap software to create it

All of these things coming together at the same time have led to a huge increase in the use of video. After all most of us alive today have grown up with television all of our lives. There are exceptions but most people at least in the US under the age of 60 have.

It has become the way we expect to get information and a great way to deliver your information. Video information also has a higher perceived value.

Those facts bring us to the point of this article – Why aren’t you using video?

Is it because you…

• don’t have the technical knowledge?
• don’t like your voice?
• don’t like your looks?
• haven’t seen the need?
• can’t afford the software?

You can outsource then and have videos made which can be quite expensive or you can use the PLR (private label rights) videos that are available.

PLR allows you to take authorship of the product, edit it and use it as your own product. This will decrease your learning curve as you only need to edit the videos not create them.

Now it still takes a little bit of technical knowledge to personalize the videos but it is much easier than starting from scratch.

You will need to use software and paid software is usually more robust but you probably have the tools to work with video already on your computer. Both Mac and Windows machines come with movie making software installed. Even better though is the fact that most of the paid software such as Camtasia and Vega Studio come with a free trial period.

You can use it to create your first product then use your profits to pay for the software.

You can use videos for

• screen capture to show step by step how to do something
• power point presentations for training
• allow you to connect face to face with your audience
• and many more different ways

How you use it is not as important as that you start using it. It is becoming the choice of more and more of your customers as their preferred method of receiving information.

If you don’t supply it someone else will and you will no longer have a customer.

**********
Mike Paetzold has created a number of video products and uses and recommends Converting PLR Videos not only for converting PLR videos but for understanding video product creation.
**********

You may use and reprint this article as long as it is posted in it’s entirety and all links and the resource box are included.

Technorati Tags: camtasia, converting video, plr video, sony vega, video, video software

Sent this to my email lists today but realized that I have also ignored this here.

We are two weeks into the new year and I find that I have been a bit lax to say the least.

See I work hard to get you the information that you need to succeed and I find in talking to some of you that it is some of the little things that are stopping you.

Now for that I owe you an apology.

I sometimes forget the little things that stop you from getting started and taking action. It is not intentional and I really thought I had covered that and I have.

I have just been a bit lax in telling you about it.

Videos For Beginners

See I created this site two years ago to help you solve those problems but…

I don’t remind people about it often enough.

It covers a lot of the items that may be holding you back and it is at my favorite price – FREE

It covers the following topics.

- How to register your first domain. Tips on picking a good domain name.

- Finding a good web host. What to look for and what to avoid when looking for web hosting.

- How to change the nameservers for your new domain so that your site shows at your new host.

- Using FTP – the key to loading your web pages

- Edit HTML on your pages

- Create a download page

- Create a minisite easily

- Create a squeeze page

- Easy to do niche keyword research

- Adsense site keyword research

- Basic online SEO

- Creating backlinks – the key to off page SEO

So go get your access today.

Videos For Beginners

Mike Paetzold

Technorati Tags: plr training, training videos, video, video tutorial, video tutorials, Videos For Beginners

You may not know the name Lon Naylor but Lon has made it his mission to rid the world of crappy videos.
Lon has made videos for the likes of…

• Sterling Valentine
• Rich Schefren
• Mike Filsaime
• Jason James
• Jeff Dedrick
• and others

Check out his video below.

So if you know you need to use video or if you are already using videos you need to go check out Screencast Profits and let Lon make sure you don’t make crappy videos.

Personally I think Lon is a bit nuts for what he is giving away but do recommend you take advantage of it before he changes his mind.

Mike Paetzold

Technorati Tags: create video, edit video, video, video marketing