The New Age of Article Marketing

By Neil Jones

Article marketing has always been one of those tried and tested marketing mediums that has stood the test of time. With the constant changes that are evident in the online world and the new and sexy marketing methods being introduced daily, article marketing is still firmly rooted as a stalwart for website promotion.

But as competition in the online marketing industry has grown the ability to generate large amounts of traffic from articles submitted to directories has significantly dissipated. It wouldn’t be uncommon for one article to receive fewer than 10 views each month, revealing that article marketing might be losing its effectiveness. But guess what? At this very point in time there are marketers who are generating five figure monthly incomes from article marketing alone. Article marketing is still alive and kicking!

However, these marketers are utilizing an innovative technique to drive traffic to their sites through the use of article directories, a technique that defers from the traditional article marketing methodology. In this post I will reveal to you what this technique is and why it so effective.

What is the new age of article marketing?

Traditionally, article marketing was used to drive traffic to an internet marketer’s site from articles submitted to directories like Ezine Articles. In today’s environment this isn’t effective as the traffic generated is less than acceptable. For a marketer to succeed with this method he/she will have to submit 5-10 articles a day to receive a respectable amount of traffic from the directories.

The new age of article marketing goes against this trend and relies on article syndication. Article syndication is when an article you’ve written is picked up by other webmasters and published on their sites with proper attribution (links to your site to credit you). What these 5-figure article marketers are doing is basically writing an informative, engaging, and compelling article and submitting it to the top article directories. These articles are then used as web content, or newsletters by webmasters who feel the content will add value to their visitors or subscribers.

The power of this strategy is that one well written article can be syndicated to hundreds of traffic intensive websites. And this will result in traffic being generated from unlikely sources. Beside the traffic there will also be a number of strong backlinks that are built as well. An article written for syndication will have to follow certain criteria:

The article should:

• be engaging, value-adding, and informational
• not be hyped or “salesy”
• not be written to generate a click as a sales letter will

Article syndication does have its disadvantages as well and very often an excellently written article will go unnoticed, but don’t let this deter you as perseverance is the key to success using this model.

When your articles are re-published on other sites you will have the opportunity to form a relationship with the webmaster who published the article and this will lead to a greater amount of opportunities. You will find that the webmaster in question will begin re-publishing your articles more often when you have established a relationship with him/her.

And don’t forget: the traffic that you acquire from your republished articles will be passive in nature. This will result in a never-ending flow of traffic to your site, which will equate to multiple streams of passive income.

Author Information

Neil Jones specializes in launching ecommerce sites and is currently plying his trade as head of marketing for eMobileScan. With 18 websites based all around Europe this company is on course to become one of Europe’s largest online retailers of Industrial handheld computers like the Motorola MC75 and Zebra ZM400. Neil has been an online marketer for the past six years, and has owned and run a range of ecommerce sites.

Social Recruiting – The Place For Finding A Job Is Online

By Mike Dunlop

The world of employment is a world of shifting trends, just like anything else. If you’re on the job hunt nowadays, then you may find that your Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn profile has more of an impact on your success than traditional job boards or employment agencies.  Recruiters are now actively using social media sites to find and screen employees. In effect they’re conducting a pre-interview virtual interview.

Sound confusing? Well that means that it’s time to learn some new rules for the modern world of job hunting. As if finding a job weren’t difficult enough already! The good news is that you can leverage your social media profiles to work in your favour, and if done well you’ll have more job searching power at your fingertips than ever before. Let’s take a look at the current state of play in the social recruiting space to help you get started.

Everything’s Going Social

Years ago, companies frequently used job boards to find new hires.  They would post a new job description on the job board, and then review all the applications that came flooding in.  However, in the last few years, particularly as the economy has worsened, but also as a result of the rise of the ubiquitous Internet, the flood has become a raging torrent.

It’s not unusual for a job opening to receive thousands of applications, which means that as an applicant it’s very easy to get lost amongst the noise. Most hiring managers don’t have the time to sift through every application they receive.

At the same time, social media sites like Facebook are evolving beyond their original design. Where once these sites used to be just tools for finding old classmates and making new friends, now they are used to create professional profiles and cultivate corporate images. This is of course especially prevalent on sites geared toward business networking, like LinkedIn.  In keeping with this trend, companies have begun to find that it is sometimes easier to head-hunt the applicants directly via their social media profiles, rather than open the application flood gates to the general population.

Be Careful What You Post!

It should come as no surprise that in addition to being used to find potential employees, social media sites are now also being used to screen and eliminate job candidates. What this means for you, is that you probably shouldn’t post pictures of wild drunken nights in Cancun, Ibiza, Bali, or any of the incriminating photo hotspots. In fact, from a job seeking perspective, it’s a good idea to not post anything that gives too much detail about your private life.

However, if you must post these sorts of photos, then make sure that your security settings are absolutely water tight, and don’t forget if that friend of a friend is actually your potential new boss!  Take this one step further –remember that the same rules apply once you’ve landed the job. It’s not unusual for people to be fired because of something found on their Facebook or MySpace page.

More Than Just Skills and Experience

When companies look for new hires, they’re not just looking for someone who has the skills to do the job.  They also want a good fit; they’re looking for a team player who shares their company’s values.

Social recruiting helps hiring managers find the people they need, because they can get an overall picture of who you are and not just what you can do.

What This Means For You

If you’re working on finding a job right now, use your social media profiles to help you search.  Contact possible employers and open a dialog.  Upload your resume, references, and portfolio so that recruiters can see it.  Maximize your chances of appearing in search results by having a complete, well developed, and up to date profile.

Make sure your profile shows you at your best – remember that you don’t want anything there that might turn them off.  Expand your network to include people who work at your employer of choice. Join in conversations, develop relationships and cultivate an appealing professional relationship.

Social media sites also allow you to find out more about a company before you apply with them.  Internet-savvy companies are now blogging on their Facebook or LinkedIn pages, which should provide you with some additional insight into the company values and type of day to day work activity.  You may also be able to find some commentary from previous employees or customers about the company on the web.

Has everyone had a positive experience with the company, or is the bulk of commentary exceedingly negative?  All of these sources of information should give you a better idea of what the company’s about, which is vitally important for the health of your career.

In summary, social recruiting has come of age. Companies are now reviewing social media profiles and incorporating them into their decision to hire or not hire, so use yours to your advantage.

Author Information

Mike Dunlop works for HirePulse, the home of premium contractors, consultants and freelancers.