Making money with articles is a strategy that most successful internet marketers include in their arsenal. This method of marketing certainly is not new, almost any print ad in a magazine uses a form of article content to get you absorbed in the topic and subtly or maybe even not so subtly suggest, recommend, or even just mention of a source, product, service, or additional information that you can follow up on. Nothing wrong there, the reader may even be thankful to find a resource on the exact topic they were searching for more info on anyway. Clever you. You did a little research, found out what people were searching for, and got in front of them then re-directed them to where you wanted them to go.

Bravo. Everyone is happy and you are making money just by writing an article.  Now lets break this strategy down further.
You may or may not have heard the term "Bum Marketing". Travis Sago has made quite a good living for himself both implementing this tactic and also teaching it. Now the bum marketing is the method of marketing your articles, but I am first going to explain the mechanics that make up a great article so you can begin right away like the pros.

OK, why are we writing articles? Articles can create a consistent flow of traffic to our original product/service websites, adsense sites, affiliate site, social networking site, and even our blogs.  Now you don't have to be an expert at all in your subject of the article, but it is important to pick a popular subject/niche of interest to your readers.  There is an easy way to both find your topic and write your entire article in minutes with Jon Leger's Instant Article Wizard.

If you don't have a few bucks to invest in instant article wizard to save you loads of time then no worries heres what to do.  Just go to google and type in a desired keyword on the topic of your article.  Open at least 3-4 that offer the most information on the topic you have chosen.  Now place about 6 points from each site into your notepad or any text file.  This is only to read and reference to formulate your thoughts as you write your own unique article.  The best part about this technique is that now your article will have all the best points and none of the added fluff of your reference articles.


The most important aspect of your article?  Well, we just covered it, thats a popular topic that people are searching for that you can monetize on while providing some valuable content to your reader. Now I have to say just as important as your topic is your Headline.  Your headline or title will decide if the article ever even gets read at all.  You have to hook your reader and reel them in with a headline that really is just a salesperson to get this article read.

There are proven techniques on how to use words and phrases to entice your prospective reader. 

Ask a question-Want to know how make money with no money?  using how to, how does, why does, when is, what can you,  these examples make the reader want to know the answer.

Shock them!- Your Bank is making you broke!  Make a bold statement, true or untrue...(of course explain the true facts in article),  get emotion involved and use words like "the truth about" "the secret to".
 
Make a Promise-Make more money in 1 week than you did last month! 

Generate curiosity-What a google and yahoo merger means to your home business marketing.


Now you can concentrate on your Introduction.  This first paragraph is very important in that it will prepare your reader for what is to come and that will dictate whether they decide to read any further.  So if your article is worth reading, then explain it here and summarize the benefits that the reader will experience after reading the entire article.  The intro only has to be about 4 sentences giving an overview of whats to come and should include your main keyword in the first sentence.

The Body of your article should consist of each paragraph giving your main topic sub-points.  Each paragraph touches on a specific sub point you want to share and your main keyword can also be included.  You will be following the same rules with each paragraph, sticking to your main topic but offering a new sub-point .

In your Conclusion, you pull it all together with a general summary statement then 3-4 sentences focusing more on your personal writing style than strict structure.  Now you can place emphasis on the purpose of the article topic and warm the reader up to your recommended link in your Bios or Author Biography.

Your Author Biography is extremely important because now you have the opportunity to turn readers into visitors. (readers spell traffic, and traffic is good for selling your product or getting new subscribers to your mailing list.)  Writing a good Bios is like writing a good headline or title.  You absolutely must entice the reader to take action after you have grabbed their attention.  Focus directly on the benefits!  This can be an offer of something free like a report, guide, or opt-in offer, or it can just point out what the reader will learn or gain by clicking that link.  Keep in mind, readers are not stupid, they want the same things you want, value and helpful information or an answer to a problem.  You can take 2 or 3 sentences to describe what awaits the reader if they visit the site you are linking to.  Using anchor text links is allowed when you submit your article to an article directory. You do not want to sound like a sales pitch but gently inform your reader of the benefit they will experience.  A good measure would be to read an article you yourself found interesting and you clicked on the link yourself to take action or find out more.

On to getting your article working for you and making you money.  There are many article websites to submit your article to and one of the more popular ones is Ezine Articles  there is also article marketer, article fever, goarticles, and if it is Credit, Money, or Finance related then CreditMoneyFinance.com of course.

This is the time for Bum Marketing.  You have your article written and now you can start to make submissions.  Note that some article sites do not permit a direct link to an affiliate site so all you have to do is link to your landing page, or even your blog, my favorite blog format I personally use and love is the Blogi360.  That is a blog on steroids.


After a while your articles will begin to appear in the search engines and you should be repeating  the steps with several articles.  Also, USFreeAds and classifieds will produce some clicks for you.  You can even head over to Squidoo which is free and create a lens (webpage) on your niche topic using your article content.  A very effective tactic I use is to pick a new product and use the exact name of the product with the magic word REVIEW on the end.  I have gotten better placement in google than the actual product website that way.  Of course you want to have really tried the product and know what you are talking about with sincerity.


Now you have the basics to start making some money with article marketing.  First and formost when creating articles choose a topic of interest, offer some real value, submit your article to article directories and a blog and if you want to speed up and automate the process then check out Instant Article Wizard.   It can actually save you so much time that you can also get paid for writing articles for others!