Viral marketing in the form of article writing is a proven method to gain visibility for your business and increase traffic and sales. Articles that you write are submitted to article directories which in turn make your articles available to ezine publishers, bloggers, and others looking for fresh content. With each article, your name and business become more recognized and the cycle repeats. Remember Newton's 1st Law of Motion? A body at rest tends to stay at rest and a body in motion tends to stay in motion unless acted upon by an outside force.
If your article writing campaign has been stopped in its tracks for lack of ideas, or you don't know where to begin, my recent article, Writer's Block - 5 Breakthrough Ideas, suggests five ways to break through the writer's block and get back on track. This article provides five more sources of "outside force" to set your article writing campaign in motion again.
Keep paper or your PDA nearby
Some of my best, as well as some of the most questionable, ideas often surface when I wake up in the middle of the night or when I'm busy doing something else, like driving or cooking. Keep a notebook or PDA handy to jot down these ideas as they come to mind. No matter how absurd the idea might seem at the time, write it down and refine it or reject it later when you are ready to write.
Ask questions
Recently I received an email from a man asking me what questions I had about writing and submitting articles. Instead of replying directly to my email, he wrote and submitted an article that answered my question. Ask questions of people who need your services or frequent your business. Use their questions as a springboard for writing an article. Chances are good that if one person had that question, many others will have the same question.
Write off-topic
If your main business is decorating but you really want to write about the latest football or basketball game or some great finds on your latest trip to Belize, do it. Just be aware that the audience you desire for your primary business may or may not read the article. Your goal of driving traffic to your site may not be fulfilled by this "off-topic" article, but write it anyway. The enjoyment you get from writing this article on a current event or recent trip could spur you to get back on topic and reach your intended audience.
Revive an old article
Read some of your old articles to determine which ones are candidates for a rewrite. In this information age, techniques and ideas change so rapidly that an article that was perfectly suited to the climate last year will no longer apply completely to today's climate. Rewrite the article with a fresh look at new information that has come available and been put into use since the original writing.
Learn something new
Learn a new technique used in your business or website development and write about your experience. Surely you did research before deciding which program or tools to use. Tell your audience about your research and why you made the decision to use a particular tool or technique over the others on the market. Write about the impact this has had on your business or your personal life and how you intend to use it. There is no end to the articles that can be written from your experience of learning something new.
Article writing is a proven method to gain visibility and increase traffic and sales. If your article writing campaign has come to rest, use one of these outside forces to start moving again: keep paper or your PDA nearby to jot down ideas; ask questions of your customers and write an article to answer them; write off-topic for fun; revive an old article with fresh, new content; learn something new and write about your experience.
There is no end to the articles you can write once you regain the momentum to write.
Learn more about article writing at Common Sense Ebiz.
Claudia Pate is the owner of Common Sense Ebiz, your source for online and work-at-home business opportunities, and The Anniversary Shop, an online store for modern and traditional anniversary gifts and gifts for all occasions.
