It's tough to get started with article marketing, almost as tough as getting started with business blogging! One of the toughest aspects of article marketing is finding relevant publications to submit articles and to build inbound links. Just how do you do that? How do I know that these websites aren't content mills or poor quality that will end up penalizing my SEO?
I just learned a great tip from HubSpot about guest posting (guest posting is a form of article marketing)and finding relevant websites. It involves using several different search functions to find opportunities in your industry or niche. Great functions to use include:
- submit article + industry/niche
- submit guest post + industry/niche
- guest post + industry/niche
As a point of caution, I would be careful with "write for us + industry/niche." These pages and publications may be looking for regular contributors, and you should only consider these websites only if your or your company would be able to do guest posts or article marketing regularly. With normal guest posting, you could do one or two articles without worrying about a long term commitment. This way, you can also sort through sites and find a few places to get started with article marketing.
Tips & Tricks to Article Marketing and Guest Posting
- Pay Attention to Guidelines - One of the biggest hurdles in guest posting and in article marketing is meeting the requirements of a third party (which is why if you could only choose one way to market your content, choose business blogging). Some have specific word counts, while others only allow one or two links in your article. Other may not want articles that are sponsored or paid for, or links that are sponsored or paid for. If you don't understand that every online publication has its own set of standards that must be met, then article marketing won't work for you.
- Focus on Sites that Cater to Your Target Audience - It's tempting to only go with website that have the best search engine rankings, or to only shoot of the biggest and most popular websites. But, consider the value of a smaller website that covers your industry and reaches your target audience. It's important to think about article marketing as more than a way to boost your SEO and to build inbound links, but also as a way to provide more informative and useful content to your target market. Also, smaller websites may be easier for you to get your article published. Those that are popular and with the high search rankings might get tons of queries for guest posts and articles, making it harder for you to get your idea considered.
- It's Okay to Pitch an Editor as Well - If you can't find any guest posting opportunities that you like or fit your needs, then consider creating your own opportunity. Find an online publication or blog and pitch your article idea to the editor or blog owner. In a future post, I will go over how to pitch an editor or blog owner properly.
- But, Be Your Own Editor Too - With some guest posting opportunities, they will publish the article as is. Meaning, if you don't take the time to edit the article yourself, it could get published with spelling errors or a broken link. Don't assume that since the article will appear on a third-party site that a third-party will review it for spelling, grammar, and factual accuracy.
If you still need some help getting started with article marketing, then check out our white paper on some of the best websites for article marketing:
