After much testing I have found that article marketing still rocks for bringing in highly relevant traffic and leads that simply convert into better sales. The best part about articles is that other than your time they are 100% free to write. In fact here is a study done using only a handful of article that resulted in traffic, inbound links and most importantly sales: http://www.thekaizenbusiness.com/?p=174 A few tips to remember is avoiding duplicate content when possible and you will get the most amount of exposure to your articles by submitting to real ezine, newsletter and topical site publishers. Write up many resources or about the author boxes as well, at least twenty and submit a different one with each article.
Just remember, when submitting articles, don't make the common mistake that 99% make.. .. and that is to focus on "you". Your readers do not care about "you". The mistake others make? Example: John Doe is the greatest smartest man on the planet and has helped zillions become successful. I've written 100's of articles and books and (blah blah blah). Learn more about me at: www.site.com I'm being a little sarcastic, but I'm making a point. This is what most resource boxes are doing/saying. Instead, turn the focus on the reader and what's in it for them. List a benefit that makes them want to click your link. Give them a call to action. A better example: Is your site a "ghost town"? Discover 7 ways to turn get fast targeted traffic to any site in 48 hours from right now! Download your free report. Go to: http://www.yoursite.com TIP: Write 20 articles on the same subject and in each, have the resource box point to the same page. And make that page an opt-in page that gives away your report or mini-course, video, audio, etc (be creative). This way you're building a list of targeted subscribers who are specifically interested in that topic. You can sell to them later. But if you use article marketing like most people, you're chasing the 1-shot sale. So use your resource box wisely. Dave