24 Feb 2008 07:08:29 | Michael Southon
MS: Bob, how important have Ezine Articles been in achieving
your success in online business?
BL: Very important! Most of what I learned 6 or 7 years ago
about doing business on the Internet came from articles written
by others already working online. Today, most of my new
customers and clients are generated by the articles I write.
MS: How long have you been writing Ezine Articles and what are
the main topics that you write about in your Ezine Articles?
BL: I've been writing Ezine articles for 5 years and I mainly
write about Marketing and Sales
MS: Bob, amongst all the promotion techniques you use, how
important are Ezine articles?
BL: 1st ...by a large margin
MS: Are there other techniques you use?
BL: Yes. I also do off line promotions by postcard.
MS: Bob, what sort of articles have you had most success with?
In your experience, what kind of Articles are most in demand?
BL: "How to" articles about how to find more prospects and
customers or how to close more sales. I've been very successful
at building my own business and helping other business owners
build theirs. I write about the things I learned and use ...and
tailor my writing specifically to help other small business
owners.
MS: Some Ezine Writers promote a product or service in their
Resource Box, while others aim only to get a subscription to
their free Newsletter. What would your advice be for getting
maximum results from your Resource Box?
BL: Both methods are effective. To generate the maximum response
the byline must offer the reader an enticing benefit.
MS: What have you found to be the most effective ways of getting
your Articles published?
BL: Building my own list of publishers who requested articles
from me.
MS: Apart from getting your Articles published in Newsletters,
are there any other ways you use your Articles to promote your
website? (such as turning them into a free E-Book)?
BL: A few of my articles are in eBooks. 32 of them are compiled
into a print publication titled, "How To Build A High-Profit
Business On A Low-Impact Budget"
(http://BobLeduc.com/highprofit.htm)
MS: Bob, is there any particular program or software that you
find especially useful as an Ezine Writer?
BL: Yes. 2 programs:
#1. MS Word. I use this word processor to write my articles. I
created a template with the formatting I want for writing
articles. The built in word count tool helps me control the size
of an article as I write. Then I can save the article as plain
text with line breaks at 60 characters per line ...the format I
use for submitting to publishers.
#2: I use WorldMerge by ColoradoSoft to email articles to the
publishers on my list. It creates individual email messages with
personalized information merged into each.
MS: It sometimes seems that everything that could possibly be
written about has already been written about. What would be your
response to that?
BL: Maybe every subject was been written about. But not every
aspect of every subject has been covered. Plus, the world is
changing -- FAST. Every change creates more things to write
about.
MS: What would you say is the single most important style tip
for writing a good Ezine Article?
BL: Make your articles easy to read. Use simple, easy to
understand words and examples. This is easy if you only write
about things you do yourself -- or things you learned yourself
by trial and error.
MS: And finally Bob, what would be your advice to someone who
wants to write Ezine Articles but has never written for the
Internet before?
BL: (1) Recognize that most of the articles you read were
written by someone just like you. (2) Choose a topic you know a
lot about from personal experience ...even if others already
wrote articles about it. Then force yourself to start writing
YOUR article on that topic.
MS: Thank you Bob.
About Author :
Michael Southon is the author of the popular new eBook 'Ezine
Writer!' Discover how to dramatically increase your Traffic and
Sales, starting today: http://www.ezine-writer.com/ Join his
twice-monthly 'e-Profit Tips Newsletter':
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