Heard about article marketing but not sure why you'd need it for your business? Posting Articles on the net is a great way to capture the "stubborn" half of your audience who resists a direct sales pitch.
While some folks don't mind being approached directly, many others don't take kindly to it.
Let's say you have a service to offer, so you hit someone up face to face with a proposal:
"Hello Fred, isn't it time you made improvements on your life? My product can help you do this!"
Suppose Fred is in a foul mood that day, or maybe Fred's email box is overrun with messages. Or maybe Fred just doesn't like anyone confronting him about areas where his life can stand to be improved... because even if that's true, FRED WILL NEVER ADMIT IT.
Thanks to the unfortunate timing between your sales pitch and Fred's bad day, Fred reacts defensively to your suggestion and mentally blacklists you for bothering him with your pointed insinuations.
Now, suppose that instead of hearing or reading your direct approach that you delivered via email or in a chat forum, Fred came across your ARTICLE that day. The jist of the article was the same as the sales pitch you might make to Fred... but instead of being aimed directly at FRED, it's written to a general audience.
This time, Fred is reading your information BY CHOICE, and nobody is finger-pointing or insinuating he needs to change in some way. Therefore, Fred is free to analyze his own situation and determine whether your service or product might enhance his life.
Pretty soon, Fred is visiting your website with interest... and not long after that, Fred has come to terms with his shortcomings and surrendered to the fact that, YES, what you're selling may be of help to him.
Finally... cha-ching!
Thanks to that article that you wrote that wasn't aimed directly at his fragile ego, Fred feels comfortable to just whip out his credit card... and surprise! He's officially your paying customer.
Copyright 2005 Dina Giolitto. All rights reserved.
Dina Giolitto is the author of ARTICLE POWER: Create Dynamite Web Articles and Watch Your Sales Explode... a 49-page manual covering every aspect of article marketing on the web. Learn about article marketing, copywriting and more at http://www.wordfeeder.com