Best Free Marketing Technique

The Best FREE Marketing
Technique On The Web: An
Interview With Michael Southon

Are you searching for a free dynamic traffic and sales building
technique? Well, the crucially important benefits of writing articles
make it a strategy that's difficult to top.

And when you think of writing articles, it's likely the name,
Michael Southon, pops into mind. Michael is simply one of the
web's most published and successful article writers. He's been
reprinted literally tens of thousands of times and his articles can be
found on over a staggering 8000 web sites.

Joshua: This is indeed a pleasure for me, Michael. Can you tell us
a little about your Internet background? You know, sort of a
summary of how you got started and what you are doing now.

Michael:

I got started out in online business in January 1999 with an
Ezine directory called the Business Directory of Ezines,
which I later renamed The Free Directory of Ezines. Back
then I was a total newbie and the idea of writing an article
that would get published seemed outrageous. But in May of
that year I wrote my first article "10 Tips For Successful
Ezine Advertising" and it was published a week later in
WebProNews (500,000 subscribers).

Joshua: Wow, that's quite an entrance! I also seem to see your
articles all over the net. Can you summarize the specific benefits
you're getting from writing articles?

Michael:

This technique works on so many levels - for example, I get
'name branding' from people seeing my name over and over
again, I get free links to my sales page on hundreds of
websites, my 'link popularity' goes up because my articles
appear on hundreds of websites with an active link back to
my website, and that boosts my ranking in the search
engines, I get huge exposure to readers of Ezines or
Newsletters, and so on. It really is a multiplier effect.

Joshua: So, you're killing a number of 'big' birds with one stone.
While this is great, let me ask you this: Is it REALLY possible for
the average person to be successful writing articles? How about
for those who feel they're just not good writers?

Michael:

Absolutely. There's a very well-known Ezine Writer who
writes very simple articles - they're just a list of tips. But
they get published all over the Web and he's made his name
and his success with those articles. You don't need any
literary skills to succeed with this technique.

Joshua: I know what you mean. I've seen a lot of simply written
articles that were excellent due to the content. But this raises an
important question: How does someone come up with content
ideas? What do you do, for example?

Michael:

The key to coming up with topic ideas for your articles is to
be very aware of what you yourself are learning. As you
know, ecommerce is a huge area and we're all learning new
things every day. Every time you learn something new, write
a short article about it. Because there are almost certainly
other people who are going to have to learn what you just
learnt and your article is going to make it much easier for
them to get that information.

The other thing to do is pay close attention to the questions
people ask you. For example, I had a question last week
from a man in the UK who wanted to know how to use
articles to promote an affiliate link. So I answered his
question and then wrote an article titled: "How To Boost
Your Affiliate Sales With Free Articles".

Joshua: Okay, assuming I do that and then write my article, how
receptive are newsletter editors towards accepting articles from
other writers? Am I likely to get published?

Michael:

The vast majority of Newsletter publishers don't write their
own content and even those who do still need outside input,
'guest articles'. The problem is getting noticed because there
are a lot of people writing articles now. One of the keys to
getting loyal publishers who keep using your articles is to
have a fairly constant output - at least one new article every
2 weeks. Publishers like to use articles from 'regulars' -
writers who they have published before and who they can
count on for more articles in the future.

Joshua: Yeah, that's been my experience too. Each time I submit,
I'm finding that new editors are using them. You also mentioned
'name branding' earlier. Is this a vital ingredient to one's eventual
web success?

Michael:

Yes, I think it is important. You could also call it
'Establishing an Audience' or 'Building Credibility'. The
reason it's important is that people have become very wary
on the Internet (because of all the scams). If someone lands
up at your website and they have never heard of you before,
chances are they won't buy anything. But if they have seen
your name over and over again, as the author of helpful
articles - then you have a potential customer.

Joshua: Related to this is another 'payoff' for the writer: the
Resource Box -- your ad. What do you think is the most effective
strategy here?

Michael:

Well, this really is an art in itself. It's as important as the
article itself. Here's a valuable tip: if you're using your
Resource Box to promote your eBook, don't mention the
eBook! Instead, create a free report (1 or 2 chapters of your
eBook) and offer that from your Resource Box. When I
started doing this, my sales tripled overnight.

Joshua: So, we shouldn't try to sell anything here. We should
promote a free information product that captures their email
addresses. In your opinion, Michael, does this work best by
sending them to your site to sign up, or going with a 'mailto'
address, or both?

Michael:

Well, I have to say that I've had bad experiences with
putting my email address in my Resource Box. The
spammers got hold of it (or rather the email harvesters). The
email address was ept-subscribe@ followed by my domain
name and I still get dozens of emails every week that say
'Hello ept-subscribe'. The best method here is sending them
to a sign-up form where they have to enter a valid email
address because they'll be receiving an email a few seconds
later with the download details for your free report.

Joshua: You've had tremendous success online. In your opinion, is
there such a thing as an *Internet Secret*, some magical formula
for easy web success?

Michael:

Most of succeeding online is just sheer perseverance. But I
would also recommend reading as much as possible. There's
really masses of information on how to succeed on the web.
Having a mentor is also a key to success (I've had a few).

Joshua: Me too. This has been great, Michael. I really appreciate
your input. Thank you.

Michael:

It was my pleasure.

Joshua: Any last tips or comments?

Michael:

Do what you're passionate about, follow your bliss. Because
people will pick up on it and it will take you anywhere you
want to go. But one still needs to persevere. Successful
people are people who have learned to deal with failure.

For more information about Michael Southon's article writing
techniques, visit:

http://www.internetprofitwizards.com/EzineWriter.html