Hi,

Going downtown has become an architectural adventure. On the Lower East Side, Ian Schrager, the man whose brand is associated with modern, cool hotels, has expanded his hip imprint into condos. The Lower East Side itself has been rebranded from an immigrant into a glamourous destination. Here, he has transformed a Manhattan tenement into a Gaudi-esque treat - and a very expensive condo (is there any other kind in Manhattan?). Props to Schrager for bold vision.

(The transformation of the Lower East side is just one of many different rebranding transitions occurring in Manhattan. There are numerous unintended economic and social consequences, including in a circuitous way, the downfall of Eliot Spitzer).

This issue’s article:
Getting more out of articles
You probably already know the basics of article marketing. But here is a strategy that will take it a lot further and bring you many more dividends.

Plus, in this issue my interview with branding expert Whitney Vosburgh.

Much Success

Leon Altman
Your Marketing Roadmap Guide

How to get lots more marketing mileage out of articles

Many people marketing on the Internet write articles and then distribute them through multiple article directories. However there is a more disciplined, focused strategy that will enable you to get far more mileage out of article marketing. This strategy will bring you more traffic, and at the same time build your authority status in your niche much faster. Just follow these steps.

1) It starts with having a quality article of your own(creating or acquiring quality articles is a subject for another time).

2) Put your article on your website - even better, if you have a blog, post it there. Then go to www.pingomatic.com and ping your articles. Your article will then be picked up my many blog distribution services.

3) Leave the article on your blog or website for 4 days without before submitting it to any directories. This gives enough time for it to be picked up by search engines as new, unique content not found anywhere else.

4) After 4 days you are ready to distribute your articles to article directories. Some people use submission services that send your article to masses of directories. The problem is duplicate content, which gets downgraded by the search engines. There is a better article submission strategy that avoids the penalty plus gives you more marketing mileage....

This involves a little work. Not much. Just a little, and the effort will pay off big-time. here goes:

5) Change the headline, but keep the main keyword(s). Then change any subheads in your article. Now change the first 2 paragraphs and the last one. Since paragraphs for online articles should be short, this isn't a lot of work. One of the best ways I've found to rewrite a paragraph is to read it, then look away, then try to rewrite the paragraph without looking at what you had written previously. Most of the time, it will come out differently.

6) Now do this one more time - so you wind up with 3 articles which would be considered unique by the search engines.

7) Take a look at the resource box (some may call it bio) in the article directories you've selected. Some may allow you to enter html. In those cases, use an anchor text link with one of the keywords about your service or product. For instance, financial advisor or career coach, etc.

8) Now we come to the article submission services. There are thousands of them. But really just a handful are the ones that do most of the work. Here are the top 6 in order of their Alexa rankings. Choose 3 to submit your articles. If you know of a niche article directory that caters to your niche, and include it as one of your 3 directories.

Top 6 article directories by order of Alexa rankings (starting with the top):

- ezinearticles.com
- goarticles.com
- articledashboard.com
- searchwarp.com
- articlesbase.com
- isnare.com

9) Next, submit a different article to each of the 3 directories you've chosen. Can you use more than 3? Absolutely. But 3 will get you more than enough coverage.

Optional) Now take any version of the article and go to onlywire.com and submit it there. It's a social bookmarking center that will distribute your article to the bookmarking sites of your choice. This will get you on many of the social bookmarking sites in one swoop.

It's a bit of work but not as much as you think. Do this a few times focusing on a couple of keywords in your niche and you will establish yourself as an authority in your niche in record time, and get lots of targeted traffic to your site.

Leon Altman has been helping companies and entrepreneurs exceed their marketing goals for over 25 years. He worked as copywriter and creative executive for top agencies, including Wunderman; Young&Rubicam; BBDO;and DDB/Needham. His clients have ranged from blue chips like IBM, Merrill Lynch, Apple, Ameriprise, Autodesk, Internet powerhouses such as theStreet.com, quote.com and shipwire.com, and many small businesses. To find out about his consulting or coaching services, go to>> http://www.yourmarketingroadmap.com/coaching.php

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