As you may already know, writing free reprint articles and then distributing them to publishers and web sites is one of the best ways to promote your web site - a single article can result in hundreds of new links to your web site and a rapid increase in traffic levels. But there's nothing worse than staring at a blank screen, and wondering how you're going to fill it with hundreds of words. That's why I'm going to give you an easy way that anyone can use to write an article - even if it's your very first one!

1. Get a main idea, or focus for your article.

This is what your whole article is going to be about.

The main idea for your article needs to have some relevance to the web site that you link to in the resource box, because this is how you are going to get the benefit when your article is published.

This is why articles are so effective at directing targeted traffic to your site - the reader will be searching for information on a topic, find your helpful and informative article, and follow the link to your site for even more relevant information. Writing free reprint articles fits right into how Internet users surf the web, and benefits you with targeted traffic.

2. Jot down five or more key points that provide information on your article topic.

For example, if your article's a how-to type of article, you can have say five steps towards accomplishing a specific goal. If your article explains different ways to do something, think of five or more different ways. Each of these points will form a paragraph in your article. Often as you write your article proper, you will find that you can expand each point into two or three paragraphs, which will give you an ideal length for your article.

3. Write an introduction.

Just introduce your topic. Give a little bit of background to the article's topic, and then summarize what you will cover in your article.

Again, you want to keep the reader interested, keep them reading, and push them along to the link in your resource box that you want them to click. So try to spike their curiosity a little, and they won't be able to help but read on to find out more.

4. Write a conclusion.

Your conclusion really just quickly summarizes the main points in your article, similar to how your introduction works, except now you are drawing your article to a natural close.

It's good practice to take a look at some articles in an article directory, and see how authors have concluded their article. Don't copy word for word, but you can base the format of your own conclusion on one that you like the look of.

5. Add a tantalizing title.

You may want to write this at the very beginning, but it's often helpful to write at the end once you are really clear what your article is about.

Your title is also one of the most important elements. It has to draw the reader in, encourage him to read further, make your article stand out from the crowd, and if at all possible contain an element that plays to the reader's curiosity (i.e. literally force them to read just to satisfy their curiosity).

6. Check the length

The ideal article length is 600-800 words, this is what most publishers are looking for, and will ensure that your article gets published in the maximum number of places. If you're short, see if you can expand on certain points, or add a couple of new points in.

7. Write your resource box

The last and arguably most important bit is to write your resource box. Again, it's a good idea to have a look around some article directories and note how other authors have structured theirs.

In my experience, the most effective way to structure a resource box is to first write a sentence about yourself that also gives you some authority on your topic. Then write a sentence about your web site, with a link to it. And that's all it needs. Keep it simple, keep clear of promotional language, and just include a single link. ---

Once you've practised these techniques a couple of times, you'll find it as easy as pie and will be churning out quality articles in half the time. There are a few common mistakes that you will also need to avoid, but this is covered in a previous article I wrote at http://www.submityourarticle.com/articles/Steve-Shaw-1/submi t-article-963.php , there isn't room to go over them again here.

All you need to do now is get your article out there and published as widely as possible.

---------------------------------------------------- Steve Shaw provides systems and software for effective e-marketing. Find out more about how to publish articles for profit online with his popular free ecourse, available at: => http://www.takanomi.com/publish-articles.php
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   Do you consider yourself a responsible email marketer? Take this short questionnaire and test your business practices:

1. Have individuals on your email list given express permission to you, either via opt-in or email confirmation that you may reach them via email? Yes No

2. Is there a privacy policy clearly visible in the emails or on a Web site to which the email links that states how an email name will be used, and who to contact in case of concerns? Yes No

3. Does the "From" line in your email stay consistent from mailing to mailing? Yes No

4. Does the "From" line clearly indicate that you are the sender? Yes No

5. Is there a working link that allows the user to unsubscribe? Yes No

6. Are unsubscribe requests honored within the time specified and promised in your privacy policy? Yes No

7. Are unsubscribe requests honored at least within 48 hours? Yes No

8. If customer wants to unsubscribe via a written request, do you provide valid contact information and then respond to the requests? Yes No

9. Do new subscribers receive a welcome message reminding them of the name of the list, how they signed up, and estimated frequency of mailings? Yes No

10. Are subject lines always honest summaries of what the email is about? Yes No

If you answered "yes" to all ten questions, congratulations on following best practices in running effective email campaigns.

Here are some basics to get you started:

The basic principles of responsible email marketing are simple: Ensure that the individuals on your list have given you express permission to email them, and that you provide clear service links and accurate information.

What is express permission? This can be defined in one of two ways:

Opt-in permission means a person actively has to do something in order to be on the list, like filling in their email address on a Web site. Permissions should be to you and your company.

Confirmed opt-in, also called double opt-in, is a higher level of obtaining permission.

In this case the user performs an action to join the list, but before they are added, they must perform a second action to confirm their interest. For example, a user gives her address on a Web site. She is then sent a confirming email to which she must respond in order to be added to the list. If she does not confirm, she is not added to the list, and no email is sent.

Confirmed opt-in is considered to be the "gold standard" of permission-based email list management. Increasingly it is becoming necessary to obtain this level of permission for many reasons.

Reasons to utilize confirmed opt-in include:

1) ISPs, the people who actually deliver the mail, may decide not to deliver your messages without it;

2) it makes a statement about your brand; and

3) you'll see higher response rates. Even if you don't require confirmed opt-in, send a greeting and confirmation of subscription right away.

Opt-out, the practice of putting people on a list without their permission, and then providing a means for them to unsubscribe from the list is NOT considered obtaining express permission. The only exception would be for those with whom you have an existing business relationship. In this case, customers must be given the right to opt-out before being added to the list. This means an email is sent to the customer clearly and specifically stating that they will be added to your list unless they respond that they aren't interested.

What is not an acceptable practice is taking a name from a list not compiled by you and putting it on your list, even if you give the user the opportunity to opt-out. Also unacceptable is adding a name to a list with whom you have no previous relationship and who has no knowledge of your putting them on your list.

Opt-in and confirmed opt-in should be carried out in a completely straightforward manner. "Join our mailing list" is an example of a clear announcement. The person should know without question that when they are giving you their email address, they are also giving you permission for you to mail to them.

In this sense, permission should always be "memorable." Many users forget that they have signed up for a newsletter and may later complain, so be explicit during your opt-in process so that users can reasonably recall the request they made to receive your newsletter.

Key Best Practices Checklist

Always include a working unsubscribe or opt-out link in every message you send. Act upon unsubscribe requests within 48 hours.

Remind recipients why they're receiving an email from you. Post your privacy policy in a place that is easily available on your Web site. The policy should clearly state all the ways you will use an individual's private information and include contact information in case of questions.

The best practice is to never disclose any of this information to any third-party. Include a "From" address that accurately reflects who you are. It should be recognizable by the recipient as the entity to whom they gave permission.

Develop a subject line that is clear and truthful, and in no way misleading. Ensure that your list is up-to-date and completely cleaned of those who have unsubscribed or repeatedly bounced back as undeliverable.

"Hard bounces" (bad addresses) should be deleted immediately. "Soft Bounces" (addresses that temporarily cannot receive mail) should be deleted if they bounce consecutively.

Send your newsletter or message within 72 hours of receiving the name or reply with a confirmation email, reminding the person where you got their name, telling them what you intend to do with it, stating your permission policy, and giving them the opportunity to unsubscribe. Distribution Source:
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   Have you ever heard email described as, "the killer Internet Application?" Do you understand why email is the killer app for your business on the Internet, or how to make it that way if it isn't now?

In my spare time, I teach WingTsun(TM) Kung Fu. I learned Internet marketing by marketing my martial arts schools and classes online. Much of what I've learned about Internet marketing - and Life - has been strongly influenced by Kung Fu.

Good Kung Fu is concept-driven. Good Internet marketing should be, too. Have you ever heard the concept, "The best defense is a good offense?"

My students and I are nice people. But if you've ever had to defend yourself or your family, you know you can't be too nice. Your survival, or the survival of your loved ones, depends on you winning. You cannot stop, you must win.

So let me ask you: If you were in a situation where you had to defend yourself and your family - life or death! - would you only hit once? Of course not. You'd keep hitting until you and your family were safe, wouldn't you?

But is that how you market your business on the Internet? Are you relentless? Do you win? Or do you just get one hit per visitor? Do you really think people are going to wait around to see what happens? Or come back later for another hit?

It sounds funny, but this is what the vast majority of businesses do on the Internet! I've done it too, and I KNOW better! Any marketer will tell you it's a known fact that it normally takes multiple exposures to your marketing before someone actually makes a purchase. It's so easy to focus on getting a hit on your web site. But what's the chance you're going to win with just one hit?

Do you know what it costs you to get a visitor to your web site? Maybe you can measure it because you're doing pay-per-click, popup, or banner advertising. Or maybe you just know you spent umpteen hours hunched over your keyboard sweating blood trying to optimize your pages for the search engines.

Any way you count it, I'm betting it's costing you a lot of time or money for each visitor. Do you really want them to just surf in and surf out, never to be seen again, and never to generate any revenue?

Are you going to crawl back in every Monday morning to a job you hate? Your family would be a lot safer if they didn't have to depend on the good will of an anonymous corporation, wouldn't they?

Are you going to win?

Are you an Internet Warrior?

Then you have to get their email address, and permission to email them. Then we start our Kung Fu.

I'm going to teach you the concept of the WingTsun chain punch. The chain punch is like a machine gun - it's a continuous chain of punches, each one linking to the next in a continuous unbroken chain.

They just keep coming! Believe it or not, with a little practice anyone can punch 7 or 8 times a second for 100 punches or more. In fact, 10 punches per second is not that difficult and 12 punches per second is not unheard of! And every one of those punches is automatic, it's reflex. It's all on autopilot.

That's what your email newsletter can do for you. It's your kung fu chain punches. They just keep coming until you win!

Now I want to be sure to specify here that we're not talking spam - we're talking permission marketing. We're talking about emailing to people who've subscribed to your newsletter from your web site.

Good self-defense is simple. There's no time to try to do complex, memorized sequences of dozens of movements! You just need a couple simple things that really work when the chips are down and that are pretty hard to screw up.

In the WingTsun Kung Fu that I teach, chain punching fills the bill. You learn it pretty much day one, then you do about a thousand a day for the next 40 or 60 years! Of course it will work, you know it as well as you know how to walk!

We're going to do the same thing with email. Here are the concepts and simple steps of Kung Fu Email Marketing:

1. The primary job of your web site is to get a visitor to give you their email address and permission to email them. You need to prominently feature your subscription mechanism. The mechanism can be as simple as an email link, a form they can submit, a popup/popunder/popover, or whatever. Just get the email address. And be sure to tell them what you will do with it - you will send them your newsletter, ezine, occasional special offers, or whatever.

It doesn't hurt to tell them in plain English that you're not going to sell their email address to a bunch of spammers either. And be sure to keep that promise! Since people are getting pretty protective of their email addresses, it may also be a great idea to give them a good reason to subscribe. Maybe you can give them a free ebook or report, or a free trial of your service.

2. You want your email newsletter to earn your subscribers' trust and respect, turn subscribers into customers, and customers into repeat business. You need to send your newsletter regularly forever, earning trust and respect the old-fashioned way, and never letting your subscribers down.

You can do this manually, but I recommend instead doing at least most of it with a sequential autoresponder. There are a number of good ones out there, and you can either go with one hosted on someone else's servers or you can run a script on yours.

That's it, you've now taken your first lesson in Kung Fu Email Marketing! What, did you think it would be hard or something? C'mon, this is just Internet marketing, not Kung Fu fighting!

About the Author:

Mike Adams has been doing WingTsun Kung Fu since 1980. You can learn more about his WingTsun Kung Fu schools at: http://www.dynamicwingtsun.com/ For more of Mike's Internet marketing tips, tools, news, articles, and resources, visit: http://www.timberway.com/
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