You might think that writing 100 articles in a year is a Herculean feat that only the most advanced or professional writer can accomplish, but the truth is that even a beginner can reach this goal with a little bit of planning and consistency.

What’s the benefit of having a ‘100 articles’ goal?

When you’re doing article marketing, a pivotal factor of your success will be how consistently you submit articles. Many amateurs decide to try article marketing and then give up prematurely when they don’t see immediate results.

What a shame! Article marketing is one of the most effective, reliable, and user friendly website marketing tools, but you need to submit articles consistently over an extended span of time in order to reap the benefits.

Even when you know you should be submitting articles every month, it can be a challenge to stay focused and write articles on a regular basis.

This is where the ‘100 articles’ goal comes in–focusing on that long term goal and coming up with a plan on how to reach it is like building consistency into your marketing plan. Instead of thinking of each article as a one-off, you start to see each article you submit as contributing to a larger goal.

Why should you aim to accomplish this goal in a year?

The goal is not just to submit 100 articles–the goal is to do it in about a year’s time. There are SEO benefits for trickling out your article submissions consistently over an extended span of time. This allows you to build links in a more organic way, which is attractive to search engines.

So, a year’s time is a good time frame. Space your articles submissions out evenly over that time. Submit just 8 articles a month, and you will reach your goal with ease.

Strategies For Submitting 100 Articles In A Year:

Just 8 articles a month will let you accomplish this goal in a little over a year. That’s just 2 articles a week.

• Write one article 2 days a week. Create regular ‘writing days’ where you have a block of time set aside for writing.
• Or schedule, one or more extended writing sessions where you produce multiple articles at one sitting.
• Or you can stockpile articles: Write 5 articles a week for 5 weeks. That will produce enough articles to last you about 3 months and will allow you to take a break from writing for a couple months (while still providing you with articles to submit during that time). Then do it all over again.

Need Writing Ideas?

Easy enough to decide to write 2 articles a week–the hard part is coming up with ideas of what to write about. Here are some suggestions to keep your creative juices flowing:

1. Use a free article writing template that gives you a basic structure for crafting an article on your topic. I’ve created some of my own, and I use them all the time.
2. Adapt content from your blog to create articles.
3. Remember to write for newbies and more advanced readers–you can cover the same topic in two different articles geared towards groups with different knowledge levels.
4. Use customer frequently asked questions as the basis for an article.
5. Use a keyword suggestion tool such as WordTracker to see what keywords your target readers are typing into search engines. Then write articles to satisfy those searches.

Your Assignment:

1. Commit to writing 100 articles in about a year’s time.
2. Develop a plan to reach your goals using one of the strategies I’ve outlined here or customize your own plan.

Imagine how you’ll feel at the end of a year when you know you’ve stuck to your goal and made a huge and lasting impact on your website’s health. Consistency is the key–it is not hard. It just takes writing a steady amount of articles every month. You can do this!

Why do enterprisers write? Simple, most enterprisers would say: since we have to. Truthful, maybe, but deterring. It makes writing seem pretty trivial. How about another go? Here’s a plausible 2nd reply: To demonstrate what we know. Hmm, I’m not sure I like that a great deal better. Isn’t there something more confirming we can state about writing and becoming a master author?

Yes, there is a finer and more in-depth way to describe why individuals write. The best reason to write is the best reason to do anything-because it helps you evolve and grow into your potential. Writing is a fantastic way to learn. When you compose you identify whether you really understand something, or just think you do; and the very operation of writing makes you think, and think hard.

The operation of writing-an awkward cycle of question, composition, and rewrites-push an author toward the true goals of decisive thinking, creativity, analytic thinking, deduction, and informed judgment. In this view, then, writing is chiefly about learning, not showing off what you already know. If authoring teaches you nothing, it is nothing.

2 common forms of writing are expressive and communicative.

Expressive composition is personal and loose, authored to further comprehension and expression on the part of the author. Open-ended and originative, expressive writing is a good way to start learning about a topic. Differently, communicative writing is analytic, formal and more or less impersonal. It presupposes that the author already has considerable knowledge and appreciation of the topic, and is composing to inform a reader. It demands adherence to firm rules of tone, voice, wording, evidence, and reference.

Composing as learning begins with expressive writing. Consider what it’s like when you’re first learning about a subject. Everything is unfamiliar. It’s like being in a strange land and the words themselves are unknown. Expressive writing gives you an chance to begin to make sense of a subject, to bring the countless facts, definitions, rules, possibilities, and views to life and enforce some order on them.

With communicative composition, appearances matter a great deal. Communicative writing includes reports, plans, official documents of all kinds, letters of application, and so on. What all these forms of composition have in common is the capital weight they place on appearances.

The tight rules governing communicative writing rather effectively pick out those who haven’t enough knowledge in a field. Technical papers or initial sales pages, e.g., can often weed out half-baked or poor authors simply by how they appear.  Communicative writing requires you to know very much about a particular field’s rules and patterns… so you’d better know what you’re talking about.

Writing is a skill that anyone can learn to improve and can be used to pull-in income. Also writing can be a wonderful learning and self growth tool.

You don’t have to have a pre-existent talent or aptitude for writing in order to do it well. All you have to do is take hold of your writing by systematically applying tools, techniques and diligence and understand what it’s all about to reap more revenue from your writing.

Next, Learn More With This Free eBook
“Mastering Writing For Mega Money”

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Google Adwords can drive you crazy with its “secret formula” for favorable ad placement and impressions. “Do I have the right keywords?” “Maybe my ads aren’t eye catching.” Just when you think you’ve got the formula figured out, Google changes the rules. Here is a tip that will work no matter what…deliver what your ad promises. More than anything, Google wants you to help them create a positive experience for their users. Create a quality landing page that does that and you and Google Adwords will become very good friends.

Too many Google Adwords marketers spend their time on keywords and ads, and leave the landing page out of the equation. Doing so can leave marketers scratching their heads when their cost per click remains high and conversions remain low. Despite all of the complicated theories about how to succeed with Google Adwords, it comes to this one fact: Google rewards or punishes its advertisers based on how well they solve the problem that Google’s searcher has. If your ad says “Learn Guitar In 2 Days” then the content on your landing page better have them playing like Eddie Van Halen within 48 hours. Anything short of that will, sooner or later, result in a Google “slap” where your impressions from Google Adwords are severely reduced or cut off altogether.

Here are some key elements of a good Google Adwords landing page:

1. Deliver on the promise of your ad – As I said before, this is the biggest key to success. If you solve the searcher’s problem/issue, you win. If your searcher clicks off of your page and begins another search, Google tracks it and penalizes you. Deliver on your promise and Google rewards you with lower cost per click and more impressions.
2. Make your page original – Unlike in the past, mass produced “replicated sites” no longer work. Google values giving their searchers unique and high quality information. Mass produced site, with their duplicate content, was watering down Google’s search results so they put an end to their use by penalizing advertisers that used them. Your landing page is your chance to “wow” your visitor. Make it count by making your landing page unique, novel and personal. Google will reward you for ending a search on your landing page by lowering your cost per click and increasing your number of impressions.
3. One page does not fit all – Your visitors decide in just a few seconds whether to stay on your site or click off. Be sure the top of your page matches the ad they clicked on. This is where, as good marketer, you can really excel. Maximize your conversions across all ads by creating a landing page for each ad. This mainly involves customizing the top portion of the page. The rest of the page can remain the same for all pages.
4. Get to the point – How long should your landing page be? Exactly as long as it takes to convey your message effectively. No more, no less. Grammar counts! Leave the misspellings and bad punctuation for the amateurs.
5. Have a goal in mind for your visitors – Are you trying to make a sale or get a lead? Have a goal in mind before creating your page and write your copy to lead them to that conclusion. Focus on one goal per page.
6. Increase conversions with a bonus – Everyone responds to “Free.” Adding a bonus to sweeten the deal will increase conversions. Information products work great and they don’t cost you anything.
7. Credibility counts – You are an experienced, successful business person. Your page should convey that. Graphics should augment your page copy, not compete with it. Leaving white space on your page is a good thing. Also, audio or video that launches when your visitor accesses the page is a big no-no. Your page should be welcoming without looking like a Vegas billboard.
8. Be trustworthy – Trust is a huge issue online. Anything you can do to be transparent is a plus. For example, are you a member of the Better Business Bureau? Put your member logo on your page! Same for site security certifications. Also, let your visitors know a little bit about you. Nothing really personal but you want your readers to feel like you are a real person.

This can seem like a lot to remember until you understand that all of these tips boil down to being a real and genuine person online. With billions of pages of content to wade through, people crave quality and trustworthy professionals to do business with. When you think about it, Google Adwords has set the bar very low for online marketers. Be a professional and deliver on your promise, the same as in any other kind of business. Just these two simple things will give you a huge advantage over the competition.

Next, Discover More On How To Make High Quality Landing Pages

As business owners and managers, we need to look at a variety of numbers to gain a better understanding of our businesses. In this article, we are going to consider two very important metrics in business marketing – Cost Of Customer Acquisition and Advertising ROI (Return On Investment).

One of the most important numbers we need to always be mindful of is the “Cost of a New Customer” or “Cost of Customer Acquisition”.

Understanding Customer Acquisition Costs

If you are unfamiliar with this concept, let me give you a quick tutorial on this advertising metric.

Suppose you run an advertisement in your local newspaper for your furniture store. Suppose for the sake of this example that you paid $1000 for your display ad in the newspaper.

Now, suppose your advertising brought 4 new customers into your store, who bought from you. Suppose also that the average spend for each customer was $1500.

With the example I am drawing, your $1000 display advertisement in the newspaper brought in 4 customers who spent a total of $6000 in your store.

I am going to keep this example simple, so that more people can keep up with the numbers.

On the basic premise of our example, you generated 4 customers after an outlay of $1000 in advertising. So your basic Cost Of Customer Acquisition was $250 per customer.

If your business received fewer customers, from your outlay of $1000 in advertising, then your Cost Of Customer Acquisition is more expensive.

But, if your business earned more customers who spent money, then your Cost Of Customer Acquisition would be much smaller.

In its simplest form, the Cost Of Customer Acquisition is the money spent to get the customer to your store divided by the number of new customers acquired. We will look at this in more detail, later in this article.

The Best Way To Measure Sales And Marketing Performance

Entrepreneur Magazine in a 1999 article reflected on the Cost Of Customer Acquisition in the dot com world. The article suggested, “the cost of new customer acquisition is one of the best ways to measure sales and marketing performance.”

In 1999, the Cost Of Customer Acquisition for the following companies were:

• BarnesAndNoble.com – $42
• Amazon.com – $27.60
• Priceline – $32.30
• Beyond.com – $29.30

On the surface, these numbers may seem small. But, Amazon’s Average Sale is in the $17-range! This makes the challenge that Amazon and other major retailers face fairly transparent. If these retailers could only count on one purchase from the newly acquired customer, then these businesses would be losing money by the truckload.

Fortunately, Amazon continues to perform well in Repeat Business from a single customer. The following calculations reflect additional numbers that we business people should also factor into our Cost Of Acquisition metrics.

The Real Value Of A Customer

Amazon’s first-sale may only be $17, but in 1999, Amazon’s Average Sales Per Customer was $116, up $10 from the previous year. Unfortunately, Amazon isn’t very forthcoming with these numbers, so after two hours research, I was unable to come up with more up-to-date numbers for you to consider.

The point of mentioning this is that it is important for business owners and managers to recognize that the Value Of A Customer is not how much sales revenue is derived from the initial purchase, but more importantly, from the Lifetime Value Of A Customer.

If we looked at Amazon’s Cost Of Customer Acquisition only in terms of that first sale, then they will be losing money hand-over-fist. With a Cost Of Acquisition of $27.60 and the first sale of $17, Amazon could not stay in business long if they were continuously producing numbers at that level. However, once you factor in the Lifetime Value Of A Customer, then Amazon is spending $27.60 to acquire a customer that is worth $116 in sales for them. Therefore, by measuring the Lifetime Value of a Customer, Amazon is spending only 24% of their revenue in order to acquire one customer.

Few businesses invest 24% of their revenue in advertising, but Amazon hopes that the Lifetime Value of a Customer will eventually exceed the $116 value, known to have existed in FY2000.

As the Lifetime Value of a Customer increases, the overall Cost of Customer Acquisition will fall, as an overall percentage value of Cost Of Acquisition divided by the Lifetime Value of the customer.

The Compounding Lifetime Value Of A Customer

If you have a hair-cutting salon and your advertising budget for one month is $1000, and you get 30 new customers through the door, who will spend an average of $20 for a hair cut, then your basic Cost of Customer Acquisition is roughly $33.34 to gain $20 in new sales.

But if only half of your 30 new customers become regular clients, then you can anticipate 15 of those customers coming to your hair salon at least once a month for the remainder of the year. Therefore, the first 15 customers will be worth $20 each, and the next 15 customers will be worth $240 each over the course of one year ($20 x 12 months). All told, your first 15 customers will put $300 in your cash register, and the next 15 customers will put another $3600 in your cash register.

Thus, in the hair salon example, your $1000 in advertising could generate new customers that will generate $3900 in new sales. Once you start to consider the Lifetime Value of a Customer, within the Cost of Customer Acquisition, then you will realize that the Cost of Customer Acquisition – although it might be higher than the initial sale – holds out the possibility and promise reducing itself as the Lifetime Value of a Customer increases over time.

As the end of the year winds down, you will be able to see that a $1000 expenditure was turned into $3900 in new revenue. In essence, for every dollar you spent on advertising that month, your return value was $3.90 over the course of one year.

In the second year, if only half of the original 15 regular customers or roughly 8 people stay with you for the full course of the second year, then the $1920 in revenue (8 people X $20 each X 12 months) you can expect from those customers could almost be considered free money. Of course, you will still have service fulfillment costs, but that second year will give you nearly $2000 in revenue that you will not have to chase.

Even if half of the customers drop off during the following calendar years, then a 50% customer attrition rate will allow you to have customers that could stay with you up to five years. Calculated against a 50% decrease in customers over each calendar year, your $1000 investment in advertising may translate into $7500 in revenues over five years ($3900 + $1920 + $960 + $480 + $240 = $7500), from the initial investment of $1000 in advertising.

The interesting thing about this scenario is that it is based on an advertising budget of $1000 ONE TIME. But, most businesses will continue the advertising process every month in every year. Therefore, the above example could compound month-after-month. Every month should bring the same or similar results to your business for the month and year.

Advertising Is A Process, Not An Event

Many small business owners have a dire misunderstanding of the nature of advertising and the value to be received from the advertising.

When business owners or managers fail to track and measure the new business generated from the advertising, then the business owners and managers will fail to see that advertising is an expense that can return huge dividends to the business.

When businesses fail to track and measure advertising successes, people tend to only see the money leaving the business without every seeing the reward coming back into the business. As a result, many business managers will employ advertising for a short time, then cancel the advertising, under the false belief that the advertising was not returning value to the business.

When businesses fail to understand the Lifetime Value Of A Customer, it is hard to appreciate any advertising method that fails to pay for itself in its first cycle. If Amazon was to only look at the initial sale generated by a new customer, they would quickly cancel all of their advertising efforts. Fortunately for Amazon, its management understands that the initial $17 sale is not the measure to use to determine the value of Amazon’s advertising efforts. Amazon’s management understands that the true Cost of Customer Acquisition should not be measured by the initial sale, but by the Lifetime Value of a Customer. In doing so, Amazon has ensured that it will continue to be one of the largest and most successful retail outlets on the planet.

When business managers fail to understand the Lifetime Value of a Customer, it is hard for them to appreciate and understand the compounding nature of the revenue stream for a business. It is hard for them to understand that money invested into advertising today, can deliver huge rewards over the next several years.

A Wake Up Call For Small Business Owners

According to Scott Shane, author of “Illusions of Entrepreneurship: The Costly Myths that Entrepreneurs, Investors, and Policy Makers Live By“, only 29-in-100 businesses will remain in business after ten years. That means that a full 71% of businesses started in any calendar year will be out of business in only ten years.

It is sad to say, but the reason most businesses fail is that business owners and managers fail to understand the nature of advertising, the importance of tracking and measuring advertising results, the Lifetime Value of a Customer, and the compounding nature of the revenue stream.

I don’t want to see your business on the trash heap of yesteryear. So, it is my hope that you will take this article as a wake-up call, as to the importance of advertising and its potential to lift your business into profits.

Next, Learn Here More On How To Advertise Online……And Then Watch This FREE 26 Part Step-By-Step VIDEO Course

Most landing pages are often way too cluttered for their own good – hence the low conversions and high bounce rates. Consumers have shortened attention spans online so overly complicated landing pages with pop-ups, animations, and too much to focus on will only lead them to click away. The following subtle tricks should help you create a more effective landing page that boosts conversions and sales.

Don’t Forget to Provide a Clear Call to Action

Too many people dismiss the importance of a clear call to action. After reading your landing page, users should know exactly what they are supposed to do, whether it is to fill out the form or click “Buy Now.” Adding a call to action to a landing page where one is lacking or making your current call to action much clearer and more prominent can have a dramatic impact on conversions.

Make sure that you only provide one call to action on your landing page. If you provide several different conversion options, people will get confused and your sales message will get diluted. Your prospects just want to sign on the dotted line so make it easy for them to do so.

Keep it Simple

The majority of landing pages are cluttered and overwhelming. Make sure the design of your landing pages is as simple as possible. Get rid of the distracting audio, animation, and bright colors. Make the visuals of your landing page so simple that visitors are guided to the call of action without interruptions.

Text should also be minimized when you are simplifying the design and look of your site. Make the content on your site easy to read and digest by dividing it into sections, using bullet points, and keeping things concise.

If you’re using a form to capture leads on your landing page, try to keep it as short as possible. If your form has too many fields, you will end up losing sales because your prospects won’t want to spend time filling it out. Getting your prospect’s name and email is usually enough in most cases.

The use of simple language is also important. If a sixth grader wouldn’t be able to understand it, don’t use it. Jargon and marketing speak don’t increase sales. If your landing page is too complicated or wordy, your visitors will lose interest quickly.

Convey Your Credibility

Not only should your website be simple, organized, and professional looking, it should also convey your credibility. People have to trust you first in order to purchase something from you. In order to earn that trust, you can list the names of reputable companies you have worked with, provide testimonials, refer to awards you have won, list memberships you have to relevant professional associations, etc.

Take a look at your current landing pages. Are they simple, professional, easy to follow, and organized? If not, make some changes while keeping these tricks in mind. A landing page with a clear call to action and credibility will help you boost conversions dramatically.

Next, Discover Here More Tips On How To Create Outstanding Landing Pages…