Promote Your Business – Publish Articles on the Web

As the Web, Tivo, Google AdWords/Adsense and subscription radio throw the advertising world into a funk, there's a tried and true method for promotion that's cheap, relatively easy and still highly effective when compared to "traditional" advertising... Some call it PR. Some call it editorial promotion. Most serious businesses deem it a critical component to their overall marketing plan. As an eBay seller, you should be utilizing editorial promotion to position yourself as an expert and position your products within the marketplace.

The basic idea is to get articles about your business, products or services published...anywhere. You can spend a lot of time and money dancing with print newspaper, magazine and trade publishers, however it's much easier to publish on the Web. Not only is it easier, but media trends show that people are consuming news differently on the Web, and they're going to the Web more often for news and product information. People look for targeted information on the Web. You don't need to be all over the nightly news for people to find you. What you're interested in are the people who are searching for exactly what you offer and are writing/editorializing about.

So, how do you do this? How do you publish articles about your products, services and business on the Web? Fortunately, Brett Krkosska, managing editor of Home Biz Tools, has written an excellent article on the subject. This article shows you how to syndicate your work so that multiple outlets will pick it up. This is basically free advertising for you and your eBay business. What's more, you have the opportunity to truly educate prospects when you publish journalistic articles about your business. That's important, because the more people know about your business, how it works and how it can benefit themselves or others, the better positioned your company becomes. This probably falls under that old adage, "The more you tell, the more you sell."

Take a little time to develop some story ideas about your business. Then, return to this blog tomorrow (or this afternoon - this subject has my fingers dancing on the keyboard). I'll post an article about the fundamentals of "attention-grabbing" topics and journalistically sound leads.

My book, The 7 Essential Steps to Successful eBay Marketing, has lots of info on how to craft stories, develop problem/solution studies (known as case studies or success stories), and market your business better. It also shows you how to write attention-grabbing headlines. All these pointers apply to both journalistic articles and your eBay listings. The strategy and positioning are a little different, but the fundamentals are the same. Also, check out the previous post on post card tips. It's got some good pointers on headline writing and other valuable information.

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