Sun Tzu's - The Art of Slippery Articles

[obannon]

I wouldn't worry about how "legitimate" your affiliate link is. You are looking at it differently than the average visitor will because you've seen "behind the curtain" so to speak.

The average visitor wants--and is usually happy to receive--links that are related to the topic they're reading or researching. If your content did a good job of pre-selling then the visitor not only wanted that link, but expected it and would have been disappointed if you hadn't provided it.

As for article writing, I use a very basic formula that tries for a quick personal connection with readers. I'll outline it here and if it helps you great.

Title: Use tabloid formats. They're cheesy but they work which is all that matters.
"Shocking BLANKS You'll Be Surprised To Learn"
"Guess What BLANK Just Did"
"Have BLANK? Read This Before You BLANK"

Article:
1. Pin-point the challenge or problem your product addresses and your readers will be seeking help with, and define it briefly in a conversational mode--i.e. use "you" instead of "people" in your text so the reader feels like you're talking just to them. (about 100 words)

2. Remind the reader how much life stinks with this problem or challenge facing them. Take them on an emotional low here. (about 150 words)

3. But wait, there's hope! Show the reader how solving their problem or challenge will benefit them and make life so much better. Emotional upswing happens here that leads into the final part and will hopefully have the reader craving this better life without the problem like you're describing it. (about 200 words)

4. Offer your solution to the problem or challenge. You've connected with the reader and hopefully have them ready to take action on their problem, now close the deal with your affiliate link. (about 100 words)

That's my basic formula for article writing when I'm writing to promote a product. The word counts for each section are approximate and should be changed to fit your needs with each article.

The only thing I'd point out is that you don't want to go too much over 100 words in the last section. If your article works all you really need to do is tell readers what to do next, adding unnecessary words here will risk losing some of them.

I hope this helps.

[AndyWiltshireNZ]

Awesome, thanks, those were just the responses I was looking for, some excellent tips there!

We are getting 4 seasons here on Waiheke Island at the mo, a typical day:

Cloudy
Rain
Sun
Hail
Sun
Cloudy
Rain

And windy the whole time.... cant wait for spring...

[Caro]

Originally Posted by AndyWiltshireNZ

We are getting 4 seasons here on Waiheke Island at the mo, a typical day:

Cloudy
Rain
Sun
Hail
Sun
Cloudy
Rain

And windy the whole time.... cant wait for spring...

Mum reports the same for Auckland too lol

Waiheke is beautiful - and FAB wines/vineyards (and some great restaurants).

Caro

[Cactus]

Do we have to use the main phrase as anchor text for outgoing links?
For instance when Ed writes. ......"is the 2008 Official Vintage Guitar Magazine Price Guide" it just seems more natural to me to add the link there.

[HendryLee]

It can be important because not only you tell Google that the linked URL is related to the keyword but also your article is related to that keyword phrase...

I think Dan talked about it in one of his lessons, or may be Rob.

[alexis.minnis]

I have also been wondering the same things...and most have been answered by this post BUT just one thing....should every post we do be in that same format? I understand the first post (like on the vintage electric guitar blog) but if were posting every day, how do we keep on doing this problem/solution type post every day? Or after the first post do we just post relevant articles on our keywords?
Another question, in every post do we have a link to our affiliate??

Thanks all for your help!

I'm loving the challenge so far

[KarenKramer]

I don't know anything about Sun Tzu but....

I do have a Shih Tzu that has problems with Slippery floors


(Sorry, I just couldn't resist)

Karen

PS... Follow RayEdwards on Twitter for great copywriting... He's right up there with Carlton and Halbert and he's a super nice guy and big fan of Thirty Day Challenge

[Caro]

Originally Posted by alexis.minnis

I have also been wondering the same things...and most have been answered by this post BUT just one thing....should every post we do be in that same format? I understand the first post (like on the vintage electric guitar blog) but if were posting every day, how do we keep on doing this problem/solution type post every day? Or after the first post do we just post relevant articles on our keywords?
Another question, in every post do we have a link to our affiliate??

Thanks all for your help!

I'm loving the challenge so far

You just need to come up with different angles - it takes practice, will feel awkward and forced at first.

Remember - when someone is passionate and interested in something - they want to know everything they can.

You do look for different spins. Look to uncover a new nugget of information.

Remember you're testing at this stage - so you do need to put a certain amount of effort in...and then whether that's ongoing or not depends on if it passes the test stage

Caro

[crazytim77]

This thread is a good one. I am also concerned about the "cheesiness" of my articles. In reading the advice, I remembered some useful tips I have heard at Stomper Net during the Simple program:-

• Write in a conversational way - type the way you talk
• *Don't worry about getting the posts perfect - you're learning. don't delete any of your articles - good or bad, publish all of them
• make a mind map of possible articles - try and get 20 titles in 10 mins
• Use a stopwatch
• See if you can create 10 articles in 1 hour - it's a bit like the 4 minute mile barrier!!
• Don't edit/spell check as you write, it breaks your flow. Do all that after

My favourite reference so far is: -
The Top 5 Ways to Keep Your Blog Content Fresh | Copyblogger

[crazytim77]

It's a day since my previous post and I'm not sure if I might have confused the issue.

Ed's video on day 5 is perfect technique for what we need at this stage, anything more could be over complicating things.

To quote from Ed's video:-

You just need to do as well as you can do. People obsess over writing and you shouldn't, because the strength of the story is the "wow fact"...