You wear many hats as an affiliate marketer. One day you’re engaging in an e-mail campaign, the next day you’re commenting on social forums. In addition, you find you have to spend time maintaining your website, while still needing time to post to your blog. Of course, there’s article marketing which you regularly employ as a marketing tool.

You realize that article writing and article distribution is vital to link building. If you perform your own article writing you know it’s time-consuming to research and craft quality articles.

Sometimes you may feel overwhelmed with the pressure to build an inventory of articles. However, unless you pay an article writing service to write for you, you have to make time for writing.

You can perform article writing faster while still maintaining quality. You do not have to trade one for the other. The following are ways to get up to speed producing consistent content that your target market needs.

Know Your Specific Topic

By knowing your topic this means specifically, not generally. You no doubt will be writing on a topic related to your affiliate product. Is your affiliate product a health and wellness product? Then focus your article on one aspect of the products you market.

An article on why vitamins are beneficial for you is good. An article on the benefits of omega-3 fatty acids for cholesterol control is better. It’s specific and highly focused.

This focus will help you concentrate on one message when it comes to article writing. You will not try to tackle too much in one article. You will not stray off topic either. You know your article must deal with omega-3 fatty acids.

Therefore, you will not start wandering into discussions on why vitamin C is beneficial for building the immune system. Your topic is omega-3 and cholesterol. You will focus your research efforts and writing on this topic and therefore make efficient use of your time.

Choose a Title

While some people like to come up with a title afterwards, choosing one beforehand further focuses your thinking. You know every word you write must relate to the title. If your title is “Keep Cholesterol under Control with Omega-3’s” you will make sure every sentence is a natural extension of the title.

Again, you will not waste valuable time on sub-topics. You will also not wander into other health and wellness topics only vaguely associated with cholesterol control.

Outline

Once you have your specific topic, and title, and have performed the necessary research, you can outline. Your goal with an outline is to choose three to five major points concerning your topic. Article marketing as part of an article promotions campaign means writing content of 500 to 800 words.

You can only convey so much information in a short article. When you select your three to five points you have a road map for your article. You simply add an introduction and conclusion to your main points and there’s your article.

With an outline you know each point can only have so many words or your article runs too long. Therefore, you focus on presenting the essence of each major point. You finish elaborating on one point and move to the next according to your road map.

It’s like a road trip to a vacation destination. You have pre-determined stops along the way.

Each point you write about is one-step closer to your conclusion and a complete article. Without an outline you will take too many side trips, often off topic. You either never reach your destination (your conclusion) or take too long to get there.

You also dilute your main message and have to revise extensively to get it back on track. This is where article writing becomes time consuming.

Article writing for submission to article distribution services is something that doesn’t have to take forever to accomplish. You can write faster and maintain quality by adhering to the above tips.

Choose a specific topic. Focus it further with a specific title before you begin writing. Outline so you have a map for your journey with a clear destination in mind. Then put your pedal to the metal and head out on that journey to build your affiliate business through article marketing.

Engaging in article marketing as an affiliate marketer is a great way to build links back to your website. Writing informative articles for your target audience establishes your credibility. It is a way to pre-sell potential customers. It is an efficient way to market your business at little or no cost.

Often times you can write an article off-the cuff concerning a topic related to your affiliate product. You can do this when you know a topic inside out from first-hand experience. At other times, your article writing efforts will involve research that is more detailed. Whether it’s internet or otherwise, you have to put in some time gathering facts, data, and statistics.

However, sometimes you just have to go to the source, meaning a person, to gather information. This is when you just cannot seem to gather enough quality information. You may have a great topic; you may feel your target market would relish this topic. The problem is internet research is yielding you slim pickings.

What are you to do? It’s time you go to the source and conduct an interview. With an interview, you get first-hand reports from knowledgeable sources familiar with a subject. You can ask them pertinent questions, gather quality information, and present this to your audience. The following are five tips for conducting quality interviews that can help your article writing efforts.

Do Your Homework

Before you interview someone, whether by phone or in person, know your subject matter. “But,” you say, “That’s why I’m interviewing them, to learn about the subject.” That’s true; however, you cannot appear as completely clueless before the person you are hoping will give you vital information.

First, it shows a lack of respect that you would not even take the time to learn a little about a person, what they do. Second, not knowing anything about the person and his or her specialty means you will not ask them appropriate questions.

Have a general idea of the person’s profession, activities, and area of expertise. Show them you did your homework concerning them and they will open up to you and give you information that is even more detailed. This will make your article writing easier.

Prepare a List of Questions

Know what you are going to ask your contact before you meet him or her. Have a list of questions ready to go. Having a list does two things; it keeps you focused on the important areas you want to discuss with the person.

A list helps you avoid meandering off topic with your questioning. In addition, a list helps avoid uncomfortable lulls in the conversation as you try to conjure up another question in your mind.

Make Those Questions the Right Ones

Don’t ask questions that only require a “yes” or “no” response. That makes for boring articles. You want your subject to expand on topics. Instead of asking someone “Is this your first award?” ask, “How did you feel when you won this ward, what was your first reaction?” The first question may elicit a yes or no answer; the second will encourage elaborating.

Take Great Notes or Use a Recording Device

Without looking like a lecture hall speed writer, try to take as many detailed notes as you can, as you talk to your subject. Alternatively, if they agree to it, record the interview. Many unobtrusive, quiet, quality devices can record interviews for you. You can then leisurely take your own notes off the device later.

Ask for Additional Resources

If you feel the interview subject is open to this, ask them for other resources. This may be directions to another resource to help you gain further information. It can be something as simple as a web link, or the name of a book to check out.

This can give you that extra information you need to make your article top-notch. This information can be fodder for future articles you may want to write on the topic. It’s great when you can have a database of information to write future articles.

Consider interviews to garner quality information vital to useful articles. Plan your interviews so you do not waste your or your subject’s time. Use interview information wisely in your article writing efforts. Your article marketing initiatives will pay dividends when your content offers readers information from the experts in a field.

In internet marketing, newsletters are an effective tool to stay in regular contact with your customers. In the case of garnering new customers, they are equally effective.

Encouraging visitors to your website to sign up for a newsletter is an excellent way to build your e-mail list. Converting that list into customers who purchase, however, takes work.

This is where an effective newsletter sent on a weekly or monthly basis can build a relationship with your contacts. Your newsletter to your target market builds your credibility just as article writing does. Getting the newsletter out to a broad subscription base can be as effective as article marketing in getting your links out.

What should you include in a newsletter that visitors to your site opt-in to receive? It depends on what product or service you’re ultimately promoting; they define the focus of your communication. There are certain basics to any newsletter, though.

The following are five tips for effective newsletters:

1. Focus on readers wants and needs in your writing. It’s tempting to talk about things that interest you in a newsletter. You have more space to get your message out to an audience who requested the online publication from you.

Inspire them to take action and buy your affiliate product. You must, however, be careful about excessive promotional content.

Newsletters are for informing and educating readers. They want useful news, tips, and articles. Integrate information about your products and services naturally in your article content.

Keep your content “hype free” and instead have your own advertisement on the side or bottom of your newsletter. It will appear as an ad does in any magazine or newspaper but not be part of your actual informative content.

2. Write articles that are “How-to” or “What you need to know about XYZ” type pieces. Your subscribers want newsletter article writing that helps them solve problems. They want content that answers nagging questions they have about an affiliate product related topic.

Make your articles so interesting and helpful that readers implement the tips, advice, and knowledge you give them in their daily lives. Do this consistently and you will have long-term subscribers. Many of this will eventually convert into affiliate product customers.

3. Write shorter articles. Typically, newsletter articles are in the 300 to 400 word range. They are not as long as the articles writing you do for your article marketing campaigns. Shorter articles allow you to write two or three pieces on different topics in your newsletter.

You can mix up a couple of 400 word articles with a couple of articles half the size. Just remember to keep your paragraphs and sentences shorter as well in your newsletter writing.

4. Include case study excerpts or informative current news related to your affiliate product or service. This is your way of keeping your audience up-to-date on the latest happenings and trends concerning your topic.

Again, useful information, not sales fluff is the order of the day here. Your goal is to tell your readers something they do not know so they raise their level of expertise concerning the topic as well.

5. Organize your newsletter for eye comfort. Don’t make your newsletter look like those clunky research papers you used to write in school. Make wise use of white space while still having sufficient content. Use sidebars, text boxes, bold headings and suitable sub-headings.

Use bullet points, pictures, graphics, charts, and the like. Place these elements strategically in your newsletter. Don’t overdo the flashy banners and glitz, though. You don’t want your newsletter looking like the Las Vegas strip. Strike an aesthetic balance between making it appealing and at the same time classy.

Use newsletters to stay in touch with your customers and potential customers. Give them content they crave so they always open those e-mails you shoot their way.

Done properly, newsletters can have your audience sending e-mails back your way inquiring more about your affiliate product and services.

In the affiliate-marketing world, you cannot be all things at all times. You only have so many hours in the day to run your Internet business. When it comes to e-mailing responses to your opt-in list, efficiency is your goal. You simply cannot spend your time writing out individual e-mails as your list grows.

That’s where an autoresponder can help your affiliate marketing efforts. What is an autoresponder? An autoresponder is a program that automatically responds to emails, sending out your pre-written messages. The great thing is, you don’t have to be in front of your PC to do this. The autoresponder program does it for you while you’re doing something else.

You can check out for yourself the different enterprises that offer autoresponder services. You may want to use your own autoresponder program. That’s all up to you. However, you need to have quality messages written for the autoresponder to send out.

The following are tips for writing effective autoresponder messages that your opt-in list will favor:

Have an Interesting Subject Line

Bland and boring doesn’t work when it comes to auto-responder subject lines. You want the recipient to open your e-mail, not delete it at first read. Make your subject line spark interest in the recipient. Intrigue them enough that they are willing to open your message.

Know Your Niche

Know whom you are writing to in the broad sense. Who is your target market for this message. When you know your audience you will focus your writing to speak to their needs. Remember, what you write may sound good to you. You may totally love the message you’re conveying.

Your recipients receive your message differently. They do not know as much about what you’re offering. They need clear writing that speaks to them. You cannot assume they know what you are talking about when they begin to read.

Be clear, direct, and give useful information. Inform just as you do with your article writing as part of your article-marketing program.

Write to One Person

Now that you know your niche, write to one person in that niche. That’s what an effective autoresponder does, talks to an individual. Make your message conversational. Make it relatively brief and to the point.

People have tons of e-mail sent their way. If you bore them they will banish you into oblivion with a quick click.

Write to Build Trust

An autoresponder needs to have timely, relevant information. You don’t want your autoresponder to be full of fluffy hyper sales talk. You do want your autoresponder to be more of an update or friendly and casual reminder message.

A call to action is important, that’s why you send autoresponders. However, potential customers don’t act if they feel you are just hungry for a sale. Give them value and prove yourself as a trustworthy Internet marketer and they will act.

Highlight Product Benefits and Offer a Bonus

When you write your autoresponder highlight significant benefits of the product or service. Present these benefits in a unique way. First, know your affiliate product inside out. Second, write about a benefit from your unique perspective.

Try to say something about the benefit that no one else has said. At the very least, put a bit of a different spin on the benefit. You can relate how you use the product or what other customers have found useful. Go beyond the manufacturer’s scripted formulaic message.

Finally, offer a bonus e-book, report or product sample in your autoresponder message. This encourages action so readers of your message contact you again.

Craft a compelling message when it comes to autoresponders. Autoresponders let you promote your business 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Effectively written, they build credibility and make potential customers comfortable with you. That is what inspires them to reply and do further business with you.

A great way to educate consumers on your affiliate product is to write a product review. When you engage in article writing for article marketing, a comparison review is an ideal format for informing readers. Without resorting to sales hype, which a publisher will reject, a product comparison review gives useful information. These reviews, as part of an article for widespread distribution, seek to educate and pre-sell potential customers.

What is a product review? It’s an information piece letting readers know something about a product they may not have known before. Product review writing goes beyond generalities often seen in quick advertising spots. Product reviews dig deeper, looking at product features and benefits and elaborating on them.

Product reviews can be effective in establishing yourself as an affiliate product authority. Successful product comparison reviews, for article distribution, encourage links back to your website. These reviews can be a part of your overall article promotion strategy.

Writing product reviews comparing products means choosing at least three products. You do not want to choose too many products to write about for a short article of 500 to 700 words. Article writing of this length for widespread article distribution needs to have a tight focus. You cannot hope to do justice to products if you try to review ten or twenty in a short piece. You will end up writing one or two lines on each. This will not give your readers enough information.

Choose products to compare that have the same or similar benefits. Choose products that promise the same or similar results. You want to compare apples with apples, not apples with rutabagas. Choose for your products to compare that consumers would choose between when buying.

After you select the products, do your homework. Familiarize yourself with each one. Learn enough about them to write a well-informed relevant review. You want to write intelligently and knowledgably. Your readers do not want fluff. Your readers also do not want reviews too general in nature. These are really of no help to anyone engaged in decision-making. They need facts and details.

Be honest when engaged in product comparison writing. Explain any difficulties, problems, and issues you have concerning specific products. Do it in a nice way and balance this with appropriate praise for a product when warranted. A problem you may have with a product does not mean others will have the same problem. However, do not sugarcoat obvious flaws.

Readers want straightforward information that can help them make buying decisions. Honest reviews help people avoid spending money on products that are less than adequate. Honest reviews also let manufacturers know where they can make improvements. Product reviews are constructive praise and criticism all in one.

With your reviews, let readers know if a product is useful. Does it do what the manufacturer promises it will do. How does it stack up against the competition concerning main features?

Product comparison reviews are a way to highlight your affiliate product alongside others without blatantly advertising. Yes, you will tell the advantages and disadvantages of your own product as well. Your article writing efforts must be balanced and not favor your product. Your article will come across as a sales pitch and customers will see you’re just trying to publicize your product. They will not believe you are giving honest reviews that will help them make wise decisions.

When writing a product comparison review, don’t wax poetic and long. Again, 500 to 750 words of get-to-the point writing are about right. Don’t stray from your central message. That message is whether a product is worth someone forking over his or her hard-earned dollars.

Give suitable information concerning a product’s intent. Highlight its best features, and less-than-great features. Don’t branch off into sub-topics or stories not directly related to the issue at hand. What can the product do, and is it value for money spent? Is it readily available for purchase? What are the warranties and guarantees associated with the product? These are the things your article readers want to know.

Consider making product comparison reviews part of your article marketing efforts. They can be a nice change from your traditional article writing topics. You will develop a well-rounded view of the different products available on the market today. This can only make you a more informed and market-wise affiliate marketer.