How Articles Can Sell Without Selling
One of the most dynamic effects of article submission is when you use it to build a reader base rather than trying to make sales. It's true, the natural inclination of a sales person is to make sales at any cost, but the real key to it all is in making customers first. Articles are a great way of building a reader base filled with these potential customers.
People generally hate being pitched to. Just ask any avid TV viewer how they feel when they're watching the best part of their favorite show and it goes into a commercial break. No one says, "gee, I wonder what great commercials will be on TV tonight!"
Let's face it, advertising and sales pitches are essential to the economy, but we could all certainly live without them rather nicely. In fact, most statics show the majority of people use commercial time to do other things, like grab a snack or visit the bathroom.
So using this analogy of the TV, ask yourself, "are my articles more like the show or the commercials?"
And while you're asking yourself that question, think about how advertising companies have to out bid their competitors to be seen on the best shows. Just take the Super Bowl as an example. An average ad on a typical show may run the ad company several thousand dollars for a 30 second spot. But that same ad could cost millions for the same air time on Super Bowl Sunday.
Why? It's the draw! Programs like the Super Bowl draw huge audiences and so have the highest potential customer base.
Now lets get to where this is all leading to . . .
If you take all these things and analyze them, what's actually doing the selling? The commercials, or the show?
It's the show that draws the audience, capitalizes on the ad revenue thus making the lion's share of the money, and its the show that puts the viewer into a receptive state of mind.
Once again, are your articles more like the show or the commercials?
Well why do people watch certain shows on TV? Perhaps for some action, drama, a chuckle or two, excitement, emotional stimulation, news, and information? All of these are certainly true. And really, when you think about it, they're the same reasons why people come to the Internet as well.
So how can your articles sell without actually selling?
By being the show, of course!
When you get into the habit of providing good, solid information that doesn't always lead to selling something, you'll be emulating the kind of TV shows people most want to watch. Everyone knows a pitch or two is coming sooner or later, but the content is so intriguing most people are willing to deal with it.
Tell a story, throw in a little humor, relate your topic to current events, add a bit of your personality in. These are all ways to deviate from writing sales pitches in your articles.
Then when it comes to your article's bio box, or "about the author" section, refrain from adding a sales page link or an affiliate link. Use a link to one of your blogs that have other stories and informative articles with the actual sales pitch nestled somewhere in between or linked on the sidebar.
Interestingly enough, we're all so geared toward expecting a commercial, your readers will be inclined to go looking for it. You won't have to push it on them. So don't worry about the selling end of things. Just continue building the information on your blog to coincide with your article submission. Your reader base will build and your sales will naturally follow.