Many of us are involved in marketing our products and services on the internet. There are certain cardinal principles which if subscribed to can bring about great success in this endeavor. I would like to share with you what I have learnt of these principles in my own training and experience as a writer and internet marketer over these past ten years. These principles are quite reasonable and easy to follow. If you would like to know of them, please read on.

To succeed in business we must offer value in the marketplace. This is the first cardinal rule. Look at any successful product or service and you will recognize that the producers have gone to great lengths and expense to convey to consumers the value of their offerings. These efforts are in the form of communications through marketing and advertising which are intended to successfully convey an intrinsic value to consumers if they acquire such products or services. If in our copywriting we cannot convey such a value no one will see it and no one will be disposed to acquire our products or services.

If you can communicate this value in your offering, large numbers of prospects and customers will come. Effective communication skills are not only vital in business but in every aspect of one’s life (whether its one’s relationship with one’s spouse, children, friends, business associates or any other interactions that one has during the course of one’s day). If we avoid learning what effective communication is, we will inevitably struggle in some of the more important areas of our lives. So that one has to become a student of effective communication if one’s life is to be more rewarding and successful.

Communication is a core skill in business. It is at the heart of the confidence and leadership issues which confront anyone running a business. In this article we cannot cover everything one needs to know about effective communication as this is a life-long endeavor. We are however going to concentrate on what is necessary for effectively communicating the value that you offer through your writing or the other content that you create and make available on the worldwide web.

As a result of this, it is hoped that you will know what to write, who to write for and how to write it. A simple formula will be provided in this regard. You will be able to help others see what you see, not by manipulation or coercion but by a sincere desire to assist them. This is the key to providing value – assistance. The format then of this article will structured under the following:-

a) Knowing what to write starts with who you are writing for,

b) Making your list of attractive topics,

c) How to write your topics to attract large audiences and hold their attention,

d) A simple strategy for creating an outline that is not overwhelming to start and complete,

e) How to use a template to create original, clear, concise and powerful content.

Other requirements that an internet writer and marketer need to possess are the following:-

1) You would need to know or have a basic understanding of Attraction Marketing (see the link at the end of this article with respect to this),

2) You would need to know how to and where to place content on the internet (ditto),

3)You would need to know how to optimize ( through search engine optimization) this content to get it found by people online (ditto),

4) You would need to know how to capture a sale or a lead using Lead Capture Pages or Sales Pages (ditto)

5) You would need to know how to develop a follow up email campaign to provide on-going value and attract relationships (ditto),

6) You would need to know the difference between attractive content versus spam on the internet (ditto),

7) You would need to know how to write basic complete sentences and understand basic writing structure.

You do not need to have the following:-

I) To have a great vocabulary – 8th grade level of English is enough,

II) To be able to write eloquently,

In an overall sense you need to have patience as the writing skill will only come with practice and the right approach (as will be outlined here) and a consistent effort over time.

Knowing What To Write Starts With Who You Are Writing For. Who is your target market? What kinds of things are they looking for, thinking about, talking about? What are some of their problems that you can help solve? Choose a target market that relates to your business, that you are interested in or have experience with. Ideally it should be related to something you plan to do long term. You would want it to be a topic that you enjoy, that you are an avid student of and that you will be abreast of similar subjects that your target market will be interested in. If you have these interests or experiences, you will be best able to understand your target market’s needs, concerns and problems, and you will be able to connect with them in a genuine way and offer valuable content and solutions.

Examples of what your target market might be are as follows:-

Opportunity Leads – These may be persons who have recently retired and now need avenues of extra income opportunities or persons looking for help with their network marketing businesses, or persons hearing about making money online and looking for a way into it. Or as is currently the case, persons who are looking for a lucrative way out of the current job market limitations.

Persons interested in losing weight – This is another big market with persons who are overweight and who wish to acquire a new image with more self esteem, confidence and energy.

People interested in Wellness – This is a growing industry with persons looking for natural or man made products that can enhance wellness.

People who want to travel – People are always looking for travel destinations and deals that will provide them with their dream holiday.

These are just a few possibilities of the endless that are available. You will need to brainstorm and write down your possible target markets. Your brainstorming exercise should include the following:-

1) Who is your target market? (The details and demographics you should list),

2) Write down a list of their concerns, fears, problems and challenges,

3) Write down the reasons why they are concerns or have these particular problems,

4) Write down what you consider to be their dreams, aspirations, goals, likes, dislikes and needs,

5) Write down what you consider to be the issues that are stopping them or holding them back from what they aspire to,

6) Finally list out the subjects, controversies, books, people, authors, or any topic of interest that they might have.

Making Your List Of Attractive Topics. After you have brainstormed and made your list of attractive topics, there should now be three basic categories that your topics will fit under. These are:-

a) Topics that will call for a Straight Forward Review,

b) Topics that will be Solving a problem or Addressing a Need,

c) Topics that will be a combination of the two above.

Straight Forward Review

This is when you can write and give your opinion or insight on a subject that your target market already know something about and could have an interest in ( books, current controversies, people, authors, current news or events or other etc.). Examples of this type of reviewing are a) warm and cold marketing versus attraction marketing – What’s the difference? b) These are the top destinations for vacationing, c) Are curbing carbohydrate calories the best way to diet?

Solving a Problem or Addressing a Need

This is when you can identifying with their problems, fears, concerns or needs and can offer a solution that is of value. This is first done by giving tips, advice, suggestions, a new perspective and when the trust is established to only then promote your product or service. Examples of this type of writing can be summarized in the following subjects:-

a) How to pack light for vacations without forgetting anything, b) Your Dream Vacation that is inexpensive and without hassle, c) How to lose weight without hunger or dieting.

Combination of the Above Two.

This is when you can combine the two by using a review style with a problem solving style. Examples of this include the following:- a) An internet business – the solution to your commuting and job market hassles, b) A home based business – your way of effectively dealing with rising gas prices, c) Despite what others say, Robert Kiyosaki says Yes to Network Marketing, d) Attraction Marketing – much better than cold calling to generate leads for your business.

Using a Keyword Tool The next major step in your writing of articles to attract and hold the attention of readers is the use of keyword tools in finding keywords to insert in your articles. Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is critical when marketing on the internet. Your have to find those keywords that readers are using to search for information. Two excellent free keyword tools that are available are Freekeywords.wordtracker.com and Goodkeywords.com. In your topic description, there are a number of words or phrases that are related and these keyword tools can give you the popularity of searches of these words as well as other related words which you can then insert in your articles. The use of these keywords should not absolve you of making sure that the article flows smoothly while reading and should not be over-used. A keyword density of between 2 to 5 percent is acceptable.

Your Article Structure

Your article structure should now consist of the following:-

1) Decide whether you are using the Straight Forward Review approach, The Solving a Problem or Addressing a Need approach, or a Combination of the Two,

2) List the topics for the approach you have selected,

3) Pick one topic and decide on a topic description. Note that the topic description will be your subject line (with possible variations),

4) Make a one paragraph statement as to who your target market is and what case you are making to them. This paragraph would form the basis of the first paragraph of your article,

5) Out of this statement select the three most competitive keywords to use in your article (using your keyword tool). The keyword tool will also give good variations on the selected words which you can also use,

6) Break the statement to your target market out into seven sub-statements or sentences. These would form the basis of the paragraphs of your article. Whenever possible, use personal experiences to make your points. Use your adopted keywords in these paragraphs,

7) Your concluding paragraph would again be your first paragraph which should be re-engineered to reinforce the points made there as well throughout the article.