Now let’s get to the secrets…
The Secret for Writing Ezine Articles
I call it the “Final Point Formula“. It works like this…
1. Write an ezine article that shares a set of points
It doesn’t matter if they are tips, keys, steps, ideas, ways, or any other type of list or how-to tutorial. The important thing is to share 3 or more of these related points.
Examples:
- 3 Keys to Greater Email Profits
- Top 10 Ways to Grow Huge Tomatoes
- 5 Steps to Selling More Used Cars
- 7 Quick Tips for Toning Your Tummy
- How to Re-Grow Hair in 3 Easy Steps
Nothing very surprising there. Folks do this all day long – we’ve just talked about it at length.
Here’s where things are different…
2. Make everything you share dependent upon the final point
Your “final” point needs to be the most important. In fact, if you can make all of the previous tips in the article DEPENDENT upon completing that final tip, then you can start counting your clicks now.
Let me give you a real life example here:
A while back I published an article entitled, “3 Keys to Greater Email Profits“.
The three keys were:
(1) Consistency in QUALITY.
(2) Consistency in REGULARITY.
(3) Consistency in DELIVERY.
In key #1, I talked about quality of content and how to provide exactly what your list members want in order to keep them reading.
In key #2, I revealed a HUGE mistake that I had been making in how often I sent PROMOTIONAL mailings to my list. (Believe it or not, I wasn’t sending them often enough!)
In key #3, I talked about spam filters and problems with email delivery as I spelled out how CRITICAL it was to get your mailings delivered to the inboxes of your subscribers.
Did you notice how key #1 and key #2 were COMPLETELY DEPENDENT upon key #3? It does you absolutely ZERO good to have content your list members WANT to read and have promotional mailings that your list members WILL respond to if they NEVER receive the mailings!
That’s the idea here.
Give them good, useful, meaty information in all of the points leading up to the final one … and then let your final point be absolutely critical to using any of the previous ones.
(Of course, give them some nugget of useful information in that final point as well … but not EVERYTHING they need to know.)
3. Offer something related to the “final” point
Now, here’s where you get the maximum number of readers to click on your link and actually go to your site – something most of your competitors don’t do as well as you will.
The idea is simple: use your resource box to offer something that is directly related to the “final point” that was so critical to success for the reader.
Again, let me refer to an example to show you how this works. In my “3 Keys to Greater Email Profits” article, the final point was all about getting your email messages past the spam filters and into the inboxes of your subscribers.
And here are two different resource boxes that I used, one to promote a free report and one to promote an actual product…
Example 1:
———————
Jimmy D. Brown is the author of “How to Get Your Email Messages Past The Spam Filters”, a free 17-page report available for a limited time at http://www.getemailresults.com/past.html
———————
Example 2:
———————
Jimmy D. Brown is the author of “Get Messages Read” – Learn
24 Ways To Get Your Email Messages Past The Spam Filters And Into Your Subscribers’ Inboxes at http://www.GetEmailResults.com
———————
Do you see how this works?
You read my article – you enjoy it – you learn that it’s all about getting your email delivered and then you read either (a) There is a free report awaiting you to help you get your emails delivered, or (b) There are 24 ways to get your emails delivered.
Could you resist clicking on the link and taking a look?
Probably not. Most can’t.
And that’s why this works so well.
You get them to a point where they WANT information and even NEED information, and then you offer them exactly what they need in your resource box.
| Important Reminder Let me take just a second to point out something that you probably know, but I feel it important to remind you just in case.The BEST response you can ever get from an ezine article is to get someone to join YOUR list. It’s important that you remember that. Your number one, primary goal in writing ezine articles should be to get folks to join a list.In joining your list, you get multiple opportunities to get them to buy something from you. So, in using this “Final Point Formula”, don’t forget that your chief objective is to get readers to click on your resource box, go to your site and JOIN YOUR LIST.Now, I did this with BOTH of my resource boxes. In one, I used the lure of a “free report” to get them to a site where they had to join a list to obtain it. In the other, I got them to a site for a salesletter – and had an opt-in list offer inside the text of the salesletter.Either way, I got them on a list.Likewise, you should ALWAYS have a mechanism in place for convincing your site traffic to join a list.That’s priority one. |
4 Ways to Use Your Resource Box To Get
Readers To Take Action And Click On Your Link
Now, there are four ways to use your resource box with this strategy that will get readers to take action and click on your link. So, let’s talk about those for just a few minutes…
- Multiplication. That is, your resource box offers “multiple ideas” for accomplishing that final point. You may have shared one key to getting emails delivered, and your resource box offers 24 more ways to get them delivered. You may have shared a point for getting a discount on a new car and your resource box mentions a report in which you share 11 more ways to get discounts. The idea is to offer something that gives your reader a variety of additional options or ideas related to the point which is most important to them.
- Expansion. In other words, your resource box “expands” on the final point you referenced in the article. For example, your final point might have been “Protect your assets” in which you shared a quick tip. Your resource box might share “How to Protect Your Assets” or “The Beginner’s Guide to Protecting Your Assets”. Let’s suppose your final point was “Talk To Your Preteen About Abstinence” and your resource box might share, “How to Overcome Your Fear of Talking to Your Preteen About Abstinence” or “3 Ways to Start a Conversation About Abstinence”.
- Automation. The idea here is to offer a resource that automates whatever process you shared in your article, particularly the final dependent point. Let’s say your article shared “Submit your ezine articles to the top directories and publishers” and your resource shared a software or service that automated the process, like a free report entitled, “How to Automatically Submit Your Articles To 25 Top Directories” in which you provide a tutorial of a software program. If your final tip is on creating niche products, your resource might lead the reader to something related to ghostwriting. If it’s weight loss, then it could refer to a diet tracking or customized fitness program. Anything that automates or speeds up the process.
- Absorption. Primarily, I’m referring to “cost” absorption. Use your resource box to offer something that either allows the reader to save money on whatever the “final point” referred to, or, if possible, get it done without spending a penny. If your final point is “Drive traffic to your site” you might offer something in your resource box related to “free traffic”. If your final point mentions “Send your youth group on a mission trip” your resource box might reference something related to “fundraising”. If it’s about travel, then use your resource box to talk about getting to travel anywhere for free by getting group discounts and selling them for regular price so yours is free or getting in free when your group reaches a certain size. Any way you can show them how to get something done for free.
Any of these ways will work great for your resource box – just use some kind of resource, either free or paid (although you’ll usually get more responses with free) that builds upon that final point that you shared.
Now, follow the process with me…
- A subscriber somewhere reads your article, noting each of the points.
- They arrive at the “final” point and see how everything depends upon it.
- You create a solid transition from your article to your resource box like we talked about in the first session – which is absolutely critical.
- The next thing they see after reading the “final point” and your closing call to action is your resource box.
- Your resource box offers additional information on that “final” point.
- They can’t resist finding out what they NEED to know, so they click.
- They arrive at your site – traffic! – now, it’s
up to you to convert them.
This is just such an irresistible way to use ezine articles and very few people have caught on – when you begin to use this concept in your own ezine articles, I guarantee you’ll see a spike in your results.
Now, I’m going to share several examples here to really drive home this idea here because it will make such a huge difference in the amount of responses you get with your articles if you just master this one skill here.
Example #1: Suppose you’ve written an article about online dating entitled, “How To Meet The Mate Of Your Dreams Online”. The final point might be, “Get Them To Fall In Love With You”. See how everything is dependent upon that? It doesn’t do you any good to find the mate of your dreams if they aren’t at all interested in you! So, your resource box could reference a report that shares “10 Simple Ways to Get Your Dream Date To Fall In Love With You”.
Example #2: Let’s suppose you’ve got an article entitled, “How to Write and Publish a Children’s Book”. Your final point might be, “Submit Your Manuscript to Publishers.” Again, everything is dependent on that final point – what good is it if you write a children’s book and submit it for publication if it’s turned down? Your resource box could mention a report or product that teaches the reader how to get a publisher to accept their manuscript for publication.
Example #3: You’ve written an article on stopping a divorce entitled, “How to Save Your Marriage From Falling Apart”. The final point is, “You Simply Must Rekindle Your Romance”. Once again, everything is dependent upon this final point – mutual affection in whatever way it is shown is a must. The resource box for this article would share a report, mini-course, product, etc. related specifically to bringing back the romance to any relationship.
Example #4: So, you’ve got an article entitled, “The Beginner’s Guide to Home-Schooling”. Your final point might be, “Choose Your Curriculum”. One more, everything about the article is dependent upon that final point. You can’t homeschool a child without approved curriculum. So, your resource box references a report or product such as, “How to Choose The Perfect Curriculum For Your Child, Your Beliefs and Your Budget”. Or, how about, “How to Get A Free Government Grant for Your Homeschooling Curriculum”?
Example 0#: Okay, you’ve got an article that you’ve written entitled, “3 Keys to Starting a High-Profit Lawn Mowing Business”. Your final point might be something like, “Get The Word Out About Your Business”. Obviously, everything is dependent upon getting customers. Your resource box might mention a special report entitled, “Top 10 Ways to Get New Customers For Your Lawn Mowing Business”.
Note: Now, I do want to mention something that’s important here. If you can’t make everything “dependent” on the final point, that’s okay – just make the final tip your BEST tip – the one that stands out above everything else. The one tip that the reader is most likely to take action on and actually use. It’s the best tip. It’s the last thing they read. It’s the transition from article to resource box. It will work this way as well. Dependent is your first option, but your strongest tip is also a winner here with this strategy.
Example: You’re writing an article on traveling across country on a vacation. Your final point is “Look For Off The Beaten Path Stuff”. Not exactly something the remainder of the article is “dependent” upon, but it is something that is important and interesting. Your resource box offers a free report, “101 Really Cool Stops You’ve Never Heard Of” or “How to Find The World’s Biggest Ball of Twine and Other Odd Interstate Attractions”.
That’s how you REALLY get maximum effectiveness from your ezine articles.
- You provide useful, meaty information.
- You make one tip (the “final one”) stand out as most important, or even CRITICAL.
- Your transition the reader from your article to your resource box.
- You use your resource box to provide additional information (free works best) on mastering that critical final tip.
It’s the absolute best way to get those who read your ezine articles to actually click your link and go to your site to further investigate. And that is, after all, the point.
Now, obviously, once they join your list or download your report, you’ll want to promote your offers to get them to buy. Whether it’s your own products or affiliate links or some service – whatever it is that you do in order to generate profit – you’ll have opportunities to mention offers inside the free report, on the download page and in follow-up sequences.
The key here is to get them to take action on your ezine article and I’ve just shared with you just a solid way to get readers to respond to your ezine articles.
You’ve just learned a technique that very, very few have ever even thought of, let alone are using– so, I encourage you to get started using this simple formula today.
Of course, crafting an article that uses this “final point formula” is worthless to you unless you get those readers who click on the link in your resource box to actually join your list.
