Blah, Blah, Blog

How are things going for you on the 30 articles in 30 days challenge?

This weekend while my kids are out of town I decided to buckle down and write several so I could get ahead of the game. So far I’ve written 6.

Some of you are writing down a list of 30 topics so you can just tick them off as you write.

I am doing it a little differently. I chose the 4 or 5 websites I want to promote with my articles, and am looking around for things I’ve already written on those topics. I’m also keeping a pen and notepad handy for ideas that come to me.

I’m using shortcuts wherever I can so I don’t have to write as many from scratch.

The first and fourth articles were two that I wrote a couple of months ago for Moms Talk Network. The ladies over there require exclusive content for 30 days, meaning you can do whatever you want with it after they’ve had first dibs.

So I took that article and changed it just a little, then submitted it to EzineArticles. I also sent the article to my affiliates to use in promoting a related product.

The second article I grabbed from my website. It was a book review. I submitted it to EzineArticles.

The third was also an article I had previously submitted to a place where I guest blog. I changed it somewhat and submitted it to a few directories and another website where I write content.

The fifth and the sixth I mostly wrote from scratch, but I grabbed ideas from blog posts and a PLR article also sparked the idea for one.

See? This isn’t so hard. We internet marketers write so much that we often forget to repurpose our content.

I’m going to be more systematic about it. From here on out I’m committing to doing a monthly review of my best blog posts, and editing that content to create articles.

So, how are you doing so far?

Tomorrow I’m going to share some suggestions on where to submit these articles, and later on I’ll talk about what to do with them for even more leverage.

Darn that Kelly McCausey.

She is always putting ideas into my head. Like a couple of years ago, this thing about starting a podcast. She is always challenging me to do stuff.

Like this recent blog post about breaking a traffic plateau. She wrote about the need to do something more or different when you hit a plateau – doing the same old, same old will get you the same results. And then she said this:

“I know content site owners who distribute 30 articles per month on a consistent basis and trust me, they see the fruit in terms of traffic.”

I thought that was pretty insane. I mean,

30 Articles a Month?!

Only.

I couldn’t get the idea out of my head.

What would change in my business if I wrote and distributed 30 articles a month?

Wanna find out?

I’ve decided to challenge myself to do just this. Because the more I thought about it, the more I realized it wasn’t that crazy. I write on my blog every day. A blog post is often the same length as an article – sometimes longer.

Why couldn’t I write an article each day to distribute?

I can. So can you.

Think of how all those articles would help your traffic, your affiliate income, and your product sales. Those articles could be repurposed later for emails, blog posts, your affiliates, reports, products, etc…

So, if you want to join me in a 30 Days, 30 Articles challenge, leave a comment.

I’ll put your name and link up here and we’ll do a weekly check in, each Friday to hold each other accountable.

If you’re new to article marketing, check out: Easy Article Marketing (co-authored by that darn Kelly McCausey)

Some article writing cheats and shorcuts I plan to use:

• - Going back through my blog posts and creating articles out of them
• - Reviewing audios I’ve created and transcribing them into articles
• - Look at email replies I’ve written and see if there are any mini article ideas in there waiting to be fleshed out
• - Looking at website stats to come up with article topic ideas
• - Writing book reviews and other product reviews (article directories accept reviews, so do review blogs)
• - You got any brilliant suggestions to add? Leave them in the comments.

I look forward to reporting on my (and your) progress Friday.

Participants:

1. Susanne of MenuPlanningCentral
2. Who else? Kelly of WahmTalkRadio
3. Claire of FunkyAngel
4. Aurelia of RealLifeGuidance
   
5. Melody at TheHomemakerHelpers
6. Dawn Aurora of FrenchHillCountry
7. LaTara at TheNaturalWriter
8. Lynn at OneFunkyMama
9. Dr Daisy of HomeschoolTips
10. Stephanie at BuckeyeVA
11. Cathy at CathysCreations
12. Greg at WorkatHomeProfiles
13. Nicole at NicoleOnTheNet
14. DeAnna at TwoSistersGourmet
15. Cindy at WomenofFaith
16. Annette at PartyPlanConsultant
17. Jan at QueenofKaos
18. Elizabeth at InternetMarketingStrategyDiva
19. Kimberly of DesignerDogStyle
20. Diana at DianaRecommends
21. Fran at RubMyBellyToo
22. Elizabeth from TheWealthSpa
23. Jeanine at YourBook
24. Cindy at CindysDesktop
25. Shri at ShriNagesh
26. Christina at PureBabyLiving
27. Stefani at BusinessForMoms
28. Genesis of AtHomeMomBlog
29. FA at WaytoEducate
30. Faten at TheGlobeandTheArts
31. Audrey at TodaysParent
32. Regina at WahmCart
33. Jennifer at LilAngelGifts
34. Jenn at MomsUnitedinBusiness
35. Wendy at MarluckMarketing
36. Bonnie at AutismFamily
37. April at AprilTara
38. Corrie at VirtualFreedom
39. Christina at MultiMediaVA
40. Alyssa at BeautybyDesignOnline
41. Niquenya at Niquenya Fulbright
42. Jim Turner at Jim Turner
43. Deanna at Deanna Troupe
44. Beverly at BoomerDivaNation
45. Angela at UnexpectedArt
46. Deborah of OurMusicalHome
47. Anthony at TheCompostBin
48. Tracy at HallOfFameMoms
49. Andrea at GetStartedTodayOnline
50. you’re next!

I just sent this email out to my affiliates. I’m posting it here just in case you didn’t get it or in case you’re not on the list.

I have an exciting contest to tell you about – up for grabs is a complimentary admission to a SparkPlugU business course. To see what these are all about, go to SparkPlugU

But first, I wanted to let you know about a BIG discount Tiffany and I are offering on our Natural Family PLR.

We’ve bundled ten packs and are offering them at LESS than half price! Grab these up now because we are only offering it for a limited time.

Ok back to the giveaway.

ONE lucky affiliate will win entry to a SparkPlugU business course.

What do you have to do? Just make a sale!

That’s right – pick any product listed at AffiliatesFun and produce a sale, and your name will automatically be entered. (If you’re not yet signed up for my affiliate program, that’s where you go to enroll and get your links and affiliate resources.)

The contest ends on Monday, September 8.

There are several interesting and informative courses enrolling this Fall at SparkPlugU and I’m sure you’ll find one that will benefit your business greatly.

Some of the offerings for September and October:

• Podcasting Bootcamp
• Diversifying Your Income
• Organizing Your Office for Maximum Productivity
• Fearless Financials
• Press Releases to Grow Your Business
• Starting a Blog Network
• Get Started Freelancing; Writing for the Web

So to recap:

* Up for grabs is a complimentary admission to a SparkPlugU business course
* To enter, simply make a sale of one of Carrie’s products (the PLR pack would be a great place to start!)
* September 8 is the deadline.

Can’t wait to see who wins!

I just wanted to take a moment to recommend a Virtual Assistant if you’re looking for one. April has room for several new clients, whether its for a particular project or for regular daily/weekly services.

Here are some of the services she provides:

General Administrative

• Manage and monitor correspondence
• Schedule appointments and meetings
• Set up online services (calendars, email, etc.)
• Proofreading and editing
• Data entry

Legal Support Services

• Dictation and transcription
• Legal research and writing
• Manage case calendar
• Correspondence with clients
• Case file management

Marketing and Networking Services

• Copywriting, press release and article writing and submission
• Set up and manage social networking services
• Research and assistance with service development (ebooks, newsletters, webinars)
• Website and blog maintenance (including Word Press installs)

Contact April at: www.advantagevirtualassistant.com

April recently wrote  press release for me and did an excellent job! I would be happy to recommend her for this or other services.

Firstly, if you haven’t read this quick report yet on WahmCart, download it here: Benefits and Power of WahmCart.

It’s a quick read, and will answer many of your questions about what WahmCart is all about. I’ve been using WahmCart for a couple of years now to manage my information product sales and affiliate program. It’s the best ecommerce solution you can get for the price.

I also recommend it to others that I coach and help them set up their products, affiliate program and autoresponders. If you need some assistance with that, you can check out my rates here. Once I’ve walked you through the process on the phone it’s easy to do it again and again.

On September 1, the price of Special Report Club will go up from $12.97 to $19 a month. I’ve been a member of this PLR membership site for some time now, and I can tell you that the value is unbelievable for either price!

If you want to create an “ebook empire” but don’t have the time to sit down and write reports (or the money to outsource), you need Special Report Club. The quality of the writing is among the best I’ve seen – PLR or not.

And finally, don’t forget the free Blogging teleseminar next Monday! Go here to sign up and please spread the word. You can submit questions beforehand once you sign up for the notification.

Also, be sure to read about a contest I’m holding for my affiliates and a HUGE discount for PLR we’re offering!

Have a fantastic week

If you’re an affiliate of mine, you just got an email.

It said that one affiliate who makes a sale of any product in August will win FREE tuition to a SparkPlugU Business Course of their choice.

Um, how cool is this? Sell ONE product, be entered in the random drawing for a business course with a $39.95 price tag!

If you’re not an affiliate, go here to sign up and get your links and affiliate resources. I just created affiliate links for my coaching so that’s brand new and there’s an article in there for that.

May the best marketer win.

NOTE: The classes shown on the site are already enrolling this month, but I’m sure they’ll have more awesome courses scheduled for September and beyond.