Ezine Article #1 is published!

In a previous post, I said that EzineArticles rejected my very first article I submitted to them because it violated one of the terms. Instead of fixing it, I submitted a completedly different article that I was sure would be accepted in no time. I was only half right.

An associate editor at EzineArticles did repond quickly but only to tell me that I had violated another one of their terms. This time, I supposedly used html tags that were outside the scope of tags they allow. I scratched my head in confusion. I was very meticulous in adhering to their tag rules. Then it dawned on me that the person reviewing my article may not be versed in html.

I pleaded my case, explaining how I only used the allowable tags and no others. I did not receive any reply from them, so I thought the worse. This morning, I finally got the guts to log in and find out the verdict. To my pleasant surprise, not only had they accepted my article and placed it live, but that there have been 77 views to date and one vote. Woo hoo!

Ezine Articles

By now you should have posted a few ads on USFreeAds. You know how to use the USFreeAds interface. You know how to use the "Enhanced classified using our easy to use HTML tools", which is a very excellent tool because it provides a lot of flexibility in formatting your ad.

With some ad writing experience under your belt, it's time to experiment with writing a full-blown article. ezinearticles.com is an excellent place to submit your articles to. Search engines love this domain. It is free to set up an account.

You are first allowed to submit only 10 articles, each one has to be reviewed and approved prior to posting. This takes up to a week. The review process is there to make sure you follow their rules of article writing. One very importing thing to note is that you cannot submit direct affiliate links in your article. Your signature (bio) at the bottom of each article is the place where you can post your website or blog (no direct affiliate linking here either). As well, you cannot write an article that directly advertises a product. You can write reviews, opinions, etc. about a product, however.

After you've submitted your 10 articles, you can upgrade to a higher status which allows you to submit 25 more articles. After that, you can petition for platinum status, which allows you to post an unlimited amount of articles. This highest status comes with the privilege of having your articles accepted much faster!

My account status is Basic, since I've only submitted one article so far and that was yesterday. I plan to submit more while I wait for my first one to be accepted. I encourage you to get started in making a good name for yourself within the ezinearticles.com community. Don't delay.

Promote Clickbank Products

Now that you have a means of advertising, you are probably asking, "So, now what? What am I supposed to advertise?" There are countless products to advertise. We all know this. But what is not common knowledge is where to retrieve these advertisements. There is what's called "Affiliate Networks". These are companies that are the go-between for advertisers and affiliates.

Note these terms...

Affiliate: (also known as publisher) is one that promotes ads on behalf of the advertiser for a fee
Affiliate network: is an entity that provides a repository of ads on behalf of advertisers, while allowing publishers to retrieve those ads.

You must apply to be an affiliate for a particular affiliate network. There are many affiliate networks out there. You can join as many affiliate networks as you'd like, since each one is a separate entity. One of them is Clickbank.com.

Clickbank.com is a great network to join because the payouts are high, there are lots of products to promote, they are easy to promote, and you can even sell your own products through there.

As always, if you decide to join using my affiliate links that are throughout this blog, then I will gladly return the favor by being another resource to you. My email availability to you comes with one condition: that you become a Wealthy Affiliate member through my link and remain an active member throughout our correspondence.

Post Unlimited Ads On USFreeAds

I'm back! Twice in one day!

Here's my first attempt at posting free articles (see previous blog post). Or, in this case, posting almost free articles. Although USFreeAds allows for free accounts, functionality with free accounts is limited. I want the full unlimited affect! So, first I signed up to be an affiliate, meaning that for anyone that signs up on USFreeAds using the link below, I get a commission. Not a bad deal. And for you, if you use the link below, then I will gladly be available to you for email contact on the subject of posting on USFreeAds.



The reasons for choosing this not-so-free method as my first method in posting articles are...

1) I don't have to write full-blown artilces. I can write short, to-the-point ads. And for me who is not so confident in article writing (yet!), this is a perfect first step. And I do believe in baby steps!

2) Writing ads instead of full articles will give me lots of practice in writing adcopy for PPC campaigns. I will develop good habits in developing the perfect techniques, especially when it comes to choosing the right, relavent keywords.

3) I can write an UNLIMITED amount of ads at one LOW monthly PRICE. This takes away from the pressure of paying per click on my ads. I'm not yet confident on my adcopy writing, so I appreciate the fact that I can make as many mistakes as it takes for me to get better.

4) Search engines love USFreeAds, so I don't have to worry about driving traffic to my ad, although I'm not completely excused from the task. Which brings us back to the luxury of practicing good keyword techniques so that my ads can be easily found.

So here I go! I'll see you on the other side!

First, Get Confidence

Since I'm new to PPC affiliate marketing, and I have a limited budget, my approach to learning must be done cautiously. My goal in this learning phase is to get used to the methods outlined in the Wealthy Affiliate tutorials.

It costs me nothing but my time to write articles, because there are lots of websites that will post them for free. And best of all, those websites generate a ton of traffic. Search engines love those websites, so your articles have an excellent chance of getting high rankings. High rankings equate to high traffic potential to your articles. The more eyes that get to your article, the greater the likely hood that they'll be interested in your topic and in what you have to say.

BUT, even I have reservations in doing that. I'm human and humans find it challenging to do what they preach. It's all good and easy to say all of the right things. But when the rubber meets the road, then come the fears and the what if's. Hear are my reservations...

I'm not versed in writing articles, especially for all the world to read.
What if I my topics are so ridiculous that I end up making a fool of myself instead of making money?
What if my articles don't get any traffic because my topic is uninteresting and no one in the world would want to read about them?
What if my words don't get the point across and don't result in any sales?

But the scariest one for me is...

What if I never start because of all of my fears and concerns are stopping me?

After all, writing and posting articles is free, so really, what do I have to lose but my time? But then again, if I spend time TRYING to write articles, then won't I eventually get the hang of it? Won't I learn that much more about market trends and customer demands? Won't I learn how to promote a product, any product? Won't I learn how to use those article website interfaces (because each one is different) and learn the technical aspects of posting articles? Won't I learn how to optimize my articles so that they rank high in search engines? Won't I learn how to DO affiliate marketing? Won't I actually become an ACTIVE affiliate marketer? And best of all, won't I make money from it?

Because if I don't try, then I GUARANTEE myself NEVER to make money in this affiliate marketing industry. I have to remember that affiliate marketing is a MULT-BILLION dollar industry and growing! Many people are making money from it. And it doesn't take a genius to join those ranks. What am I waiting for? What's to hold me back?

So, here I go. I'm going to learn the methods to writing good, marketable, sale-generating articles. Wish me luck, and I too wish you success in your affiliate marketing journey.