Simple templates that you can use (and re-use) to create KILLER content
that continues to convert like crazy
(give these a try and see for yourself)
Crash Cash Creation Q and A: An 11 Point Article Marketing Template for Creating Copious Amounts of Killer Copy Quickly, Easily and Effortlessly Without Burning Your Brain or Frying Your Fingers
Simple article marketing title templates that work wonderfully well…
One of the most common questions I get when it comes to article marketing is how to keep generating ideas for the actual articles themselves. Anyone who is being honest with you will tell you that article marketing, done properly is a quantity game, and depending a bit on what you’re trying to promote, it can get a little difficult to generate ideas after a bit even if you are a heavy drinker and a naturally creative person like myself.
I have 2 “templates” that we use for creating content AND ideas for articles very, very quickly , and I’m going to share 1 of them with you below. The goal here should be to help you quickly, easily and elegantly write lots and lots of creative titles, and also, more importantly, learn how to re-frame and re-purpose the same basic successful concept, over and over again, which can be a very valuable asset once you find a profitable niche.
The other ultra important thing to learn here, is that these ideas go well past article marketing. This is more about, in my view, looking at an entire niche, understanding what “moves” that particular market from an emotional,linguistic and purchase ready standpoint, and you can segue that same intelligence into your PPC ads, your landing pages, your link bait, your product creation process and much, much more….and visa versa.
I’ll give you a quick example: I recently worked on an affiliate product promotion with a pretty well known PPC “guru” who is brilliant at both doing market research, and running huge pay per click campaigns.
The adwords promotion was a complete flop…and unfortunately, made no money. ( we actually lost money on Ad spend) But – one of the things he pointed out to me early on was the ONE ad that was getting the highest click through rate used a very specific “tone” in the ad copy. ( remember – ad words ads are very short, concise and don’t allow for tons of creative elaboration)
So while I was building out organic blogs, and content and a few other tricks to compliment the PPC campaign that he was running – I decided, midstream, to create an entire content island around the tone of this one ad.
And guess what? The CONVERSIONS on the one blog content doubled. The click through rate of the articles that were submitted to directories was close to 50%. The opt in landing pages I set up to collect names, with one simple tweak ( really only piggybacking off of the conversational tone of that ONE word he discovered was surprisingly effective for PPC) we were able to turn what would have been a total wipe out, into at least a break even on the free content side of the street.
This is hugely effective in areas like personal development for example, where you once you figure out the “pain points” in the market place, you can literally parlay that “pain” into proverbial push button profits across all of your marketing mediums.
And remember – pushing the pain is not an unethical, or even a NOT nice thing to do. If you are marketing something that you TRULY believe is good, and in the best interest of your audience, it is actually far LESS ethical, in my view, NOT to push someone hard to make a change in your direction.
For example, I smoked cigarettes for many years, and after a good friend unexpectedly died one day of a brain annuerism, my father, who is a doctor, showed me hospital pictures of patients who were dying from lung cancer. And told me stories of having to break the news to their families. And shared with me the horror in their faces, the intense regret, the fear….and of course, the inevitable pain of dying from terminal disease.
Quite frankly, that scared the shit out of me, and I went home, locked myself in the house for 96 hours without a cigarette, and walked out 4 days later a non smoker forever.
If you have the ability to save someone a similar pain, even if not a life and death issue, a good argument could be made that the more forceful your pitch, the more aggressive you articulate your argument for your simple solution, the more important your marketing message becomes.
With that in mind, let’s take a look at a simple, 11 point article marketing template that will have you crafting copious amounts of creative content with elegant ease every time you set your pen to paper (or pixel).
The upside? You can literally recycle the same basic topic, and simply say differently in 7 or 8 creative ways, a powerful pitch that you’ve discovered is working well for your market.
Never underestimate this – as once you’re able to hone in on an angle in a niche that converts like wildfire on a hot Arizona day, you can attack with a ferocious fury and literally generate an avalanche of eyeballs in front of your site, service or offer, just about any time you choose.
~ 11 Article Marketing Idea Starters That Work Almost Every Time ~
1 – Ways to Do Things
5 Ways to Improve Your Credit Score Almost Instantly
The Top 2 Ways To Burn Belly Fat Like Magic
2 – How to Do Things
How to Raise Your Credit Score 40 Points in a Down Economy
How to Melt Fat Extremely Fast on a Diet That Tastes Like Dessert
3 – Secrets
3 Secrets to Super Fast Fat Loss
5 Secret Article Marketing Techniques The Gurus Will Never Tell You
4 – Unauthorized Information
Learn to Blog: The Unauthorized Blueprint For Building Big Buck Blogs Overnight
5 – Tell a Story
The Real Story Behind the Fat Loss 4 Idiots Diet
6 – Personal Opinion
3 Credit Repair Techniques I highly Recommend
My 3 Favorite Work at Home Opportunities for Newbies
7 – Mistakes
3 Costly Mistakes People Make When Refinancing Their Mortgage
7 Mistakes All Men Make in Bed
(Note: I actually didn’t realize I was making 4 of these until I actually wrote this article)
8 – Myths
3 Myths About Losing Belly Fat You Ought Not Miss
9 – Lies, More Lies and Damn Lies
5 Lies About Weight Loss Your Doctor Wants you to Believe
3 Lies About Income Taxes The IRS Hopes You’ll Never Discover
(Note: This works well for tearing down authority figures, and pitting "Us Vs Them" style scenarios which are very effective)
10- Do This Without Doing That
Lose lots of Weight Without Any Exercises
Burn Belly Fat Almost Instantly Without Starving Yourself or Going Hungry
(This works very well for big benefit – common objection or fear compare and contrasts)
11 -Shock & Awe
Attn Spring Breakers: The Shocking Truth About Bed Bugs Your Hotel Will Never Tell You
The Startling Truth About Acai Berry That Almost Nobody Knows
The One Alarming Trend in Weight Loss That Puts Many Heavy People at Risk For Dying Young
(note: Shock and Awe is great for article marketing, but not so good for War)
Dan Kennedy, the great marketer and legendary copywriter used to talk about having “clicks on a dial” - a collection of little pieces of ammunition that he, and the other great copywriters of his day would go to whenever they needed to bump up their conversions, or start a new sequence, or simply craft some killer copy.
These are my “clicks” and now, if you find them helpful, they are yours well! Enjoy – and if you found this helpful, I’d love to hear your feedback below!
Great post, I am printing it now and will put it in front of my computer. Since I am writting articles every day, this going to be very helpful.
Thanks!
Thanks, Lana – glad to help!
Man this is what we call here in SUNNY South Africa, very LEKKER! (pronounce LEKKHA). it means very nice.
Ja, this is excellent. I’m submitting my very first articles tommorow (23:45 here now) and will definitely make some changes to the headings. You made me realize just HOW important these are.
Thanks Ian, love your style!
PS. UMMMMMMMMM. thought you grew up on the north side of the siding. (ha.ha)
Thanks, Johan – glad to be of help!
Ian, now this is great advance on how to get started. I will put this to good use. Thanks again.
Thanks…I have to write them on a yellow-sticky note and put them on my computer. For me it semms that nr.2 doesn’t really work so much in getting views, even if everybody say it does…
Can not wait to hear more(hope next time the e-mail will went through well)…
Rox
Great Post..Again ! well written and informative
Thanks Peter, Rox and Venus – glad to help!
Excellent info, thank you so much, I will definately print this out and reference it often!
Jean Young
P.S. Love your style!
Thank you, Jean – much appreciated!
Hi Ian,
Of course what you have said is very powerful in a coercive kind of way. I have no doubt that it works ! Lately I have been intensely studying all of the different approaches to advertising, and in the niche sense I am coming to a wall. I think some of these techniques are for totally fluff targets, and as time goes by, people notice these words and they become red flags. I just saw an hour presentation that talked about all of the ways to be an influencer, as a blogger, and motivate people to read your blog based on subject matter that they are compelled to get involved with; if they aren’t already. This has also moved people to do the same kind of thing in their marketing for products. I think that your tone is very good, and I can read your stuff, where as other articles that I am interested in I will stop reading because the tone and readability aren’t there. Thanks for putting out and good luck.
Hi Jerry -
Thanks, and I agree that the real key to doing all of this stuff well is to be constantly evolving with how you present your pitch – everything ultimately gets stale and if you aren’t constantly trying to better it – it will come back and bite you in the rear end. This is – I dare say though – a phenomena a bit more relevant in the online marketing and entrepreneurial spaces when you are selling stuff – as in people tend to be far more jaded and “on guard” in these markets than in general consumer offers of other types and stripes.
I have a good ( i hope it will be good..:-) illustrative post for this coming -and also – the primary reason why I try to encourage people who ask NOT to promote internet marketing products and services, especially when they begin – as it’s a far tougher slog – much heavier lifting than simply picking niches where people are a bit less cynical and used to being ripped off by unscrupulous IM promotions. ( and I follow the same advice – i do almost NO internet related products pushes whatsoever – this blog is my only real foray into this market – and if selling stuff to my readers is any indication of my success – I ain’t doing it too well..:-)
I can tell by your writing that you are quite a character. I love to read just your ad copy!
Thank You, Nancy – I appreciate you reading!
Hi Ian,
Many thanks for your article writing guidance-as an experiment, I changed up a title on a recent article and instantly got several hits. Still, it seems I could not sell a flotation device to a drowning man. I am able to garner 1st page SERPS results but nobody is buying what I am selling. A sale or two at this point would prove I am on the right track. I am almost frozen by the absence of response to all of the effort I have put forth. I must keep on keeping on. I need to promote a product that people want or need. How do I find that product?
Hello, Ian
I am one of the Newbies of 1 year. And am getting into writing articles for the niches I have. It is a hard thing to do if you are not a writer and you are up there in Years (Senior). I just want to say Thank You, for your tips on articles, it will sure help an old gal like me:)
For once I found a Great fell-o that sends what you need and not a whole sales page!! I am so tired of Reports that do not take you any where, when you are trying learn this business. Thank You Again, Cindi
Hi Cindi – thanks, and you’re welcome!
Thanks for the info.. right now I am stuck between a rock and a hard place. I am hoping that some of this great stuff will sink in help me get started. There is sooooo much to learn.. One day I hope I can look back on this an laugh. Thanks again and keep up the good work.
Hi Ian,
Excellent information which I will refer to when I’m stuck at my computer trying to come up with fresh ideas for articles!
Also, glad you were able to quick smoking…good for you!
Thanks Roz! ( and yes – quitting smoking was the smartest thing I’ve done this decade..:-)
Hello Ian,
Phenomenal advice as usual. I was wondering if there was a record url/postname? This one was a doozy! lol I try to keep an open mind and when I first started following you you mentioned that you don’t follow a template or advise using one. There are some article marketers that sell that very concept.
I agree with you because if you follow a template you have a tendency to rely on it. Then your articles start looking the same. If you want to stand out you have to be yourself. If you use a template all the time you don’t use your own creativity. You rely on someone else’s.
Thanks again Ian!
Steven
Hi Ian:
Just article writing tips are MAGNIFICENT!
You see…I’m a former athlete (big dumb jock syndrome) yet I did well in mathematics and science. However, English Composition and writing was and still is a huge challenge for me.
And we all know that good article marketing can definitely change your life if you consistently stick with it and do it RIGHT!
Therefore, thank you so much for these 11 article templates. I will have no more excuses for “writer’s block”.
Thanks, Tony – I appreciate the nice words – and yes, I do believe – while there are tons of online marketing strategies that are fun and effective, article marketing is the absolute easiest one to start with, and do well with pretty quickly!
Hi Steven – thanks – and – I’ll tell you the truth – when I put into that report the question about “templates” – it was a bit of an intentional cheap shot at some of the folks who I see selling expensive products which are only thinly veiled title templates that are helpful – but – in my view anyway – not somethign I would feel comfortable charging people for. After I took my prozac – I felt a little bad about having written it – but – was too lazy to go back in and take it out..;-) The truth is – I CONSTANTLY read other people’s stuff – always find really good ideas ( or words, etc) that I like – and simply write them down, and use them in our own campaings ( be it articles, salespage copy, ads, etc) The key is though – you have to put all of the stuff together well – i.e. – you can have a killer title – and a terrible resource box and make no money. Or – a killer title – and a killer resource box – and a bad landing page, etc. It’s the system overall that has to fire right – and the title or article templates are just a piece of that altogether.
Hai Ian , thanks four email and ideas , I’ll tried what you says.
Hi Ian
Many thanks for your GREAT headline tips
(each headline like a different-shaped magnet —
which attracts the right kind of traffic)!
En hello Johan Basson. Hoe gaan dit daar in
Suid Afrika? (Ek woon in Engeland.)
Copyferret
Hi Ian,
Thanks for all the 1st Class information. I stayed up til my eyes
fell down last night (about 5am) reading your Life Mastery Labs.
Wow that really really put the last part of the jigsaw together for me!
Really? Really, really! ( and no tequila in sight , sadly)
And now these 11 tips…I shall be Tweeting about you for sure!
Just off to read some more…
Thanks a lot is insufficient but thanks a lot anyway Ian
Ed
Thanks, Ed – glad to be of help!
G’day Ian ,
I honestly believe that I have at last found someone who is willing to tell me the truth without it being accompanied by a whole lot of embellishments and hype.
If and when you are writing on a subject that is not “familiar” to you what do you use to research this “unfamiliar” topic?
I have used , what I would describe as , good quality “PLR” and more broadly “Googling” and also information found on various article directories – this is , of course , without plagiarism of any kind. Am I on the “right” track?
I have a number of sites on varying topics ( WP blogs and static HTML ) and have managed , after a number of years , to make some petty cash with Adsense but I have never ever managed to make one single affiliate product sale.
Thank you for the great tips .
Warm regards ,
Norman Holden
Hi Norman – Thanks – and yes, I do that sort of thing, depending on the topic – read other people’s articles, check out available docs, forums, reviews, etc – depending on how involved you plan on becoming in the niche – I’ll buy courses sold by other marketers, etc – if it’s just an article marketing campaign I’ll simply spend a few hours checking out the best content, bookmarking it, writing down the central points and then using the system as above to simply re-frame the content into as many different possible permutations as I can.
( often and ideally – I’ll work with people who are “experts” in a given niche or field who will either write the primary content, sequence, etc – and I’ll embellish it for marketing purposes)
Hello Ian!
The templates are great! The article types you suggested are, of course, right on the mark.
I’m new to the online article writing business; I’ve written articles for newspapers and magazines…back in the stone age. I’m trying to make this transition to online article writing as painless as possible, and your advice has helpled in my quest. Your articles, free of bullshit, funny as hell, and direct and to the point, I have found most helpful.
I’m looking forward to your next emails.
Thanks,
Keith
Thanks Keith, I appreciate it!
Hiya Ian,
Your tips are excellent. I’m seriously a newbie…. Had to look up what PPC was and what SEO ’s were . Your ideas about creating a funnel … exquisite. I considered my own steps when I purchased online, tried to think as a buyer….but now write, as a marketer.
This post with the idea of tone for conversion, it’s about getting a bit more authoritative, aggressive, ( and damn your such a spiritual and nice guy) Ya know, I went to EZA and read the silly ” Spinning Around in Circles, to lose weight ” article, just to see what you liked about that authors tone. I also read a few of your articles, and of course I read your tips all of them always.
I’m learning dream weaver to build sites. I have connections big time with Go-Daddy.com
Id like to ask what the best use for squidoo lenses are? Why do they damage or dilute the return from the EZA articles?
How can you tolerate the google ad’s next to your articles, don’t you consider them to be in competition with your offerings?
You give me so much to think about, and work on, I have 10 landing pages to build, and I have 3 niche topics that I am confident I can expound on with authority and hopefully poise. thanks so much for being here
david
P.S According to Ian, it’s important to have a P.S. in a letter
so I’m including this link to my photos
http://picasaweb.google.com/realenough4u
Hi David – thanks for the nice words..:-) I dont’ use Squidoo a ton, so I’m probably not the best person to ask, but I know a lot of other folks use lenses to sell affiliate products, build opt in lists, and funnel traffic back to their primary sites or offers – they are good to use for any number of reasons ( they also tend to get authority far faster than your own sites will, so they help to pass that authority back to where you want it) but it’s not a big part of my own personal traffic strategy. The EZA ads I really don’t notice – and it’s sort of their compensation model so it’s hard to complain considering the tremendous benefit they offer – especially if you’re just getting started - it’s the best place to get traffic very quickly for beginners, and even if you have to split some with their contextual advertising, the overall value they offer is great.
P.S.: The #1 Most Costly Mistake To Avoid When Using The Single Top Way To Thank Ian For His Top 11 Secret Headline Tips…is not to leave a comment on this blog. Don’t be alarmed, though – the Shocking Truth will be revealed in tomorrow’s email!
Gimmee a break, I am in over my head. New at this stuff, subscribing to all kinds of stuff, but nothing is easy (for me) I am an old guy trying to eke out a living. Will it get easy? Where do I start? thanks
Wow,
Love your writing style man, this is some really good stuff and what’s even more refreshing is your willingness to share so liberally.
Thanks for speaking out.
Cheers!
Thanks, Nando – I appreciate it.
Hello Ian,
1st post here, for that matter anywhere… Really appreciate your Ideas & Values.
The flow of your articles and the way you explain your writing… give me goal to push the type across the page.
Not sucking up sir, just tapping keys as my fingers fall..
Thank You, for giving us your knowledge and time.
Long Life and Many Great Ideas…
Hi Ian,
Thanks for all the free information. I have printed it out and will put it to good use.
It is so good to read something that does not make me fall asleep!
Just enough of the funny to keep me reading to the end.
Thanks again for helping it is appreciated.
Jean
Hi Jean – thanks – I prefer the funny when at all possible..:-)
Hi Ian,
thanks for the writing tips. Great ideas for addressing the needs of the prospective buyer. Will implement these ideas in my article titles and test performance.
Hi! Amazing article. I piggy backed here from Pot Pie Girl – Yes I’m doing the One Week Marketing, but a whole lot slower with the help of Learn It Step By Step LOL! I’ve been reading and studying for months and months before finding them. I wrote my first articles today, I’m not sure they cut the mustard so to say. So perhaps a re-write is in order. Thank you again for the tips, it’s greatly appreciated from someone who’s been banging her head against the wall! I may pound my head clear the wall before it’s over, but I AM NOT GIVING UP! I AM GOING TO MAKE IT THROUGH THIS!!!!!
Sincerely,
Michelle Houser
Thanks, Michelle – glad to help!
Hi Ian,
I’m glad I stumbled upon you – you’ve given away a lot of great free information! Today I wrote 16 (!) articles and used your headline ideas to create articles such as “How Selling Your House is Like Going on a Blind Date” and “Selling Your Own House? How to Avoid Costly Mistakes That Everyone Makes”. I hope you think these titles do your blog justice.
I really enjoy your slightly quirky, irreverent occasionally laugh out loud style, plus you are almost a neighbor – I’m in Maryland.
To your best possible life, Deane
Thanks, Deane – I appreciate it – and 16 articles is a lot to get done in one day…..so I hope you have a lot of success with them as well!
Ian, thanks again for some great tips. I’m trying hard to write more articles myself, volume is the hardest part. At least I know I’m headed in the right direction.
Hi Ian,
Great article,
I expect to go from getting horrible results from my articles to getting awesome results from the good stuff that you are providing. Keep it coming.
Bob
Thanks Ian, Love this info, am somewhat new to article marketing, but already stuck for ideas for one of my niches. This has helped tremendously. Keep this great stuff coming.
Thanks,
Kitt
Hi Ian…
As always you have great timing with your blog posts! I have been so inspired by your postings that I have also been writing and submitting articles like crazy. I am trying for 10 today. Your headlines are great!
Awesome! thanks!
Karen