People crave bite-sized pieces of information online in the form of articles so they can quickly research and decide which topics to investigate further. Truth is, anyone can use article marketing to promote just about anything because article marketing rates as one of the most effective ways to generate traffic online.

However, the pivotal key to effective article marketing, the article title, usually receives the least attention. This lack of thought and attention seriously undermines the otherwise great results people could have gotten through article marketing with just a little more effort.

The following 7 keys should help every level of article marketer improve their titles, and therefore, massively improve their results.

Key # 1: The Article Title Is The Single Most Important Part

The fact is, a great title combined with an average article will outperform a bad title and great article! In the end, your title serves as the headline for the article, just like the headline for a sales page or advertisement. Your title grabs attention and lets people know the article is relevant to their needs and they should stop and read it right now.

Key # 2: Titles Should Contain The Main Keyword Phrase

You should know the #1 keyword phrases your audience searches for online and every article you write should center around one of those main keyword phrases. Also, every article title should contain one of those main keyword phrases. Why? Because it helps automated software that trolls for articles to find you and add you to content sites. It also helps you show up in the search engines when people search for that particular phrase. Most importantly, it lets people know instantly that your article is relevant and they should read it right now.

Key # 3: Titles Should Create Curiosity

A great headline gets people to say “Hmmm. That’s interesting. I wonder what that’s all about. Is there something good in there for me?” Remember: the #1 purpose of a headline is to get people to stop and read the first sentence of the article. Curiosity rates as the #1, proven way to get people to stop, drop what they’re doing, and start reading your article.

Key # 4: Titles Should Evoke Emotion

Emotion in the headline creates the urgency to push people into actually reading the article itself. Make people mad. Make them sad. Make them laugh. Make them afraid. But whatever you do, don’t bore them! Emotional involvement is the key to getting the most people to feel the need to read your article once you arouse their curiosity. Creating an emotional reaction starts with your article title.

Key # 5: Titles Make An Immediate Promise

“5 Specific Ways To Get Your House Sold Without an Agent” vs. “General House Selling Tips.”

Which is more compelling? The one that makes a specific, immediate promise for the results or information the reader wants. Make a promise of immediate results and specific information your target audience can use. Offer an inside “scoop” they wont’ find anywhere else in the form of secret tips or tricks. If you followed the first 5 keys in this article, this should actually be one of the easiest parts (making a promise). Just tell them you have what they want and all they need to do is read the article.

Key # 6: Titles Continue A Conversation

Everyone, especially online, has a conversation going on in their head at any given moment. It may be organized or disjointed, but everyone’s headed in a certain direction. When they look for information, they want the information they want – not what you think they shoud want.

That means using the words, phrases, and questions they use so they stop and say “Yeah! That’s what I’m looking for!?

Example: Someone wonders “How can I get my house sold without an agent and save the commission?” When they see article titles like “Thinking of Selling Without and Agent?” or “How To Sell Without An Agent” or “5 Specific Tips For Selling Without an Agent” – they pay attention. Article titles like “FSBO Tips” or “Home Selling Advice” will not continue that conversation nearly as well in the minds of potential readers.

Key # 7: Titles Should Lead To A Next Step

People aren’t stupid. They know you can’t solve all their problems in one article. They also realize (consciously or subconsciously) that your article is probably just one stepping stone along a path they must follow to reach their final goal. So ask yourself, ?What’s the next logical step they should take after this article??

Knowing that next step before you even write the article will help you lead them from the article title, through the body of the article, all the way to the resource box. Knowing the ?big picture? turns your article into one giant slippery slope that shoots the readers straight into your list and sales funnel with a win-win proposition!

For more complete information and a FREE video on WHY article marketing is the single best and most useful method for driving FREE Website traffic and how EASY it is for anyone to get started, no matter what you sell, visit: http://easyhowtovideos.com/article-marketing/

Jim Edwards is a 10 year veteran syndicated newspaper columnist who specializes in helping info-marketers and info-publishers maximize their results.

Unless you?ve been hunkered under a rock or in the back of a cave, you?ve at least heard the term ?social media.? Depending on your perspective, social media either represents the fall of western civilization or the perfect marriage of people and technology.

The term ?social media? actually refers to 4 specific types of tools small businesses can use.

Read my latest article here: “Social Media and Small Business“

Enjoy!

Jim

It’s interesting how “the more things change, the more they stay the same.”

In 1999, I put together my first screen capture video product.

It was a training for real estate agents called “The Online Real Estate Agent“.

I actually recorded the screen video to a SVHS (Super VHS) machine using a mixer form Radio Shack, a stick mic (I still have it) and a TV set with a scan converter hooked up to my laptop. (It was some super-geek setup, I’ll tell you that.)

Oh, and I did all the recording sitting on the floor of my TRAILER in the living room at the coffee table (because that’s where the only TV we owned sat and that part of the roof didn’t leak).

I had to make that first video perfectly in one take (it was 70 minutes long) because there was NO chance to edit or do over… it was all or nothing.

I then took that video and made copies using 3 VHS machines (which I got on sale at Target for $49 each) I had “daisy-chained” together in my “office” (which was the spare bedroom in my trailer).

So, in one weekend, I created a product to sell at the back of the room when I spoke to groups of real estate agents about how to set up and use their websites and do REALLY basic stuff online (like send emails of listing information, read PDFs, etc.).

I went on to sell about 100 copies of that product in 3 months for $49 each (hard cost was about $3 each) at the back of the room when I spoke.

That was roughly half of my less than $9,000 total personal income for the entire year (I generated LOT more revenue than that, but my business partner and I were spending a ton of money on equipment and needless overhead that was bleeding us dry).

The next screen capture video product I created in 2000 (for my new boss at a job I hated and lived in constant fear of being fired from) generated about $100,000.00 in total sales in 3-4 months. (I used “Lotus Screen Cam” to make this product.)

The next screen capture video product I made was with Yanik Silver in 2001. It generated well over $140,000.00 in sales and still sells to this day (I used the 30-day free trial for Camtasia by Techsmith to make this project… and every screen capture product since then).

The next major screen capture video product I made in 2003-2004 generated over $1,000,000.00 in sales.

Needless to say… by this time, I’d moved out of the trailer park

So here are a few takeaways from my little reminiscing session here about screen capture video.

1. I got damn good at making screen capture video by DOING it over and over (with nobody to teach me but ME).

2. As the technology improved the opportunities got better and faster.

3. It has NEVER been simpler to use screen capture video than it is right now (especially using the Camtasia software).

4. Screen capture video is MORE valuable today than it was 12 years ago because you can use it to do so many more things (like blogging, video marketing, video sales letters, product creation, mobile devices, and more).

5. Screen capture video is NEVER going away. It’s a core skill we all need, just like creating web pages or blogging.

So what’s the Bottom-Line for you?

a.. Get damn good at using Camtasia.

b.. You have to pay your dues by developing some skills (but you don’t have to do it one the floor of your trailer with no help).

c.. Dollar-for-dollar, Camtasia ‘s the best product / content / media creation software on the planet!

d.. Start using Camtasia to create products, blog content, sales videos and more.

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Now, in case you still have doubts, here’s an article I created FROM a screen capture video.

I edited the words I spoke into article form (below).

So not only can I use this content for “video marketing” with my video entitled “11 Ways To Use Screen Capture Video“, but I can now use that same content to distribute to article sites and get even more traffic and expert status.

Watch the video and read this article (below) right now to see what I mean

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9 Instant Uses for Screen Capture Video in Your Online Business
- by Jim Edwards

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As a follow up to a recent article on how small businesses can use screen capture video, I thought it appropriate to share even more options for putting the power of screen capture video to work online. Screen capture video truly is the fastest way to create content, training programs, and marketing materials for the online world.

1. Affiliate Promo Videos
One of the fastest ways to make money online is to sell other people’s products as an affiliate, and specifically sell other people’s software. Use screen capture video to demonstrate how to use the software, and then refer people through your affiliate link. You can also make “features and benefit videos” where you simply list off all the reasons someone should buy a product, and then refer them through your affiliate link.

2. Software Demonstrations
Use screen capture video to demonstrate your software as part of the sales process. If you don’t own software you can sell, you can still demonstrate how to get a specific result using virtually any software and then make money charging for the training you create.

3. PowerPoint
Use screen capture video to create PowerPoint Video sales Letters that massively shorten the sales copywriting process. You can also convert virtually any PowerPoint presentation used for offline training into an online tool using screen capture video.

4. Video Marketing
Posting videos to sites like YouTube, Vimeo, and other niche video sites makes a great way to get traffic, increase search engine ranking, and gain expert status. With Camtasia’s YouTube settings, you can create and upload effective online videos with just a few clicks.

5. Webinar Recordings
Webinars make a great option for businesses of any size to create content, sell products, and create goodwill in their niche. With screen capture video you can archive the action forever and use it for everything from free bonuses to paid home study courses and customer training.

6. Membership Site Content
Any business can benefit by creating exclusive, members-only content for their customers with screen capture video. Whether that content is free or paid, the relationships created can lead to profits for many years. Use this tool to create training on various topics, create website reviews, offer critiques for your members and more.

7. Blog Content
Blogging represents a double-edged sword. To get traction, you must publish to your blog regularly. But in a time-strapped world, finding the time for regular posting can rate extremely difficult. Use screen capture video to short-cut the process by quickly creating updates, sharing your opinions, or reviewing products.

8. Article Conversion
Article marketing works for any size business. The incoming links and credibility it creates far outstretch the time it takes to write and distribute articles. However, converting your articles into screen capture videos rates quick and easy, and allows you to combine video marketing with the power of article marketing. Simply create bullets from your article and put them into PowerPoint. Then, record the screen while reading the article as you advance through the bulleted presentation. Very simple, but oh so effective!

9. iPod / iPad Content
Camtasia allows you to create content for mobile devices. With the coming onslaught of mobile media devices, you can become a source of valuable content for your customers looking to use their mobile devices. Mobile devices represent an amazing opportunity to distribute content created with screen capture video.

Remember: if you can show it on your computer screen, you can record it and share it through the power of screen capture video. Let your mind run wild with the possibilities, but then get busy using the tool to build your business.

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“Your Camtasia ‘Quick & Dirty’ Survival Guide”

How To Use The Most Powerful Marketing and Product Creation
Software Ever Invented!

http://easyhowtovideos.com/camtasia-survival-guide/
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You can read it in full right here:

“Screen Capture Video Puts Your Business In The Spotlight”

Enjoy!

Jim

The column focuses on marketing issues faced by small businesses who want to get REAL results with their online marketing (not the pipe dream stuff the bizz-opp gurus are pushing – this is REAL).

We’ve published our first article “7 Pillars of Marketing a Local Business Online“ and you can read it here.

Enjoy!

Jim