Good Evening Master Article Chefs!
I consolidated my posts into one post for ease as several posts I wanted to respond to for Jo…
@Jo RE: your first post :)
(First of all, glad to help- we were all newbie’s to something once upon a time no? besides it's in the IM handbook to help all newbie’s...).
I want to clarify my point in another email about what type of articles to write to get paid.
Information articles are still VERY useful. They bring traffic to the site and although the article may not prompt them to buy- it helps your overall account/seo... it's about a balance not one or the other but both.
I think you need informative articles to reach one group, and review articles to reach another or both groups interchangeably. Informative articles can always lead into a review article by linking it to one (one you write!).
For example You could (I did actually just haven’t moved it over yet) write about the fascinating history (and hidden histories) of thanksgiving and write another article about all the thanksgiving products- not as a sales page or review so much as what people use/buy (i.e. thanksgiving plates/platters, turkey pans, suction thingies for rejuicing turkey), aluminum foil, decor, even some food products that are bottled or canned like gravy, and a million other things...
The TG history excites them to learn about the holiday which may very well make them more excited (like scrooge with xmas after the 3 ghosts visit informing him of things he missed that would excite him about xmas etc...), then write a tradition piece about what people generally eat on thanksgiving, including a bunch of the aforementioned products, and another article could cover the decor of thanksgiving and include a bunch of really awesome decorations that are unique, not the hum drum turkey pictures :)
With your history article you essentially could create say 5-10 sub niche themes that would easily pour into product placement... link ALL of the 5-10 articles to the TG history one and from each back to the TG History one as well (so product finders may also learn about the history of TG and may even bookmark or visit all the links to OTHER cool things about thanksgiving i.e. traditions, decor, food, prep tools (foil, pans, etc...). This may actually push them over the fence to buying things on one of the sub niche/product pages.
The TG History will help with SEO also but its back links will be more relevant.
Make sense? It's about cleaver writing, cleaver networking of articles (i.e. TG history and accessory articles that sell the products)... It stands to reason that someone who's interested in the history of a holiday will want to inline research other things like decor and traditional recipes (books?), so it's a natural progression as well (they may not have even cared about decorations until reading the history article (i.e. why we use certain ones) then landing on a decor article next!
You can also interlink in the middle of your explanation i.e. you start talking about how decoration concepts began and where turkeys came into the picture, and the turkey's word can become a backlink/hyperlink to an article on how to prepare turkey 7 different ways that sells turkey basters (that's the word I was looking for above), pans etc...
Christmas/Holidays
Christmas DOES start in June, but you should really start preparing in March for reasons chef and Katie mentioned, seasoning and giving it time to climb the serps a bit. Holidays change what keywords people are trending on the most- so be very aware of LSI's and naturally potent information.
(and chef if someone read an informative review instead of a normal review, they won't say oh they are pretending to inform me but they want me to buy something- fact is if the information is GREAT and unique and useful- they don't care about being sold on something- it's an even exchange- great info for purchasing what they need anyway- even based on the article. It's about how you do it- if you write like a slick sales page, sure they will be upset, but if the data is potent and amazing to them- it doesn't matter).
Succinctly- I'd like to quote the words of Kid Rock "they say I'm bragging and I say what, it's not braggin MF if you back it up..." meaning if the data is not fluff, but potent copy, it's not going to be seen as pretending to inform but actually informing :)
I agree that you should write both, some that are informative with products, and some that are JUST a solid review with products- this way you hit both markets/types- personally I like to become well informed about something before picking a product- i.e. if I want a welder I don't want to read one review on a specific welder, at least not right away, I like to read a quick assessment of what each type is, does, and the differences (so I know which one I need), from that I'd like to be linked to a specific welder review (tight review) on the one I picked...
I did this with my welder, window blinds, and others- writing a main collage review (potent still) then individual ones on each type specifically- both can sell products well. The informative articles/reviews are a great way to offer “for more information” type leads at the end of an article. Those that want the product pages but find they may need to know more before deciding will love to read your more informative (less product selling) piece then return to the article and buy the welder or whatever from there.
Katie nailed it (the original posts question) in a nutshell actually- the whole thing :)
The learning curve is the most exciting part. Later when you know all this stuff well, you will miss the consistent "new" information your learning (it feels like slaving in a never ending treadmill of things “to learn” right now, but you’ll miss it later :). Kind of like military basic training :) and can quickly apply- as you learn more and more the consciousness shifts to creative/cleaver marketing with what you know (adding tips to your tool belt as you go or need a way to accomplish something you think up), the new stuff will be less, the learning to perform IM/writing jujitsu will take over (and is just as fun to watch results of testing ideas).
(how about an article about starting your shopping early so you can get more without going for broke around the holiday? It could lead into several other articles (including product based ones). Talk about ideas for saving people time and money- then lead into several articles about shopping and what's out there..)
Just brainstorming...
@Ragtimelil - most of what I review I never bought or plan to buy- I just consolidated potent details from other articles on the web already covering what I want to review, then I take the facts and book report it to some degree, I don't try to rewrite what they wrote just use the details, the potent facts, to create an article covering everything.
I notice a lot of people don't include enough facts so you have to go everywhere or read 10 articles to get them all (and combing through the fluff sales pitchy content), so I take these pieces and consolidate them into one shop article. All the info (reviews, comments left by people, forum posts, etc...) is out there, like chef said, just curate it into a master piece.
I don’t write the review from first person i.e. “I like the 2323D-4h tig welder, it’s efficient and one of the most popular” I wrote it in third person informative style, just the facts Ma’am… ie. “The Tig Welder model 2323d-4H is a popular model for precision welding. It comes with a 25 ft. power cord and … yaddah yaddah”… so it’s not salesly (as a first person review would feel IMHO)… but factual and offering several models on the page to click through to read about on amazon, or a link to a more detailed review to tig welders from a “welders review” page that covers each type of 7 in a potent paragraph or two each.
-Jerrico
why not target the 'ghoulish' section by 'offering' miniature replica's of the execution contraptions you write so passionately about (only kidding) - but the point is relevant]