Article marketing has been used as a very useful promotion tool in print media for years and long before the birth of the Internet.

These days the availability of the Internet which provides us with powerful online leverage tools such as websites, blogs, ezines and email newsletters has created an even greater need for well-written articles on a variety of topics. 

Articles which can be used for article marketing have become more sought after than ever before.

What is the definition of "article marketing"?

Article marketing can be defined as the practice of providing well-written content for distribution to websites and epublishers in exchange for a write-up about the author's business and contact information. 

These "blurbs" usually include a link to the business owner's website. 

Getting an article published in this way is equivalent to getting free ad space on countless websites worldwide and is an excellent example of the advertising power with the Internet as an incredibly powerful leverage tool contra the "old fashioned" way of offline advertising.

The opportunity for exposure to the right market is significant, while the cost is negligible, making online article marketing a highly efficient means of business communication.

Targeting a responsive audience

Unlike using email campaigns for lead generation, which can net as little as one percent response rate, article marketing targets a responsive audience. 

Readers either voluntarily visited the website where the article is published, or have opted in to receive the newsletter or ezine. 

This audience will in the outset be more open to the information contained in the article, and therefore more likely to follow the link to the author's website.

The publishers who receive the articles already have an audience of potential buyers in place.  Readers are interested in the content of the articles, which greatly increases the odds that they will be in the market to purchase products or services related to the content. 

This is a great example of the potential of well written articles and explains why they are in such high demand by webmasters all around the world.

Why? It's literally free advertisement. Providing an article costs no more than the investment of the time required to write it.

All of this is a major contributor to the popularity of quality PLR articles.

By comparison, the cost to purchase a list of such well-qualified leads would be formidable. 

Linking to specific information

Another way to achieve cost-free publicity is rather than linking to the home page, authors can include a link to an article on their own site that elaborates on the article topic. 

Readers will be more likely to seek out additional specific information.

Publishing an email address

To further improve conversion rates the webmaster can publish an email address that readers can use to subscribe to his newsletter or website. 

Providing content to publishers in related fields can be a highly cost-effective means of increasing website traffic, generating qualified leads, and ultimately leading to more sales.