A dissection of article marketing success

Article marketing is an effective method of promoting your business.  Not just a media release, but a written newsworthy article.  This is primarily the method that I have used to promote my business.  I thought you may find it interesting to see the submission and printed version of an article.  Personally I am not a wordsmith, my grammar is not perfect, and I have a very simple chucky style of writing. 

The first article I wrote for www.flyingsolo.com.au took me about 2 weeks to write and was rejected :(((, the next article took another two weeks, and fortunately got accepted!!

Now I have a really good system down to pat. On Monday I think of an idea, think of 5 key points related to that idea, go to my public speaking sessions (I attend 2 a week, typically on Tuesday) present my ideas in a five – seven minute talk.

I get constructive feedback there, and then I go away and rethink it, and sit down at the computer to write it. I turn my TweetDeck on and pose questions and tweet sentences, in an hour I get amazing feedback, words, turns of phrases, clarification etc.

I print it out, hang it on the fridge, edit it while making dinner. Then by about 7:30pm in the evening whammy it is done, and submit it to a variety of different publications I know write for,

I also did the Sydney Writer Centre course Online Feature Writing Course with Valerie Khoo  which helped me in this never ending journey.

Back to the article dissection;  I am a member of the Riverside Toastmasters, and with the recently held QUEST Business Achiever Awards, saw an opportunity for a newsworthy article; Top Tips for your acceptance speech for the QUEST South East Advertiser Business Awards from the Bulimba Riverside Toastmasters.  So the goal was to promote the club and get my name in the paper (which I achieved) I did it by providing helpful and timely information to business who were attending the award.

The picture above, is the actual article as it appeared in the QUEST paper, and below is the article I submitted to them;

YELLOW – highlights what they used as is.

BLUE – highlights what they used, but they moved around slightly

Your business’s name has been called out as a winner of the QUEST South East Advertiser Business Awards and now you need to give a speech... but don’t panic!  Heather Smith from the Bulimba Riverside Toastmasters is here to share some top tips for your acceptance speech.

Practise and palm cards

Take the time prior to the event to think about what you want to say and who you want to thank.  Practice out loud in front of a mirror or in the car a few times.  It is ok to take palm cards along, to jog your memory on the night.

Take a deep breath

While you walk up to the stage, take a deep breath, slowly exhale and gather your thoughts.  This is your moment, enjoy it.

Stay focused

The lights on the stage will be bright and hot and in all likelihood you will need to speak out to an audience whom you may not see.  Hold your head high, and speak outwards, the audience can see you, and they want to hear you.

Share your feelings

The audience want to share in your joy, so share with them how excited you are about winning the award.

Keep it short and relevant

The audience want to hear what you have to say, but it is a big night and they want to get home too!

Call to action

You are in front of the crème de la crème of South East Queensland Businesses; invite them to do business with you.

Speaking on stage can be intimidating and you need to remember the audience are on your side, they want to share in your excitement, and they want to hear what you want to say.