Consultants - Writing Articles for the Internet Blankets the World with Your Expertise and Style

A Consultant could be an expert about absolutely anything.

Calling yourself a "consultant" demands further clarification. A consultant who? What specific problems do you handle? And who needs what you know? Everyone? (Never true) Businesses selling to seniors? (A precisely defined niche) Success depends on how clearly you can define yourself and what you offer. How easily can potential clients understand it?

You provide clients more than your expert knowledge and problem-solving skills. Your delivery style (tricks) are every bit as valuable as your knowledge base. We all relate to some businesses (personally and professionally) more effectively than to others. Great match-ups require something akin to a mating call to help a consultant find and connect with ideal clients.

Every consultant is unique in important ways. Your challenge is to express those significant intangibles - so they set you apart from others using the same job title. Do clients understand what you can do for them? How you're different from the competition? Why they'd prefer you?

Article Marketing is Your Ideal Stage

Whether you're selling a service, speaking or training, nothing persuades like offering a sample. Writing articles that highlight your style and expertise does that for you. A meaty, 600 to 800 word article is long enough to deliver a tangible taste.

Once it's widely posted, the message can be read by thousands. Some readers will search for what else you've said, or click over to your website. Writing repeated in-depth articles further establishes your niche, point of view, and expertise. They're building your name recognition and readership in short order.

Your stock-in-trade is information, so packaging it into articles makes you a content creator. The Internet voraciously demands a steady diet of new material. Websites, ezines (and now blogs) efficiently deliver ideas to targeted readers. But sad to say, too many articles consist of rehashed, low-grade material. Stand out with fresh, professional-quality information. Being a cut above builds respect and trust - a must for doing business down the road.

Local Search can Further Define Your Market

Unlike a plumber or day care center, most consultants needn't be confined to the local arena. Your Internet exposure connects you to a national or global audience, if that's your goal. But if your target market is closer to home, articles still help to position you.

Recent research by The Kelsey Group show that 70% use the Internet to make local buying decisions. And nowadays, 36% of search engine queries request local search results. That means the person includes a geographic term in their search engine query. For example, a query with: "employee benefit consultant" + Denver only lists the small pool of appropriate Denver providers.

Every consultant needs to make sure their information appears in local search queries, http://www.yellowpagesage.com/localsearch.html. The trend toward local search is growing quickly. Businesses can easily be left out-which makes them unfindable by online searchers. Who can afford to miss 70% of their client base? Having your own website isn't necessary - but still helpful for a variety of reasons.

Potential Clients will Check You Out Online

Surveys reveal that over half of respondents consider search engines a better source of buying information than Yellow Pages, newspapers or magazines. When someone enters your name or company into Google (in quotes), what comes up?

It helps if your name is unusual. If not, follow up with "search within results" for a qualifier term (like your specialty, "employee benefits") to find your cites.

In just a few moments, searchers get a picture of your professional standing and scope of recognition. They're likely to be swayed by what they see. Who mentions you, and what are they saying? What kinds of links come to your website? If you've been publishing articles, they'll also show up - enhancing your credibility and incoming links.

In my own case, a Google search for my name showed about 100 cites before I started article promotions. Now that's well over 3,000. So many cites boosted my website traffic and Page Rank as well.

If you haven't gone "ego surfing" on Google for mentions of your name, you should. Because the public will. Make sure there's plenty of stuff for them to find that does you proud.

Copyright 2005 Off the Page

Dr. Lynella Grant Consultant and Author - Promote yourself, business, website, or book with online articles http://www.promotewitharticles.com Free how-to. Or let me write and submit your articles online for you. No learning curves (719) 395-9450

---

How I Manage My List of Where I Post Articles Online

Article Marketing Connects you Directly to Readers Even brilliantly-written articles... Read More

How to Write Articles to Sell Your Book

Selling books online means that you need to get interested... Read More

The Ins and Outs of Article Submissions

Congratulations! You've written your first article (or possibly your 10th... Read More

Article Marketing Interview With Kevin Bidwell

Recently I interviewed Kevin Bidwell of All-In-One-Business.com on some of... Read More

Everything I Needed to Know About Article Writing I Learned from My English Teacher

By now you probably understand how important writing for trade... Read More

Giving Yourself the Right to Write

"But I've only been on the Internet 3 months! How... Read More

Become An Expert

Everyone focuses their web marketing efforts on search engines, and... Read More

How To Write an Ezine Article

Writing can be fraught at the best of times but... Read More

How to Promote Your Web Site by Writing Articles

Sharing knowledge on the web can be a very powerful... Read More

Using Anchor Text Optimization In Your Article Viral Marketing Campaign

What is Anchor Text Optimization?Anchor text optimization consists of the... Read More

Write Your Slice of Life: 6 Quick and Easy Steps to Writing a Personal Essay

Do you know why the "Chicken Soup for the Soul"... Read More

Smart Writing and Layout Styles for the Web

If you write web content, it may be a mystery... Read More

1000 Ways to Improve Your Business

One of the best things you can do for your... Read More

How to Use Autoresponders With Your Articles

Now that you see that articles are the number one... Read More

Five Benefits of Article Writing

A few years ago as a webmaster with no money,... Read More

Got Lingo? The Terminology Of Marketing With Articles

Every field or discipline has its own specialized vocabulary and... Read More

6 Best Places to Submit Your Articles

You know that writing articles is the best free way... Read More

Branding, Control, and Results - Submit Articles in Your Own Name

Article distribution is currently booming on the internet. Authors do... Read More

Eight Tips for Ezine Writers

Have you ever wondered why Ezine Articles have become one... Read More

Energize Your Mind With Inspirational Writing Exercises

Feeling uninspired? Like you're stuck in a rut with your... Read More

A Writers Glossary (Part Two)

Find definitions from H to P... ~~~~~~~~~~~ H ~~~~~~~~~~~ Haiku... Read More

Why You Need an Article-Marketing Strategy before Posting a Single Article Online II

This is Part 2 of a 2 part article -... Read More

Keyword Article Writing: the Key to Your Success!

Ready to jump on the keyword article bandwagon? Billions of... Read More

How To Write Persuasive Articles

You may be wondering what persuasive writing has to do... Read More

Where to Get Great Ideas For Your Next Article

There are times when I want to write an article... Read More

A Writers Glossary (Part Three)

Find definitions from Q to Z... Query -A letter... Read More

Wise Article Marketing Strategies

If you are an article writer, you may have been... Read More

7 Steps To Writing Articles That People Just Have To Read

This may come as a surprise... to you, but writing... Read More

Article Writing: 5 Tips on How to Pull and Hold the Reader

Okay, so you're getting a feel for this article marketing... Read More

Writing Articles Sells Books

Are you a reluctant marketer for your book? Do you... Read More

Publishing: Changing realities (I)

When you frequently post articles on ezines, you might be... Read More

5 Plus One Internet Marketing Strategies to Improve Article Quality to Increase WebTraffic

Writing quality articles is time consuming for the very best... Read More

Marketing Your Home Business in Just 30 Minutes a Week

It's all the rage. It's what everyone is talking about.... Read More