Finding it hard to make money from your articles?

Maybe you’re finding it hard to write an article…

Either way, I want to share how I write my content and show you what’s working for me so keep reading 😉

I will be breaking everything down so you can see what I’m doing and how you can use these techniques in your own writing.

The following example is to spark ideas for your own articles. I have no idea about the topic you’re going to be writing about but I’ve used as an example “dog training” in this guide to show how I write and why it works so well.

Now, I have no clue about dog training and have never promoted products in this niche, just using it as an example.

To be honest I do own 2 labrador dogs and they are both naughty as hell, but I love em to bits..

After reading this tutorial, I think you’ll agree the way the example article is written is much more easier to read and engaging compared to some of the articles on the web.

Before I get started, you need to think about a few things:

1. You’re writing your article for real people to read, so the better you can help that person and answer any questions they may have the better.
2. When people search in Google, Bing and other search engines, most of the time they are asking questions in their head or looking for solutions to their problems.

That’s why it’s important to think about the questions and problems a reader will have before writing your article so brainstorm questions or search through Yahoo answers to find what questions people are asking within your niche.

Then simply answer those questions in your article.

Try not to write like a robot, instead make it entertaining and easy to read. Try and tell a story that will relate to most people that are reading the article.

Ohh, in this article I’m going to be using a clickbank product as an example (theonlinedogtrainer.com) so you can see how I would go about promoting the product as an affiliate.

Let’s Get Started….

1. ATTENTION Grabbing Article Title With Your Main Keyword

Your article title is very important because it can make or break your article.

Did you know, you only have a split second to capture someones attention when they land on your page?

This is why it’s so important to make your articles title something that grabs their attention and sucks them into reading the article body..

I’ve made the main keyword green so you can see how I added the keyword into the title. It’s important to have your main keyword in your title if you want to rank in search engines for that keyword. I will go more into SEO in another article, for now let’s talk more about writing your content.

2. ATTENTION Grabbing First Line Or Paragraph.

Again, you still only have that split second to grab their attention before they hit the back button, so it’s important to try get their attention with something that grabs their eye and makes them want to keep reading..

You can make this first paragraph bold text or use a different color to get their attention as well.

As you can see, I added a bit of a story that relates to a person who owns a dog and a real problem that they might have as a dog owner. I also bolded an area I want them to glance at so they are compelled to read it…

Think of ways you can do this with your article. If you’re finding it hard try and think of something that has happened to you, maybe something that’s happened in the news or something you’ve seen in a movie.

3. Introduction/Emotional Story

Straight after that first paragraph I will introduce myself (using a pen name or my own name) and then lead into a bit of a story to suck the reader in to reading the rest of the article.

Try to tap into peoples emotions or tell a real life story that people can relate too.

In my introduction I will normally include a picture of a persons face. You can use your own or find one on free image sharing sites like pixabay.com

Example:
Hi there! My name is Abby and today I want to share how I trained my 8 month old doberman pup in as little as 2 weeks using this strange but extremely effective technique I found.

I’m going to show you exactly how I did it in this article, so keep reading.

I first got Sally (that’s my pups name) 6 months ago as a gift from my from my now EX boyfriend. That bastard cheated on me with my best friend and at first I was heart broken but now I see it as a blessing because I now have Sally.

Only problem is, Sally was one very naughty pup and so far has cost me a lot of money repairing all the damage she’s caused around the house.

Has your pup ever done this? I was sitting down getting ready to go for a jog and while I was about to put my socks on, Sally grabbed one of my socks and swallowed it like a piece of spaghetti.

OMG that was one scary moment and it ended up being a very expensive trip to the vet.

I knew Sally was a naughty pup but I never knew how noisy she was when I wasn’t at home because she rarely barks when I’m with her.

I really wanted to take her to puppy training school but it was just so expensive and I had to drive 20 minutes into town just to get there. Luckily I found a cheaper way that actually works…

As you can see I introduced myself and told the reader what the article is about. This lets your readers know what the article is about so they can make a decision if they want to continue reading or not.

You should also try and suck them into reading more. Notice how I wrote “I’m going to show you exactly how I did it in this article, so keep reading.”

Another technique to get people to continue reading is to ask them questions.

Did you notice the question I asked? “Has your pup ever done this?”..By asking questions your making your reader think and it makes them think that you’re actually talking to them.

So, the first part of the article is more about common problems a person has or faces. The second part of the article I lead them into the solutions and answers to their problems.

4. Answers and Solutions – Give Them What They Want..

Now that you’ve sucked them in you can start giving them the solution to their problem, or a teaser to the product you’re promoting.

You want to give value to your reader, something they can actually benefit from, you want to wow them.

This builds trust and shows the reader you know what you’re talking about or makes them think you’re some kind of expert.

Remember, as an affiliate marketer, your job is to warm the visitor up so they’re excited and ready to buy the product.

Once they hit your affiliate link and land on the vendors sales page the vendor will do the selling (which is why it’s called the sales page).

Ok, so let’s have a look at what I’ve done in this section.

See how I’ve mentioned that I came across the dog training technique in a Facebook group and went on to add other people where talking about their problems?

I’m trying to paint a picture in the readers mind so they think that there’s a group of people talking about the same problems as well..more on this in a second.

I then go on and add that a person mentions an online dog training course that they all had been following.

Why is this important? Because it shows that other people are following or using the guide. Now the reader will be thinking, if this is working for other people as well as the person writing the article it must work right?

Imagine you’re back at school and you see the cool kid wearing something brand new and then you see another person wearing that same thing and again another person follows the trend – majority of the time you will want what they have and follow the trend as well.

This is also the section where I start dropping my affiliate links. You’ll notice where I’ve added the links to the course aren’t salesy.

I’ve strategically placed the affiliate links like that with text that intrigues or gets them curious about what’s on that page.

I rarely use big bold links saying CLICK HERE NOW TO BUY THE COURSE..

I see other affiliates doing this and I’m sure it works to a degree but I’ve always had better results from gently dropping my links in the way I have in the example.

Something else I’ve done in this section is, I mention I tried one of the tricks that’s mentioned in the video of the products page and said that it actually worked.

This shows the reader that the product works and hopefully they will be thinking wow, if it worked for this person and all these other people in the group it must work right?

I then mention a few tricks from the course and tell them to go to the site and try it themselves.

You want them to click that affiliate link so it’s all about getting them curious about what is on that page.

5. Provide Proof – Show Them It Works!

This also works wonders in review pages (this is not a proper review, more an article. I will show you how to write reviews on an up coming page).

Basically you want to show pictures of the product in action or show results that the product worked. For this example I would do this:

A picture with proof will massively increase your conversion and click through rates, trust me..

I also explain what other tricks have worked and mentioned the product and made it a link to my affiliate link.

Are you thinking about ideas for your own articles? I hope so 😉

6. Conclusion – Closing Statements

It’s funny because most of the time when we visit a website we will have a quick glance to see if it’s interesting enough to stay around and a lot of the time we will scroll down to see what’s at the bottom of the page.

It’s almost like reading the back of a book before we buy it? I don’t know about you but for some reason I do this when I visit a website and I’m sure others do too.

That’s why it’s important to have a good conclusion that briefly goes over what was in the article and wraps things up.

You can go into more detail with your conclusion but try keep it brief and to the point. Add your affiliate link for those people who scroll down to check what’s on the page without reading..

If your conclusion is well written and builds curiosity, they might just click and buy 🙂

I hope you enjoyed this guide as much as I enjoyed writing it. Any questions please feel free to ask in the comments or join the discussion in the Affiliate Marketing Ninjas Facebook group.