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How To Simply Setup Affiliate Marketing Programs

Affiliate programs (also known as referral programs or partnership programs) provide a flood of traffic to your site for next to nothing. When you implement an affiliate program on your site, you establish a 'pay for performance' relationship with those who sign up as your affiliate. The affiliate runs his or her own separate marketing campaign in order to advertise his unique affiliate url which tracks the visitors he sends to your site. 
If a visitor makes a purchase, the affiliate is credited for the sale and receives a commission (a percentage of the sale).
You can see the power of this method immediately when you recognize that your affiliates essentially provide you with free advertising.
  You only pay when a sale is made. True, you do pay out a portion of your profits – but what you make back is far more than what you're spending.
Why? Because affiliates increase your site's visibility. Even long after you've moved on to another project, another site...all of those affiliate links pointing to your site are still 'out there', spread across the web in articles, emails, e-books and affiliate web pages. Broad exposure such as this brings you a steady stream of traffic and sales for months to come.
Think of it this way: you can sell 1,000 copies of a $20 product and keep the profits to yourself to the tune of $70,000 or you can enlist an army of affiliates who sell 3,000 copies of the same product for a 50% ($10.00) commission, and you net $30,000!
Setting up an affiliate program is not difficult. One of the easiest places to do it is at Amazon.
Amazon has an affiliate system built in and ready to go the moment your product is approved for sale. 
Also, an added benefit is the “marketplace directory” model employed on site.  Most products sold through Amazon appear in the marketplace organized by category. Active affiliate marketers know this and seek out new merchants in the marketplace on a regular basis.
If you're using a different payment processor, like Paypal for instance, you will need to purchase server-side scripts to run your own affiliate program and host it on your site.
Alternatively, you can try some of the newer solutions on the market such as Voguepay. The above services are “all in one” automation solutions for selling and delivering digital goods like e-books.

6 Benefits And Methods Of Offline Advertising

There is much to be said of the benefits of offline promotion and advertising. You'll hear me talk a lot about “tunnel vision” and the impact it has on your business strategy.

 The neglect of offline advertising methods falls squarely under my definition of 'tunnel vision'. It's easy to see why people succumb to this. You've got an online business, so you advertise online. It's only logical. 

The problem with that logic is that it rests on a faulty assumption: the assumption that you don't advertise locally unless you're operating a business with local appeal. In reality, it doesn't matter if you're selling to a universal audience. That's actually the point

 Even the guy down the street from you is part of that universal audience as far as the Internet is concerned! So, why struggle to reach him online if you could just as easily induce him to go online by advertising to him where he lives?
The Case for Offline Marketing:
Your proximity to offline customers is going to give you an instant boost in terms of both intrigue and trust.
Why?
First, the Internet and the world at large continue to grow a little more anonymous, and a little more isolating, every day. 
Ironically, the Internet can actually relieve that sense of isolation when used properly.
For example: think of a local business in your area. Maybe a restaurant? Now visit their website if they have one. How does this make you feel? It's nice to check out the full menu at leisure, in the comfort of your own home, isn't it?  You might even find pictures of the waiters or your favorite table to bring back pleasant memories from your last dining experience there.
If your favorite restaurant really knows their stuff, they've probably got some printable coupons, recipes, an online reservation tool or customer feedback options in place. So, know this: these same psychological principles work in reverse, too. 
Even if you're selling an e-book, there's a market for it in your own backyard. You should advertise offline and make a point of emphasizing that you're locally based
In fact, you might want to create a separate entry page for your local customers. Let them get to know you. Offer them some deals that the rest of your visitors aren't privy to, and really play up the 'next door neighbor' theme.
Expense:
There's a common misconception that offline advertising is prohibitively expensive, after all, part the great leveling influence of the Internet is that it makes it super-cheap for the average person to start their own business.
Overhead costs are generally under $1,000. In fact, you can get away with less than $100 in up-front investment as long as you aren't trying to start “the next Ebay”.
Well, somehow, people have confused offline overhead costs with offline advertising costs. There are barriers to entry when it comes to starting an offline business; but, advertising any business offline is far more affordable than most people realize…

The truth:

If you can afford to place a classified ad to sell your barbecue grill, you can afford to place an ad for your business. I'm not saying it's as cheap to advertise offline as it is online. If you're strapped for capital, you probably won't be able to afford online advertising, either.

You need a minimum of at least $50 to invest somewhere, and you need to turn around and re-invest your profits into additional advertising.

Offline methods and their average costs:
Let's take a look at some offline advertising opportunities, and then we'll lay out some cost analysis:

·       Flyers
·       Bumper stickers
·       T-shirts
·       Business Cards
·       Brochures
·       Newspaper classifieds
·       Local newscast segments
·       Local websites
·       Joint ventures with local businesses
·       Public television and radio sponsorship
·       Charity sponsorships
·       Billboards
We've got a mix of price ranges here, and a lot of the cost is dependent on print-quality, volume, pre-existing standards and demand vs. supply. I'll take you now through each method, one-by-one, and discuss when, where and how to use a particular method in a cost-effective way.

1. Flyers:
Your costs here depend on things like: paperweight, black & white versus color printing, page size, and number of copies. A short run of small, black and white flyers Shouldn't run you more than about .03 -.05 cents per page at most commercial printers.

If you've already got your own printer, you can print out as many flyers as you need for the cost of paper and printer ink. As far as distribution, you'll need to look for outlets in high traffic areas. 
This could be a bulletin board at a local coffee shop, a community kiosk, library, etc. Just make sure you have permission to flyer first.

2. Bumper Stickers:

Another super cheap method for promoting your website address.  Print up about 50 full-color stickers for you, your family and friends  for only $64.95 online. Just get yourself a good quantity and slap these onto your vehicle. If you're so inclined, make some extra trips when you can. 

You'll get noticed in parking lots, in rush hour traffic, and on the highway when you're taking road trips. It's important to have a memorable URL so that people on the road can memorize it or write it down quickly. You might want to get a redirect domain expressly for this purpose, and use that on your sticker rather than your usual (longer) URL.

Lastly, make sure you've got some sort of slogan or curiosity-boosting quote on the sticker as well. Something to grab the attention of drivers in your target market. For example, let's say you're selling an e-book or online course about “day trading”. A good lead generating sticker for that could be something like:
Are you set for life? I am!

Finally, don't rule out the possibility of spreading your offline efforts into other cities.  If you have access to your customer's real billing address information, consider sending them a free sticker via snail mail. You could even add an incentive to this by telling them about your affiliate program. This would work pretty easily as long as your affiliate back end software creates subdomain style tracking links: e.g., affiliateID.yourmerchantsite.com

Just imagine if all of your affiliates (or customers-turned-affiliates) had their own unique bumper stickers sporting an easy to remember affiliate url?  You'd have a virtual army of offline advertisers driving around with your website address all across the country.

3. T-Shirts:

T-Shirts are good for URL display and as conversation starters. This is especially true if you find yourself standing in line a lot at places like the bank, the grocery store, the post office, etc. You're almost guaranteed to get curious inquiries, especially if you employ this time-tested call to action:  “Ask me about 'fill in the blank here'.”

Examples:

Ask me how I made $50,000 last year working at home!

Migraine headaches? Ask me about the secret cure!

You Get the idea? This sets you up with a chance to pre-sell in person, and pass out your business card so that your prospect won't forget your URL on the way home.

As far as cost is concerned: if you want to work on the cheap, you need to stick to plain, light-weight cotton t-shirts. They should be white in color, and you should use a one-color printing process. 

Basically, the higher quality your cotton and the more colors you have in your design, the more expensive it will be. Some people prefer black t-shirts. If that's true for you also, you can probably get a good deal as long as you stick to white ink.

 Anything else on black will be more expensive because you have to lay down an extra color (white) in order to get your other colors to show up.

Another thing to keep in mind:
Printers typically don't (and won't) do small orders. You're looking at a minimum of about 10 t-shirts with most offline print shops.

 One of the cheapest online quotes that have been found is $9.57 per shirt when you order 250 or more shirts.  Even at a 36% discount, you're looking at over two-grand.

You might be able to cut costs if you can work out a deal with one of your local printers. You can also buy some cheap shirts at craft stores, then iron a design yourself. Most home offices printers today can print onto special t-shirt transfer paper for just these types of projects.

One last alternative is to set up your own shop. create your own 'branded' product line and purchase one-at-a-time type products such as tee-shirts mentioned previously.

More and more stations are adding technology and internet special features as part of their newscast.
 In fact, I've seen a few stations where viewers are encouraged to send in links to websites of interest.   If your link is chosen, an anchor will do a short segment reviewing the site. 

You'll need to have an angle that makes your site newsworthy or of local interest, though. If you can't get in through one of these backdoor tricks, move on to the press release method. You might land yourself an interview or special feature segment on your business.

4. Local Websites:
High traffic, locally focused websites are another excellent choice for advertising. Costs will vary. You'll need to visit your target sites to gather up a cost estimate. Typical high-traffic, locally focused sites include ones like:
·       Any of your local radio or tv station sites (*note, often banner advertising. Many sites now employ Google Adsense for the bulk of their sponsorships).

·       Chamber of Commerce sites (you can usually get a link in their directory, if not advertising).

·       Any other independently owned business site or local resources portal.

5. Offline Joint Ventures:

Here is a super-charged (and often free) tactic you may not have considered. Why not set up a joint venture with another business owner in your own hometown? For example: if you're selling beauty-related products, negotiate a deal with one of the locally owned hair salons. 

Have them hand out your information and recommend your products in exchange for a percentage of any sales they refer. Sweeten up the deal by offering customers of that salon a discount on your products.

This can really work to your benefit. Many people don't think about forming a joint venture between their online business and a brick-n-mortar business. But you can get lots of mileage out of that face-to-face referral. And that referral is coming from someone the customer already trusts, and already does business with. 

Sponsorships (public tv, radio and charities):
Got some spare cash to donate? Consider giving it to charity or any other worthy local cause. You usually have to invest $500 or more to reach a certain “donor level” and its accompanying benefits. But if you can afford to sign on as a business sponsor to, say, a public radio program, you can get your name and URL read on air. Let's say you sponsor something like a “10K Run for the Cure”. Many cities have charity races like this.  Your donation can get you listed on t-shirts, banners and other souvenirs.

6. Billboards:
Billboard advertising: it's high-impact, it gets you noticed, and it often carries with it a hint of “the big leagues” in your customer's mind.

They're stuck in traffic. They see your billboard day after day. They naturally make the assumption that you must be pretty serious and important if you're willing to run such a prominent ad.

And even though many people will claim that billboards are an eyesore, and that they ignore them, studies show this is simply not true.  

You really can't avoid noticing at least a dozen of the billboards on the road each time you drive. It's just how the mind works. Your eyes are scanning the environment, and they have to land on something other than the road ahead at least part of the time or you'll wind up in a trance.

Let's be honest here, too. Haven't you found at least one billboard advertisement that completely annoys you – and yet, every time you drive past it you can't help but look at it again?

It's like trying not to look at a traffic accident. Obviously, this is going to be one of the more expensive offline methods.  You'll want to stick to very simple boards – the ones that have slot-lettering, rather than full-color banners. You'll also find some price disparity since there's no one, central owner for all billboards. Some are actually owned and leased out by individuals.

There's an excellent resource in the related urls to help you choose the right type of outdoor advertising. You can get a free quote and consultation online. 

Have a wonderful day.

The Importance Of Pay Per Click Campaigns Online

I'm almost certain that the earth shifted off it's axis just a bit from marketers the world around jumping for joy when the PPC concept was introduced. 

Pay Per Click (PPC) campaigns hold a special place in the world of online advertising and promotion. For the first time ever, online businesses had at their disposal a time-saving, affordable alternative to search engine optimization and banner advertising.

Even more compelling: a brand new web site could grab traffic in a matter of hours, not weeks or months. A spot in the top ten for your keywords? No problem. Just bid for it.

Today, PPC remains the front runner in traffic generation. Even in the face of troubling problems like click-fraud and sky-rocketing bid prices, pay-per-click remains the ideal choice for small businesses in need of a quick, reliable source of traffic. 

In fact, I really shouldn't even mention the potential trouble spots. Click fraud and high prices are mostly the product of the over-saturated, fiercely competitive markets.

As a smart marketer aiming for the hidden niche, you'll be in much calmer pay-per-click waters.

An Overview of the PPC Engines
The major players in the market for “pay for placement” advertising are Google Adwords and Yahoo Search Marketing ,Chitika, Bidvertiser, e.t.c in that order, although there are Many More.

Beyond the giants, you have options with smaller engines like: Excite, Adzly, Dogpile, wow, e.t.c.
These smaller engines are useful if you're operating on an extremely tight budget, and a little bit of pre-launch testing.

However, there's almost no substitute for Google Adwords when you're ready for real traffic.
 Some marketers go so far as to say there is nothing else that matters more than Google Adwords, Period. It's easy to understand why when you look at the ratings:

·       Google: 68% market share of all online searches
·      Yahoo: 12% market share of all online searches
·       MSN: 13% market share of all online searches
·       AOL 6% market share of all online searches
Google's market share is enormous. It's easy and quick to set up an Adwords account.
Sponsor ads get a considerably larger and more noticeable, which are text links, the various network of sites. This has led to significant improvements in a number of areas already, like the account management interface and reporting tools. 

Close competition for those click profits will definitely spur on continued improvements. 
 Using PPC for Advertising and Promotion:
Here is a greatly simplified, 'reader's digest' version of how PPC campaigns work:
1.  You need traffic for your site.
2.  You conduct keyword research
3.  You cull your keyword list and pick out laser-targeted search phrases appropriate for your site.
4.  You open an account with Google or Yahoo
5.  You load your keywords list into the account.

6.  You indicate the maximum amount (bid) you are willing to spend per click for each of your keywords.

7.  You create individual ads for each keyword/phrase, making sure to write an attention-grabbing headline and compelling body copy.
 
8.  You fill in the url of your target page.

9.  Save all, push a few buttons, and go live!

10. A searcher enters terms into the search engine matching ones you've bid on.

 Your ad appears in the sponsored listings.
The searcher clicks your link and you are charged the amount you bid for the referring keywords or the user doesn't click, and you're charged nothing.

Yes, there is way more to it than this, but these are the nuts-and-bolts of how a PPC campaign operates.

The details of campaign optimization could fill an entire book.
We can't cover all of them here, but the following guidelines will give you a jumping off point:

·       Track your clicks. This is very important. Tracking allows you to determine which keywords are performing as expected, and which ones are money wasters that need to be dropped.
·       Create multiple versions of your ads for each separate keyword. 

You need to test out various headlines and body copy in as many combinations as you can before you discard any keywords, and definitely before you settle on “the best version of the ad”.

·       Closely monitor your campaigns. You should log-in on a daily basis to check current bids and position.
Where to send the traffic?

You can send your visitor straight to your sales page from your ad, but most of the time I'd recommend against this.  

Instead, you can get a lot more mileage out of your traffic by sending visitors to a lead capture page.

Lead capture pages add an additional layer of “pre-qualifying” your prospect. 

He's already shown some curiosity by clicking on your ad to begin with, but the lead capture page presents him with more information and asks for a name and e-mail address. If he provides this information, he pre-qualifies himself further and becomes a subscriber, ready to receive your pre-sales material and follow ups.

In addition to building your list, you can also use PPC traffic to simultaneously build a list and research your target market before you even create a product. This can be accomplished by setting up a survey, and 'bribing' visitors to respond by offering them a valuable freebie in exchange for their time. 

You can also use PPC campaigns to build multiple lists and multiple income streams as an affiliate.
Additional PPC traffic possibilities:

·       Promote your affiliate program

·       Promote multi-level businesses or multi-tier affiliate programs

·       Claim your “brand identity” by bidding on your own name.

·       Promote special offers or contests

·       If you offer reprint content at your site, you can add another layer of exposure. 

Do a search on Wordtracker for: “your niche + 'articles'”. 

You might be surprised at the number of people searching for the type of content you provide. Pay-per-click campaigns are an absolutely indispensable tool for your business.  Don't be afraid to jump in with both feet and learn how to play the game. 

If you're a true newbie to PPC, just start off light with a dozen or so targeted phrases and keep your bids super cheap, like less than 10 cents per click cheap.

This will enable you to test out the process without losing your shirt. You'll soon see why this advertising method is so popular. Nothing else comes close to providing instant traffic on demand.

Have a Good Time.

2 Types Of Online Advertising To Avoid

Every successful marketer knows that web traffic is the life blood of any online business.
Let's face facts, even if you have the best product ever to be created, you won’t be able to sell one of it if you don't tell someone about it and generate interest from your potential customers.


That is the main objective of the process of creating continuous streaming website traffic.

 Without this, you are sunk before you even begin.

Am not saying this to discourage anyone from attaining their goals of becoming a successful online marketer.

No! In fact, I want you Succeed that why am giving details of how to go about it.

The only way you can become a success is to know what you need to do to get the sales to earn the income you are striving towards.

Having a dream alone won't accomplish this. You must have a concrete battle-plan.

By using the tried and tested techniques here, you will get that much closer to reaching your online goals.

By knowing these, you have total control over the amount of traffic, sales and profits you want to get from your web business.

Now you have to understand this before we begin examining each of these proven advertising and promotional tactics…

If you do nothing with the information I'm providing you with, you’ll NOT see any results. You must take positive action.

So, I suggest you clear out your schedule for the next few minutes and carefully digest each of these tactics. Once you've done that, set aside another few hours to implement them.

If that's too much time, then break these apart. Each one is designed to not only explain what the individual tactic does and how it does it, but they will also explain how to use them more efficiently and effectively.

All right then, I'm ready to begin teaching - are you ready to learn? ..... then let's do it…

First You Must Learn What NOT To Do.

This may seem a bit silly to you at this point, but believe me, knowing what not to do will greatly shave time off your busy schedule.

 It will allow you to manage your time more effectively and place you on the right road towards profits as quickly as humanly possible.

What I'm going to tell you about here are what I like to refer to as “time wasters”.

They do nothing positive except waste your precious time.

Time is a commodity you simply cannot afford to dwindle, especially in the internet marketing business.

There's always someone else out there that will have the available time required to build their online empire through applying useful advertising and promotional techniques that work, beating you to the punch, earning the profits you feel you should have earned.

All because you wasted your time on using things that don't work. Therefore, you have to rid yourself of all the “garbage tactics” so you know for a fact you're using the most effective ones properly and quickly.

If you are currently using any of the following you need to stop immediately.

They're doing nothing for you whatsoever. Here's a quick list of  Two 2 time wasters you should try to avoid:

1. Safe list Mailings:

Do you honestly believe that people who are on this type of mailing list are going to take the time to read your email?

They're only there for the same reason you are - to promote their own sites.

They don't care if you're giving them something fantastic for free.

All they care about is getting their ad in front of you and generating their own traffic and sales.

 It's a serious waste of time, so avoid this as much as you can.

Put your money where it will be of most use to you, and investing it here isn't the place.

2. Free For All Sites:

These are total junk at this internet age. They do nothing successfully for you except waste your time at the very least.

The worst thing you can do is ever think about posting your site URL on one of these.

They don't work at all. And if you don't know what an Free For All site is, then consider yourself a very lucky person.

All these are are sites that list a huge amount of site links from lots of other hopefuls trying to send prospects to their site.

It isn't targeted to any one specific group of people either.

All the links are usually just jumbled together in one huge link list.

Now, honestly, how effective do you think this is going to be if you are the 2,145 link on that list?

These are just a few of serial “time wasters”. While there are more, these are the most common types.

My advice is to stay away from them if you can.

Many thing you need to learn are right here, all in one convenient the most effective, affordable and results-oriented advertising and promotion tactics.

This blog was written with the intermediately experienced business owner in mind, but you'll find some unique, highly creative tactics in this guide no matter what your level of skill and experience may be.

So kick up your feet and get ready to explode your online business to immense proportions with the information you find here!

How To Get Free Traffic From Rebrandable Information Products

The information products I'm referring to are mini ebooks and special reports. Both are, or should at least be, considered the same type of products here. There are a few slight differences, but the objective remains the same.
You must be willing to give these types of info product promotional tools away for free.
The reason, Who doesn't like getting something for free?
I'm pretty sure that every single human being on Earth loves a good “freebie”.  Besides, statistics don't lie.
 Giving away a free product that you have converted into something “viral” is a great way to get free traffic. Plus it builds up your reputation as someone positive that is willing to give your visitors something valuable just for showing up.

And the more “freebies” you make available, you can bet that those visitors will continue coming back to your site just to see what you're “dishing out” next.

First though, you must create a “viral” freebie. What is a “viral” freebie exactly? Well, it can be any collection of useful information you want to compile. For example, a mini ebook is a wonderful product that you can turn into a free traffic generation system. Also, you could create your own viral software, special report, or video. The best free products are those you create yourself, or those that are comprised of original content.

However, an easier alternative is to get yourself a copy of an ebook, software, or special report that can be rebranded with your information, like an affiliate rebrandable report. The fact that these ebooks and special reports can be “rebranded” with your link and other assorted information is what makes them “viral”.

 Meaning, you are able to hand an unlimited number of these “branded” products away freely to as many people as you like, and in turn, all those people can give out as many copies as they would like to as many people as they can. 


Spreading your site link that is embedded inside the product like a virus. The more people you can get your “branded” freebie passed out to, the more traffic you'll be able to generate for yourself and whatever site or service you are promoting - without paying a dime to do it.

Now the process of “rebranding” an ebook or special report is very easy.

 And most of these types of freely downloadable products come with specific instructions on just how to put your desired link inside of it.

The easiest way to create a “viral” traffic product is to make your own.

It's really not that difficult a process as you might first think. And once you get the hang of it, you'll be cranking these bad boys out like there's no tomorrow.

By creating your own “viral” product from scratch means that YOU have total control of what is inside of it.

Including, and most importantly, where you will be sending traffic you generate to.
And without all the hassle of trying to figure out the “rebranding” process. You'll put your own “brand” inside of them while you're creating them. Add to that the fact that the “brand”, or the link you  include that you want to send traffic to, won't be able to be changed by your freebie recipients. 

This is an ongoing problem that plagues the “rebrandible” products. The reason why is because that if you create a “rebrandible” product, you are allowing those that grab a copy the right to change the desired link that will receive the traffic. In other words, your freebie snatchers will in essence take away your traffic by redirecting it to their own selected, or “branded” links they replace yours with.

And once you create such a “rebrandible” link, there are always ways in which the savvy hackers can find a way to bypass your branded content, replace it with their own, and then begin handing out copies to earn YOUR traffic.

And sometimes, as in the case of rebrandible PDF files, all one needs to have is an application more commonly known as a PDFrebrand.exe file.
This file is automatically generated when someone creates a brandible PDF file through several different PDF rebranding creation tools. The most popular of which is ViralPDF. And guess what it creates as the rebranding tool?  Yep. You guessed it PDFrebrand.exe! So, as long as someone has a copy of the automated rebranding tool, then they can change the rebrandible links inside that PDF document.
This is precisely why you should concentrate on creating your own original products from scratch. Yes, it is more time consuming, but at least you'll be confident in the knowledge that your product will not  be easily changed and detract from your traffic generating plans.

Now I will explain how to build each of the aforementioned free “viral” products.
Feel free to use any of these techniques to build free products to boost your site traffic. Or just use all of them to really explode your in-flow of traffic. There are two acceptable formats for ebooks that are most commonly used. And those are, the .EXE and .PDF formats.

Each has their own unique merits and should be considered as a method of compilation. In fact, I would strongly urge you to use both formats for the same ebook.

You may be wondering why I suggest this.
That is because there are some things you are able to do only with an executable ebook that cannot be accomplished with the PDF version.

For instance, you can insert a sign up form within an executable ebook. Practically anything you can do on an HTML web page can be done within an executable ebook. As a matter of fact, you can even take an entire HTML web site and make an .exe ebook from it. The downside is that only those with a Windows operating system can utilize the .exe format. While a PDF is more restrictive in terms of adding “normal” HTML page content such as web page forms or direct payment buttons or links, it is a much more viable product in that it is considered an “independent” format.

What this means is that it runs independent from the users operating system. So whether one is running on a Windows system or a Mac, the PDF file will work exactly in the same manner as you intend it to.  All they need is a copy of Adobe® Acrobat® Reader, which coincidentally is freely available for download, and they will be able to read your ebook anytime they wish.

How To Get Good Viral Traffic From Articles

Articles meet a number of important business objectives, and the best part is, they do it for free. The concept of using articles is similar to that of creating a free product. The main difference is that you're not giving away a pre-built product. Rather, you're creating a free information source through an article on a particular subject that should directly relate to the content found within your site.
The beauty part of using articles is that you can generate and submit as many of them as you can to as many different article directories as you can find that offer free submission.
A well-written article earns you major credibility points. If you aren't producing and distributing your own branded re-print articles right now, what are you waiting for?
It enhances your expertise in the eyes of potential customers.  Articles give you a chance to shine and really show off the fact that you know your stuff. Articles are also super traffic building tools
Each article that you write and distribute, while granting others the right to re-print it, has a viral effect on your traffic. Your reach is expanded into corners of the web you may never have discovered on your own. Articles have a cumulative effect on your link popularity, and on the number of keywords that pull up your site in the search engine listings.
If you can't write a complete sentence to save your life, or if you're simply too busy to write, don't worry. You can hire a ghostwriter to produce your content on the cheap. There are plenty of hungry freelancers to be found at places like Elance (http://www.elance.com). 
Beyond that, you can use private label articles and content to make the process even easier.
A word of caution though, some article directories are now putting actions in place that will stop duplicate article submissions, which is a bad thing for private label articles.
Although, it doesn't have to be. You could do some minimal changes to them and have a somewhat different article. My advice, make some major changes to the articles before you even think about submitting them. And by major I mean adding to them, rearranging the information in them, combining a couple of articles on the same subject matter, or even removing some of the content.
 The best way to be sure your private label article, if you decide to make use of them, is to add more content to them that is relevant to the overall article itself.
Be sure though that if you're adding more to an already written article that you should make it match the already written article. A few wonderful places to pick up some high quality private label articles is: Daily Idea Niche
Understand that the private label articles will require a bit of work on your part to turn them into original works. Take this small snippet of text as an example of a private label article:
“The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog.”
Seems fine, but what if you have 35 people submitting the exact same thing into the exact same article directory? Then you have a problem. To be sure that your articles are going to be accepted within each article directory, you will need to make some changes to the bulk of the articles. Like this:
“The sly tan fox hurriedly leaped over the sleeping dog.”
See, not that difficult, right?
The story being conveyed in both of the above examples is the same. It is the way in which it is conveyed that makes them different. You want to make your article as different as you possibly can using your own style of writing so that acceptance into the article directories is ensured.
In fact, you could even add more to the article itself to really make it stand apart.
Maybe you have a different angle of looking at things than the original author did. Put it to use and put it in the article! keep the natural flow going. Place your additions in the appropriate places.
For instance:
“The sly tan fox hurriedly leaped over the sleeping dog. He was searching for secure shelter inside the barn from the ferocious beast.”
In contrast, this wouldn't make much sense:
“The sly tan fox hurriedly leaped over the sleeping dog. He was hunting for some food.”
That second example should leave you scratching your head. It doesn't really tell you anything that would tie in with the natural flow of the sentence before it. That's what you should be shooting for when you are adding more content to a private label article.
When you submit an article to a directory it's important that it have some specific meaning to the content provided by your own web site. Then you can slip your link into it seamlessly and have a better chance of generating more traffic. And the more articles you submit to different article directory databases, the more chances you have of getting higher rates of traffic into your web site. One last thing to really be sure your articles get placed inside the directories you submit them to is to write up your own original articles. Not only that, you could also post them directly onto your website, and offer your site visitors the opportunity to reprint them for free on their own websites. Have a wonderful day.