Article marketing has gotten a bad rap over the years, especially since Google's Panda Update back in 2011. But in my opinion and experience, it's still some of the most effective online marketing you can do. However, as Google goes, so does internet marketing. Why?

Because Google – by a wide margin – drives the most traffic to websites/blogs. Proof? Google receives three times more traffic than the number two search engine per month, averaging one billion (yes, billion with a "b") unique visitors per month as of this writing. Bing, their closest competitor, averages 290 million uniques per month.

And this is why it pays to know what Google is doing. With this in mind, following are three changes you should make and/or incorporate into your article marketing strategy to keep it effective.

1. Repurpose Content for Different Mediums: If you write an article, it can be re-purposed to be distributed via different mediums. For example, almost all of the content I write for article marketing purposes comes from posts I write for my main blog (InkwellEditorial.com).

So in essence, I repurpose my blog's content and distribute it via: (i) my own article directory, (ii) free press release sites like PRLog.com, and (iii) article directories like EzineArticles.com. This escalates the number of people who see your content – which increases sales and leads.

Learn more about how to re-purpose content to drive more traffic and sales.

2. Distribute via Social Media: While social media can be a pain in the patootie because it seems that more of these sites pop up every day, it simply can't be ignored any more.

FYI, you can distribute your content easily with the click of a button to a lot of social media and bookmarking sites using free services like AddtoAny.com, which I use. With just a snippet of code, you can distribute your article to 5 or 10 outlets (depending on which design you choose).

Article Distribution Tip: Automate your distribution efforts via free social media tools like SocialOomph.com. I pre-schedule posts to go out all the time using this site. It's like having a social media assistant working for you around the clock because every time a pre-scheduled post goes live, it gets your product/service/info in front of potential buyers.

3. Capture Contact Info: You do all that work (eg, researching an article, writing it and distributing it) and finally, the customer lands on your site/blog. Don't let your efforts go to waste! Capture their contact info.

How? All you have to do is use a newsletter service like ConstantContact.com or AWeber.com, which can costs as little as $10 per month (the cost depends on the number of subscribers you have).

The web is becoming more crowded every day. Some internet marketing experts say that over 100,000 new websites and blogs go live every day. Holy moly bat crackers! How in the world will you ever stand up to this kind of competition?

Simple – build relationships – and you do this by having potential customers invite you into their inbox. How do you get them to invite you? By offering freebies like a newsletter, eBook or webinar. In exchange for goodies like these, many potential buyers will gladly give you their email address.

Once you have their email address, you can start to get in front of them regularly; getting them to know more about you and your products and services. And once a relationship is built, sales will be that much easier to come by when they're in the market for the type of product/service you offer.

Note: Make sure any freebies you offer are jam-packed with USEFUL information. This is no time to sell – that'll come over time.  Always keep the prospect's needs front and center; not your own – and they'll stay on your email list for years, which could mean thousands of dollars to you.

I know, I've been selling products and services using this system for years – and have repeat customers who've bought tons of my eBooks and eClasses.

How Google's Panda Update Affected My Online Sales & How I Recovered

While this may seem like an obvious tip, I included it because for years I didn't capture contact info. I wrote and published a lot of articles and many of them ranked on the first few pages of Google. This kept my sales pretty regular.

But, over the last few years – late 2012 going into 2013, I noticed a dip. And once I did some digging, I found out that it was because many of my articles which had been ranked high for keywords important to my industry(ies) – for years! – had lost  and/or were losing rank.

So, I started my own article directory and eBook affiliate program. One of the first things I did was add a subscriber box to the site.

Create Your Own Online "ATM Machine"

I have hundreds of subscribers (which is a very, very small list). But you know what? They're loyal. Every time I send out an article, it's like inserting a card into an ATM machine because many of the affiliates send it to their lists, posts it to their social media accounts and on their websites. This brings sales.

And it all starts with getting them to subscribe to my list (ie, capture their email address). See why this tip is so important?

Article Marketing in 2014: Conclusion

This form of online marketing can be summed up in one word for this year – relationships. You have to build a loyal customer base who will purchase from you over and over again to make a good living using article marketing. This starts with building a relationship.

Learn more about how to effectively market with articles – in spite of what Google does.

Author Bio
Yuwanda Black is an online entrepreneur who has written and distributed over 1,000 articles. Get free articles for reprint at YuwandaBlack.com. Content covers a wide variety of topics, eg, selling eBooks online, freelance writing, internet marketing, SEO writing, etc. Learn everything you need to know to earn four figures per month online using article marketing.