Drive Search Engine Traffic - Top Google Keywords

Marketing to Editors

How are you marketing your articles? As a writer prospecting potential clients, your query letter is your marketing tool. What does it tell the editor about you?

Show me... the Market

Show the editor that you know his magazine. Jeff Peck, the editor of Insider's Journal, recently wrote, "...I end up rejecting fully 90 percent or more of the submissions because would-be authors simply don't take the time to understand what our publication is about." Are you sending out random queries shotgun style or are you using laser targeting to pinpoint your target magazine? As published authors, it should be the latter. Most editors recommend reading several back issues. Sending an article on living like a tightwad to an affluent parenting magazine won't work. If you think a few hours learning about your market is a waste of time, then sending out queries wastes both the editor's time and your time.

Show me... the Readers

Show the editor that you know who her readers are. Your query needs to show that you understand who will be reading your article. The Christian Librarian caters to librarians at Christian academic centers. Christian Library Journal meets the needs of academic librarians, but is also read by homeschooling parents, church librarians, school librarians, and public librarians. These two magazines have similar topics, but address very different needs. Be specific when stating the planned content of your article. When the information in your article matches the interests of the readers, the editor will give you a "go".

Show me... the Perspective

Show the editor that you know his magazine's perspective. This is similar to understanding the readership. Focus on the Family provides articles to help families live out their Christian faith. Many other Christian magazines publish similar articles. What makes this magazine unique is their focus on offering only this type of article. From interviews to humorous anecdotes to serious topics, Focus on the Family only publishes articles that provide distinct methods families can follow to grow closer to Christ together. Every magazine has a unique perspective and focus. Many publications place mission statements on their website on the "About Us" page. Some even include it in the writer's guidelines. Make sure that your query reflects the fact that your article will mesh with the editor's goals.

Show me... the Theology

Show the editor that you understand the theology of her magazine, whether or not you are a member of her denomination. Joan Alexander, an editor at Regular Baptist Press, states, "We hear from many writers who are not appropriate for our readership. We prefer that our contributors be well acquainted with our church customers and their theological and cultural perspective." If you are a member of an affiliated church, be sure to let the editor know. If not, you can find the information about the denomination's theology on the internet, books, or people you know in that denomination. In your query, give the editor specific examples of what you intend to put into the article that show her that you understand the unique religious views of her readers.

Show me... the Style

Show the editor that you can write in his magazine's style. Whether scholarly, educated, or conversational, your introductory paragraph (which should be vivid enough to be the first paragraph of your article) should be written in the magazine's style. Scholarly articles offer research driven theses and specialized vocabulary. Conversational pieces often begin with anecdotes or questions and continue in a chatty way. Other stylistic items are more specific. Living Light News always includes the ages of interviewees, contains locations specific to where an edition appears, and almost every news story begins with a testimony of God's goodness. Reading and analyzing back issues reveals these nuggets of information. Show the editor that you understand the style and make a sale.

As an experienced, professional writer, you analyze back issues of the magazines you want to write for. You know their readers and their perspectives. You write in the correct style. Does your query letter show your competence?

Terri Pilcher is the author of MONEY Markets 101: 101 Markets That Pay Writers in 6 Weeks or Less and the editor of a searchable online database of writer's guidelines and theme lists (2-day FREE trial). Both are available at http://www.powerpenmarketsearch.com.

She also publishes a FREE weekly markets e-zine for writers; sign up at http://www.terripilcher.com.

MORE ARTICLES:

Facts You Should Know About Web Site Design and Search Engine Optimization
1. Web site File Structure / File NamingMost search engines do not recognize beyond two directory levels.

Creating Search Engine Friendly Web Sites
With tons of competition and copycats online, you need a trustworthy search engine expert to help you tackle the competition and outdo your competitors in internet sales. There are many ways to go about killing the competition online and as long as it is honest work by your search engine guy, your web site will reap profits from it.

Search Engine Program Guarantees Free Number One Web Search Rankings For All Sites
Kazazz seeks to solve the low search engine rankings problem with new program.

Get More Web Site Traffic From Search Engines
Considering all of the money you spend on promotion and advertising, wouldn't it be great to build a steady stream of web site traffic from the free search engines?Steady web site traffic from search engines is just a dream for many home business owners. Especially in profitable niches, it can be virtually impossible to get a decent listing.

Finding Keywords to Build Your Web Site Traffic
What are web site keywords and how do I go about finding keywords that will work for me?You may have the dandiest web site with eye popping text and graphics, but if you have missing keywords then you are going to be out of business quick.Web sites revolve around traffic.

Getting Search Engine Traffic - The Best Ways Of Attracting Search Engine Traffic
How To Get Search Engine Traffic To Grow Your Business

New Traffic Building Tool For Google Adwords
Google AdWords developers recently began activation of a tool that eliminated many of the barriers to breaking the code for performance improvement. A new tool just leaving the beta testers is promising huge income....and potential controversy.

Web Site Owners Learn SEO (Search Engine Optimization) to Improve Search Engine Rankings
Web site owners are taking advantage of specialized training in search engine optimization to improve their overall search engine rankings.

Bill Casey Opens Full-Service Web Site Design, Development and Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Firm
New Atlanta web site design and SEO firm gives small and medium sized businesses a simple and effective path to creative, profitable web sites. Bill Casey Consulting provides all the web services a business needs, gauges its success on the profitability of its clients' sites, and streamlines the development process to lessen client burdens.

Google Adsense: What Is Google Adsense For Search
Google Adsense for Search is different than Adsense for Content but it is just as important to your earning power with the Google Adsense program.

8 ways to build a really bad web site for Search Engines
Some web sites receive hundreds or thousands of unique visitors a day, whilst others only get a handful or none. The reason is often because the web designers or Webmaster has built the site in one 'really bad way' or other.

Using Google Adwords to generate traffic to your affiliate marketing programs
Highly targeted traffic is one of the most important entities in the internet universe. Any website owner or administrator recognizes the importance of driving traffic to a website. The success of any website does not rely entirely on the site itself. You may have a terrific idea for a website, offer an excellent product or service, or have an exceptionally designed site with superb content, but if you do not use the right strategies to advertise, your site would not attract the high traffic you need. Attracting targeted traffic is a task that should be taken seriously for any site to succeed or make a profit. Fortunately, there are internet-marketing tools that help the website marketer to drive traffic to his website. One of the most sign...

How to Design a Search Engine Friendly Web Site
Many web site designers don't design their sites for the search engines. This is a huge mistake because they miss out on attracting lots of free traffic.

Combining Google Adsense with affiliate programs to mazimize affiliate marketing revenue
Are you a webmaster who needs funds to keep your website running? Or is your website the only way for you to earn income? Whichever you are, for as long as you are a webmaster or a web publisher and you need cash, affiliate marketing may work well for you. With affiliate marketing, you may get a lot of cash pouring into your bank account easily. And if your website is rich in great contents and you want to earn more profit, why not get into the Google Adsense program as well?

How affiliate marketers can turn regular traffic into Google Adsense friendly traffic
If you've been running AdSense ads on your site for quite a while and you feel that you aren't making as much cash as you could, in 99.99% of cases you're right. Most people feel frustrated that they cannot generate the revenues they expected, and this is down to traffic levels as well as click through rates.