Articles by Dana Davalos on ArticleSnatch.com

How To Market Yourself on the Internet

Wed, 02 May 2007 00:00:00 -0500

I struggled for many years to figure out the answer this very question: How can I get noticed on the Internet? Even in the mid-nineties, it seemed like everyone had beaten me to it. "Look for graphic designer in QUOTES," a helpful friend instructed me. Thanks a lot, buddy. That still didn't cut it. Well, over the years I got lucky -- some would even say smart. I've taken control of my marketing campaign, and working at home has never been easier or more lucrative for me. I like to write one article a day, between 500 and 800 words, about my business, or a particularly interesting project I completed recently, even a great book I read that taught me how to make beautiful hanging pots of flowers for my house. That didn't have anything to do with graphic design, but it did have the one essential element that makes article marketing work: my hyperlink in my About the Author box. Here's the deal: First you'll want to find a submission service that works within your budget. I don't even recommend messing with software at all.** End Summary**

About the Author:
Graphic designer Dana Davalos shares her thoughts on internet marketing and how to get noticed online at Groovy Graphix . She is a frequent contributor to Article Marketer , the Web's most popular article distribution service. http://www.articlemarketer.com

Let The Internet Work For You

Wed, 02 May 2007 00:00:00 -0500

As a small business owner, I know the importance of marketing and advertising. The Web is such a vast sea of information that it is all too easy to get lost -- and that also means it can be difficult to get noticed at all! Advertising in traditional media is prohibitively expensive for most self-employed entrepreneurs. Luckily, the Internet has changed all of that. Now it is possible for us, with just a little determination and drive, to take charge of our marketing campaigns and climb right to the top of the Net! The idea is simple. The Web is driven by content. Ninety-nine percent of people who access the Internet are looking for information about one topic or another. In the past week, I've done searches for the latest graphic design software, planning the perfect wedding and advice about how to prune grapevines. I found what I was looking for because people just like you and I had written about these topics. Without that valuable content, the Internet wouldn't function!** End Summary**

About the Author:
Graphic designer Dana Davalos shares her thoughts on internet marketing and a back to basics approach to exposure at Groovy Graphix . She is a frequent contributor to Article Marketer , the Web's most popular article distribution service.

Five Ways to Catch the Eye of Publishers Across the Web

Fri, 13 Apr 2007 00:00:00 -0500

Back links - links back to your site from another site - are considered to be nods of approval by major search engines such as Google and Yahoo! In other words, the more links back to your site that are floating around on the Web, the more your page rank is likely to rise. And we all know that leads to what every internet marketer covets - more traffic. Article marketing is an effective way to capture people's attention and motivate them to link back to your site. It also helps establish you as an expert in your field and pre-sells visitors. By the time they click back to your site they feel as if they know and trust you and you've already captured their interest. Now they're primed to subscribe to your newsletter, join your forums and maybe even buy something from you. Before you can realize all the lucrative benefits of article marketing, though, you have to capture the attention of publishers so they'll post your article in as many places as possible. Your first opportunity to get their attention is with your article title. "Kitchen Fixtures" is not interesting enough.** End Summary**

About the Author:
Dana Davalos, graphic designer and online biz whiz, shares her thoughts on internet marketing, design and life in general at her blog, Groovy Graphix . She is a frequent contributor to Article Marketer , a highly popular article distribution service. http://www.articlemarketer.com

Making Links Appear With a Little Magic

Fri, 06 Apr 2007 00:00:00 -0500

You know social marketing is the key to internet networking success. So, as any good businessperson would, you create and post only good, solid, high-quality content on your site. You visit and post regularly in forums and you've been consistently submitting articles to article directories. You're doing all the things you know you should do to get links all over the wonderful World Wide Web. And yet, with all that effort, you're still not getting the results you had hoped for. What gives? Although you caught the boat, the Queen Mary is sailing right by. There's more you can do to make links appear. Once you know the secret, it's almost like magic! Typically, people just submit articles to article directories. Here's a little secret: anyone with a pulse (and maybe some authors without one, the jury's still out) can get articles published in an article directory. It's what happens after that which can mean the difference between mediocre marketing and marketing magic. Whip up some article marketing magic of your own with tantalizing titles, enticing descriptions and compelling content. There's more to writing a good title than simply describing the article's content.** End Summary**

Six Common Pitfalls of Article Marketing

Fri, 06 Apr 2007 00:00:00 -0500

If you're not seeing the results you want with your article marketing campaign, you may be falling prey to any of the common mistakes people make. We're all pressed for time these days and it's easy to discount the importance of things like providing unique content, using good spelling and grammar and avoiding black hat SEO tactics. But the fact that your time is so precious should make it all the more important to you to use that time wisely by producing articles that are more likely to be published around the Web. To do that, you'll want to avoid these six common mistakes. In your rush to get as many articles as possible out there in the world, you may be tempted to resort to using a PLR (private label rights) article or other regurgitated material, slap an about the author box on it and send it on its way. This is a big mistake. Publishers want unique, compelling articles, filled with information their readers can't find in thousands of other places. Reputable article distribution services such as Article Marketer will not even distribute PLR articles and other duplicate content. Do yourself a favor and write something original.** End Summary**

Don't Fear the Duplicate Content Penalty

Fri, 06 Apr 2007 00:00:00 -0500

Having a site banned from Google or Yahoo! is an internet marketer's worst nightmare. All this talk about the duplicate content penalty has everyone shaking in their boots. While you certainly should respect the duplicate content penalty, there's no reason to let it bring your marketing campaign to a halt. In fact, the penalty doesn't even affect article marketers. Fear is paralyzing, not energizing and misinformation is dangerous. Fight the fear by becoming better informed. First of all the whole thing is a misnomer. If Google finds a duplicate site, the owner won't find a bill for a fine payable within 14 days in his inbox. What he will find - or, rather, won't find - is his site anywhere in the page rankings. It will have sunken off the map. But this is for duplicate websites, not duplicate articles. Submit your articles with freedom and rejoice when they appear in hundreds of places. That's the beauty of social marketing at work. As Google and Yahoo! web crawlers explore the Web, they'll see your links again and again on relevant sites and that will boost your site's page rank through the roof.** End Summary**

Knowledge Is Power -- Get More of Both!

Tue, 20 Mar 2007 00:00:00 -0500

If your parents were like mine, constantly stressing the importance of education, then you know full well that "knowledge is power." Isn't it also true that a whole lot of power lies in the hands of the wealthy? And from watching certain reality TV shows about certain real housewives of a certain citrus-y county, you don't always have to have (ahem) one to have the other. I don't know about you, but I'd sure like to have a lot of both. On the knowledge front, I've found several ways to learn your craft. Some helpful sites are: PhantomWriters -- They offer free access to all their articles about writing. If you want to learn about any aspect of writing marketing articles, news articles, or sports, you can find it here. Plus, you get the added bonus of as many different perspectives as you want to read: that way you can weed out the nuts if there are any, and pick up on the tips you start hearing over and over again. Article Marketer University -- There is a wealth of free information on the Article Marketer site.** End Summary**

About the Author:
Dana Davalos, graphic designer and online biz whiz, shares her thoughts on internet marketing, design and life in general at her blog, Groovy Graphix . Find great resources for writers at Article Marketer University . http://www.articlemarketer.com

Driving Traffic Doesn't Have to Drive You Crazy

Mon, 26 Feb 2007 00:00:00 -0600

Does it seem like the path to your website is completely deserted? Do you find you're not getting hits and clicks, no matter what you try? When you visit your site, do you hear the sound of crickets? Before you do anything drastic, wait! There is an easy way to drive traffic to your site. 1) Increase Backlinks The best way to start showing up in searches when people look for your product or service is to make sure there are plenty of links to your site out there on the Web. Google describes this process in its info pages about page rank (well, at least as much as Google is willing to describe it). The more credible websites that link back to you, the more your standing improves in search results. So, how do you increase backlinks? 2) Market Yourself Marketing is the name of the game in online sales. The days when people might randomly stumble across your site are long gone. There are just too many websites out there for you to rely on simply "appearing" in front of anyone. That means you have to put yourself in front of those eyeballs.** End Summary**

About the Author:
Dana Davalos builds backlinks and drives traffic with Article Marketer , a highly popular article distribution service. Read her thoughts on internet marketing, design and life in general at Groovy Graphix . Article Marketer ...be heard!

How to Make Money in Your Bunny Slippers

Sat, 03 Feb 2007 00:00:00 -0600

Have you dreamed of working from home but just don't know how to get started? Take it from me, it's not as difficult as you might think. Warm up the bathrobe in the drier and get ready to cozy up with a cup of tea. Sound like the way to start the day? You don't have to tell me! It's true that making money online isn't as easy as it might have been 10 years ago, for the simple fact that it's such an attractive option to so many people. There is a mistaken impression out there -- probably encouraged by already-successful Internet entrepreneurs -- that you have to be some kind of techno-wizard to create a successful home business. Guess what? You don't need magic potions, intricate spells or even a great big brain to set up an online enterprise. All you need is a website, some good content and the will to write a few short articles a week (or even every month) about your business. The first step to putting away those three-inch heels for good is to get yourself a website.** End Summary**

About the Author:
Dana Davalos, graphic designer and online biz kid, shares her thoughts on internet marketing, design and life in general at Groovy Graphix . Learn more about her recommended marketing ideas at Article Marketer .

Hiring a Freelancer For Your Article Campaign

Sat, 03 Feb 2007 00:00:00 -0600

As a graphic designer, I have found the need to hire freelance writers on more than one occasion. When I'm designing an ad campaign or helping flesh out a client's website, one of the most important things to remember is that words must go with the images in order to make them make sense. I sometimes have to be reminded of this myself! I always recommend that my clients take advantage of article marketing -- no matter what their business is about. Distributing their content (even if it's ghost-written) across the Web drives traffic to their sites, increases their sales and gives them greater name-recognition. Like me, lots of my clients don't really want to take the time to write -- not even about themselves! Here's what I tell them about hiring a freelancer: 1) Good ghostwriters cost money. Their services aren't usually prohibitive, but like all things in life it seems you get what you pay for. You should expect to pay between $30 and $100 for a good, solid article. And when you look back and see how much that investment has increased traffic to your site, it will seem like small potatoes. 2) Inform yourself.** End Summary**

Making Friends With Google

Wed, 31 Jan 2007 00:00:00 -0600

As the Google guys foresaw with such prescience when they created their search engine, the first and foremost reason people want to go online is to gather information. Internet users want answers. They want them quickly, and they want them to be accurate. It is to this end that Google created its search algorithm, which gives preference to websites with lots of links back to other credible websites. How often do you click through four or five pages of Web results to find what you're looking for? The statistics say not very. In fact, about 90 percent of Web traffic goes to the top 30 search results. That's a pretty slim margin! None of this is a secret -- you can read about it in The Google Story by David Vise and Mark Malseed. You can also read about it in Google's "About" pages. They explain the way their system works pretty clearly on this site. Just go to the Google Webmaster Help Center and check out all the information they've posted about how to improve your PageRank. They even have a Webmaster Blog that talks about all the developments over the past year.** End Summary**

Notes from a Novice: My Marketing Adventure

Wed, 31 Jan 2007 00:00:00 -0600

Well, here goes. I'm going to give this "writing" thing a shot, even though I'm not much of a writer. Right now, my graphic design site only gets a hundred or so hits a week -- and that's not even enough to show up as a blip on the radar when Google searches the Net. I've tried writing search engine optimized articles in the past to sell my graphic design services and I've got to tell you -- it didn't do me much good. Search engine algorithms get smarter all the time, and keyword-stuffing doesn't work nearly as well as it used to. One of my clients (who will remain nameless) asked me to do a series of SEO pieces for his band's website -- and their site ranking actually went down as a result. During a rare day of accelerated motivation, I was doing some Web research and came across the concept of article marketing. Fans of the practice claim that if you do it right, writing one or two articles a week about your business will drive traffic (and therefore money) right into your hands.** End Summary**