Expert Author Case Study: Andrew Gowans
Today’s Expert Author Case Study examines how Expert Author Andrew Gowans brings a true multi-faceted approach to article writing and marketing.
With a background spanning 25+ years in I.T. and H.R senior management, Spanish author Andrew Gowans supports and helps others to write more effectively and efficiently while working at home and building successful internet businesses.
Andrew has designed and delivered workshops and seminars to different international groups in both the public and private sector. He has freelanced for a number of years, enjoying the freedom it brings and has a passion for ‘the little guy’, life-long learning and continuous improvement.
He currently has over 50 clients worldwide for whom he provides writing and ghostwriting services as well as coaching on website design and search engine optimization. Andrew has published a number of e-books and reports as well as having ghostwritten 7 books for his international clients.
As part of our Expert Author Case Study Project, we asked Andrew to share his insights and experience with the rest of the EzineArticles community.
- What sets you apart from other Expert Authors?
My ability to research a subject thoroughly and relatively quickly has been advantageous as much of my income currently comes from writing and ghostwriting for over 50 clients worldwide on a whole host of different subjects from all-terrain vehicles for kids to bad credit loans.
- What’s your secret to article writing and marketing success?
I am not the greatest marketer in the world. However, I am successful because I have learned to put both readers and customers first. If I want people to read my articles they have to be of good quality and have something interesting to say that adds value for the reader. The other important factor is to keep learning and staying abreast of what is happening [in the world of article writing and marketing].
- How do you stay motivated to write articles?
One reason for writing articles would be to generate income – but that is a satisfier not a motivator. I stay motivated because quite simply I love to write and I love the use of language. Moreover, much of my own writing is driven from the desire to help others.
- How do you decide what to write about?
A number of topics will be decided by clients for whom I can write anywhere between 10 to 50 different articles on a particular topic or niche. Personally I did focus on business and internet marketing related topics, but I have now decided to start a series of tips on writing which will cover general tips as well as article writing and copywriting.
- How do you balance writing for quality and quantity?
My focus is on quality. The length of the articles I write and the number of articles I write on a given topic depends totally on what I wish to say and the logical flow of the content. Often it will make sense to write smaller articles as part of a larger series, making it much easier for the reader to digest (and of course enticing them to come back for more).
- How has using EzineArticles affected your traffic?
In the early days of submitting my articles I found little effect on my traffic. However, over time this has much improved. This is primarily due to learning the key components of writing articles that appeal to the reader, the directories and the search engines. Although I may not get a huge number of clicks directly from the article (depending on the subject and the fact that the article is so complete the reader feels that there is no need to find out more), I often feature on page 1 of [top search engines] within a day or two and sometimes within a few hours.
As an example I submitted three articles on outsourcing. The following day after EzineArticles approved all three. Doing a broad search (without quotes) resulted in the following:
– Key phrase A – position 2, page 1 of 11.4 million entries
– Key phrase B – position 1, page 1 of 29.4 million entries
– Key phrase C – position 8, page 1 of 28.5 million entries - How does article marketing fit into your overall marketing plan?
Article marketing is key to my marketing strategy. I have had success with PPC but find article marketing to be more effective for me. Others may find different results. I also contribute to certain forums where in a sense I am also writing articles but in shorter form. Apart from my websites I also post regularly to a number of my blogs.
- What EzineArticles tools do you find the most beneficial?
I do view my article reports regularly and have published my platinum links to EzineArticles on a number of sites and profiles.
- If you had to start over again, what would you change?
Learn more first. Learn how to use article marketing more effectively. Focus on one area of expertise and submit articles regularly and continue to do so. I wouldn’t waste time getting deflected by either of the many other directories or the myriad methods that purport to make article submission and article marketing easier before finding out that none of them work.
- What advice would you give newbie article marketers?
- Learn from experienced writers.
- Study how to write effective sigs and bios.
- The bio should be a seamless continuation from the article body.
- Don’t do yourself a disservice by writing only for backlinks – big, big mistake and a missed opportunity to encourage readers to visit your site or blog.
- Do your keyword research ensuring the primary key phrase is included in the article title as well as the keyword section.
- Include the primary key phrase as part of the contextual link in the bio.
- Make the title as interesting as possible. Catch the readers attention.
- Make full use of the article summary – best chance with the title to make a first impression.
- Read the terms and conditions to avoid articles being bounced (rejected) unnecessarily.
- The one mistake I probably do make is “giving away too much”. However, it is important to balance that with providing quality content. My problem is when I start to write I don’t know when to stop.
- Ignore all the spurious claims about article writing software and automatic submitters – write totally unique content and submit to EzineArticles manually and if possible submit three articles at a time.
- Learn from experienced writers.
Wow! Usually this is where we like to distill the interview into a handful of concise tips for you to take away. In this case, Andrew has already done the work for us – thanks, Andrew! :-)
Now take these tips and put them to good use in writing and submitting your next set of high-quality, original articles. And leave a message for Andrew to let him know which of his tips you found most useful.
I’m not sure I understand your suggestion. Can you elaborate?
May 12, 2010 at 1:36 PM[Reply]