Write great articles, post them on articles directories, and visitors will come to your website just to get more and to opt-in to your list. This is not a “build your list fast” technique, but it is a powerful one in the long run. I’ve used it to build highly targeted lists for some of my websites and am always surprised at how well it works.

Here are the steps you need to take to use article marketing to build your list.

Step 1: Keyword/Topic Research

What keywords and topics are potential customers using to find the type of information and services you provide? Create a list and use this as an idea generator for your articles.

Step 2: Write Informative and Relevant Articles.

Write articles that provide good, valuable information and you’ll automatically create in the reader a desire for more. Make sure these articles are relevant to your target market and what you offer.

Step 3: Create a Compelling “Resource Box”

This is the paragraph that gets added to the end of your articles in the article directories. Many people put a short bio here … and totally miss out on the usefulness of this resource box! You must include a call to action that drives readers to your website! Make sure that the link you give them takes them to a page that encourages them to opt in to your list.

Step 4: Post the articles to article directories.

I use, primarily, ezinearticles.com, but there are others. Post as many articles as you can. The more you have on similar topics, the higher your name and business will rank in the search engines.

Step 5: Repeat.

Do this process as often as you can. Build a library of relevant articles and you’ll build a solid reputation as a go-to resource in your field.

The beauty of this technique is that even if you only post your article to one directory, it won’t stay there. The purpose of these directories is to provide online publishers with content for their websites. So, when you provide good content, the likelihood that it will be reprinted in someone else’s blog or ezine is pretty high, thus increasing the reach your content has.