Bum Marketing

The term, ’Bum Marketing,’ might seem a little derogatory, especially when it is used alongside the term Marketer. But, in reality,  Bum Marketing can be a valuable income strategy, if utilized correctly. Okay, lets back up for a minute and allow me to answer a few questions.

What is Bum Marketing?

Bum marketing, is an Article Submission Strategy, by which Internet Marketers utilize highly popular websites (websites with a high Google page rank) to drive targeted traffic to their blogs, websites or, in some cases, directly to sites they are affiliated with. This type of strategy  can create multiple streams of income fairly quickly. And, if done correctly, can generate sales indefinitely.

How Does Bum Marketing Work?

Bum Marketing is utilized by Internet Marketers in a variety ways. First, as I stated above, posting articles to multiple popular sites (Ezine Articles, Squidoo etc.), can easily drive extra traffic to your sites, blogs or affiliate sites. Simply insert a few niche specific links into your articles (affiliate links or direct links to your sites), and you can really ramp up your sales.  Secondly, if you truly narrow your articles focus and direct it towards your niche topic, you can greatly increase the number of targeted visitors to your site.  Targeted visitors are what you need in order to close sales. A common misconception among newbie marketers is the thought that more traffic always equals increased sales. While this might be true to some degree, the real key lies in targeted visitors. All bloggers and website owners should strive for targeted traffic, because an increase in targeted visitors has proven to increase conversion rates. The only way to get targeted visitors, is to solicit your site using niche specific advertising (which doesn’t need to cost you a dime).

Why is Bum Marketing so Popular?

First of all, Bum Marketing is one of the only marketing methods employed by nearly every Internet Marketer, for one simple reason: You don’t need any capital to get started. Many people are extremely skeptical when, they hear someone say, “you can start making money today, without spending any money!”  Well, in part they might be right, you may not start making money today, but once your articles are indexed by major search engines (ie. Google, Yahoo and the like), you are sure to see results. The best part about the Bum Marketing strategy, is the fact that your articles get indexed in a matter of days not weeks or months. This greatly increases the visibility of your sites (Directly from Google indices and from article links).

Secondly, think about the backend effects of submitting your articles to quality article indexes. Your articles will be utilized by web site owners and bloggers looking to add fresh content to their sites/blogs. Most article sites allow anyone to republish articles (hence articles you’ve written) as long as all links and the by-lines remain in tact. So, how does this help you? Well, the answer is obvious. The more sites posting your article on their site(s), the more traffic you will gain. Although, this direct traffic is great, the real kicker is how simple it is to create a ridiculous number of  Back-links (links from other sites directly to your site). Back-links have always been an integral part in website rankings which I will discuss in greater detail a little bit later.

Certain things always hold true when you discuss Bum Marketing strategies with web designers, bloggers and affiliate marketers. First, all successful Internet Marketers strive for front page Google listings. Secondly, in order for the Bum Marketing Strategy to work, your articles need to drive niche traffic to your AdSense sites, Opt-in pages, affiliate sites or sales pages. Once you perfect these steps, just repeat your success over and over again using different keywords and niches.  Remember, that quality is king. Many new Internet Marketers make the mistake of grinding out hundreds of crappy articles, posting them to average blogs and hope to generate web traffic. Granted, this process can (sometimes) make you little money, but again, I don’t like to waste my time. Why write, twenty crappy articles when you can write one quality article and earn more money than all twenty crappy articles put together. Do your research, be selective when choosing your keywords and write a quality articles that focus on your niche. After all, you should focus your attention on your future. Creating an article that is useful, accurate, and well written can quickly give you authority status on your particular topic. This will go a long way as your Internet Marketing strategies develop. Name recognition and Branding should always be kept in the back of your mind. The final and possibly the most important aspect to keep in mind is a relatively new Internet Marketing strategy known as Evergreen Marketing.

The Evergreen Approach to Internet Marketing is extremely important. It enables you to earn constant residual income on nearly every article you write.  All of the steps I have covered to this point really focus on increasing the popularity of your articles and Blog posts in a short period of time. But, one thing I have left out, up to this point, is how to maintain your Blogs popularity and keep traffic rolling in day after day. Which is where the Evergreen Marketing strategy comes into play. This strategy is really simple. The basic principle behind Evergreen Marketing proves that more money (especially in the long term) can be made if your focus is on creating articles and Blog posts which will keep the interest of readers for years to come. I’m not doubting the fact that some Bloggers are capable of making a little bit of money (and on occasion a lot of money) writing and posting articles on current events. But, the fact remains for the average Blogger, with little to no name recognition, the Evergreen approach is perfect in every aspect.

Think of Evergreen Marketing as your retirement plan. Sure, you can spend hundreds of dollars every week trying to hit the lottery trying to beat those ridiculous odds. But, if you are one of the nearly 100% of those individuals who never hit for a dime, you will have wasted your time and money. Now, on the flip side, if you took your money and focused on your retirement and invested it wisely, you would be in a much better position down the road.

So, is it ever smart to write about today’s hot topics? I answer this question with a resounding, YES. Remember, I stated earlier that it is possible to make money writing about current events and today’s popular topics as long as you have excellent readership and you keep the majority of your focus on the long term. If you have a successful blog, there is really no reason you shouldn’t post a couple of “current event” posts every week. These posts can serve a couple of purposes. First, if the article ranks well, you can earn substantial short term income. Secondly, it shows your readers that you keep up with current events which can improve your overall popularity and increase the number of return visitors.

More Internet Marketing Information

Time Equates to Money: Internet Marketing Blogs
Call to Action Internet Marketing
Article Marketing
Why is Internet Marketing Such a Powerful Tool
Bum Marketing Overview
What is Internet Marketing