Article marketing is one of the most powerful tools you can have in your monetization arsenal. Sounds like a bold statement, doesn't it? Perhaps so, but it's true.

After all, think about what happens when you publish an article. First, you get one or more backlinks to your website, by way of your resource box. I don't need to tell you that those backlinks help your Page Rank over time, and also bring you a certain amount of traffic. I speak from experience on both counts. Every time I publish a new article, I get a surge of traffic to the site referenced in the resource box.

In addition to those backlinks to your site, some article directories allow you to include one or more outgoing links in the body of the article. You can use those to "deep link" some of the interior pages on your site, boosting their PR, or you can use them to link to products of your own that you sell, or to affiliate links to other people's products. Again, you get traffic, and often, sales, as a result.

Now – suppose that instead of just one directory, you posted that article to dozens of article directories, or even hundreds? Kowabunga … backlinks and PR improvement on steroids. And don't forget that once your articles are out there, some people will pick them up and republish them on their own sites, or in their ezines, resulting in even more traffic and sales.

What does all this have to do with my review of Keyword Avalanche? Simple. Keyword Avalanche is one of the premiere providers of "private label" articles. In case you don't know, "private label" means that you can take the content and claim it as your own. Sure, you can get cheaper PL content elsewhere, but you get what you pay for.

At Keyword Avalanche, you get a nice cross-section of articles each month, spanning 10 or more topics. If memory serves me, they currently distribute 200 articles, plus at least 100 "bonus" articles monthly. I like the fact that there are a bunch of articles on each topic, and that they are neatly packaged in separate folders when delivered to you.

I just scan through the topics, pick a couple that are relevant to my website, and either send them out for re-writing, or rewrite them myself. That way, I have totally unique content for my website or blog, or I can confidently publish some of the articles and claim authorship without worrying about any "duplicate content" concerns.

Besides the articles, though, you get a whole lot more. They currently have two free software packages available to members, one for creating a unique form of "adsense site" that they claim generates very high click-through rates. The other is a cool tool for semi-automating your blog posting in advance. Word is that there is more software coming down the pike, too.

OK - articles and software. Big deal. I forgot to mention their very active forum, moderated by some very savvy marketers, who give a lot of free education and advice to the membership. One example is "Tim G". He teaches his "10K a month system" to anyone who cares to learn, and holds nothing back. The system takes a little work, but it produces results.

I say it takes "a little" work, because Tim actually does it in his spare time, after working a full time job, and being a full time husband and father. I've met the guy, and spent several hours with him. He's one of the more down-to-earth guys you could want to meet. No guru here. Just a straight shooter who has developed something that works for him, and is willing to teach it to anybody. Well, not just anybody any more, since it is now an exclusive Keyword Avalanche member benefit.

The bottom line? Keyword Avalanche is one of only two such PLR membership sites that I belong to, and is, in my opinion, more than worth the monthly fee. I've shaved countless hours off my writing time, gotten some great niche site ideas from the article packs themselves, added content to my growing stable of Virtual Real Estate (niche content sites), and pretty much insulated myself from the effects of the "Google Slap". Not to mention meeting some nice people, both in person and on the forum, and even making a few beneficial business arrangments as a result.

I give Keyword Avalanche my highest recommendation. Take a serious look at it. Personally, I think it's worth its weight in gold.

Technorati Tags: review of Keyword Avalanche, Keyword Avalanche

For all the popularity of Google Adsense and similar contextual advertising programs, perhaps the very best ways to monetize a website are through list building and lead generation.

Why? Well, first of all, lead generation is big business, and if you find the right programs to promote, you stand to make much more per click than with many contextual advertisements. That isn't always the case, of course, but more often than not, it is. Just look at some of the prices quoted at the big CPA networks like Azoogle.

Granted, it is tougher to get people to fill out a form than it is to click on an ad, since the latter is anonymous, whereas filling out a form means giving your personal information in exchange for whatever it is you want (e.g., an insurance quote, mortgage quote, or more information about dental plans).

On the other hand, those and many other types of leads are in high demand, and the supply is limited, which means good prices for you, the supplier. If you know how to do it, you can put yourself in a position, however, to generate a good flow of leads, and earn steady income for your website with it. Seriously – lead generation is one of the best ways to monetize a website.

The other side of this coin is list building. You've probably heard it said a thousand times – "the money is in the list".

The reason people say that is simple. 99% of the people who visit your site won't buy your product or fill out your lead generation form on the first visit. Many will forget about your website within a day or two. A few will remember you and come back again.

But what if 10%, 20% or more of your site visitors signed up for your free mailing list or newsletter, maybe because you offered them a free report of some kind on that interested them? Of course, that is delivered via email, so they have to at least give you their first name and email address.

Now you have a LIST. You have the names and email addresses of people who are interested in the "theme" of your site. You can send them reminders to come back and visit, tell them about new content you've added to your site, or send them offers for various products that you promote through an affiiate link.

Instead of having one shot at 1% of your site visitors, you now have multiple opportunities to promote things to a much higher percentage of your visitors. The fact they did not buy anything on the first visit just makes them human. It is widely reported that 80% of sales of any product take place after the potential customer has been exposed to the product at least 5 to 7 times. Your list is what gives you that opportunity.

So there you have it. The best thing you can do for yourself is to build a web site in an area where there is a degree of interest, but not too much competition (i.e., a "niche"). Once you have that, then the two best ways to monetize a website are by collecting and selling leads, and by building your own email list, after you learn direct email marketing.

Technorati Tags: best ways to monetize a website, list building, lead generation