There Are Five Essential Elements of Successful Article Marketing:

1. Title - Many people suggest that you should put your top keywords at the front of your article title, but I don't subscribe to that methodology. I do include my target keywords in the title, when I can, but an article that is well-optimized for the search engines is worthless if it does not get published. The #1 goal of your articles' title is to get the article opened! You must present a title that is going to get the attention of publishers and readers; you must present a title that is going to compel a person to at least open your article to see if they will want to read it.

2. Opening Paragraph - The title got your article opened, but now you need your reader to read the article. Tell your reader why they should keep reading your article and read it to its conclusion. Any reader who does not reach your website from your article is a "missed chance" to sell your stuff. Show people why it will be in their best interest to finish reading your article.

3. The Article Body - The article body must meet the promise of the Article Title and the opening paragraph. The article body must retain the interest of the reader to the last word. The article body must tell a story people want to read, and leave them wanting more. The article body must successfully carry the reader to your Author's Resource Box. When finished reading, the reader must be happy to have read the article.

4. The Authors' Resource Box - The Authors' Resource Box needs to transition the reader from your article to your website, by offering a compelling call-to-action to get the reader to go to your website. Tell who you are, but don't go overboard. People do not care who you are - they only care about what you can do for them. Jeff Herring wrote a great article that elaborates a bit further on how to construct an effective Resource Box here.

5. Your Landing Page - You shouldn't ever try to sell your products or services in your Authors' Resource Box. Instead, you should try to get the reader to your website, where you have a large number of words, videos, pictures and testimonials to tell the real story of your products or services. Few vendors have the ability to sell a product or service in 500 characters, so you should use your Authors' Resource Box to get the reader to your website, where you will do the real selling.