That is a fabulous question, and one thing I've noticed is that people who are using article marketing to promote their product based websites encounter certain unique challenges in writing the types of non-promotional articles that quality publishes are looking for.  

First off, let's clarify what a "product based website" is.

A product based website is any website that is used primarily to sell particular pieces of merchandise. For example, let's say your website is a sales site devoted to baby clothes. That is a product based website. So is a website that is all product information and sales pages for particular brands of vitamins, or watches, or gourmet chocolates or umbrellas. 

You get the idea–if you're using article marketing to try to drive traffic back to a website that is sales oriented and that is comprised of product information and actual sales pages ("Click here to buy such and such!"), then you have yourself a product based website, and you have to be creative when writing articles to use for article marketing.

Why does having a product based website create unique challenges for a writer?

Well, there is something in us that thinks, "Hey, this is a no-brainer. If my website is trying to sell Brand XYZ of chocolate, then naturally I should write articles trying to tell people why they should buy Brand XYZ of chocolate, right?"

Nope. That is not the way it works. Do you know why?

Because when we're doing article marketing, we need to balance 1) what will bring value to our target readers with 2) what quality publishers want to publish.

You see, you can write as many articles about your own products as you like and submit them to as many publishers as you like, but if a publisher has a policy that they only publish educational articles (and this is the way most quality publishers work) and that they will not publish articles that are promotional (i.e. articles that look to be written specifically to promote the author's own products, website, affiliate products or business), then all of your work will be for naught.  

Your articles should be informational/educational only, and your resource box (the author bio area underneath the article) only can be used to link to and provide information about your site. 

So what are you supposed to do if you can't write about your products in your article body?

How can a writer who has a product based website write articles that will be welcomed by quality publishers, bring value to his target market, and inspire readers to click through to his website? 

Sounds like a tall order, but it can be done my friend, with a little creativity.

Let's go back to our fictional website owner whose site is sales pages for Brand XYZ of gourmet chocolate. She knows she can't write about the gourmet chocolate she's selling at her website–that would be a no-no. What should she write about for her article marketing campaign? Hmmm… 

Here are some ideas (and I'm putting these ideas in the form of article titles):

• "5 Ways You Can Tell If The Chocolate You're Eating Is High Quality"
• "What is the difference between Dark Chocolate, Milk Chocolate, and Semi-sweet Chocolate?"
• "The Health Benefits Of Eating Chocolate"
• "3 Restaurant Inspired Chocolate Dessert Recipes Made From Chocolate Bars"
• "The History Of Chocolate"
• "Is White Chocolate Really Chocolate?"

I could go on and on brainstorming topics for articles that will be of interest to our chocolate bar sales person's target market, make readers in the mood to buy chocolate, and that will also be seen as educational and valuable from a publisher's perspective.

Now, it goes without saying that as the owner of this gourmet chocolate website is writing the above articles that she cannot mention her own business, website, products or affiliate products within her article. She cannot allude to or make reference to XYZ brand of chocolates in any way, shape, or fashion in her article.

She knows that her well crafted resource box (rather than her article) is the appropriate place to talk about herself, her business, and her website. 

Like every website owner that is using article marketing as part of their marketing campaign, she has had to take off her "I'm a sales person for XYZ Chocolates" hat, and replace it with a more subtle "I'm an expert on chocolate" hat. 

Do you see the difference between presenting yourself as a sales person for a particular product and presenting yourself as an expert in your niche?

Writing as an expert in your niche (whether it be chocolate, vitamins, umbrellas, or baby clothes) has many benefits, and I'm sure once you contemplate these perks you'll never want to write a promotional, advertisement-type article about your own products again!

Writing as an expert is your niche (rather than about the particular product that you're selling) is much more subtle, much more reader and publisher friendly.

Readers looking at articles are not interested in an article that looks like an advertisement for your product. Immediately, once a reader senses that you're trying to sell them something, they put their guard up and lose interest in your article–and that is not what you're going for!

The object when you're creating your article is to:

1. Come across like you know what you're talking about
2. Come across as unbiased, like you have nothing to gain from providing the helpful article
3. Put the reader at ease and heighten their curiosity about whatever your topic is

Yes, this is much more subtle than writing an article that screams, "Buy my product!", but it's also much more effective at accomplishing your goals.

Let's look back at the main reasons why you started article marketing in the first place and how writing as an expert rather than a sales person helps you reach these goals:

• To build inbound links to your website. The inbound links will improve your search engine ranking, which will then, in turn bring you even more traffic. How do you build inbound links through article marketing? You receive a backlink from every publisher who decides to pick up your article, publish it on his website, and share it with his readers. As we said before, quality publishers want educational articles that are not in any way an advertisement for your products, business or website. When your write as an expert in your niche (rather than as a sales person), you create articles that publishers want to publish, and you increase your inbound links!

• To get the word out about your website, bringing widespread exposure and an increase in long term targeted traffic. When I say "get the word out about your website" I am referring to your well-crafted resource box that sits below your educational, non-promotional article.

• To establish yourself as experts in your niche. When a reader develops a craving for a high quality chocolate bar after reading your helpful article, who do you think he will turn to for more information? He will likely turn to the person who he has confidence in, the person who has established herself as an expert on the topic. Also, let's say someone is actually interested in your particular product, and he does a Google search of your business name (or your website name, or product name) to do a little background research. Well, if you've been doing article marketing, when they search for your name a list of your articles will come up, and they will get a great idea of your expertise in your field. This builds customer confidence and makes it more likely that they will trust you enough to purchase from you.

So, it's not that owners of product based websites have to write articles differently than owners of service based or information based websites, it's just that product based websites seem to tempt us into writing an article that says "Buy my product!"

It's completely normal if you feel that urge, but RESIST!

To drive traffic to your website with article marketing you need to think creatively, think like an expert in your niche rather than a sales person, and think about providing educational articles that potential customers will value and that quality publishers are seeking.

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