Everyday I receive reinforcement of the value of submitting
articles to Article Directories to create traffic, build my profile,
build my lensrank and PR and build my list.
It's a great list of benefits for a small amount of effort.
Even if you can't write articles, or don't want to spend time
writing them, you can access other people who will do it
for you. I'll show you how to do this easily and cheaply at the
end of this post.
The primary focus of this post is on how and
where to submit your articles.
Preparing your articles for submission
The process I use is to create the article in Microsoft Word
and then submit it in the first instance to
EzineArticles.com
Some people suggest using NotePad because some symbols
used in Microsoft Word (e.g. "inverted commas") do not
convert well to the article directory databases. However, I
have a personal preference for Microsoft Word because it
is more user friendly and you can spell-check your article.
It is important not to use "hard returns" at the end of
lines- only use these at the end of paragraphs. When
writing an article on MsWord I also write the title,
summary or description and identify the keywords. This
makes cut and paste so much easier when you are
submitting your article.
I always submit my articles to
EzineArticles .com in the
first instance. I know that once it is accepted there, it will
be accepted elsewhere. Also once the article is published by
EzineArticles.com, I find that I can just cut and paste from
their site to submit to other article directories and do so
without any format problems.
Where to submit articles
EzineArticles .com (PR6) is the king of article directories.
I have often found that an article published in
EzineArtilces.com will appear in the Top 10 Google results
for my keyword in a matter of days.
The downside is that this directory has human editors
who accept or reject your article or make recommendations
for changes. A lot of the other lesser directories use
computerised editing so their standards are not as strict.
However, if you follow the editorial guidelines with
EzineArticles.com you should have your article accepted.
Two key guidelines for this directory are:
- no pure promotion, article must be informative
(a common guideline)
- no direct affiliate links (this will vary with the directory)
The upside of EzineArticles.com is the extensive resource
base, their professionalism, search engine pulling power, their
html editor for bolding, etc, an RSS feed for your articles
(and articles by theme) and their Platinum level membership.
Once you have 10 articles submitted and accepted, you gain
Platinum membership which means you can submit as many
articles as you want and get priority editing and acceptance
(usually within two days ...and they stick by this!).
Other recommended article directories:
* GoArticles.com (PR 3) - allows direct affiliate links
* Searchwarp.com (PR3) - you can also submit your website
* ArticleCity.com (PR6)
* Marketing-seek.com (PR4)
Free article submitter
This is a professional article submitter that enables you to
auto-submit to 110 article directories. Write articles, link
them to your lens and then submit to directories...and watch
page 1 of Google for your keyword. Here's the link:
http://www.articlesubmitter.squidoomarketingstrategies.com/
Keeping track of article submissions
I use a Microsoft Excel Spreadsheet to keep track of article
directories, usernames and passwords and submission dates
for each article.
Unlike EzineArticles.com, some article directories drop your
articles after a period of inactivity. You need to check
the article directories regularly to see how your articles are
going and which ones are attracting the most traffic.
***********************************************
Product of the week - outsource your article writing
Need an article written or a PLR article re-written?
Don't have time to write or don't feel comfortable
writing articles? Well here is a quick, easy and very
affordable outsourcing service that will write articles for
you. I tried it recently (at a cost of about $5 per article)
and I was impressed with the system and the service. I'd
get in now before they raise the price following their
service upgrade to include press releases and sales pages:
http://www.need-an-article.com/
******************************************************
Related articles on this blog:
Why write articles?: the benefits
Bum marketing and article writing
Article resource box
Leverage your writing and Google ranking
************************************************
Ron Passfield is a Top 100 Squidoo Lensmaster and
provides free resources for Squidoo affiliate marketing
on his Squidoo lens:
http://www.squidoo.com/squidoomarketingstrategies
Ron is the author of the ebook:
Squidoo Marketing Strategies
Technorati Tags: Squidoo affiliate marketing, Squidoo, Squidoo marketing strategies, article writing, Squidoo Marketing Strategies e-Book, affiliate marketing, Squidoo tips, lensrank, traffic
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