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9 Tips To Successful Article Submission
Many internet marketers have heard about the traffic that
article marketing can bring to a website. Yet, when they try it
themselves, they find the results less than rewarding. With
article marketing becoming more and more well-known as a FREE
(or very cheap) way to quickly gain lots of inbound links to a
website, the value of it cannot be over-emphasized.
However, as this trend grows, so does the population of articles
that are available. With the inherent competition, article
distributors and newsletter editors, are becoming more selective
toward the articles they accept. Since they are in the driver's
seat, the sensible thing to do is find out what it is they need,
as well as the most efficient way to offer that to them.
Below are 9 tips that include everything from offline
preparation, to Byline Do's & Don't's. Each is designed to make
the process as efficient and painless as possible. Included in
the byline is a link to a current list of approximately 100
submission sites and recommended submission services.
1. LIKE A GOOD SCOUT, BE PREPARED
There are several items each distributor will need regarding
each article submission. Preparing these beforehand, as part of
the writing process, will make the submission session flow
smoothly. The list below includes everything needed to submit an
article:
-- Title. Like the name of a website, a Title is, was, and shall
always be the articles first advertisement. This is true for
editors and distributions as much as those who will eventually
read it. Though there are many articles devoted to this subject
alone, the most important thing to remember is: short and to the
point. The faster people can understand what the article is
about, the faster they can decide if they're interested. And
never, never use a deceptive Title. Though it may gain some
attention, in the long run, the editors will mostly remember
being disappointed by you.
-- Synopsis or Abstract. This is a short description of the
article, which is usually only one or two sentences long. Many
distributors even have a byte or character limit for it. Respect
that limit. If your synopsis exceeds it, the system will
probably just cut off the last few words. The synopsis is used
by the distributor to promote the article on their article
listings. It is the short "blurb" that explains a little more of
the article.
-- Key words. Like the keywords for a website, these keywords
must be relevant to the subject. For example, the keywords used
for this article were: business writing, article marketing,
internet marketing, affiliate marketing, article submission,
newsletter distribution. They all relate in some meaningful way
to the overall subject. There needn't be more than four or five
phrases. These will be used, not only within the database
searches, but with major seach engines, too.
-- Body. Most distributors also have a limit on the amount of
characters/bytes for this, but are usually generous with this
amount. Respect that amount. If your article exceeds these
limits, edit it appropriately.
--Byline. This is the little box at the bottom of the page that
is "About The Author". The reason it's called a "byline" is
because this is who the article is "by", i.e., who wrote it.
Keep this short, too, but be sure to include any background that
is pertinent to the subject and could deem you an "expert", as
well as your profession and a link to your site is needed.
Again, there are limitations on these, which vary according to
the distributor. Generally, if it's brief (like mine, below), no
one will object.
Once all of these items are written and edited the article is
ready for submission. It's also a good idea, before beginning to
make a short template that includes all these items, then save
it as something like, "basic_article.txt". But--
2. THE RIGHT "PROCESS"
Everyone has their own favorite word processing program. And
most are fine to use with submission sites. Word is so
completely ubiquitious, most sites assume writers will use this.
However, while the distributors do accept these platforms, that
doesn't mean they can accept all the formatting included with
them.
Generally speaking, formatting should be kept to a bare minimum.
I use silly old Notepad (yeah, that little WP accessory that's
available in every copy of Windows). It forces me to forget
about formatting. Since an article must be adaptable to many
different types of formatting, keeping ITS formatting plain
allows a larger amount of distributors to accept it. The last
thing one should expect is for the distributor to have to take
the time to re-format an article. That is not part of their job.
It's part of the writer's.
Also, if using Notepad while writing an article, turn the Word
Wrap feature "ON". But while submitting it, turn it "OFF". This
simple step can save hours of re-formatting for each submission
site and is another good reason to use Notepad. Always remember:
coding-BAD.
3. DITTO WITH HTML
Though most email now accepts HTML coding and many even include
it automatically, this does not mean that the programs used in
article distribution are included in that equation. This is
another excellent reason to use something like Notepad, since
there is a minimum of unseen or invisible coding. Any type of
coding may transfer poorly and cause an article to look
more
like a cyptogram than legible writing. Remember: Coding-BAD. No
Coding-GOOD. A few distributors will not even allow such common
characters as quotation marks or asterisks. One good substitute
for this is CAPITALIZED words, which also work well to replace a
bold or italisized word.
Up to this point, the tips have been about the preparation
process. The following refer to the actual submission process.
4. THE GOOD GUYS VS. THE BAD GUYS
Especially for the ambitious writer who is always doing Google
searches for new article sites, it should be noted that not ALL
submission sites are reputable. For some reason, some people
begrudge even a simple byline as payment for providing valuable
content and will "overlook" several key essentials. Any
reputable site (and most of them ARE) will offer three services
to the author: a byline segment, the ability to preview the
finished article as well as edit the article AFTER it has been
submitted. For those who don't, for whatever reasons, a writer
may include a top byline within the Title, as well as the bottom
byline within the body of the article. But ONLY for those that
do not provide a place for them. Otherwise, you articles will
come out looking silly -- and may be passed over -- for having
doubled this content.
5. PICs OF YOU
Some submission sites ask for a photograph of the author. Though
many people shy away from cameras, this is an additional
security measure against plagarism, especially if the photo is
included with each article. So consider keeping a relatively
recent photo on file on your computer. Most that do ask for this
require that the photo be a relatively small file, so keep it
simple.
6. AFFILIATE MARKETING OR BIZ OPPS?
Choosing the right category during the submission process is
another key ingredient to success. Most newsletter editors only
skim through the categories pertinent to their area of interest.
If a submission site has no relevant categories, skip it and go
on.
7. EMAIL INCLUDED?
Until recently, including a professional email address in the
byline would be advised. However, with the increase of email
address security issues, this is becoming less common. If using
an email address at all, use one that is not directly associated
with a privately owned website.
8. ORGANIZATION EQUALS EFFICIENCY
The first, crueling session of article submission (with the
emphasis on "mission") can be daunting to a budding enewsletter
author. However, if the time is spent wisely, it can be an
investment that will pay for itself with each subsequent
article. When submitting to sites, create a folder in the
"Favorites" or "Bookmarks" portion of your browser. For each
successful submission, remember to add the link for that site to
your folder. Also, edit each one, putting the username for that
site and password in the link so that, when clicked on it, it
also has this information available. And, to save steps later,
be sure the link goes to the sign-in page (for those requiring
membership) or directly to the submission site (for those
without). Once this system is in place, and the article includes
all necessary items, the whole process should only take a short
time.
9. BYLINE DO'S AND DON'T's
DO: Adjust your byline according to the article and promotion.
For instance, though my main work is now internet marketing,
I've also worked extensively as a crafter. If I decided to write
an article about crafting, I would revise it to include that
information. Also, since I represent several different
companies, I choose the company most closely related to the
subject. Turning that thinking around, one could also write
articles that would specifically promote different sites.
DON'T: If A submission site does not allow HTML in the byline,
do NOT USE it. Type the URL in its entirety. Some sites simply
don't have the technology to support HTML. There are also
several free services that will provide short urls or URL
scramblers, if there is any concern about security.
DON'T: include more URLs than allowed. Some sites do not
specifically state a limit, but most do not want to more than
two or three.
DO: As an added security measure against plagarism, always put
your initials right at the end of the article, as I do, below.
This is an old offline writing habit, which was typically used
in newspaper work to identify to the typesetter which articles
belonged to which authors. Online, it prevents the plagarist
from copy/pasting the text without being detected.
Finally, and above all, respect whatever rules or requirements
each submission site has, for your own sake as well as theirs.
Remember, as more and more people learn the value of article
marketing, competition will continue to increase. So, as you
submit regularly to sites and they come to count on you for
good, professionally submitted content, they will appreciate you
and your efforts.--mo
About the author:
Marige O'Brien works as a writer, web designer and Internet
Marketer. Visit her Website, Tracker Mo's Den for her
latest recommendations and a list of over 100
current article submission sites. Other articles by Marige
can be found on her blog, Tracker Mo's
Finds.
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