Article Marketing – Article Directories 101

Once your article is complete, reread it to be sure that you have made all of the points that you wish to make, check it for spelling and grammar errors, and you are ready to submit it.

Distributing an article can be very time consuming but is most definitely worth the effort. Many people who use article marketing as their primary sources of advertisement will farm this chore out and pay a fee to have someone else do the distribution work. Others will do the work themselves with the aid of some kind of article submission software. Before you run out and purchase submission software you should know that most of the reputable article directories do not allow, nor do they approve of article submission software. In fact most of them have rules against automated submission included in their Editorial Guidelines. These directories have measures in place and they will know if you are using an automated process. It is my advice that you pick a handful of directories and work with them manually.

Here is a small bit of advice. I usually pick out different times of the day to write. I find that it helps break up the tediousness of the work. For instance I usually write around 8 am, right after I have gotten my first cup of coffee and checked my e-mail, then again around 1 pm, and finally around 5 pm. Each time I set a specific amount of time that I am going to write, usually an hour or so. At the end of that time period I stop. Of course if I am in the middle of an article I finish it. I wouldn’t want to lose my train of thought. Try this technique and perhaps it will help break up the time you spend writing and make it easier for you. I know it works for me.

To begin using article directories or banks you will have to visit each one that you wish to use and sign up. While you are there be sure to carefully read the Editorial Guidelines. Not following the rules can result in your article being rejected and if you continually disobey them you account may be banned. Once you have your membership you can begin to submit your articles. For most of the directories you will need to have the following to complete the process

1.) The article title
2.) The article itself
3.) An article summary
4.) A list of keywords
5.) Author’s Resource box

Once you have the parts of this list together you log in and then cut and paste the information into a form that they will provide. Most of the reputable directories have a manual approval process and it may take up to a week before you article is actually published.