By :
Pat Stedling
Ask almost any webmaster about article submission and you'll get a similar reply, "article submission is boring". In fact it ranks along with social bookmarking as one of those things I just hate doing. But, if you want traffic to your site, you should do both.
Okay, you've researched some topics, isolated some keywords to exploit with your tags, keywords, and titles, and now what? When think your first articles are ready for distribution, don't forget some basic prep' steps.
One
Use notepad, text pad, or Araneae to prepare your articles. These three are text editors (there's more too) that leave no hidden characters for things like tab and carriage return or new line. These hidden characters can be frame breakers for some of the article directory software out there, and the older packages don't automatically remove them. A great way to get your article rejected at many article directories is to submit by copy pasting from Word. The rule is text only, no hidden characters to be safe.
Two
On the same document, place your log-in and personal information right at the top so it's ready as soon as you land on each directory. (The first time around, you should use the same user-name and pass for each directory you submit to to save time later). Also in the same tact, have all your keywords at the bottom of the same page, comma separated and ready to copy paste. A copy of your author resource box text should also be handy, again in text format. Your links will be here, but copy them from your HTML editor if you have to so they are in raw HTML format.
Three
Assemble your list of directories into one file so you can move quickly and load two or three directories at a time. Excel is a handy tool for this, as is a Word document or HTML document with live links to each directory on your list.
Four
Set yourself some target goals or make a plan for your submission efforts. It's a long process to go through a list, but if you approach it as say in batches of five or ten directories in a set, you can work through a list of 50 or so directories without abandoning the effort at mid point. (using multiple windows or tabs help here too). Now, if you are called away or distracted, you've got built in restart points to keep from backtracking or skipping directories.
Five
Think about your batch plan per directory. By this I mean things like submitting articles for more than one of your websites or blogs during the same visit, or submitting multiple articles for a solo site in one visit to a directory.
Six
Set yourself a schedule for your submissions, and follow it. With one to a few sites, consider taking say every Monday and Thursday morning for submissions. Try to be regular in your postings though. The directories and search engines appreciate it, and you'll continue allot longer if you make it part of your traffic building routine.
Remember, most of us started the same way with article submissions. We either didn't have the money for or couldn't justify the cost of submission software or services. But, you can get results by following the above framework and sticking to it. Your only enemy is your own discipline.
It seems common sense, but you would be surprised how few people do these steps, and abandon article marketing or give it less than 100% because it becomes overwhelming.
Author Resource:-
Pat Stedling freelances as a niche marketing consultant and marketer that owns and operates roughly 60 blogs and websites touching dozens of niches, including an article directory and Niche Advertising Blog at Article Snip.
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