15 Commandments To Submitting Articles - Article Submission Sites

1) Don't use all capitals in your title:

People don't like to be yelled at. USING CAPITALS is the same as yelling and looks awful. There aren't many article submission sites that accept ALL capitals in your title.

2) Only use HTML when asked:

There is nothing worse for an editor when he/she has to strip out HTML because you failed to follow the guidelines. If the website asks for NO HTML then don't add any.

3) Only use simple HTML:

If you are allowed to use HTML, just use the basics. Ex. (P)aragraph, (B)old, (I)talicized, (LI)st bullets, (A)link, etc. These HTML codes are considered basic and are usually accepted when submitting your article in HTML format.

4) Don't use articles to advertise your services within the content:

There is nothing worse than reviewing an article and seeing 5/10 links that are owned by the author embedded within the content of the article. Granted, sometimes you have something unique to help others with and you need to get the word out, I like to see such promotion but ONLY if it is useful for the readers and it is FREE, not a paid service or product. Try not to use this unique information within every single article that you write. This info will then become a little useless for the editors and they may even delete that section. Please remember to READ the "Author Guidelines" before you start submitting your articles.

5) Don't submit press releases as tips:

There is a distinct difference between a press release and an informative article. Press releases are strictly for announcing news about your company. Informative articles teach people about a specific subject (not about your company).

6) Have your articles edited by editors:

These days, there are so many authors trying to make their mark. It is imperative that you get your article edited by an editor, friend, colleague, or someone who is really good at checking for spelling and grammar.

7) Try to write something unique to the industry:

People all over the world are writing about the same thing. If you truly want to shine, try writing about topics that aren't covered by everyone. If you discover something new, do some research on what people are saying about it. If you can't find any other content, you may have found a gold mine.

8) Don't copy other people's content:

This topic is seriously funny. We have caught people actually stealing our articles and simply changing the title of the article to call it their own. How pathetic! If you use someone else's content, only use it for study, not for your own promotion and recognition. If you "quote" someone else, make sure to give credit where appropriate.

9) Find 5 new article submission sites to submit to:

If you submit articles once a week, try and make it a habit to find 5 new article submission sites to submit to. I guarantee you that new article submission websites popup almost weekly. We are still finding new sites to submit to, there is no limit to your search. Go within Google and do a search similar to "article submission sites", or "Where to submit articles to?".

Here are 5 newer article submission sites:

9.1) http://www.article99.com

9.2) http://www.a1articles.com

9.3) http://www.activeauthors.com

9.4) http://www.articlepros.com

9.5) http://www.free-articles-zone.com

10) Keep your author bio short & sweet:

Try keeping your author biography short & sweet. There is nothing worse than seeing an article submission and realizing that most of the article content is within the author bio. Use one sentence and a couple of links. Most submission sites will accept up to 3 links within your resource box.

11) Don't buy articles from other companies and call them your own:

Commandment #11 is sweeping the world and is giving the article writing industry a bad name. Please don't even consider buying articles from people that claim that they will write a "UNIQUE" article for you to promote. Trust me when I tell you this, the article that you buy has been sold and re-sold many times. You will be doing your company no justice at all by buying articles. Article submission websites frown down on this method and will ban you from ever submitting articles again if you are caught.

12) Try not to attack others within your articles:

Being libelous is not good karma. Attacking others will give a negative effect for your articles. In fact, most article submission websites won't accept articles that are libelous.

13) Use copyright information at the bottom of your article:

Adding your copyright information at the top won't help you at all. I've come across many websites that simply delete your copyright information if it is listed at the top. That's what your author bio is for. Add any reprint rights and copyright information within your bio.

14) Affiliate links should never be used:

DO NOT USE AFFILIATE LINKS PERIOD! Promoting affiliate links within articles is a no no. Most article submission websites have a rule against listing affiliate links within author's articles (body content) and your author bio. If you absolutely need to use an affiliate link, try creating a "short link" that simplifies the link into a smaller, more compact link.

15) Setup For Manual Submissions:

Most link submission softwares aren't the answer. There is nothing better than personalizing your submissions by submitting them manually. Granted, this can take up to 2-4 hours per week if you write one article a week BUT submitting manually will get your article listed within two times as many article submission websites than the software's can. Many websites require a login or show you an image to "enter the characters shown" to login and submit articles. By using a software, you will never be able to submit to such companies.

Many article submission websites have different and unique fields that they require for you to enter. If you use a software, you will never have that personal touch that each individual website & editor is looking for and your articles will never be accepted.

If you follow these commandments, you should have no problem getting your articles listed on 1000's of websites and get a great deal of promotion for your company.

Keep writing and keep submitting!

About The Author:
Martin Lemieux is the president of the Smartads Advertising Network. Smartads is dedicated to helping you expose your business online and offline.

International: http://www.smartads.info
Ezine Article Directory (Beta): http://www.article99.com
Canada: http://www.smartads.ca

Copyright © 2005 Smartads Advertising Network - Reprints Accepted - One link must be active in the bio.

---

Speakers and Trainers - The Internet is Your Biggest Megaphone

Speak to an Audience that Reaches across the GlobeAs a... Read More

How To Write and Publish A Successful Ezine Article

The ezine article is of major importance to the world... Read More

15 Questions To Instantly Help You Write A Tips Booklet

1. What is the single most compelling subject from your... Read More

Everything I Needed to Know About Article Writing I Learned from My English Teacher

By now you probably understand how important writing for trade... Read More

Website Promotion: Alternatives to Article Banks

Writing and submitting articles to article banks is a well-known... Read More

There is an Article Deep Down Inside of You Just Looking to Bust Out

The Most Economical Way to Advertise online is to Submit... Read More

10 Tips For Getting More Traffic From Your Articles

Here's a depressing fact if you sell anything on the... Read More

Where to Get Great Ideas For Your Next Article

There are times when I want to write an article... Read More

Writing the Five Essentials

The five essential questions to be answered in your article... Read More

Are You Submitting Your Articles?

Last month, I began promoting Jason Potash's "Article Announcer." I... Read More

Publishing: Changing realities (I)

When you frequently post articles on ezines, you might be... Read More

The Benefits of Publishing Articles to Build Big Ticket Marketing Relationships

Ok, today we are going to talk about one of... Read More

Seecrets on Website Promotion: The Hard Truths on Writing Free-reprint Articles

This author started with a clean website and wrote 5... Read More

Article Writing: SEO, Expert Authors and the Dumbification of the Internet

Article authors who use SEO (Search Engine Optimization) keywords to... Read More

How to Write Articles that Sell

In order to sell your article must do three things:1.... Read More

Free Reprint Articles That Will Interest Publishers - 4 Tips

Have you been writing and submitting your free reprint articles... Read More

Article Marketing Benefit - Surges in Web Traffic Over and Over Again From Article Writing

Writing dozens, hundreds or even thousands of articles and making... Read More

Four Article Marketing Secrets to Boost Your Internet Home Business Profits

Many internet home business owners today have learnt that one... Read More

Simultaneous Article Submission

Do you know the difference between simultaneous article submissions and... Read More

Writing Articles - Two Aspects Of The Surge

Writing articles for publication on the Internet is, at the... Read More

Marketing Your Home Business in Just 30 Minutes a Week

It's all the rage. It's what everyone is talking about.... Read More

Finding Experts, Sources and Contacts

I was asked to write an article on a short... Read More

Article Publishing Is A Key Component Of Internet Marketing

Frequently when I am communicating with other webmasters and I... Read More

Make Money Online Using Keyword Articles

Routing traffic to your web page is incredibly important in... Read More

How to Measure the Value of Your Article Marketing Campaign

It's not enough to scatter your articles across the internet... Read More

Writing Articles, But Still Not Getting Traffic? Your Articles Suck ? But I Can Help! (Part 2)

Last time on "Because your articles suck" ? we discussed... Read More

Article Marketing Interview With Kevin Bidwell

Recently I interviewed Kevin Bidwell of All-In-One-Business.com on some of... Read More

7 Steps To Writing Articles That People Just Have To Read

This may come as a surprise... to you, but writing... Read More

Write a Better Technical Article in Half the Time

Good technical articles are challenging to write. They're time-consuming, demanding... Read More

Ezine Publishers Want These 5 Things From Article Authors/Writers

Want your articles to get picked up and reprinted by... Read More

Four Tips For Getting More Mileage From Your Articles

It has become common knowledge that the smartest and most... Read More

Interviews with Well-Known Ezine Writers #2: - John Colanzi

MS: John, you must be one of the most prolific... Read More

Article Marketing: What Is It and How Can I Use it to Grow My Business?

Ever read one of those web articles written by an... Read More