Branding, Control, and Results - Submit Articles in Your Own Name

Article distribution is currently booming on the internet. Authors do it for a number of reasons:

• It is a good way to be picked up by the search engines.
• The backlinks from your resource box can help your search engine position.
• You have the possibility of secondary traffic if your article is picked up by a popular website or ezine.

Various products and services have become available that help you distribute your articles to the 100s of article directories and mailing lists.

a) Software that speeds up maunal submission, or can in some cases do this automatically.
b) Services that distribute articles in your name
c) Services that distribute articles on your behalf, but in their own name.

The Double Edged Sword

Many people pay a premium rate for article distribution on their behalf, without the worry of having to join various article directory sites as a member, giving their own email address, and receiving lots of emails from various Yahoo groups.

Unfortunately what they don't realise is that often this devalues their work.

1) In the author section on many sites, the name of the distribution service will be shown, not that of the original author.

2) Author sections of many article directories are a unique marketing venue. Many visitors will visit the author profile before reading an article all the way to the bottom. Most profiles could have one or more websites listed.

3) Within RSS feeds from the article directories, the distribution service might be shown in the byline, not the original author.

4) Many article directories allow an author to change or modify their resource box. If an article was submitted using an account owned by a 3rd party distribution service, that avenue will be closed.

Complete Control

For authors who want complete control of their branding, either submit manually, or use article submission software. You will receive more emails, but can always have a special email address for this purpose. Googles Gmail service I find is an excellent choice. Article Announcer and Article Submitter Pro are two examples of such software.

Limited Control

Use an automated submission service that ensures you are the author. There are services that signup for members to directories on your behalf, using a username and password of your choice. One such service is Article Marketer.

The Inconvenience

You will have to confirm your membership to many distribution points, and some will continue to send emails containing articles from other people. Yahoo groups normally allow you to select a digest mode, or to not receive emailed articles at all. Most of this is a one time effort, although you will have to be on the lookout for important messages on the email account you use.

The Massive Gain

They are your articles, and you should gain maximum benefit from them.

Using article distribution is much like a varient of Pareto's 80/20 rule. You potentially gain 80% effective results compared to manual distribution, for 20% of the work.

However if your method of article distribution doesn't give you all the possible credit for your articles, rather than 80% effectiveness, you might only be getting 60% or less.

Managing your own article distribution with tools such as Article Announcer or Article Submitter Pro gives you complete control to achieve your 80/20 goals. A service such as Article Marketer which gives you full credit, and reasonable control, might be 70% effective, for 10% of the work.

Refining your processes, and only using the most effective method where it benefits you the most, you can maximise your return for the work invested.

I use a combination of service and software for my own distribution.

Andy Beard has worked in Sales, Marketing and Localization for the last 15 years, primarily in the computer games industry. On his blog Exploring Niche Websites you can read his review of 3 killer article submission products

---

How to Write a Short Article Under 500 Words

Online publishers, ezine subscribers, and Web visitors want short, useful... Read More

Newbies Guide to Writing and Submitting Ezine Articles

How many times have you read the following? If you... Read More

7 Steps Toward Successful Article Writing

As you write the outline for your next article, there... Read More

Crafting Your Optimized Author Bio

Your author bio is a vital part of your article... Read More

10 Ways To Generate Highly Read Article Ideas

1. Participate in chat rooms related to your targeted audience.... Read More

Ambition versus Dedication

All writers aspire to recognition, but are we dedicated? Ambition... Read More

Get Traffic to Your Web Site with Articles

It is not my intention to give you a 5... Read More

Adsense Authors: Who Are These People?

Adsense is a program designed by Google to help publishers... Read More

Free Articles = Free Publicity (Or, How To Get Free Publicity For Your Business)

Publicity?you're business can survive without it, but it certainly won't... Read More

Article Writing Made Simple

A great way for self employed professionals to enhance their... Read More

The 2 Headed Dragon: Let Others Publish Your Material and Keep Your Site Unique

Is Putting your Articles in the Public Domain really a... Read More

Five Tips to Write Winning Web Articles

Looking for another no cost promotional tool? Your fee will... Read More

Reaping The Amazing Benefits of Writing E-zine Articles

Marketing on a budget is tough. This is a universal... Read More

Speakers and Trainers - The Internet is Your Biggest Megaphone

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

Letters to the Editor: Having Your Say

Writing a letter to your newspaper's editor is a privilege... Read More

How to Get Started on Writing Killer Articles

I once wrote an article in which I offered the... Read More

Articles That Sizzle - Top Ten Topics

There's one key rule that every writer should understand before... Read More

Reward Those Who Publish Your Articles!

It is pretty obvious that content is king online. It... Read More

What to Write About

This is a perennial question among writers and wannabe's. Many... Read More

Why You Need an Article-Marketing Strategy before Posting a Single Article Online II

This is Part 2 of a 2 part article -... Read More

Reprint Article Headlines ? the Reader is Secondary

A great headline can be the difference between having your... Read More

How Webmasters Can Become Experts and Write Expert Articles!

Write articles, be recognized as an expert, drive a surge... Read More

Discover How You Can Write an Article That Will Excite Your Target Market and Make You Money!

I am often approached and asked, how do I write... Read More

The Benefits Of Article Writing For Your Home Business

Once you learn the benefits of article writing, you may... Read More

Ten Top Tips For Good Article Writing For Promotion Of Your Business

Writing and distributing articles on the internet is one of... Read More

Ive Got An Article To Submit, Now What Do I Do With It? (6 Tips)

You submit it, that's what you do! And submit it... Read More

How An Online Writer Can Easily Self-publish Their Way To A Fortune

Online writing is really self-publishing made easier and potentially much... Read More

A Writers Glossary (Part Two)

Find definitions from H to P... ~~~~~~~~~~~ H ~~~~~~~~~~~ Haiku... Read More

How I Write Articles For Profit

Most Internet marketers worth their salt know how effective articles... Read More

Stop Struggling and Write Your Article

Don't let overwhelm hold you back- follow this expert advice... Read More

Writing a Statement

You have decided on a great idea and researched a... Read More

So You Want to Be an Author - These Are the Easiest Types of Articles in the World to Write

Being an Internet Article Author is far and away the... 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