Article marketing remains one of the steadfast, true-blue marketing methods on the Internet.
There are, however, certain things you must do to insure success at it.
Equally important are things to avoid if you wish to garner the best results from your efforts.
As a professional writer, editor and article directory publisher, I hold the qualifications to speak on this topic with some authority.
I am sure every publisher has their own quirks that annoy the bejeebers out of them.
I know I have mine and tend to believe they are common among many editors and publishers.
Here is a list of my biggest pet peeves from article authors that I encounter daily that guarantee exclusion, and possibly banning, from my directory: Failure to Use Real Name/Proper Pen Name I write and submit articles around the Internet all the time and I only use my real name.
It's not right or wrong, I suppose, just a personal preference.
I write so much for others, I find time at a premium to write under my name much less for a collection of pen names.
But to those of you who do use pen names, I say wear it out.
I have no problem with pen names when used properly.
What I do have a problem with are those authors that submit articles to me using ridiculous pen names.
So, you might ask, what constitutes a poor pen name? Well, it's hardly believable that anyone but the cruelest of parents would name their child something like, "Top Articles" or "Buy R Stuff" or simply "H".
These authors are deleted on sight; as I feel they cheapen the quality of my directory.
I have an obligation to my other authors to offer them the best quality and environment for their content.
Failure to Properly Use Title Case for Titles/Sub-Titles My thoughts run along the lines: "Well, if they don't even care enough about their piece to use proper title case in the headline, I am sure the rest of the article is a train wreck as well.
" Sometimes I will message the author and explain to them why I declined their piece, but more often than not, I simply delete it and move on to the next article.
I have that option, you see, because I get hundreds of articles daily from which to choose.
Of those hundreds, maybe 20 percent are selected on average.
I don't think many authors realize how competitive article marketing is and that quality does count.
At least, it counts at the better, more high profile sites.
Poor Grammar and Spelling in the Article Description Once again, we're back to the notion that if it's wrong here, the rest is probably even worse.
Most publishers simply don't have the time or resources to evaluate each piece in its entirety.
I can tell you first hand that most publishers won't do edits for free.
The cyber landfills are full of these types of articles and the heaps are growing daily.
It's easy to avoid with a little attention to detail.
Redundant Articles with Different Titles I'm not referring to five different articles on the same topic here.
What I am referring to are articles spun from the same article with a slightly different title.
I have nothing against using a previously written piece as a guide to write new original pieces.
But when the same article is simply re-worked two or three times, it quickly becomes obvious and redundant.
I delete these articles when I find them.
Publishers want new, fresh material for their visitors, not the same story told slightly different a dozen times.
At the very least, spread them out over time and not submitted one on top of the other the same day.
This brings me to another article killer.
Submit Too Many Articles at Once I really hate to see authors do this because they are wasting so much potential in their article marketing program.
Many of the pieces are really great works and would be published if they were spread out a bit over time.
But the simple fact is this: Most smaller publishers are not going to publish 10-20 pieces from the same author in one setting.
Publishes want new, fresh and diverse pieces as well as a selection of authors each day.
I rarely publish more than 3-4 pieces from the same author on the same day, unless they are across a wide variety of categories.
Blatant Spammy Articles Bite the Dust Think back to the last time you got your favorite beverage and a snack and sat down in front of the television to watch the commercials.
It's the same thing with articles, folks.
People surf the Net for two reasons: to learn about something or for entertainment.
No one, at least no one in their right mind, sits down to be pitched by a huckster.
Phony Email Addresses in Profile Here's the bottom line.
Publishers are in business to draw traffic to their sites with content and hopefully sell visitors something while they are there.
Many authors feel publishers are obligated somehow to provide a quality, high traffic site for them to publish their articles on for free.
Most publishers don't see it that way at all.
Publishers, by and large, expect to email occasional offers to authors in trade for maintaining a site that publishes their work.
I don't feel that's an unreasonable expectation for a publisher to hold.
An article directory, after all, is a business and must show a profit or fold.
When I make a mailing, the very next thing I do is check for undeliverable emails and delete those author's accounts and articles from my database.
If I can't market to them, they can't market to others on my site.
It's a simple tit-for-tat thing.
Everyone has to make a living; even publishers.
I am sure this is not a comprehensive list of all drop-dead deal breakers for publishers at large.
It is, though, representative of a large portion of the article directory market.
This article will enlighten some and anger others, I expect, but there it is either way.
Do what you will with the information to use it to your best advantage.