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

---

Correct Formatting Maximizes Effectiveness of Online Articles

Understanding the rules of correct formatting for online articles will assist webmasters in driving greater awareness of and traffic to their online enterprises.For online marketers, the difference... Read More

How to use Articles to Boost Your Online Presence

Writing articles is one of the best ways to get free targeted traffic to your website and isn't as hard as you may think!You don't need to... Read More

5 Simple Ways To Get Ideas For Awesome Articles!

1. Participate in chat rooms related to your targeted audience. Watch what questions people are asking and ask others what information they're interested in.There are probably millions... Read More

Creating Your Perfect Article Summary ? 7 Tips

What should be in your article summary? It's otherwise known as an abstract or article teaser. The purpose of your article summary is to entice a potential... Read More

Creating A Great Print Newsletter

The traditional print media newsletter is still useful even in the rapidly changing age of the Internet and IT. Its uses are so multi-faceted that it can... Read More

7 Invaluable Tips: Getting Your Articles Published Online

When you have to share what you've created, where do you begin? Have you ever just felt like the top of your head unhinged and poured its... Read More

Interviews with Well-Known Ezine Writers #3: - Shelley Lowery

MS: Shelley, you're an excellent person to talk to about Ezine Articles, because - as well as being a prolific Ezine Writer - you own and operate... Read More

Simultaneous Article Submission

Do you know the difference between simultaneous article submissions and multiple submissions?This is something that trips up new writers, and some more seasoned individuals.A travel writer I... Read More

Secrets About Freelance Writing They Dont Want You To Know

The first step to getting published is to find your market. Find a magazine you are familiar with and read the guidelines, read the magazine and as... Read More

Adsense Authors: Who Are These People?

Adsense is a program designed by Google to help publishers monetize their websites using high contextually-accurate ads. Adwords is the other side of the coin which allows... Read More

What Posting Articles Online Did For My Google Page Rank In 90 Days

Article Marketing Builds Momentum and TrafficWhen I started submitting articles to ezines and directories I was happy just to get an occasional article written and widely posted... Read More

Turn Words Into Traffic

A large portion of your business relies on your ability to deliver quality information to your visitors.Trashy websites built entirely of low-response sales letters are all too... Read More

20 Ways Posting Unique Articles Online will Bring You Fame and Fortune

You're Invited... Visualize your article going out like a party invitationThe implied message: "If you like this, come on back to my website to see what else... Read More

Article Marketing 101 ? Article Writing Establishes You as an Expert

If you market online, whether it be your own information products or services or someone else's products (as an affiliate marketer), you need people both to see... Read More

Build Links and Your Brand: Article Marketing Delivers

Many online marketers have crowed about the value of writing and publishing articles for branding and credibility. A few have mentioned the effects articles can have on... Read More

Writing an Interview Script

Gathering information from interviews is really simple. You ask the right questions and get the right answers.But what do you think will happen if you go to... Read More

Article Marketing: The Five Indisputable Rules of Author Bio Creation

Hey! Who's that I see, typing feverishly as brilliant ideas flow from furious typing fingers to the article submission box? Is that YOU??Well, aren't you the dickens!... Read More

How to Effectively Hire a Ghost Writer

In today's busy world, whether your business is large or small, it is easy to become over whelmed with day-to-day tasks. Suddenly you realize that you need... Read More

5 Powerful Article Writing Tips

Writing articles is one of the most powerful, if not the most powerful methods of building your reputation and your online business. Not only do you get... Read More

Use Textpad Program for Easy Ezine and Web Site Submissions To Bring More Sales

When you create your articles in TextPad format, something like Notepad, but much more versatile, you will have them in 65 characters across wrapped, just the right... Read More

Ezine Publishers Want These 5 Things From Article Authors/Writers

Want your articles to get picked up and reprinted by top name brand ezine publishers? While there is no shortage of authors willing to give their articles... 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 best way to get noticed quickly by the Big 3 Search Engines. Anyone can Create Enumerated List... Read More

From Idea To Published Book ... How To Self-publish The Easy Way!

I've been involved in publishing for over a decade now as an author, editor, and project manager; however, it wasn't until just a few years ago that... Read More

Speakers and Trainers - The Internet is Your Biggest Megaphone

Speak to an Audience that Reaches across the GlobeAs a professional at home on the platform, you've spent years polishing a compelling message. The presentations you make... Read More

Article Queries That Sell

Queries are not written like business letters or emails; they are specifically designed to sell your articles.Every query should be:Written for the appropriate marketA fresh ideaSkilfully presentedWritten... Read More

15 Questions To Instantly Help You Write A Tips Booklet

1. What is the single most compelling subject from your experience or knowledge that you want the world to know about? If there are several topics, consider... Read More