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Article directories are like warehouses for article writers. Article directory websites house thousands of articles written by an assortment of people with the primary intention of promoting themselves or their business. The way this is accomplished is through the article's 'Resource Box' which is generally the byline placed at the end of the article, and allows the author to tell a little about him/herself and their business, and also allows the author to provide links to their sites. The great thing about article directories is that once an article is accepted and published, it can remain in their database for years, bringing you a steady stream of traffic and customers. For instance, let's say you're an accountant and after writing an article on some accounting topic, you then submit it to several directories. Those who are looking for the subject you wrote about will read your article, see that you have the knowledge and skill that is needed to do a job for them, and visit your website or contact you via e-mail. Your article just gained you a new client who may use your services regularly, As you can see, submitting articles to these directories has the potential to increase your business substantially. If you have the basic writing skills to compose an article on a topic, you can benefit from this form of marketing, and if you're not confident of your writing skills, you can always hire a 'ghost writer' to write articles on just about any subject imaginable. To get the most from article directories, and make sure to don't run afoul of their rules, there are some do's and don'ts that you should be aware of; 1. Make Sure Your Article Stays On Topic Article directories are in the business of providing information to their customers. When writing an article, make sure that your article provides the reader with information that they will find useful, entertaining or in some way pertinent to what they are searching for. Writing a article that is general in nature, and has little to do with the title of the article could get your article rejected by the publishers. Be sure to stay on topic. 2. Check Your Spelling. Nothing looks more unprofessional than submitting an article that has numerous spelling errors throughout the article. Most legitimate article directories have spell check software, so be certain to make use of it as even the best spellers make common mistakes that they can easily overlook. Submitting an article full of spelling and grammatical errors sets off red flags, and even if your article is accepted and published, your readers will take note of the poorly composed article, and question your competence as a authority. 3. Submitting Your Article in the Wrong Category. Another big mistake that some writers make is submitting their article to the wrong category. Readers searching for information on a subject use specific keywords to locate articles. If your article is placed in the wrong category, it's quite likely that your article won't show up in the search results, and therefore you miss a potential customer. Most article directories provide hundreds of categories and sub-categories, so try and place your article in the most suitable category so that readers can easily find your article. 4. Using the Resource Box Effectively. The reason that most writers submit articles is to provide information about themselves or their business and they do this through the Resource Box at the end of the article. When composing a bio for the Resource Box, keep it short and don't try to tell your life story there. Don't overdo it with links either, and do check to make sure your links work. Filling the resource box with too much information not only dilutes it's effectiveness, but you could run afoul of their rules. 5. Submitting to Article Directories. One of the drawbacks of article directories is that there are so many of them that you can literally spend the majority of your time submitting to these directories. My advice would be to submit your articles to the top ten or so article directories with the highest page rank. You can find out which ones make the grade by doing a Google search for article directories and look for page rank. A page rank of 5 or higher indicates a popular article directory. While there are numerous ways to market yourself online, submitting articles to article directories is one of the most popular and effective ways to build long term traffic and recognition. By submitting articles on a regular basis you should see your traffic and profit increase. Bill Thomas is actively engaged in E-Commerce and Internet Marketing. He also contributes articles on life, business and other topics. Bill is currently involved with a business that allows anyone to make excellent money without recruiting, sponsoring or investing large sums of money. Discover how you to can earn money with the power of the 98% Solution
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