Generally, article marketing sites neither require payment from authors nor pay them for their articles. Search engine users are looking for valuable content, and that is what authors seek to provide.

In exchange for such information, article marketing sites typically allow a couple of self-serving links to be placed in a section separated from the article — in a “resource box,” author information area, or sometimes profile. Typical convention is to write the author information in the 3rd person (he, she).

Links in the body of the article, whether self-serving or not, are usually frowned upon or allowed up to a maximum of one to three in number, usually excluding affiliate links (links that go directly to sales pages).

In many cases, authors may pay a fee for the service of wider or more prominent publication of articles. But this is not required.

Terms of service, submission guidelines, or other policies usually forbid articles which are merely self-serving, self-promoting, or blatant sales attempts. Other content restrictions usually apply, such as to pornography, libel, spam, and so on. English is usually the preferred or only language, at least to most of the sites below.

Usually the site requires a variable time frame before submitted articles are published, sometimes days or a week.

Also worthy of note is my exclusion of the article site with the highest traffic of all, namely about.com, because its limited number of authors are hired based on an existing track record of expertise in the niche in which they write. Comments on articles exclude links to websites and blogs.

The following article marketing sites are listed from those with the highest traffic to the least as of the time of this writing, but all are the highest traffic sites I could find, save one that ceased further publication some months ago (digital-web.com).

Notes to select sites are intended to be helpful, not comprehensive.

1) eHow.com

• The largest “How to” article site.
• Required article format is step-by-step in their categories.
• Compensation plan available and recommended, otherwise authors are free to submit with no compensation.
• “I Did It” format also allowed.
• Self-serving website allowed in profile.

2) Ezinearticles.com

• article statistics for readers and link clicks
• resource boxes can be customized to personalities or per individual article.
• minimum article length 250 words
• no affiliate links allowed, but authors can link to their sites that have affiliate links
• Create different author names for different areas of expertise. First name, last initial and first initial, last name are both allowed, for example.

3) ArticlesBase.com

• “You can find articles in English, Spanish, French, Russian, Chinese, and Portuguese on this site.”
• “You may include up to 3 hyperlinks in an article.”
• “You may include up to 3 hyperlinks in your Author Bio.”
• “All contact information should appear only in the author’s bio.”
• View/unique visitor statistics.

4) Searchwarp.com

• “Articles about business, how to start a business or how to operate a business are considered commercial. Neither do we accept PLR (private label rights) articles.
• “May not contain more than 3 self-serving hyperlinks, including the links within the author bio, or 6 links total.”

5) Articlealley.com

• A network of sites.
• One can pay for articles to be written for oneself on the site.

6) Selfgrowth.com

Topics:

• Success Skills
• Love & Relationships
• Health & Fitness
• Money & Careers
• Mental Health
• Spirituality
• Lifestyle

This site is for self-improvement articles only.

7) Goarticles.com

• Automatic article approval
• resource boxes can be customized to personalities or per individual article.

8 ) Articledashboard.com

• “When you sign up, you immediately begin earning 50% of the Adsense revenue that your articles generate.”

9) Amazines.com

• A profile is allowed, but no resource box.

10) Articleclick.com

• 400 words is the minimum sized article allowed
• I have some question whether the terms of agreement include the author retaining copyright over his or her work or not.

11) Ideamarketers.com

12) Isnare.com

• English only
• The site has a classifieds sections for a fee, but no press releases are allowed.
• “Articles MUST HAVE at least 500 words and at most 2000 words.”
• “Keep your KEYWORD DENSITY BELOW 7%.”

13) Articlebiz.com

• Resource boxes are unique to each article.
• There is no initial registration process, except of a sort for each article.

14) Articlecity.com

• Jurisdiction for legal affairs is the Republic of the Philippines
• Authors agree “Not intentionally or unintentionally [to] violate any applicable local, state, national or international law.”

15) Site-reference.com

• Video and audio publications, plus forum contributions, are available as well as article marketing.
• If an article is published first on Site-reference and for at least one week, extra publication bonuses apply or may apply.
• Ideal articles are between 700-1500 words.
• Articles submitted first to other sites may be categorized only as general, internet marketing, search engines, or web development.

Worthy of mention also is Yahoo! Answers. This is not an article marketing site, but it has potential for developing one’s reputation as a go-to person. So do niche forums. Lastly, see Scribd.com for longer documents, power point presentations, and more.

Peter Rubel

Seven Kinds of Articles or Posts

(1) How to: Within a given cluster of keywords or market niche, people often want to know how to solve their problems. Can you help them? Write a “how-to” style article. Include “How to” in the title.

(2) Numbered List: If the list is sequential or logical or relatively short, readers find this format easier to digest, especially those in a hurry or those searching for one point in a list. Numbered lists can easily be formatted for both in-depth and rapid reading.

(3) Story (including interviews): As warnings or encouragements, stories can be memorable, emotionally powerful, and easy to read. The story should answer “what’s in it for me” for the reader and have some resolution.

One source for finding people to interview is rtir.com.

(4) Controversial Opinion: Herein lies both opportunity and danger. If you want traffic, issues which by their nature are emotional and controversial will get it. The trick is to get the targeted traffic for your business. At the end of the controversy, you want to provide the solution to the reader’s anger, fear, desire, or whatever drew the person to read your two cents worth opinion.

In some formats like blogging, a controversial question can be asked to generate comments. When people engage their energies and emotions on your site, they become invested enough to give you an opportunity to be heard.

(5) Survey Results: People are curious to know where they stand among others and what to expect. If done right, the survey results address people’s felt need for reassurance or warn them of a danger or give them ideas how to change in ways that can help them.

Charts and Graphs can be easy for readers to understand.

(6) Product Comparison: These can add value for the previously interested reader. If you have a vested interest in at least one of the products, say so, best by adding a positive testimony of your results. Or you can warn potential buyers of your negative experience, and the reader will be grateful and trust you more.

(7) The Prediction or Trend: Trends can act like predictions. We are afraid of the future or are eager to capitalize on it. If the prediction seems trustworthy, people may act on it, giving you an opportunity to provide a solution to their felt need.

The viewer clicks on your article. In maybe five seconds, the first sentence is read and a bit more scanned.

If that test is passed, the viewer reads on. Some in a hurry may only read subheads. Others will read beginning and ending or soak up the whole.

Now what? A lot of the people that have made it this far will have some interest in knowing who the author is. Is the guy on the level? Can I trust him or her when it comes to what the article says?

This is your moment. Of course, if the article solved the reader’s problem entirely, the reader may exit. Why bother going further? If the article was dull, disorganized, or irrelevant to the reader, he or she is going to exit before finishing. Why would some readers click on your link? Why would they go to your website or blog?

Well, for one thing, if your article gives an hors d’œuvre, the link can be to the first course of the meal. Serial shows each end with cliff hangers. If your article ends with a hook, the author information can be the fishing line. Deliver some of the goods in the article and promise more in the resource box or author information area.

For those who feel some reason to invest their energies reading your stuff, most will feel curious, angry, sad, humorous, awed, adventurous, afraid, and so on. Viewers having an emotional reason to peruse your resource box or author biography will.

What is important is the continuity between the article body and the author information in both content and emotional appeal. If your link goes to a site irrelevant to the article, that’s okay, but you aren’t going to get many interested viewers. If your author information shifts to conflicting emotional appeals, you aren’t going to get many interested viewers.

If the emotional appeal of the author biography reinforces or adds to that of the body content, then you are going to get people to click through. In fact, the more emotional appeals, the stronger the reason(s) to click through.

One tactic is thus to begin the author information area with a call to action: “Next, go to …, ” “For further information on ‘X,’ go to … .” Subconsciously, people tend to follow directions, especially when they have at least a mild inclination in your favor. If you link to a blog post or website portion directly relevant to the issue at hand (rather than to the home page), so much the better.

So much the better for your article click through rate, which is what you want.

Peter Rubel

P.S. And do not include your email address in the author area unless you want spam.

There are a number of sites that host articles. Some sites specialize, others have many categories. Some require payment of the author. Some do not, or have different possible arrangements. Sometimes a blog or other site will re-publish your article.

Each site has its own rules and guidelines, but usually sales pitches are strictly forbidden in the body of the article. The article site managers do not want their sites developing such a reputation, and sales pitches are not what people look for on search engines. They want to serve the viewer by providing what the viewer wants.

Of course, very often a product or service is part of the answer to what people search for on the web. Most article marketing sites will allow authors to include a smaller section, separate from the article body, in which the author can make some sort of pitch about his or her expertise and services and include a link or two to the author’s or company’s website or blog.

Such sections may be called “resource box,” “author biography,” and so on, and are key to the author’s success.

Peter Rubel

Meanwhile, rising robotic click fraud is increasing demand for PPC solutions.

Granted, no marketing means or media is without its challenges (or benefits). But new websites for small businesses are likely to increase in number for the foreseeable future. For those that work their way to success, less expensive advertising methods are likely to become popular, especially at the beginning. Of these, the following effective methods especially come to mind.

First, Article Marketing

Some article sites do not adequately screen “contributors” who stuff their site with poor quality and plagiarized content. Others article marketing sites are more careful and maintain a better reputation.

The advantage for the start-up businesses that provide quality content for readers, of course, is links to the business’s website(s) and improved organic search rankings. Those providing useful content in the body of their article are usually allowed a small space at the end for business promotion.

Authors may contribute to some sites for free (e.g., ezinearticles.com). Others offer a service for a modest fee to distribute each article to multiple sites (e.g., www.articlemarketer.com).

More to follow …

Peter Rubel