Article marketing is all the rage. The word is spreading that writing and submitting articles is one of the best ways to get long term traffic to your website. That's nothing new. But, if you're new to article marketing, you may already be discouraged by the amount of time it takes to actually go through and submit your articles.

Here are some options to automate and outsource your article submissions.

Outsource the Work:
Hire a Virtual Assistant to submit your articles for you. Many VA's are quite knowledgeable in article submitting and have tools and resources to do it efficiently. Plus, if you're working on money-making projects while your VA is submitting articles, you'll likely end up ahead.

Set up an Autoresponder
If you've developed a following of people who enjoy your articles, or you would like to, offer your articles via autoresponder. That way, you can easily email your list with any new articles for reprint and it only takes a minute.

Make your Newsletters Viral
If you have your articles in your newsletters, you can easily add a blurb at the end of your article that says “You may use this article freely with this author bio intact.” This simple addition will allow your mailing list to promote your articles.

Online Article Submission Service:
There are several online services that you can pay to automatically submit your articles to publishers and directories in seconds. These services offer options where you can pay by the article or by the month. There is a huge range in prices, varying from $1 per article to over $100 per article, so shop around.

Article Submission Software:
If you'd prefer to submit and manage all your articles on your own computer, there are a few pieces of software that you can purchase to assist you in speeding up your article submissions. These software options range in price and quality as well, so definitely research your options before committing to a large investment.

A Combination of the Options Above:
If you have an Assistant who you know and trust, you can purchase article submission software for that person to use. You'll save money in the long run by automating your Assistant's workload and shortening their hours submitting your articles.

Or you can purchase credits or a monthly membership at one of the online article submission services and pay your Assistant to submit your articles through the service.

Your time is valuable. Article submitting is one job that can easily be outsourced or automated, saving you much time and effort in the long run.