1. Proofread your work. Check for spelling and grammatical errors. Then, proofread it again. Don't just rely on Microsoft Word to indicate an error with a red line. The can be spelled correctly and still be wrong.

2. Read and adhere to the submission guidelines. All sites are different and have different rules. If you violate my guidelines, I will decline your article and eventually disable your account.

3. Check your HTML code. Usually the code is in the author's resource box. Close tags that you open or you totally mess up the appearance of my site.

4. Don't use all CAPS in the title. Capitalize each word, but don't go crazy with capital letters.

5. Use bold to enhance, not dominate. Bold should be to highlight specific items or terms, not entire paragraphs.

6. Check the formatting. I get articles that look like one long, 3-page sentence and others that skip every other line. Do your formatting in Notepad ? not Microsoft Word.

7. Read your email and see why your article was declined. Don't keep submitting the same mistakes over and over again.

8. Don't put 89 links in the article. Most article directories allow 1 or 2 links (some 3) in the resource box. Some allow a link or 2 in the article (I don't). Again, read the guidelines and don't go overboard.

9. Submit your own work. Original articles will get the best results.

10. Link back to the article directory. This is a win-win for the directory owner and the article publisher. The directory will get ranked higher and your articles will get read more often.

I run about 10 article directories and decline about 50% of the articles for guideline violations. Of that, about 90% disregard, continue to ignore the submission guidelines and get their account deactivated.

I will then delete all of their articles whether they were in violation or not. This may sound cruel, but I do send out at least three warnings before I delete.

It isn't rocket science. For about 99.9% of the web's article directories, submit an original article, place one or two links back to your sites, and submit. Don't embed graphics, videos, or a bazillion links.