The web is built on one factor: content. Providing content to content-hungry webmasters and publishers all over the Internet is a virtual goldmine. Savvy online business owners like you are getting real and lasting results from article marketing, including free publicity, more traffic, increased sales, and of course tons of links from the major search engines like Google and Yahoo. And because it is simple, effective, and economically feasible, many Internet marketers are now turning to article marketing as one of their marketing secret weapons. But like any other Internet marketing strategies, the process of article submission is not as straight-forward as it seems. It may sound simple enough to the layman, but then it also has some loopholes which, if you are not careful, will pull you down into the cesspool of failure for your article marketing campaign. These loopholes are actually common mistakes made by people who take things for granted. And because of this, they commit the 6 common deadly sins of article marketing which I have outlined below. 1. The use of automated article submission software programs. I am sure that you would have heard of many article distribution software programs promising a solution to the rather tedious and time consuming task of having to submit your articles to many directories. It all sounds so good that even yours truly jumped on the bandwagon without much hesitation. But here is the painful truth: there is absolutely no particular article submission software that is built to last. You may be surprised, but the fact is that most of these programs do not serve their purpose well. The main reason is because many article directories realize that these software programs are potential hazards for abuse which may be damaging to both their image and businesses, and so they will change their systems to dissuade the use of such programs. The best solution is still to use manual submission for your article marketing campaigns. If you feel that you are too lazy to do it (Like me), you can always pay a freelancer to do the job for you. Another practical alternative is to subscribe to manual distribution services that are widely available everywhere in the market today. 2. Peppering your article with all kinds of affiliate links One of the requirements for most article directories is that you should not include any affiliate links anywhere within your article. Now, why are they so particular about this? The reason is because if they don't keep the links in check, then the directories will soon turn into one messed-up advertising site. So if you inexplicably add an affiliate link in your article, then it will be rejected without any prior notice. However, if you must use an affiliate link, then what you can do is to host that link in your own website, and then include the URL of your site in the resource box at the end of your article. 3. Submitting your article to the same directory more than once Most of the article directories will despise you if you submit an article to the same directory more than once. If you are really caught doing that, then the directory will 'finish' you off by banning your account, and let you go on your own merry way. 4. Submitting the same article to many directories This is a favorite practice among many Internet marketers, but it is not the right way. Here is why: the search engines will notice the sudden and unnatural increase in your number of back links due to the fact that you submit to so many directories at once, and the spiders will categorize the same as dubious. Once you got found out, your back links may not even count as valid. In order to avoid such a situation, you need to adopt a safer approach, and submit your articles at a slower pace. It is important to take note that most of your back links will come from publishers and webmasters who pick up your article and publish it online, so just take things slow and steady. 5. Submitting the contents in your website as articles to directories Do you find anything wrong with the above statement? Yes, I know that it sounds innocent enough, but it is actually not fundamentally correct. Wait, please hear me out before you start calling me names. You see, the search engines can consider your content as a duplicate, and may even de-index such a page. The idea is that you would want nothing but unique content for your own website. And the word unique means that the content needs to provide something that people are looking for which they cannot find anywhere else. 5. Submitting un-edited Private Label articles Have you signed up for any private label packages? If you have, then I am sure that you are very tempted to just submit the articles as they are without any editing, because it would take some time for you to come up with a completely different version from the originals. This can be a fatal mistake. Article directories simply do not like un-edited private label articles, as it puts the integrity of their services on the chopping board. Furthermore, it will promote spamming if they don't stop the submission of duplicate articles.