To all writers and non-writers out there, now is the time to start digging up those creative writing skills again. With modern communication technology comes the popularity of information based marketing. This is one of the oldest and most effective techniques in getting targeted prospects to your sites and converting them into buyers. This is why article writing, submission and publication are as popular as they've ever been.



There are already many tools that people can use to make the process of distributing their articles more efficient. Although this is invaluable in getting the contents more exposure, it is only half the story.

Let us first take a look at the most common mistakes that people make before they submit their articles to article directories:

1. Confusing the reason to promote the articles with the reason to write them.

When writing an article, you should be trying to achieve three things; branding, lead generation and promotion. All three are part of your optimization efforts. But there is only one reason why you write an article, and that is to inform your audience of your product or point of view. If the article is not focused on these primary and important facts, they will fail to achieve the promotion benefits because no one will be interested in reading them. You need to figure out first how to get people to read what is in your article, then make them click on your resource box. You can achieve this by producing good quality content with an eye catching title, combined with a resource box that encourages the reader to click your link.

2. Failing to maximize the promotional opportunities of article marketing.

You may know already that your articles can help you generate additional links back to your site. But do you know that you can get more visitors and better search engine results from that same articles? Mention keywords at strategic places. Just be sure not to overdo them. Some are even using anchor text which is also an effective method. But it is important to know that majority of the directories are not able to support this.

Remember that it is not only about generating links back to your site. If you write good quality articles, they may get picked up by ezine publishers with a large reader base. This will enable you to get your message in front of thousands of extra prospective customers. By using strategically placed keywords, your search engine results will also increase.

But these things may still not put much money in your pocket. There are other factors that can turn your article marketing efforts into an opportunity that can boost your earnings, not just increase the number of visitors to your site. Start out with a plan and see to it that your article will serve the function that you intended it to have.

3. Publishing content that does not help your readers.

Maybe in the process of writing articles, you are thinking that all that is required is back links to your site. Increased traffic to your site is also a bonus, but guess what? Not all article banks and directories are going to accept your articles automatically. Very often they have guidelines and specifications on the articles that they are accepting.

You can double the number of sites you can submit to by writing articles that the directories want to share with other people. All it takes is one publisher with a hundred thousand readers to increase your potential audience overnight. Write the articles that publishers want in their publications. This also means you have to obey the standard guidelines, use a spell checker, research your topic and maybe even hire a writer to produce a good quality article for you.

At the end of the day, it is really a matter of choice on your part. You can start getting a little exposure from increased back links back but on a very basic level. Or with a little effort generate a quality article and enjoy massive exposure.

It will be your choice. Please be aware of the fact that a sub standard article submitted to directories will not have the same level of exposure as a highly-targeted article geared towards niche group of people.

Learn the difference between these two facts and it will surely help you when you decide on your article topic to write and to submit.