One of the best, easiest and FREE methods to advertise and/or promote your website is through Article Marketing. This has re-purposed the art of writing. Folks who never thought they would ever write anything serious are finding themselves turning to their keyboards and pounding away at it to create literal works of advertising art. And the place to post them (after posting to your own site first, of course) is the good, old Article Directory.

To Market, To Market

Have you ever tried writing articles for directory sites?

Creating articles is a rewarding way to let people know about you, and by piquing their interest with information they are looking for, you give them the opportunity to click over to your site. But that information has to be good. It must be informative and educational.

By hooking them on what you write for them, they will be inclined to take interest and click the link that you will provide in your author's resource box. That link will lead your potential clients to your web site. Then (and only then) is the time you have to aim for the sale.

Basic Directory Guide

This has become such a lucrative method for website promotion that article directories have sprung up like weeds. Each one has certain guidelines, some basic and some particular to the specific type of directory. But here are some of the basic guidelines that can help you prepare and start on your articles.

1. DO NOT SPAM

As you may or may not know, I am the owner of an article directory, and spam is a huge problem in this industry. I've seen more articles that were nothing but attempts to sell products (usually male enhancement drugs) right from the article! No information, no edifying content, just spam. They are deleted without a second thought, so don't waste your time. Or mine, please.

2. Write Quality Content

Why is it important to write good content? You need to get the reader's attention. And the only way to do that is by giving them what they want, what they are already looking for. You must give them useful information that they would definitely like to know. Posting good content to article directories serves a two-fold purpose. You educate your readers and you gain status as an expert, and both, just that easily.

3. Word count

Most article directories have limitations set for every aspect of your article--the summary, the body and the author's resource box. The body section (the main content area) of your article should be somewhere between 300 and 700 words. The summary and resource box will be much less. I can't stress strongly enough that you need to pay close attention to these limits. It is not the directory's editorial staff's job to fix your mistakes, and if your missive runs too long, you risk either having the article rejected or you risk looking like a non-professional, should the editors decided to go ahead and allow your mistakes. Usually they don't, but you never know. Don't waste your time. Or theirs, please.

4. Links

With RARE exception, the ONLY place you can place links in your article is in the author's resource box, generally at the bottom of the article. You will be summarily rejected on those directory sites that expressly forbid links anywhere else. Don't waste your time.

5. Relevancy

Choose the right article directories to which you will submit your work. Some directories are topic-specific, so don't post an article about air conditioning to a poetry directory. You'll be rejected. What am I going to say next? Don't waste--what? That's right.

6. READ THE SUBMISSION GUIDELINES

Your time is valuable. The more time you spend writing work that will be rejected, the more money you will waste. That's just wrong! Do yourself a favour and READ each directory's submission guidelines. Follow the guidelines and you'll be happier because your efforts will be rewarded. Trust me on this!