Generating Traffic - Article Submission Tips
One of the most common ways people drive traffic to their website is by submitting articles to a variety of places and article directories on the internet.
A great way to start a relationship with a new client is to offer to submit their articles all over the web. Why? Well, first of all, it provides you, the VA, with information on what the client does and the group they are targeting. Sure you can read the details on their website, but by reading their articles and knowing enough about them so you judge where to post them, you learn even more about the people they work with, the kind of “problems” they solve in their work, a little about them as a person and their writing style.
When getting ready to submit articles on behalf of your client(s), it’s important to take some time to get the articles “ready”. Each website that you post an article to has specific guidelines. Some want the article in text only, while others want html. Some may ask for a word count, an article summary and a picture of the author. By having all these items ready before you get started, will save you time in the long run.
To get ready to submit your client’s articles, save the article in a variety of formats (plain text and html for example) and also have the various components (bio, title, summary) ready so that it’s just a matter of copying and pasting.
When you start posting the articles to various directories, keep track of where you have posted to and when. All you need is a simple spreadsheet that lists the article, website you posted to, any log in details and other specifics. For a sample spreadsheet to track the submission of articles, click here.
Another great tool to use is the “Google Alert”. You can sign up for a free Google Alert account at http://www.googlealert.com/signup.php. With Google Alert, you can input your client’s name, website url etc. and Google will send you an “alert” email each time this information is found in a new area on the web. This is great at tracking where articles are posted to and also any other places where your client may be linked to. I use it for almost all of my clients and also for my own marketing efforts - it’s great to see where items are posted! It provides you with proof that your hard work is making a difference!
Below is a list of what you may need. Click here for this checklist in pdf format.
For a list of websites that accept articles (note - read the guidelines on each website to ensure your article is appropriate), click here.
• Article Title
• Name of Author
• Author’s biography – a standard version
• Author’s biography – a shortened version
• Article Summary (under 50 words)
• Article Topic/Sub Topics (for example – law, real estate law etc.)
• Main Article (number of words in the article is helpful)
• Byline – many places will allow you up to 50 words (or less) to include at the end of the article – this can include a bit about the author, a link to their website and some kind of enticement to get people to click on the link to the author’s website
• Email address where people can contact the author (suggest to not use your standard every day email address as you may also receive a lot of junk mail)
• Author’s Picture (smaller size)
• Copyright details
• Statement for readers indicating whether they can use the article in their own ezine/website and if so, is permission required from the author OR is there information they must include with the article if they would like to use it. If they require information, be sure to include contact details to do so.
Remember, this is a traffic generating task and therefore it’s important to include your client’s website link and a reason for people to go to their website. Ultimately, you want people to sign up for your client’s “pink spoon” so it’s vital that this information is included.
