It’s funny sometimes how things happen in bunches.
I haven’t thought about “article directories” for months. Then Mac’s comment on this blog a couple of days ago led me to her site and its piece about Associated Content, one of the most popular article repositories. And then this morning, Bits du Jour announced a one-day discount sale of the software Article Submitter, which sends your newly written article off to as many as 700 different article directories.
Some of you may not know just what these directories are. Among the many new phenomenon on the internet, an article directory collects articles on all kinds of topics, sorts them into categories and makes them available for anyone to read. Because of the volume of articles and links, these articles are often picked up by the search engines such as Google, which in turn direct readers back to the article directory.
Writers of the article are usually not paid directly for their submissions. They do, on the other hand, often participate in sales revenue from the many targetted links that readers encounter. One can, if one submits enough articles to enough directories, actually derive a notable income from this work. Other writers submit articles just to get links back to their own blog or website published, hoping for increased traffic.
Article Submitter takes the work out of submission. It sounds like a very useful software to people active in this arena. At a discounted price of $24.91, it may be a worthwhile purchase.
I must admit that I do not really know this area very well, and I’m posting this only because of the one-day discount offer. Hopefully, other readers of this blog will chime in with comments to help us understand this area of writing more fully.
To obtain the discount, go to Bits du Jour. For more information about Article Submitter, go to the developer’s website. Even if you decide not to buy, you’ll learn a lot at this website. Be sure to scroll down to the bottom of the page and click on the DEMO link, which will teach you a lot about the software and the whole arena of article directories.
Sorry, comments are closed.
Comment by
Jeanne Dininni
30 Nov 2007
Tom,
Though I have quite a bit of work posted to Associated Content (AC), I haven’t really taken advantage of the article sites, yet. Wasn’t aware that you could earn revenue through the mainstream article directories–though I do know that one website (GZYN) offers writers 90% of Google Adsense revenue. The only trouble is that, after posting two articles there, I’ve discovered that there ISN’T any Adsense revenue–at least not for me! It doesn’t seem to be a very well-trafficked site, and its article input software is rather tiresome to use–particularly when inputting work from MS-Word.
In one sense, AC is worth it though these days they pay little, if anything, for your work: If you think of them as an article directory or depository, rather than an actual market for your work, then whatever upfront payment they may give you will be icing on the cake, since it will be better than the article directories, where you generally post articles for free.
Also, their new performance bonus payments do tend to help make up for any low or lack of upfront payment for articles posted to their site, and the payments also rival Adsense revenue in more ways than one: For one thing, you don’t have to wait till you’ve amassed $100 to collect; you’re paid about every two weeks, via PayPal, even when it’s small change. (I’ve been earning something over $2 every two weeks for my work, which isn’t much–but every little bit helps! Compare this to Helium, where it’s been 11 months and I still haven’t collected my first $25.)
Nevertheless, article directories are a great way to get exposure for your work, as well as links and search traffic back to your site; so I’ve no doubt that the software you mention could prove very valuable! When I have more time, I’ll definitely have to consider posting some of my work to these sites.
Thanks for an excellent post!
Jeanne
Comment by
Tom Colvin
30 Nov 2007
Jeanne, that’s very helpful. I do not understand the payment policies of the article directories at all. Maybe I should get this software and give this avenue a spin.
On another site, a college student was bragging about making hundreds of dollars a month from these article directories, but he was also submitting hundreds of articles — a claim not independently verified.
What I’ve read about in the past on these directories focusses on their utility is bringing new traffic to one’s website or blog, and even the Article Submitter website supports this notion. Curiously, a few minutes ago I took a first look at the software and could not find where I should enter my blog address. It must be there somewhere, so I’ll have to play around with it some more tonight, before I decide whether to buy it or not.
Comment by
Tom Colvin
30 Nov 2007
Speaking of Associated Content, I just came across an article posted there titled “Top Ten Gift Ideas for Dedicated Writers.” It’s a year old now, but still an interesting read. AND one can get a sense of what that article directory is like. It’s interesting to see just how clearly the site calls for new submissions.
Comment by
Jeanne Dininni
30 Nov 2007
Tom,
The article you speak of sounds highly appropriate this time of year–even if it IS a year old!
While, technically speaking, Associated Content isn’t really an article directory, it certainly does tend to serve that purpose to a great extent–at least for the article writer. The only difference I can see (other than the fact that they sometimes pay upfront for your work) is that readers aren’t free to download and use articles from AC, as they can–with proper attribution–from the free article directories.
AC IS pretty upfront in their calls for content. I guess that’s because they’re making a tidy profit from all the work posted to their site!
Strange that you weren’t able to find the place to input your blog URL in the Article Submitter software. That’s definitely something you’d want to be able to do!
Take care!
Jeanne
Comment by
Tom Colvin
30 Nov 2007
Thanks for drawing the distinction between Associated Content and the article directories — subtle, but important differences indeed.
Comment by
Tom Colvin
30 Nov 2007
In my routine scouting over 100 RSS feeds via Google Reader, I ran into this recently published article at Associated Content that directly addresses the question of making money at Associated Content:
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/454848/how_to_stay_busy_as_a_freelance_writer.html
Comment by
Jeanne Dininni
30 Nov 2007
That AC article made some good points–though I rarely do freewriting, myself. I’m just not that sort of writer. Too analytical, I guess. Many writers do, though, and I’m sure it can be very helpful. It probably wouldn’t hurt me to do it a little more often, either, as a right-brain exercise, since I’m left-brain dominant.
Thanks for the AC link!
Jeanne
Comment by
Tom Colvin
10 Dec 2007
I’m having some serious second thoughts about the Article Directories strategy.
Today’s email brought notice of another software offered by the same company that sells Article Submitter. This software is called Article Spinner, and it takes an article and authomatically changes words with synomyn and scrambles sentences and paragraphs — and spins out numerous versions of the same article so that search engines would catch it as spam. YIKES!
Comment by
SuccessArticleInfo
9 Feb 2009
Article submission to article directories can be done with much greater ease and efficiency with an article submission software.
Another alternative is to actually outsource the work to freelance workers. However, you probably still need to check their work based on their “report” on the submissions to article directories.
At the end of the day, you may want to try both methods to see which one works better for you.