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Article DirectoriesFor Personal Development ProfessionalsI'm not quite sure exactly when Article Directories came into such a strong presence on the Internet. These web sites are perfect for you as a Personal Development Professional to share your expertise on the Internet. Your "pay" is the exposure of your writing and your name, with a hyperlink to your web site. The best free publicity on the Internet! Submitting articles to Directories can be an effective part of your marketing and publishing plan. You'll want to keep updated on the strategies you choose, because what works at one site might not work at another; what worked last year might not work this year. This is an ideal activity to outsource to someone else. You can use this as a primer to become familiar with the process before you outsource it or guide others to support you in the most effective and efficient ways. Information at this web site can assist you in finding your own style and preferred strategies. As a Personal Development Professional, you know you must find your unique niche and voice. The same is true with your writing. Below, I've described a few of the Article Directories that I recommend. Depending on your particular niche, you'll be able to find many, many more directories available to you. In addition, there are web sites that might be interested in publishing your articles, even though they don't consider themselves Article Directories. To get a sense of the articles that are posted at Article Directories, visit a few of them. Sign up for email alerts by article category at EzineArticles.com to get an idea of the articles that are being written on a daily basis in your own or related niches. After your research, write your article or re-write your article. Be certain that you read about the elements needed for an article submission, which will save you some time in preparing your article. Much of the advice you'll see on the Internet about article marketing or submitting to Article Directories is geared to those who are marketing products. And perhaps more often, other people's products. So there's a lot of emphasis on selling rather than providing content or educating. As a Personal Development Professional, you'll want to moderate that approach to be congruent with your ethics. Most professionals provide valuable information in the article and use the resource box for contact and/or product information. You can begin to build your relationship with a prospective client without your knowing this person by following this very important strategy: give value and clients will come to you. In addition to attracting clients, you can also attract other writing projects, joint ventures, and other associations. Recommended Article DirectoriesAs with anything, you can submit to Article Directories in a small way or a big way. It depends what you want to accomplish. Keep in mind that the web sites, ezines, and Article Directories that are interested in one of your articles will likely be interested in more than one. The ideal is that you submit regularly so that those who want to re-publish your articles will have a steady stream. Find your rhythm. Some Directories will resonate with you and might have so many appropriate categories you hardly know which one to choose; other directories won't have even one category that remotely fits. The obvious path: submit to the former; forget the latter. Not all Directories are created alike; not all professionals are created alike. EzineArticles.comStart here. I consider EzineArticles.com is the quintessential Article Directory. It has a very large base of articles, with a large readership and excellent management. Even without my knowing precisely your niche, I'm sure you'll find at least one category for your articles. As you might expect by its name, these articles are source content for many newsletter and ezine publishers. In addition, many web owners use them to add content to their web sites.Publishers of print materials also visit EzineArticles.com. It's proper protocol for a print publisher to contact you before reprinting your article. On the Internet, it's understood that the articles may be re-published as long as the resource box remains with it. While you may occasionally hear from an Internet publisher, the norm is that they don't ask for permission nor report the re-publication. In other words, permission is implied by your submitting your article to EzineArticles.com. (I understand that it's in the works to change that policy at some Article Directories.) EzineArticles.com leads the way. Their Terms of Service (TOS) and the editorial guidelines are must reading. You'll catch the spirit of what article writing on the Internet is all about. EzineArticles.com does have its supply of junk articles, but editors read the articles and require certain changes be made before publishing. Likely, once they know an author through previous articles, they skim. I have over 70 articles here and am considered an Expert Author, a designation which is given after 10 articles or so. EzineArticles.com has thousands of authors. Additional Directories I recommend:PositiveArticles.com Search GoogleYou can also search Google for articles and your niche; and also Article Directories and your niche. For example, you might search for "Strategic Planning Articles" with and without the quotation marks. Of course, use your niche, rather than "Strategic Planning." Here are other sample combinations that can yield resources for article submission. natural living article submit This might surface some very targeted sites that accept articles in your niche or only in your niche. This can be very time consuming, so you'll want to be very clear about your intention, and pace yourself. Or outsource it. Mainly, it's important to have a plan. Also, I suggest you learn enough so you can hire it out or get the right automated or semi-automated process for you, because you can leak a lot of time and energy. And, of course, be certain that you have all the proper elements of your article so that the submission process goes smoothly.
Information about Article Directories to help you Submit to the Right Sites See Additional Writers Resources for Personal Development Professionals |
