Article Marketing:  How To Choose An Article Submission Service

The majority of people I speak to about article marketing admit that it is actually the submission part of the process at which they get stuck.

It is time consuming and tedious to submit articles by hand or even with the help of software.  Not everyone can handle such a thankless task, so I recommend you consider hiring a service to handle submissions for you.

There are many companies offering article submission services, so how do you decide who to hire?

Do some due diligence and ask about the service in forums about article marketing, ask an article marketing expert for his/her recommendation, and insist on getting references from any company that you are considering.

It is critical that you ask the important questions before committing to a submission service.  The list below includes the basic questions you should ask before seriously considering a service.

1. Will they be using software or submitting by hand?
2. Do they offer complimentary proofreading or editing services?
3. Do they offer keyword research to optimize the title, body and byline of your article?
4. How long have they been in the article submission business?
5. How many sites do they submit to:  newsgroups, directories, forums, blogs and individual sites?
6. Do they screen and submit to reputable article directories rather than blast your article to hundreds of worthless sites?
7. Do they open accounts at article directories and other sites when required?
8. Do they handle e-mail confirmations received from sites where they have opened an account for you?
9. How do they handle questions from publishers after your article has been submitted?
10. Do they have relationships with publishers?
11. Do they notify Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and other social media sites that your article has been published?
12. Do they bookmark your published article in social bookmarking sites? 
13. How much does their service cost and what kind of payments do they accept (credit cards, PayPal, checks)?
14. Can they provide references and titles of articles that they have submitted so you can check the results in search engines?
15. Do they offer a multiple article discount?
16. Are they willing to sign a contract?
17. How much time will the process take?
18. What do they need from you to get started?
19. What kind of report do they provide when the submission is completed?

Pay considerable attention to the reputation of article submission services.  Google their names and follow links to see what other people think about them, call their references, and make sure that they do not spam submission sites with unsolicited submissions or off-topic topics.

There is no shame in hiring a submission service to handle the tedious task of submitting.  Just be careful when you choose a service and keep in mind that a quality service will cost more but you do get what you pay for.

(c) 2011, Davis Virtual Assistance. Reprints welcomed so long as the article and byline are kept intact and all links are made live.

Bonnie Jo Davis is a Virtual Assistant and an article marketing expert who uses the technique daily for herself and her clients. She shares her up-to-date article submission sites list at http://www.articlesubmissionsites.com