A Virtual Assistant Guide To More Revenue With Article Submission

Every Virtual Assistant should offer an article submission service to their clients.  Why?  Because you can create additional revenue with an article submission service.   If you are holding back because you don't understand the mechanics of article submission, just follow the simple steps below.

1. Decide what to include in your article submission package and add this information along with your prices, policies and turnaround time to your web site.  At a minimum you should include:

• Proofreading and editing, with major corrections sent to the client for approval.  Require the body of the article to be at least 500 words and make sure that this part of the article contains no URLs.
• Reviewing and making suggestions for titles and by-lines.
• Formatting the article as per publisher guidelines.  Most publishers want articles formatted in text format using line wrap, but some will require an Adobe Acrobat (PDF) document or a document with lines wrapped to a certain line length.
• Keyword research using a keyword tool.
• Submitting each article to the topic appropriate sites on the list you create for each client.  Aim to submit to no more than 50 to 60 sites; include article announcement lists, article directories, forums, blogs, and topic specific sites.
• Creating accounts at sites that require registration.
• Tracking of site logins and passwords where required.
• Confirming accounts and setting up author profiles, including biography and digital photograph (if allowed).
• Providing a report at the end of the process that includes the names of the submission sites and the logins and passwords used.

2. Collect the information you will need.

• You will need an e-mail address for each client.  This can be an account at your domain, an account created by your client, or a free Yahoo account created by you or your client.  This account should be forwarded to your main e-mail address so you can confirm site registrations.
• Compile the information about the article on a sheet of paper. Include:  title, author name, address, phone number, e-mail, website URL, topic, two-line summary of the article, word count, document file names, and 10-15 keywords. Use the free Google keyword tool to find the best keywords.
• A biography and a digital photograph of the author.

3. Start the article submission process.

• Begin by submitting to sites that accept articles by e-mail.  Never send an attachment unless asked.  Incorporate the entire article into the e-mail and include an option for the recipient to opt-out of your list.  Offer a digital picture of your client.
• Sign-up for all the submission sites that require registration.  You must wait for a confirmation e-mail before submitting. 
• Submit to all sites not requiring registration that offer a submission form.
• Check the e-mail address you used for registration, confirm new accounts, and visit those sites to add the article.  Keep track of logins and passwords for each site.
• Create a report with the names and URLs of the sites you used for submission along with their logins and passwords.  Store this report on your computer.  Send this report to your client, and you are finished!

You can see that just by following these three easy steps, you will find yourself well on the way to greater client satisfaction – and additional revenue!

©2011, Davis Virtual Assistance.  Reprints welcomed so long as the article is reprinted intact with all links 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