Article directories have certain requirements that articles must meet in order to be published on the site. While the rules may vary from site to site, following these tips will help ensure your articles are published without delay.
1) Text should wrap at roughly 60-65 characters. If you don’t know how to wrap text, you can use our text formatting script here.
2) Do not use carriage returns to break long sentences. Again make the text wrap using the formatting script above.
3) Leave plenty of white space for easy reading. Short paragraphs are easier to read.
4) Do not paste from Microsoft Word. Word contains hidden formatting that may cause your content to be rejected, or at the very least, look weird. Once you’ve written your article, transfer it to Notepad or WordPad to strip the code and then copy it from there.
5) Article titles are usually limited to 150 characters and cannot be ALL CAPS.
6) Ideal article length is between 400 and 600 words. If they’re longer, consider breaking it into a two-part article.
7) Create several versions of your bio, or author resource to ensure you have the proper formatting and length. You might want to create a short bio, perhaps 3 lines of text and then a longer version with 50-100 words. Taking these, you can then create one with HTML and one without. Also keep in mind that some sites only allow two links in their bio where others may allow 4 or 5. Having multiple versions should ensure you meet the necessary requirements.
8) Many sites do not allow links in the article body so save links for your resource box. Occasionally you can recommend a site/product and include a link but it must go to a good resource and not be self-promoting.
7) When typing hyperlinks be sure to include the entire URL (http://…) to ensure the link is activated. You can also create an anchor link using HTML like this <a href=”http://www.YOURSITE.com”>The Words You Want Linked </a>
8) Articles should be informative NOT self-serving. If your article sounds too much like an advertisement it will be rejected. Please save your promotions for your resource box.
9) Many sites require an article summary. Avoid copying the first paragraph of the article. Instead, try to make the summary compelling as this will help draw in readers.
10) If someone else will be submitting your article for you, keep in mind that making changes during the submission process is time consuming. Take your time and ensure all changes have been competed before you start the submission process.
Article marketing is one of the easiest ways to drive traffic to your website and blog. Keeping these tips in mind while writing your articles will help ensure that your hard work pays off.