Article marketing has gotten a lot of press lately. Gurus have sold probably millions of dollars worth of ebook manuals on how to do it. Web script writers have made a bundle promoting software, both to create directories and to automate article submission.

Does it work?

That question would probably be answered differently by different people.

So what about me?

First off, I started article marketing about 6 months ago and have published about 20 articles in as many as 80 different directories. Some of those directories have RSS feeds that get my articles onto many more web sites. I have seen search engine directories showing as many as 15,000 results for one of my article titles.

I have had several web sites zoom to number one positions in several of the top search engines that everyone talks about. Now dont get me wrong--I did a few others things in my quest to gain a spot in the search engines. But I believe article marketing has done the bulk of the work for me.

So how do I do it?

First, I write about what I know. When I first started writing, I was promoting a christian time management website. So I wrote about time management and success--both topics about which I am fairly well versed. Now that I have learned a thing or two online, I write about what works for me online.

Will article marketing work for you? Maybe. Maybe not. But if you havent tried it, you must. It may be just what your business needs to get to the next level.

Suggestions:

1. Always construct an article title that is not in use so you can track the propagation of your article online. So before I submit an article, I type the article name, in quotes, into the major search engines. Unless the search comes up with no results, I choose another title. Once you have one that yields no results, you can track how many sites are hosting your article. Once you submit the article, simply wait a few days and type the name of the article into the search engines. Do this every few days. You will be surprised at the results, if you are submitting to at least 10 or 15 different directories.

2. Write about something you are skilled at and have an active vocabulary in. If you do not have more information on the topic than the average reader, you are probably out of your topic comfort zone. Simply choose another topic.

3. Write comfortably. This isnt rocket science. Write so that it is easy to read. The internet reader is click happy today. If your article is tough to navigate, they will simply click away.

4. Write short articles---500-750 words each. You are not writing a book.

5. Always include a link to your site at the end of the article. This is critical for building backlinks to your site.

Now get writing!