Ezine Articles Is banning Like Crazy, Are YOU Next?

[acrasial]

Hello Warriors,

* EDIT: As some are unclear as to the purpose or drive behind this thread, let me lay out what is actually intended here...

There is a war going on. It's one AGAINST us, and by "US", I mean internet marketers....

As for anyone who is sick of the "whining", "complaining" or anything else related to anything below, it's a choice to read and partake in this thread, as always. There are actually many discussions being covered here, as not everyone is affected in the same way.

On a personal level: I DO NOT believe that their change of rules about "CONTENT" are anything to freak out over, and I personally have NO problem with it. I love it, however in the following pages you can come to see really what the issue of concern was that I wished to address, simply the war on "Affiliate Marketers", which is the EXACT wording used by them.


It has come to many people's attention, the new rules of Ezine Article Submission...and of course by rules, I mean serious crack down on all kinds of things!

In fact, people are being banned all over the place, and as Chris Knight himself has stated:

"We’ve been firing an average of 2 Premium members every day now as not being a good match. In some cases, we’ve had to fire members who were Premium, got fired, bought again and then had to be banned from Premium membership. We’ve had members plead to pay any price for speed or to be unbanned. One guy yesterday offered us $36k to accept his articles on top of our Premium membership fee"

So then, they are banning people, and some people are LUCKY to receive bad reputation on their account. What this means, is that you will lose your "PLATINUM STATUS" should you already have it, and they will either choose to put you into "basic status" or simply "basic".

What this means, is that depending on what kind of content you were previously submitting... they may ask you to do the following:

After a recent quality review of your account, I noticed several areas of concern that I want to discuss with you.

Currently you have articles in problem status the need to be addressed. In addition to that, I am going to offer you suggestions on what we want to see from your account moving forward:

1) Increase your word count to 450-500 words without increasing filler words just to meet a word count goal. We will no longer accept your writing on the same content in each article. I would also like for you to go through your account and remove any articles that are redundant and do not share any new information.

2) Deliver real value in each article... Something unique, something substantial, include bullet point lists or numbered lists... It is not OK to use the same template and share the same information in multiple articles. Each article must stand alone and deliver uniqueness. We will no longer be allowing the "NICHE was listed...but I removed it" articles from you as they all deliver the same rehashed content.

3) Decrease your article volume as you're achieving quantity with very low quality. We love members who do high volume, but never at the expense of quality as it makes us both look bad. Once you get your quality of substantial content UP, you can resume to pursue your quantity goals.

Without reviewing your approved articles, my guess is that many of them will be rejected as being thin or not-substantial. I'd recommend editing them, combining them into 400-500+ word articles, and solidifying their substantiality so that they don't look like thin rehashed content.

Future submissions of articles that do not adhere to our editorial guidelines and contain the same rehashed content will result in the loss of your Premium Subscription. Your account has been downgraded to Basic + due to continued articles being placed in problem status. You now have 25 article submission with which to submit quality content that delivers value.

Any questions, please ask.

Now, as you can see from above, reading the "fine print" they not only ask you to remove what so ever you have created, written etc... but they also tell you they are going to refuse articles from your Niche, should you choose to write them.

They ask to increase the word count, and there has been lots of discussion about them NOT changing their rules in regards to this. They also say "NO FILLER" etc...

So let's say you play by the rules above for the new articles. I know people who at the very moment have submitted nearly 100 articles just to get back to the platinum status, but they have also stated that it will be extremely hard to get back into platinum status if THEY have taken it away from you.

This could mean that some people will literally have to write 200+ articles just to properly re-instate their account, and these articles should be more than 500 words, at least, I am guessing.

I know someone who right now has at least submitted 70+ articles each 500+ words, and still has not been re-instated. What they do now, is they simply say oh, back to basic, back to basic. 25 articles again.

They are getting so many complaints and freak out's as well, that the last time they mentioned their emails, they said they were behind on about 3000 of them, and were asking people to stop sending the same emails over and over.

I have seen so many people get banned within this time frame, and they are cracking down on niche's which are specifically heavily flooded with competition, so it seems, and conveniently, seem to be heavily flooded with garbage as well.


So are you banned by them yet?

[jazbo]

Sounds like article marketeers might need to start looking at other venues?

[Hamida Harland]

I'm not banned, but I would imagine as a marketer eventually they'll find something they don't like about my articles. Quite a few authors I'd been watching have suddenly 'disappeared' and many more are all of a sudden writing much longer articles, so it looks like they've fallen victim to the Ezinearticles slap.

I think they're really starting to shoot themselves in the foot with this, and to be honest I think I'll be taking my writing elsewhere. Although what I submit is good, I only submit my best work to my own sites and I have no intention of changing that now.

[Ghalt]

Originally Posted by jazbo

Sounds like article marketeers might need to start looking at other venues?

FIXED:

"Sounds like article marketers need to actually deliver value in their articles."



That's all EZA is really asking. Do that, and you'll be fine. If that's too hard, then IM will be a difficult road.

Dollars always chase value. Shortcuts last but so long. Create value and the dollars will follow.

/endofrant

[Lance K]

Originally Posted by jazbo

Sounds like article marketeers might need to start looking at other venues?

If someone isn't compliant with those points, I'd have serious issues with them calling themself an article marketer.

EZA has needed to be cleaned up for a while now. I for one am glad to see them doing something about it.

[Ralf Skirr]

Actually I think it's a good idea that they're looking for quality now. If you ever tried to research a topic using their articles, then you've seen how much completely useless content they have.

If they manage to control quality it will increase readership of real human readers on their site. And that's good news for all article marketers, isn't it?

[acrasial]

This is a great laugh...

EzineArticles.com Current Job/Career Listings

LOL check out this! The editor position at the top is $10 an hour. That is only $2 above minimum where I work. No wonder the editors are so LOVELY...

Duties include editing and approving article submissions while balancing high production and quality control. This position suits a task/goal driven person with solid computing abilities. Internet knowledge and HTML skills are an advantage.

That just makes things even better!

I wonder how many writers are out of a job now?

[pheonix44]

Overall I think it's a good thing, but I do believe if they keep changing their rules people will simply replace them with someone else. EZA is good, but they have to remember they are not the only game in town. All people have to do is vote with their feet or with their articles by taking them some place else.

[avenuegirl]

Well thanks. You just made me feel better about not getting a platinum account out of the gate and getting approved for the basic plus. And I'm early enough in the game with them to insure I mix things up a bit.

[whateverpedia]

Originally Posted by Ralf Skirr

Actually I think it's a good idea that they're looking for quality now. If you ever tried to research a topic using their articles, then you've seen how much completely useless content they have.

If they manage to control quality it will increase readership of real human readers on their site. And that's good news for all article marketers, isn't it?

Couldn't have put it better myself. Way too many "writers" aiming for quantity with no regards at all to quality. No thought at all given to the reader's, just throw some words together and get a backlink(s).

If I was Mr Knight I would've done it from the start. Unfortunately "writers" seem to think his site is a perfect dumping ground for sparticles (spam articles).

Bravo.

[JB]

From the 'outside looking in' it all seems pretty fair to me. I went hunting for articles there before to add to a library for my users and I have to say I was very disappointed with the quality of articles. I read through about 150 in my particular niche and only found 1 that was of any use.
The problem from a users perspective is that almost all of the articles are obviously written by people who are just rehashing watered down information which is pretty useless. It's also abundantly clear that the vast majority of the writers are writing about subjects that they know very little about and are not experts in. As a reader/user when I go looking for an article I want information that I don't already know. Something written by a person who is an expert in that particular niche or field. It's so obvious when you read the difference between an expert and a 'rehasher'.
I know IM'ers are very passionate about what they do but when it comes to article writing I do think that most suffer from the wrong approach and are not looking at it from outside of the IM'ers point of view. Take a look at that site with a fresh set of eyes and ask yourself this, who the hell would actually want any of these articles? Do they tell you anything you didn't already know? I think the site is doing the right thing in terms of providing a repository of useful information - unfortunately though, it is likely to hurt a lot of IM'ers along the way. End result - a better resource.

[Danny Cutts]

I think it will definiatly clean things up and also I think that maybe articles will get accepted quicker if the crap stops....maybe?

I get quite good click throughs and rarely get an article rejected so I hope I am safe but if not there are plenty of other directories out there we can use!

Danny

[Marhelper]

Just produce quality articles that provide value to the reader and you should be fine.

[Black Hat Cat]

Originally Posted by Ghalt

FIXED:

"Sounds like article marketers need to actually deliver value in their articles."



That's all EZA is really asking. Do that, and you'll be fine. If that's too hard, then IM will be a difficult road.

No fixing required.....it was right the first time. The only reason it's hard is because EA is so inconsistent. How is anyone supposed to give EA what they want when they can't seem to make up their mind?

For many reasons, I suspect that those in charge of EA are a few fries short of a Happy Meal. And if they truly declined a payment of $36,000 PLUS the monthly fee from someone wanting to post there, there's not really much doubt left, IMHO.

Marketers are screaming for a viable alternative to EA. Opportunity is knocking here, folks....is anyone going to answer the door?

[Kay King]

I think it's great!

Recently I've noticed a load of articles not long enough to say anything of substance and articles so poorly written they were almost unreadable.

Another thread here today is complaining about having short articles refused and complaints are that the article was "over 250 words" - to me that's someone who is counting words, not writing articles.

If you are doing research and writing good, high quality articles of a length that provides real information to the reader, you won't have a problem with EZA.

If your method of article marketing is to throw up as many quick, short blurbs as you can, you will have a problem now.

I think it's a good step forward for EZA to protect the quality of the site and its content.

If you are one of those "authors" writing lines such as "Many people want to diet and lose weight because they doesn't like to be fat and if they don't eats so much food they will not be so fat..." maybe EZA is not the problem.

kay

EDIT: 'Premium" and "Platinum" are being used interchangeably in this thread and are not the same. Premium members are paid members - Platinum is earned with quality articles and you do not need to be a paying member to be a Platinum author.

[Mark Hess]

Before everyone starts jumping off bridges, there is a place where you can write whatever you want, don't have to wait for approval, and can have an unlimited amount of affiliate links.

It's your blog!... start using it

[StevenSaliba]

I am starting to do article marketing. What is a good article length to have? I think that by having a shorter article, you can get more clicks to your signature file. I don't think that people read all of the articles that they see. The thing is, if I write articles that are over 500 words, I can submit them to other article directories which will get me more traffic. I think I answered my own question.

[Learnanew]

And this is why we don't put all our eggs in one basket.

[StevenSaliba]

Originally Posted by MarkH45

Before everyone starts jumping off bridges, there is a place where you can write whatever you want, don't have to wait for approval, and can have an unlimited amount of affiliate links.

It's your blog!... start using it

That is a good idea Mark. I thought about it before. I am sure Google counts the backlink. My blog has a PR of 3 (Angela's backlinks) and Ezine Articles has a PR of 7 I think. I would still not get the same traffic though. Ezine Articles is in the top 250 Alexa rank. There are pros and cons to having content on your own blog.

[billaaa777]

Yes, they have certainly changed the rules in the middle of the game without letting the players know before the game stated. If you know the rules you can adapt, but if you don't know the rules, then you are like a fish out of water.

After submitting over 1,000 articles and having the approved instantly, the last 14 were all hit with problem issues. My CTR on my articles is over 42%, so that is some kind of indication that there readers like some of my content. But not anymore I guess.

I just checked my stats and my last article only had 35 views but it did have 23 clicks to my site, a 66%. But those articles are no longer good enough. OH, well, what can you do if they don't tell you the rules?

[Dennis-White]

Those rules sound pretty stranded to me...

[HeySal]

Looks like quality is coming back into fashion. Kewl. It's about time. I probably have a banned niche in the bunch because of all the crap crud so many in that niche have written so to have them do this doesn't hurt my feelings one iota. I knew that it had to blow sooner or later. Just the same as with ebooks - so much re-hash and crap out there that people just started not buying like they once did.

Online is no different than offline - give value, you get the big bucks - offer crap and you get to go look for a new business. I'm really amazed to see how many have a real problem with that -------what does that tell us?

[ccmusicman]

Folks, don't freak out about these changes...

Really, all you need to do is write just a FEW good articles in your niche, get it ranked in google and you're set.

The articles CAN be short (250 to 300) and still high quality. Just do some niche research, write a short, punchy article that contains one highly unique or powerful tip or technique, and then submit.

I've had no problems getting articles submitted and approved even with these new rules.

Finally, ezinearticles isn't the only shop in town...

Rob

[Nathan Segal]

Fortunately, they're not the only game in town. Even if you provide quality, it's easy to violate their TOS, which in my opinion, is way more stringent than writing for a mag where I get paid for my content.

[DonDavis]

I think it is rather obvious that EA is trying to avoid a Google slap of their own. The real trouble comes if Google decides that the content on the EA site is no longer suitable to be shown in their SERPS. Maybe Chris received a "courtesy call" from Big G?

[TheRichJerksNet]

Sorry just have to say it .. Ha! Ha! ...

James

[TheRichJerksNet]

Originally Posted by billaaa777

After submitting over 1,000 articles and having the approved instantly, the last 14 were all hit with problem issues. My CTR on my articles is over 42%, so that is some kind of indication that there readers like some of my content. But not anymore I guess.

I just checked my stats and my last article only had 35 views but it did have 23 clicks to my site, a 66%. But those articles are no longer good enough. OH, well, what can you do if they don't tell you the rules?

How many of those clicks are marketers or competition ?

James

[Heuristic]

I agree. Ezinearticle's business is still dependant on Google. One small tweak and they could be wiped out. Nothing lasts forever and the big "G" is as unpredictable as ever. Is it any wonder they want to appear as authoritative as possible? In the end, it all comes down to doing whatever it takes to stay in their good books.

Steve

Originally Posted by DonDavis

I think it is rather obvious that EA is trying to avoid a Google slap of their own. The real trouble comes if Google decides that the content on the EA site is no longer suitable to be shown in their SERPS. Maybe Chris received a "courtesy call" from Big G?

[ajbarnes777]

Originally Posted by TheRichJerksNet

Sorry just have to say it .. Ha! Ha! ...

James

lol! I was waiting for you to show up.

I totally understand that EZA wants to clean up their directory and start receiving more higher quality content, but my problem is their whole attitude about this situation here. The last time I checked, us article marketers are not their employees....so why do I feel like one?

Also, I don't mind adhering to rules and policies (given that they are fair and sensible), but how about a little heads up on these rules before the hammer is thrown down?

Well, all I can say is that I've learned my lesson about diversifying and not putting all my eggs into one basket. So, besides sending "some" of my content to EZA, I'm now focusing more on my blog (with beautiful super high quality content...that will ONLY go on MY blog), and I'm also focusing on other article directories, web 2.0, and a pinch of PPC.

Improvise, adapt, and overcome.

[4success53]

I kind of wondered if that would happen. I have only a few articles listed with EZA.

Article marketing is a big thing.

If someone is willing to pay $32k to stay as a premium member, they are making some good money through article marketing.

But, they need to keep their site a quality site. Make Google happy.

It makes it harder to get an article listed with them and can be frustrating.

I guess they are just trying to weed out the not so good.

We will have to wait and see what happens next.

[abhi1]

Whatever they are doing, I don't really like it...

[TheRichJerksNet]

Originally Posted by ajbarnes777

lol! I was waiting for you to show up.

I totally understand that EZA wants to clean up their directory and start receiving more higher quality content, but my problem is their whole attitude about this situation here. The last time I checked, us article marketers are not their employees....so why do I feel like one?

Also, I don't mind adhering to rules and policies (given that they are fair and sensible), but how about a little heads up on these rules before the hammer is thrown down?

Well, all I can say is that I've learned my lesson about diversifying and not putting all my eggs into one basket. So, besides sending "some" of my content to EZA, I'm now focusing more on my blog (with beautiful super high quality content...that will ONLY go on MY blog), and I'm also focusing on other article directories, web 2.0, and a pinch of PPC.

Improvise, adapt, and overcome.

Well I know it is a little childish but I just had to do it .. I feel better ... lol

I have a problem with their entire attitude all around and misleading people, to me it is unethical but that is my personal opinion.

Some of us have been saying it for months that people need to branch out and stop listening to those that say "you must submit to eza" .. Blah! Yeah Right! No you do not have to either.

As I always said you need to deal with an article directory that treats it's authors like gold.. Personally I value each and everyone of my authors and I am doing things more and more to improve their stay and their rankings. Authors are what supply the site with content, no authors = no content.. It's that simple.

Personally myself I will continue to help my authors, I really do not care what other article directories do because I have always done things differently than others and I always will..

James

[Steven Wagenheim]

Now we'll see who's left standing after the smoke clears.

[Stallion]

I like how people say write "high quality" content.

Can you define that for me and will ezinearticle define that?

What is high quality? EZA doesn't check or verify the information in an article, so how could anyone talk of quality beyond spelling and grammar?

I can write spectacular 1000 word articles on how doing hand stands cure morning sickness. I can walk people through the best stands they can do and how to started. I can teach them how to strengthen their arms to prepare for such a thing.

In the end, hand stands don't cure morning sickness and the information is complete CRAP. I'm sure in the eyes of EZA, which doesn't verify information, this would be a high quality article - even though it's not.

Yet, if I wrote a concise and accurate article (which is short and to the point) it would probably get rejected.

High quality and low quality are words that shouldn't be used to describe anything EZA is doing.

There prerogative is to Google and their readers. They're at war with us. It's honest. And I have no desire to be fodder in this war. Real high quality(yes, the real high quality) articles are going on my site or someone is paying me for them.

[Steven Wagenheim]

Okay, all kidding aside, here is what's going to eventually happen.

If EZA decides to keep ONLY the writers who deliver "their" idea of good
content, their article submissions are going to hit an all time low. I don't
understand their business so I don't know what kind of an effect that will
have on their income, but it can't be a positive one. So eventually, they
will either have to ease up or something has to give.

It's like the big bully on the block who, suddenly, nobody wants to play
with anymore. All of a sudden he realizes that he has no friends. So he
has 2 choices. He can either start playing a little nicer or go without
friends. Sure, maybe if he's lucky, he'll meet other bullies and they'll
become his friends.

I can just imagine what Friday nights in their backyard are gonna be like.

Point is, this recent "decision" by EZA isn't going to not have consequences
for them. They may not all be bad or good but my gut tells me that some
of it won't be for the best as far as their business goes.

Ultimately, we'll have to wait this out and see what happens.

In the meantime, start keeping a checklist of topics you've written about.
Make sure that when you submit an article it's the kind of quality that
you'd have no trouble submitting to a major publication. I'm not kidding
here. EZA means business.

We can either play by their "new" rules or find another bully to make
friends with.

[waken]

Originally Posted by Danny Cutts

I think that maybe articles will get accepted quicker if the crap stops....maybe?
Danny

That will be great!

[Steven Wagenheim]

I was just suspended by EZA because my email address bounced.



There are no words for this kind of pointlessness.

Just no words...

[TheRichJerksNet]

Originally Posted by Steven Wagenheim

It's like the big bully on the block who, suddenly, nobody wants to play
with anymore. All of a sudden he realizes that he has no friends. So he
has 2 choices. He can either start playing a little nicer or go without
friends. Sure, maybe if he's lucky, he'll meet other bullies and they'll
become his friends.

Hey Steven,
But this is the problem.. Article Marketers made them who they are. Take 35,000 people and give them your link and tell them to go talk about your website on the nternet. Well, not too long and your site would be "assumed" to be an authority site also.

Many have a misunderstanding and think google loves eza... No it is the fact that almost every article marketer you talk to will tell you "submit to eza" ... So in reality those article marketers are what made them the bully. So yeah either play their game now and find someone else to play with.

What I find funny is they "fired" authors.. Hmm.. Maybe someone needs a higher quality choice of words...

James

[Steven Wagenheim]

Originally Posted by TheRichJerksNet

Hey Steven,
But this is the problem.. Article Marketers made them who they are. Take 35,000 people and give them your link and tell them to go talk about your website on the nternet. Well, not too long and your site would be "assumed" to be an authority site also.

Many have a misunderstanding and think google loves eza... No it is the fact that almost every article marketer you talk to will tell you "submit to eza" ... So in reality those article marketers are what made them the bully. So yeah either play their game now and find someone else to play with.

What I find funny is they "fired" authors.. Hmm.. Maybe someone needs a higher quality choice of words...

James

James, I agree with you 100%. We created this monster and now we
can't figure out how to put him back in his cage. It's like Dr. Frankenstein
all over again.

Wow, and just in time for Halloween.

Now THAT is some trick, cause it sure as hell ain't a treat.

[Jeremy Kelsall]

James hit the nail on the head with his post....

I'm hoping that they start to mass delete articles by the tens of thousands like they are threatening to do...

Man, will that be one hell of a google slap when the spiders come and find that tens of thousands of pages are gone

[Jason Johns]

Sorry, I don't see what the problem is.

Firstly, if you write decent articles of decent length then this isn't an issue.

Secondly, EzineArticles is Chris's house and he can do whatever he likes there. We are guests in his house and we can either abide by his house rules or leave the party. He's doing what is best for his business to provide high quality articles and information which is fair enough.

If you don't like it, go find another article directory to play in.

As far as I am concerned, good on Chris - it's makes EZA a better place and provides better quality information. I am pretty sure that if any of the people who have criticised him for this decision owned EZA and was seeing it being taken over by crap articles they would make a similar decision.

When researching info I never visit any article directories other than EZA because the others are full of junk most of the time. Recently I've noticed researching on EZA has returned short, junk articles (probably due to the recommendations by experts to write 250 word articles so the resource box is above the fold) with very little information on.

I'm going to continue to use EZA as it's very good for my search engine rankings. I'm also going to continue to post content on my own sites.

I'm happy to see EZA being cleaned up as it makes more room for quality article writers! Though I do wonder ... how many ghostwriters are going to feel the pinch when their articles are no longer good enough to be accepted by EZA? Is it time for some training videos on how to write high quality articles ?

All the best

Jason

[TheRichJerksNet]

Originally Posted by Steven Wagenheim

James, I agree with you 100%. We created this monster and now we
can't figure out how to put him back in his cage. It's like Dr. Frankenstein
all over again.

Wow, and just in time for Halloween.

Now THAT is some trick, cause it sure as hell ain't a treat.

Steven,
You have had my wife laughing for 10 minutes now and she can't stop ...

James

[clintmyers]

Yes, I had 3 articles rejected out of 10 that I submitted. They were all completely new articles and had been copyscaped but were rejected because they were too similar to other articles already submitted. Not sure how I am supposed to know that there are similar articles out there. Hmmmm....

[Vanquish]

I think the amount of low quality content is a reflection of ezine articles being run on the backs of internet marketers. Also ezine is the largest directory on the net with the most authors and visitors so content is bound to be repeated a few times over. Even if the article is original in your mind and the fact 25 000 other articles in your niche exist you are bound to run into someone with similar content as you. I think Ezine should take that point into consideration when making their new policies.

[TristanPerry]

I'm not worried since all the articles I write are unique from my head. If they change their rules to say they require more length, I'm not sure if I'll just focus on another article directory or suck it up and write a little bit more.

But for now I'm not worried, and I had two 250 word articles approved today. So it does seem that for now the quality I'm submitting is okay.

I'm not a fan of EZA's recent comments, though. If only Google could understand English (if only ), it'd realise that EZA are too snobby and full of themselves. They have left a bad taste in my mouth, and I'd be secretely (wait, what? .. openly) happy if Google slapped them a bit.

[Steven Wagenheim]

Okay, I realize that this will probably only help people in the MMO niche,
but folks, I just checked my Warrior Forum blog.

My articles posted there, what few there are, have more views than just
about ANY MMO article I have posted at EZA.

People...start using your Warrior Forum blogs if you're in the MMO niche. I
don't know how effective they'll be for other niches or if Allen will even
want you posting articles there that aren't related to marketing, but to me,
this is a NO BRAINER.

And since it's been made clear that forum threads are NOT to be articles
(understandably)...

It's time to start writing for the Warrior Forum blogs again.

[ryanman]

People you are missing the big point here...Not only are they asking you to submit better articles now but they're also asking you to remove any previous articles which might have been low quality according to them.

So in a way- They are saying...They want you to remove all articles which were accepted by their staff months ago only because now due to their new terms...It's not longer useful.

Here is a great point from a poster on ezines blog-

------------------

Chris, and team:
Re: “In the past, we’ve grandfathered existing articles in when new quality levels are set, except when a live article is edited, today’s standard is applied to that content. That means we would typically have allowed old articles that would no longer be accepted with today’s standard, to remain live in the site. We’ve reached a point where we can no longer allow that to happen.”

It’s problematic to expect article authors to *retroactively* go back through hundreds of articles submitted in good faith that were reviewed by a human editor and approved. Think about that for a moment — every article that’s “live” on the EZA system was reviewed by an actual person, in addition to whatever automated content filters are in place.

You’re asking authors to comb through articles that have already been submitted in an effort to make them conform to rules that are constantly changing, somewhat arbitrary, and subject to being confusion — so confusing, in fact, that your *OWN* paid staff members once deemed such content as acceptable.

Guess how I create my articles? I use a speech recognition software and “talk” about my topics. I’m sure a lot of other people do this too. You’ve got to have a system in place that gives authors the confidence of knowing that when an article is submitted and accepted, that it’s “accepted” — not subject to having to be reviewed 3, 6, or even 12 months later because the rules changed. Under that type of *retroactive* system, NO article is safe, NO author will be spared… you’re robbing authors of a degree of certainty that they need to continue having confidence in their EZA submissions.

I’m 100% committed to following the letter and the spirit of the rules, but you’re introducing a variable that casts a shadow of doubt.

Tighten up the front door — make it bulletproof and exceptionally hard for articles to be accepted — fine! But once an article is accepted, it’s EXTREMELY frustrating to have this lingering cloud hanging over one’s head — wondering if we’ll be asked to review all of our articles and make them more “unique” or “meaningful” or whatever nebulous standard is being promoted. How can we really know what EZA wants when the article passed the content filters and also was approved by a human editor?

Please reconsider the *retroactive* element of what you’re proposing.

Respectfully,
Ethan


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[clintmyers]

Originally Posted by ajbarnes777

lol! I was waiting for you to show up.

I totally understand that EZA wants to clean up their directory and start receiving more higher quality content, but my problem is their whole attitude about this situation here. The last time I checked, us article marketers are not their employees....so why do I feel like one?

Also, I don't mind adhering to rules and policies (given that they are fair and sensible), but how about a little heads up on these rules before the hammer is thrown down?

Well, all I can say is that I've learned my lesson about diversifying and not putting all my eggs into one basket. So, besides sending "some" of my content to EZA, I'm now focusing more on my blog (with beautiful super high quality content...that will ONLY go on MY blog), and I'm also focusing on other article directories, web 2.0, and a pinch of PPC.

Improvise, adapt, and overcome.

Great quote! Spread out to some new venues and don't rely on just one source of traffic!

[TheRichJerksNet]

Originally Posted by TristanPerry

I'm not worried since all the articles I write are unique from my head. If they change their rules to say they require more length, I'm not sure if I'll just focus on another article directory or suck it up and write a little bit more.

But for now I'm not worried, and I had two 250 word articles approved today. So it does seem that for now the quality I'm submitting is okay.

I'm not a fan of EZA's recent comments, though. If only Google could understand English (if only ), it'd realise that EZA are too snobby and full of themselves. They have left a bad taste in my mouth, and I'd be secretely (wait, what? .. openly) happy if Google slapped them a bit.

Ok wait a minute.. I'm confused...

You still submit to EZA (blog post by the way and not articles) but you admit that you wish google would slap them.

So if I was paying your rent then you would be my friends as long as I kept paying that rent even though "secretly" you do not like me... Is that what you are saying ?

I don't know, I am just a little confused by your post.

James

[Paid Surveys]

sounds like they are doing a data cleansing exercise. Most of my articles are detailed and carefully written, so no problems yet.