Article Submission / Posting Questions

It would, and for the same reason as Anne.

For myself, I'd also go much further (which Anne may also agree with?), and say that I wouldn't (and don't) ever reference any product at all in an EZA article even after the first 10 posts. For the simple reason that the sole purpose in submitting an article to EZA is for publishers to syndicate it, and realistically, I don't envisage anyone syndicating an article that sounds as if it's promoting a product in any way.

(It would, perhaps, be nice if submitting an article to EZA could also fulfil some other purposes, but the reality is that it can't, for all the reasons exlained here: http://www.warriorforum.com/main-int...ml#post5068872 ).

If you're doing article marketing, the idea is to get your articles published as widely as possible, in front of already targeted traffic, not to try to get potential customer traffic from any article directories. <--- This link explains why, in detail.

No article marketer who understands how article directories work wants potential customers going to an article directory: those copies are there for publishers to find by searching inside the directory (that's why they're called "directories"), not for customers to find by searching with a search engine. Naturally, we want those "searchers" coming straight to our own sites, not finding a link to an article directory (where we'll typically lose most of them!).

This is, indeed, part of the reason for publishing on our own sites first and only submitting elsewhere after indexation (exactly as you mention yourself, in your original post, above).

Sure - I appreciate this. And a very wise move it is, too, to get to Platinum promptly and efficiently without "looking promotional". Once you get to Platinum without "causing an editorial problem", you'll get both better and faster "service" from EZA.

My point here is that there's another, different reason for not "looking promotional" after that, too - namely that you won't get syndicated if you promote products, or even if you look as if the purpose of your article is to promote one later. And since getting your articles syndicated is the sole reason for submitting them to EZA, that would therefore be about as counterproductive as you can get.

Articles - in short - are for niches, not for products. I haven't mentioned a product in an article for well over 3 years, and certainly don't intend to again.

Respectfully, I disagree completely with Sandra's approach described in the post above (#3) for two main reasons: first, I wouldn't submit to EZA a different version of an article on my own site because that would be giving EZA previously unpublished content (which has several disadvantages - including even SEO disadvantages); secondly, I wouldn't normally want to link from an article (in a directory) to another (on my site): I'm an affiliate marketer, so I naturally want the traffic from the syndicated copies of the article going to my landing page. (And I'd say exactly the same if I were a vendor rather than an affiliate, actually).

We use articles as a way to get traffic from further/better/syndicated copies of them in more relevant places, where the traffic's already been targeted by someone else. I think the thread I've linked to above may clarify quite a bit for you.

Consider that articles themselves can be the primary driver of targeted traffic, particularly when competition is entrenched. The articles I write never even mention a specific product, but rather focus on a specific problem, weakness, hazard, liability, industry legislation, or events affecting bottom line profit which can be remedied or optimized with a particular course of action. My articles are written primarily to be readily and widely accepted for syndication by publications read by my targeted audience.

This marketing subtlety is extremely powerful. Before you attempt to sell a product, first sell yourself to your target market. For example, if you sell security or alarm systems, position yourself as a security specialist by writing generic articles for businesses on crime statistics, how to secure their premises, protect their employees, internal procedures, community resources, etc. Having demonstrated your knowlege within this niche, you can then boldly claim in your resource box the esteemed "security specialist" title, with a subdued reference to your website for "additional resources, tips, product reviews, etc."

If done in a non-salesy approach, it will happen frequently that readers will visit your website, read and/or optin for product reviews, and even sell themselves through your affiliate links. And you'll know you've arrived when they ask, "What product would you recommend?". This approach is what beats the competition all-to-hell, especially in the so-called "saturated" niches.