A recent issue that has many article directory webmasters concerned is the issue of article directory spam. In simplest terms, this comprises the submission of many PLR or low word-count articles via an automated script to article directory sites. None of the site owners that I have corresponded with have been successful at completely stopping this at the submission level. However, there are some things that you can try to slow it down a bit.

Raise the minimum number of words that you will accept for an article submission…and then stick to it. 600 words is a good minimum as any article with fewer words is merely a long advertisement and not very informative, for the most part. Get an article manager module installed to help automatically delete lower word-count articles. Folks that are submitting articles with low word counts aren’t reading your TOS anyways, so you don’t need to send them an email to notify them of the reason you declined/deleted their article.

One sure-fire way to identify PLR articles is to look for wierd characters throughout the title, summary, body and resource sections of the article. What this signifies most of the time is that the article was copied directly from a word document and pasted as a submission without being proof-read. Another way to spot PLR articles is by length. Some are 5000+ words in length. It is doubtful that many authors submitting articles on a regular basis are writing articles of this length.

One last thing to try is to limit the types of email accounts that people use to register with. On your signup page, simply run a piece of javascript which will prevent the use of yahoo and gmail accounts, as well as any other domains known to be article spammers. When a spammer is prevented from registering with their inventory of throw-away email accounts, they will often pass your site by and look for greener pastures.

If any of you have any questions about how to streamline your article approving process, please shoot me an email. Time permitting, I’ll do my best to help you out. I’m doing a couple of things currently which has practically taken article spam to almost zero.

jm

All this to say, in addition to having a killer site that is full of wonderful product, there are other methods for generating additional cash from one’s site. The concept, as you well know, is called “monetization.” Other than the standard ways that people are deriving additional earnings from their sites, what are some of the other creative ways you have monetized your site? I am using adsense along with some affiliate links and that is working ok, but I am looking for something more. I have considered offerring a “service” of some sort, but I am coming up short. Any ideas?

Feed Shark

I have noticed that there are many article writing software packages available for a few bucks, but what seems to be happening is that there now exists what i call “IRS,” which is short for “Internet Rehash Syndrome.” Why is it that most articles I see today are there for the link’s sake and not the reader’s? And ‘ya know what I’m talking about. You read the article and depart from it in no more an enriched state than when you started. However, if one uses article writing software approprioately, it can provide a writer with a windfall of new ideas from which to create additional new content and explore/develope ideas further than did the original author.

While I do not consider myself a Truman Capote, I believe that for most of us “mid-packers” in the writing field, we all have something to contribute in our perspective areas of expertise. A wise professor once told me that I should write about those topics that I already know something about…or at least should know something about…in order to be successful in promoting the product or service that I represent. Rolling the clock forward about 20 years now, this has proven to have been timeless advice.

Article writing software, therefore, is not a “baaaaadddd” thing unless it is used to simply rehash and copy what is already on the web. In fact, article writing software can be a useful tool in helping you get past writer’s block through to final copy that is worthy to be published. Your thoughts and comments are welcome.

Fear of Failure - Almost a cliche phrase, I have even heard it abbreviated “FOF”. He has FOF…she has FOF…almost like it’s a disease of some sort! Oh, we’re good at abbreviating “diseases.” Having taken a straw poll here in the office, and by no means should it be considered scientific, the consensus of the group suggests that most of us are pre-conditioned to FOF from a very early age. If we think back to our first real English composition class, what did the teacher do and say as you attempted to put into literary practice what he/she taught. Images of having my knuckles smacked with a ruler by a mean Nun for mispelling the same word twice in a 10-page paper…oh, wait a minute…false memory…need rest. Now I’m starting into that Captain Kirk thing. At any rate, my point is this: Our teachers over-corrected most of us before we even had the chance to write any words on a page. “Do it this way,” or “Don’t do it that way,” still ring in my ears to this day. And then we all had to learn the different types of composition, i.e. persuasive, expository, creative, etc… having our knuckles blistered at each and every step, so-to-speak. For most of us, we didn’t even get our pens to paper before our teachers started correcting us. No wonder we have “FOF” when it comes to writing! This leads me to my second point.

Lack Of Understanding - FOF is inexorably linked to “LOU,” for the lack of understanding resulted from becoming so frustrated while learning to fear writing (see above), that many of us never had the chance to develop any true writing skill, whatever the genre might have been. And now as adults, we find ourselves tacking a little bit of guilt on top of both of these, since we really “ought to know” how to write…right?

Maybe the above hasn’t been your experience, but I thought it might ring true at least for some of us. All of this to say… if you’re having problems writing, there are many useful resources to which you may avail yourself. You’d be surprised what I was able to glean from my son’s 9th-grade English text book! There really is some good information in it! Then, just start writing. I bet you can surprise yourself and come up with something interesting. After all, isn’t this really the goal? Again, write what you already know something about and give a few tid-bits of information that aren’t so well known. This will keep the reader’s attention long enough for you to be able to communicate your written message…and keep it interesting.

 I usually use put my link on a keyword.  This is known as an anchor text.  Using your URL as an anchor really doesn’t do much since most people are not putting your URL into a search box on google.  They are seaching for a topic.  If you use your anchor text that is relevant to the page the article is referring to, it provides more weight.

Just my 2 cents…

At any rate, what’s everyone think on this. I’m really thinking of doing some video so I don’t become a dinasaur in the next 6 months.