When you finish writing your first article series, you have decisions to make. The first is what topics your next article series will cover. Remember, as an author, you’re always thinking ahead to those next topics. Your second decision is how you will distribute this just completed series. How you handle the second decision will bode well for the first decision when it comes time to submit them.

Successful article distribution is what gains you an audience for your writing. The more people you reach, the more people begin to recognize your name. In effect, you’re branding yourself as an author. More people also begin to recognize the business, cause, or organization you are promoting. That’s why so many authors utilize article marketing.

Therefore, that second decision, how to distribute your articles is important. You have a few article marketing options available to you. You have to weigh each one’s advantages and disadvantages.

One option you have as a writer is utilizing a manual submission service. With this option, you submit articles and they charge you a set fee. This may be a fee for a block of five or ten articles. However, many of these manual submission services charge a “per article” fee.

This means your article marketing costs can rise quickly. They will submit one article for a price. They then charge you again for each subsequent article you submit. Unless you have an unlimited marketing budget, you could use up your article marketing funds quickly.

A second article marketing option is manually submitting articles yourself. The benefit of this option is that it’s free, in terms of financial resources. It does require a significant time investment, though. It involves “opportunity costs.”

Accountants always talk about opportunity costs. This is the cost of choosing one option over another. You base the opportunity cost of your decision on what you must give up because of that decision.

In other words, it’s costing you time when you personally engage in manual article submission. You are giving up the opportunity to make money engaging in activities that are more productive. This is something to consider when deciding to undertake the tedious task of manual article submission.

Your third article marketing option is using a computer software program for submitting. Article submission with this method is faster than personal manual submission. Using a software program does have its disadvantages.

Software programs require continual updates. Publishers come and go. Some go out of business at the same time new ones enter the publishing arena. If you don’t update your article distribution software, you miss new publishing opportunities. You also waste your time submitting to publishers who no longer exist.

You also have to contend with the issue of software incompatibility, viruses, and malicious spyware. On top of all that, you’re limited to using the PC where you downloaded the software initially. This means you can’t go mobile when it comes to your article marketing efforts.

Your optimal option is the fourth article marketing option. As a writer, you want a process that handles the mechanics of article marketing for you. You’re an author; your job is to write. After you write, you have another job, that’s to write some more. Spending time in article submission at the expense of creating quality content is not your modus operandi.

Therefore, a complete article marketing solution is the best way to distribute your articles. An article distribution service that offers a full package of features will build your readership quicker. One feature they offer is ease of access of their system. Since there’s no software to download, you can use their service anywhere at any time. You’re not beholden to your home PC.

A quality article marketing service offers unlimited article submission for a one-time fee. You can submit as much as you want and they don’t tack on extra fees. They also offer human editors who go over your articles. This ensures you meet publishers’ guidelines and increase your chances of swift publication.

A complete article marketing solution also provides tracking services. They allow you to see where your articles are going, and when. You can also see who is publishing your work.

Additionally, a quality article marketing service engages in widespread, never-ending distribution. Your articles are always in circulation. They continually reach a broad spectrum of niche publishers. This ensures significant exposure for your name, your topics, and your website links.

The best article marketing option for you, the author, is a complete solution. With unlimited article submission, reasonable fees, and widespread continuous distribution you’re in a win-win-win situation. You’re author status grows. You gain the trust of your readership. This leads to those important backlinks to your website where you can engage your readership further.

Tiva Kelly is the Head of Article Coaching and offers advice to authors at
Article Marketer, a highly popular article distribution service. Learn how to compare article marketing options here.

[tags]article marketing,article writing,article submissions,article distribution,article promotion,twitter[/tags]