The astronomical rate at which online businesses, blogs, and personal websites spring up on the web means that there is always a very large number of new "netpreneurs" out there looking for ways to drive internet traffic to their space. Article marketing is a web traffic tool of paramount importance. Firstly, it is free, or very nearly so. If you are not already running to grab a sharpened pencil and a legal pad, I appreciate your patience; I will reward that patience by enumerating a bit of my philosophy on article marketing. Many avenues are available for article marketers, and some are clearly better than others are. It comes down to that old cliche and movie title: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly (not necessarily in that order).

The Bad

Easily the most important tenet never to break is, "Do Not Plagiarize!" It seems obvious, doesn't it? The fact is, however, that plagiarism is so easy in the electronic age that many normally good people succumb to the temptation. The repercussions of plagiarism could be severe. You could get banned and blacklisted not only from the article directories, but possibly even by search engines. You may ultimately face a lawsuit from the actual author of the content. At the milder end, the search engines may simply view your plagiarized article as duplicate content, and therefore you would not get the traffic you desire anyway. Beyond that, plagiarism is lazy and unethical. There are shortcuts you can take without resorting to plagiarism, if you insist on laziness. Most of these shortcuts will cost you money, though. What are these shortcuts?

The Ugly

One way to make article marketing easier is to use content that you get from purchasing Private Label Rights (PLR) articles. Private Label Rights articles are written by ghostwriters, but you get to put your name and information on it as if you were the author. Many people have found success using Private Label Rights articles, but they do come with a caveat. Many times, these articles have been repeatedly plastered all over the internet by dozens or hundreds of different "authors." That means, once again, that the search engines will likely view these articles as duplicate content, and they will not rank these articles highly. Some article directories will not accept any articles that they recognize as coming from Private Label Rights.

Private Label Rights articles may be used as an inspiration for a topic about which to write your own article. They may also serve as a guideline as to the proper length and format of your own, original articles.

If you decide to use the actual article, you should alter it enough that the search engines will not dub it as duplicate content. You have to change more than a couple of words. In fact, to do it well, you will probably need to do some research and essentially rewrite the article. By that point, you will have realized that you could have saved the money you spent on the Private Label Rights and just researched and written the article yourself.

Another shortcut is to hire your own ghostwriter. Ghostwriters can be found at any freelance service, which are easily found on the web. If you go on to create several moneymaking websites, you will likely need a ghostwriter at some point. When you hire a freelancer, they look at your product, service, or website, research related topics, and then write well-composed articles for you. Remember, Private Label Rights articles are prewritten. The difference between buying Private Label Rights articles and using a freelance ghostwriter is like the difference between having microwave macaroni and cheese for dinner and having your own personal chef prepare a dinner perfectly suited to your tastes.

The Good

The best way to utilize the power of article marketing is to write your own content. You don't have to be a Hemingway. Simply research your topic or keyword and write as if you were explaining it to your friend. Try to use your main one or two keywords often, but not to the extent that it renders your article unreadable. Remember to use a good spell-checker, as many article directories will not accept articles with many spelling mistakes. A good article will be from 500 to 800 words. It can be more than this, but many articles that are picked up for newsletter distribution fall within this range. After writing and spell checking, put the article aside for a while. When you come back to it later, reread it. Taking a break from it for a bit often helps your mind refocus, and you may find mistakes or make improvements

When you feel your article is ready, begin submitting it to article directories. Most article directories allow you to post articles free of charge; the directories that charge a fee usually do not cost much. If a directory charges a fee, be sure to check out what that fee is for, and make sure it is worth your money.

Write and publish an article a day and you will see traffic to your website grow steadily until it eventually becomes a torrent. Do not be afraid - as article marketers, that is the adventure we crave.