Ezine Articles (ezinearticles.com) is the premier online article directory. If you intend to use article marketing to promote your business, you should regularly submit articles to EzineArticles.com (“EZA”). To receive from the full benefits of EZA membership, you need to become a Platinum level author. These are the main differences between Platinum and Basic level membership:

Unlimited article submissions accepted.
Basic members are allowed to submit a maximum of ten articles for approval at any one time.

Priority Approval for new submissions (usually within 48 hours)
Approval for Basic members can take a week or even longer during busy periods.

Priority Approval for modified articles if you edit them (normally 24-48 hours)
Approval of minor amendments to articles can take a week or more for Basic members.

Platinum status cannot be bought; it is something an author has to earn. The benefits that come with Platinum level make it well worth the effort of working to achieve it. If you do things the way EZA want, you can become a Platinum author within a week or so. If you don’t get things right, you could be looking at struggling to qualify for several months

The first thing you need to do if you want to get Platinum author status at EZA is read their rules (listed in the site menu as “Editorial Guidelines”) carefully.

Take particular note of the following:

EZA will only accept original articles. The articles you submit must be articles you have written or articles written for you (for instance where you have paid a ghost writer to write them for you) over which you hold exclusive copyright.
EZA do not allow affiliate links within the body of an article.
All articles submitted must be written in correct English with no grammar or spelling errors.
The title must accurately reflect what the article is about.
The content of any article must be useful and/or informative.
Articles must not contain any sales pitch or be blatantly promotional.
There must not be excessive use of keywords within articles.
All articles must be properly formatted. (This includes proper capitalization and spacing.)
Authors must adhere to the guidelines relating to composition of the resource box.

To get to Platinum level you simply need to write ten straightforward informative articles in good English. If you are not an experienced writer, don’t try to write articles about unfamiliar subjects. Stick to topics you know well. Don’t try to write marketing articles. This will avoid the danger of your articles sounding promotional or containing too many repetitions of keywords.

Write in plain simple English. The Internet is used by many people who have not had higher education or who don’t have English as their first language. Fewer people will read your articles if you try to use fancy language. Avoid using long words. Keep sentences short. Try to write in an informal tone as if you were telling a friend about an interesting topic.

Write articles with a minimum length of 300 words. If you can manage 500 words or over without making your articles over repetitive, that is better still. EZA will accept articles of 250 words, but they like longer articles. They say 400-750 words is the ideal article length.

EZA publish articles on just about any subject you can think of. If you are stuck for an idea, check their website for inspiration. Your articles can be about literally anything. For instance, you might want to write about your favourite hobby or sport, local wildlife, the work of a charity you support, hurricane survival tips. The list could go on indefinitely.

It is safer to avoid topics that are popular with Internet marketers. Some of the major ones to avoid are weight loss, relationships, Internet marketing, making money. Even if you intend to work in one of these niches, steer clear of writing about it until you reach Platinum level.

Stick to writing about neutral subjects. Articles containing offensive material such as pornography, profanity, incitement to violence, racial hatred etc won’t win you any prizes with EZA. Avoid using the word “scam” particularly in article titles. That one little word can be enough to get your article declined. This is one of EZA’s unwritten rules, there might be exceptions, but don’t try to test the rule until you have Platinum status.

Take care to submit your articles to the right category. If you try to submit to the wrong place, the editor will normally switch it to a more appropriate category. Don’t risk the danger of having an editor reject your article and ask you to reconsider your choice of category.

If you use MS Word for your writing, it is safer not to copy and paste direct into EZA’ submission form because Word’s formatting can do weird things to how your article looks and that can get your article rejected. Make sure you only use the “paste from word” button.

Make sure you use the preview feature to give your articles a final check over for formatting and spelling before you submit them. Take care to ensure there is a double line space between paragraphs.

Make sure the title of each article accurately indicates the content of the article. EZA will reject any article that doesn’t deliver on its promise. If in doubt, change the title to suit the content.

You will need to write a short “teaser” introduction to your article. Make sure you use your keywords in the introductory paragraph.

The purpose of your first ten submissions to EZA is to get you to Platinum author level. If the articles don’t do anything to directly help your marketing, this is not important. If they earn you Platinum status they have done their work.

If you don’t have a website up and running, don’t put any links in the author’s resource box. If you put in links that don’t work, or if they go to a page under construction, your articles won’t be accepted. You can always modify the articles and add resource boxes at a later date (ie after you have reached Platinum level).

NB you are not permitted to put direct links to an affiliate website in your resource box. Doing so will guarantee that your articles will be rejected.

You might prefer to write your first “practice” articles under a pen name. This will avoid any future embarrassment when you are writing “proper” marketing articles. EZA permit the use of unlimited pen names (they call them “alternate author” names) on an author account, but take note that only one account is allowed per person. The one account per author rule is a strict one; breach of this rule can result in the closing down of any accounts opened by you.

When you sign up for your EZA account, take the time to fill in the brief author bio and upload a photo. Don’t try to use an avatar, these are banned at EZA. Don’t be shy and use someone else’s photo, the photo must be a photo of you or a photo with you in it. Don’t spend too much time on this; you can always change the photo and edit the profile at a later date.

If you don’t succeed in getting in getting straight from Basic level to Platinum, you will most probably find yourself moved on to Basic plus. This is a step in the right direction, but it is a long way from Platinum level. There is a useful video on the (a rel=”nofollow”href=” http://blog.ezinearticles.com/2009/03/learn-the-secrets-of-membership-levels.html” target=”_blank”>EzineArticles blog explaining the various author levels It is worth checking out and it is quite short.

Ready to write your first ten articles? Here’s a checklist to help you along:

Become a member of Ezine Articles

Set up a pen name.

Fill in a brief author bio.

Upload your photo (NB avatars not permitted).

Read the Editorial Guidelines on the Ezine Articles website.

Take particular note of the following:

Only original articles will be accepted
Don’t put affiliate links in the body of the article
Write in proper English using correct spelling and grammar
Article titles must accurately reflect the content of the article
Articles must be informative and useful
Articles must not contain any sales pitch or be overly promotional

Remember you need to have ten articles accepted without modification on first submission.

Write about topics you know well. If you have particular expertise or experience in a particular field, share your knowledge.

Pick a neutral topic; avoid anything likely to cause controversy or which might sound promotional.

Write in plain simple English.

Check your spelling and grammar.

Try to keep paragraphs short – this makes reading online easier.

EZA won’t accept articles under 250 words in length (try to make your articles around 500 words).

Submit your articles under the right category

Use the article preview function to check your spelling and formatting before finally submitting articles.

Free Report For Your Success...

Click here for free report "Ten Essential Secrets You Simply MUST Know About Article Marketing Before You Start Any Article Marketing Campaign ..."