Ted Gross Wonders About Article Submission Validity
EzineArticles expert author Ted Gross in his blog: (Article Submissions – Worth Your While or A Vast Waste Of Time?) muses about several things to talk about:
Ted said, “And before you put this down, just at a check, ezinearticles.com where I usually submitted articles in the past, is listed at alexa.com at 528. Which means it is the 528th most popular site on the net – and that dear people translates into millions of hits a day.”
Technically, we’re at 488 today on Alexa based on a 3 month average weight (we’re actually at 395 as of today); but I can assure you that does not translate into millions of page views per day. Let’s get something clear: When Ted said, “hits” — I’m pretty certain he meant page views (one human looking at one whole page in a given session); because technically, we do manage many millions of hits or transactions on a daily basis; but our daily page views are not even close to ‘millions’.
Ok, Ted gets to his primary point, “But does it do anything for me as an author? No suspense here. The answer to that is categorically, 100%, without a shadow of a doubt – NO.”
Thankfully, the masses do not share Ted’s opinion. Hey, we can’t please everyone.
I further respectfully disagree with Ted’s comment about how we use this blog to:
“…the other that the hype going up to convince people they are “authors” is way over the top.”
Geez, if a person writes an article, if they are not an ‘AUTHOR’, then what exactly are they? :-)?
There’s more that I disagree with in Ted’s blog entry, but his first commentor (Talia Mana) really makes a good counter point:
“I have never submitted to those ezinearticles places but it is probably a good idea to draw traffic to my website and build the proverbial “platform” (necessary for a non fiction author who is not related to the Kennedys)”
Meaning, *use* sites like ours to help you build a base of demand and traffic for yourself and your business/brand.
Ted followed his blog entry up with another one (Article Submission As Part Of The Viral Process) that further clears some air:
“…please remember this is in regard to authors who desire to beef up their portfolio and not those people who are looking at the numerous opportunities on the World Wide Web.”
Yeah, that does make Ted’s previous comments more valid in the right context because submitting to EzineArticles or our competitors does not make sense if done for the wrong career reasons. I think the real issue that many have told me that irritates them off about article submission is that you don’t get rich quick. It takes time and effort to build market demand for yourself, no matter who you are.
In closing, the real reason you should submit your quality original articles to EzineArticles.com directly is to generate qualified visitors and traffic back to your website from us directly and if you get a boost from syndication land, call that a bonus.
UPDATED DECEMBER 3rd 2006: Ted updated a new blog entry in response to this blog discussion: [Looks Like We Touched A Sensitive Spot…]
Humm, I read his blog post, and I’m inclined to agree with him about the actual point he was trying to make, but I think he missed the point of what article submission sites are all about. Nowhere on EzineArticles have I ever been told that I could promote myself as a published author with a byline by writing here… that’s not the purpose.
As an acquisitions editor for a small publisher, I would myself would not consider EzineArticles as being ‘published’ simply because it’s not a paid byline. There are plenty of actual print publications I don’t consider ‘published’ too, for the same reason. Paid bylines and tear sheets are far more important than blogs or unpaid internet posts.
I also agree that someone querying and agent or publisher would not want to put article submission sites on their query or their writing resume for that purpose. Then again, when I query a publisher on a crime novel I’ve written, I don’t put my published, contracted poetry books on that query either, because they don’t relate to what I’m submitting. Everything has a purpose and place, and article submissions to submission sites don’t belong on a professional resume.
However…Mr. Gross is omitting something crucial for authors of all genres and styles and that is EXPOSURE. It’s crucial… your name MUST be known, good or bad, it must be known, our no one is going to buy your writing, no matter what the style is. Article submission sites, especially those who allow for syndication, are great for getting that exposure.
Of course, linkbacks and traffic to my site are definitely the primary draw for me to submit here, and EzineArticles by far sends more traffic my way than all the other submission sites I use COMBINED. But syndication and exposure are secondary reasons for doing what I do – not to mention, for my editing services, the hope of branding myself as an expert in my field, by providing quality information and content, whether someone purchases my services or not.
Exposure is so important nowadays for so many reasons, and EzineArticles gives exactly what it states it will – exposure and traffic, and sometimes even syndication for additional exposure and traffic.
Did I mention I got a new client from an article that I submitted here that was picked up on someone else’s site? THAT is what it’s all about to me.
But Mr. Gross seems to be looking at the site for a purpose other than it was intended…when you use it for what it’s meant to be used for, EzineArticles ROCKS!
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