Today marks the 10th Anniversary of EzineArticles.com - but we’re giving YOU the present!

On this day in 1999, EzineArticles.com was launched as an online Expert Author community where authors from around the world could share fresh, high-quality articles and make them readily available for limited niche syndication by ezine publishers.

The site was envisioned to be a matching service for ezine publishers seeking supplemental content for their next email newsletter and expert authors who wanted to share their expertise in exchange for exposure, credibility and qualified traffic referrals back to their website.

Today, the site’s incredible success is obvious. Now the #1 article marketing website in the world, EzineArticles caters to almost a quarter million Expert Authors from across the globe. The site enjoys over a million unique visitors every day and delivers an average of 225,000 clicks per day back to our members’ websites. Website Magazine recently ranked EzineArticles.com #18 on their list of the “Top 50 Websites for Professionals” in their November, 2009 issue.

Our Anniversary Gift to You

While it’s true that EzineArticles has a lot to celebrate, we felt that the people who are ultimately responsible for our success, our members and visitors, are the ones who deserve an anniversary present. So we’ve designed this custom EzineArticles wallpaper, complete with our popular mug and coffee, just for you.

Click on the link(s) below that match the resolution of your monitor(s) to download the appropriate wallpaper. Then select that file as your new wallpaper and begin enjoying your new EzineArticles background with our sincere thanks and compliments. We couldn’t have done it without you! :)

Downloadable EzineArticles 10th Anniversary Wallpapers:

• 800 x 600 pixels [448 KB]
• 1,024 x 768 pixels [620 KB]
• 1,152 x 864 pixels [728 KB]
• 1,280 x 768 pixels [732 KB]
• 1,280 x 800 pixels [752 KB]
• 1,280 x 960 pixels [836 KB]
• 1,440 x 900 pixels [860 KB]
• 1,280 x 1,024 pixels [872 KB]
• 1,680 x 1,050 pixels [1.1 MB]
• 1,920 x 1,200 pixels [1.3 MB]

The following is a list of (30) assorted author tips, insider info, fun facts and reminders we tweeted in the month of October. Any one of these could have been just the tool you needed to turbocharge your article marketing efforts.

Just CLICK on any of the “ReTweet This” links to auto-populate your Twitter status field. Then just edit for length and retweet to your heart’s content!

EzineArticles Tips and Training Snippets:

• A trap to avoid: Making the focus of your articles about what you are AGAINST. Instead, argue your points about what you are FOR & why. [ReTweet This]
• Resource Box Tip: Never pretend or say that a self-serving link is not your own when in fact it is. Build TRUST, not deception. [ReTweet This]
• Tip: Excessive HTML in your article body makes it hard for publishers to use, meaning you and your links get less circulation. [ReTweet This]
• Punctuation Tip: Reach the period sooner before later. Don’t drone on and fail to close your thought. [ReTweet This]
• Article Writing Tip: Make connections with your readers by envisioning yourself speaking directly to them. [ReTweet This]
• Article Body is where you GIVE; Resource Box is where you TAKE. (This is one of our core tenets.) [ReTweet This]

EzineArticles Fun Facts:

• Fact: 6484 articles were Scheduled for future release in the month of Sept by our Premium members. [ReTweet This]
• Website Magazine’s Top 50 Websites for ‘Net Professionals named EzineArticles #18! http://is.gd/4zvYk Cool! :] [ReTweet This]
• No surprise here: 19% of all problem articles not accepted are in the 250-299 word count range. 41% are under 399 words. [ReTweet This]
• “Mavis Beacon” is an excellent example of an unreal person that is used as an exclusive image to represent the brand in the market. [ReTweet This]
• EzineArticles members submit an avg of 2+ articles in their article submission session. Smart, because it leverages their time. [ReTweet This]
• 46.8 percent of EzineArticles members use FIREFOX for their browser! Wow. Best reason to use FireFox? Built-in SPELL CHECK! :) [ReTweet This]

EzineArticles Inside Information:

• Clickbank Affiliates: We’ve never allowed clickbank URL’s in the past and now we’re auto-rejecting at the front door. [ReTweet This]
• We’ve significantly tightened up our anti-derivative content filters last week. Yesterday alone 741 articles rejected at the front door. [ReTweet This]
• How big should your Resource Box be? Between 7-15 percent of your article body in terms of word count and line length. [ReTweet This]
• Want a reason to keep your self-serving links in the Resource Box and not the Article Body? Links in article body are set to NOFOLLOW. [ReTweet This]
• We disagree with using iStockphoto for fake/pen author names. Reason: Because the photos aren’t exclusive to your name. [ReTweet This]
• We’re not automatically declining articles with locations in the title; but article body needs to deliver specific locale info. [ReTweet This]

Motivational Moments:

• “Being a published author is a big, fat billboard that says, I’m SMART!” – Arielle Ford [via @LisaDSparks] [ReTweet This]
• Enthusiasm is contagious. Market a product/service you’re passionate about, and chances are others will become excited about it too! [ReTweet This]
• Only EXTREMELY rare expert authors can write high value 250-400 word articles. The rest of us deliver value in the 400-800+ word count range. [ReTweet This]
• Always know your purpose for writing each article. This will keep your content focused, concise, and easier for readers to understand. [ReTweet This]
• Quality trumps Quantity. If your articles are failing to deliver, slow down, start over and allow yourself another perspective. [ReTweet This]

Misc. Words of Wisdom:

• Blogging and article marketing are natural partners. Both present info, articles just do it in a non-promotional, more formal way. [ReTweet This]
• 1 of the biggest advantages of article marketing is getting targeted traffic. You miss out on that if your links don’t match your articles! [ReTweet This]
• Have your checked your ARTICLE DIAGNOSTIC CENTER lately for dead links that need fixing? Fix ‘em and get your FREE traffic back! :) [ReTweet This]
• Looking for fresh content? Try mentoring a newbie! You’ll be surprised at how much you learn and a new perspective is fertile soil for ideas. [ReTweet This]
• Derivative = Spun or re-hashed content that is NOT unique as it delivers the same information only re-worded. This adds NO value. [ReTweet This]
• Want to improve your readers trust in you, your articles, and your expertise? ADD AN AUTHOR PHOTO to your profile. :-) [ReTweet This]

Have you got a Twitter question? Post it here to get some answers.

A few days ago, you learned about our recent crackdown on derivative content. Unfortunately, many authors became concerned that this new guideline included existing articles from their websites and blogs.

Let me be clear: You SHOULD submit existing articles and content from your website or blog.

Here are the Key Points:

• Repackaging Existing Articles On Your Website Now and Submitting Them To EzineArticles Does NOT Trigger Our Derivative Content Filters
• Rehashing One Article into Many Versions of the Same Article IS Creating Derivative Content…Something We and Our Users Don’t Want
• Continue to Write and Submit High-Quality, Unique, Original Articles
• Submit a Good Percentage of Your Existing Content to EzineArticles.com
• Your Old Existing Articles that Someone has Not Seen Yet… are New to Them!
• Think of and Leverage EzineArticles as a Distribution Platform
• Find a New Audience by Submitting Your Existing Content AND Your Brand New, Original Articles to EzineArticles.com

Feel free to leave a comment or ask a question if any part of this is still unclear.

Downloadable Versions:
           

After I finished recording the video, I watched it and made some notes about what I had said. Let me clarify a few points:

We’re not at war with Affiliate Marketers … the more we think about it, we’re really at war with people who submit highly derivative content … You know the type … You’ve seen this type of low value article as it looks like yet another rehashed works of every other similar kind of article instead of the fresh perspective that a true expert in their niche delivers.

Those who write & submit high value exclusive rights content have nothing to worry about.

Are you really an expert author if you write highly derivative content? No.

Ideal members write original content and own the exclusive rights to that content.

What’s the ideal word count? 400-800 words.

Get this: Over 142,000 articles are currently in “Problem Status.” Of those, 41% are under 399 words. Compare that to those that are over 750+ words which account for 1-2% of the total. That means you can significantly increase your chances of having your article accepted purely by increasing your word count to the 400+ range. Watch for a full blog post this week with the details on this internal stats study.

Don’t increase your word count for word count sake. More filler words that say the same thing really adds no value. Instead, find ways to add your unique perspective, your unique expertise and how that can help your ideal reader to improve their situation. Use bullet points, numbered lists, etc.

As for the big “crack down” on low value content: We’ve been raising our standards every single month since we started. The only thing changing is the pace at which we raise our quality standards.

This wasn’t just a business decision that affected us but it will also impact you because your high quality articles will have less competition for our million+ daily visitors when you don’t have to compete with low value derivative content. We have an obligation to protect the massive time investment our ideal members have had over the years.

Don’t worry about rejection. Even the best writers get rejected from time to time. Use the rejection process to learn our Editorial Guidelines. We know it takes time to learn and understand our 5-6 pages of guidelines. It’s ok to make mistakes along the way.

Keep on writing & submitting your best quality original articles as that’s the best way to get high-value traffic & exposure back to your website.

My goal for doing this quick video was to reassure 99% of our membership that they have NOTHING to worry about. If anything, they will see an improvement in the quality of content that will be side-by-side to their articles. That’s healthy for competition because no one wants to put their high value articles next to low value rehashed/regurgitated works, right?! Right on. :)

UPDATED Oct 27th 2009: You can now View this video on YouTube.

Website Magazine has ranked EzineArticles.com #18 on their list of the “Top 50 Websites for Professionals,” in their November, 2009 issue.

Websites that make the cut, like EzineArticles, Google, Yahoo, Facebook and YouTube, are considered the most important for Web professionals based on their popularity among Web professionals, the business community and consumers.

The accompanying article warns professionals to not “even think about ruling out content and article marketing as a way to shore up brand visibility and drive website traffic.” The article went on to note that success stories like EzineArticles “still generate the respect of many professional and aspiring Web professionals and will continue to do so until content is no longer king.”

According to Website Magazine, readers should treat the list “as an important starting guide for your Web Success.”

Follow @WebsiteMagazine on Twitter.

We’ve been firing an average of 2 Premium members every day now as not being a good match. In some cases, we’ve had to fire members who were Premium, got fired, bought again and then had to be banned from Premium membership. We’ve had members plead to pay any price for speed or to be unbanned. One guy yesterday offered us $36k to accept his articles on top of our Premium membership fee with one exception: He wanted us to accept derivative content. No way!

Key Issue: Our team has been at great odds with ourselves because we want to deliver excellent service to our Premium members, yet a high percentage of our Premium members are not ideal EzineArticles members. We’ve essentially accelerated the speed at which our worst members can submit low value, thin content into our system.

This further frustrates our Premium members because they are getting downgraded (most are at Basic Plus level), having their articles rejected and are being shown the word “NO” more often than they’d ever care to see.

It was my goal, by this time, to have muted the value of Premium membership by delivering Premium speed to all free members … thus, forcing us to find other things of value that we could package into our Premium Membership service level. Unfortunately, we’ve struggled ALL YEAR to deliver on that internal goal. If you only knew what we’ve done to reach this goal, your mouth would drop and hit the floor.

After much internal debate, we’ve determined that the real issue is the need to reject another 10-20% of low value content (from both Premium and non-Premium members) by tightening up our content filters even more. This is not something new – we tighten up quality standards every single month. But the rate of which we’re tightening down is accelerating.

What’s Happening Now:

We had already tightened up our anti-derivative content filters a few weeks ago and that’s currently shaving off 700 articles a day that never make it to our human editors for review.

Our next big pass at curbing low-value content submissions will come in the form of banning certain types of content that are currently in too high of market supply (think “Acai berry” type articles) and other commonly spammed articles with highly derivative content (think penis enlargement, get your ex back, dating articles, some types of finance articles). We’ve been slow to reach this point because we’re looking for ways to allow legitimate good ideal members to submit content on these topics while singling out the gamers who only want to submit really thin low value content.

Know that we’ll communicate in this blog which types of content we’re no longer allowing and we’ll be revisiting our Editorial Guidelines to include more information about the coming changes.

In the past, we’ve grandfathered existing articles in when new quality levels are set, except when a live article is edited, today’s standard is applied to that content. That means we would typically have allowed old articles that would no longer be accepted with today’s standard, to remain live in the site. We’ve reached a point where we can no longer allow that to happen. At risk are articles that are highly derivative based. If you’ve written original articles from your head and didn’t use any software article rewriter, you should have nothing to worry about.

There’s one more major issue that I’ll be sharing about soon in terms of a paradigm-shift that will be made in the coming weeks. Until then, I hope you appreciate the transparency and I’d like to enlist your continued support to help us properly navigate the key issues that will ensure our collective long-term survival together.

1. What is EzineArticles?
2. What’s the value of membership?

Watch this video to get the answers to those questions and more. And at the same time, meet 4 of the key players on the EzineArticles Team:

• Chris Knight, CEO & Publisher
• The Other Chris, VP of Operations
• Penny, Managing Editor
• Marc, Marketing Manager and Public Relations

Downloadable Versions:
           

We’d prefer you hear our message straight from the horses’ mouths (so to speak). In the process we hope you’ll see, and feel, the passion we have for EzineArticles, our team and our huge family of domestic and international members. None-the-less, we’ve also created a downloadable transcript of the video for those who may need it. [Download PDF - 236K]

Watch the video now. Then leave a comment to tell us what you feel are the biggest benefits of EzineArticles membership.

Twitter recently made a change that required EzineArticles to undertake a 3-week long reprogramming project to modify the way we manage our members’ Twitter credentials.

Now that the project is complete, we’re asking all members to log into their EzineArticles Profile Manager and re-approve their Twitter account in the next 24-48 hours.

Beginning August 18th, we will no longer send new article Twitter Update alerts for members who have not authorized their Twitter Account using the new OAuthentication method, otherwise known as “OAuth”.

To Update Your Account:

1. Log into your EzineArticles Expert Author Account
2. From the Author’s Area, click on the “Profile Manager” drop-down menu
3. Select “Edit Author Bio”
4. Choose the specific author name you’d like to authorize
5. Scroll down until you see a box with the dotted outline
6. Click on: “Manage your EzineArticles Twitter Service.”
7. Click “Authorize Twitter Access”
8. Read the informational page and click the “Allow” button

You will then be brought back to the EzineArticles Author’s Area where you can automatically send a tweet informing followers you’ve set up your EzineArticles account to notify them of your new articles.

You may revoke this authorization at any time by visiting your Twitter Settings page or by simply clicking on the “Revoke Twitter Access” button in the EzineArticles Author’s Area.

As an added bonus, only members who update their Twitter Credentials will be included in our Twitter/EzineArticles directory of experts: http://Twitter.EzineArticles.com/

Both EzineArticles and Twitter take your privacy very seriously. Thanks for putting your trust in us. We look forward to tweeting the good news about your high-quality, original articles.

Log in and update your account now… before you forget. Then come back here and leave a comment to let us know how it went.

Get ready, because here we go again! And this HAHD challenge is going to be BIGGER and BETTER than ever! 1,000 EzineArticles members qualified for the first HAHD. This time, we’re aiming for 10,000 qualifiers and we’re offering the prizes to make it happen!

TO QUALIFY: There’s no need to sign up! Just submit at least 100 articles between 12:00AM CDT tomorrow (Saturday, August 1st) and 11:59PM CDT Sunday, November 8th. That’s only 1 article per day for 100 days. Once those 100 articles are approved, you’re qualified!

QUALIFICATION PRIZES:

All qualifiers will receive:

• HAHD Certificate of Achievement (frame not included)

Upon request, all qualifiers will also receive:

• Original Limited-edition EzineArticles #HAHD Trophy Mug
• Limited-edition EzineArticles #HAHD Mouse Pad

The first 100 members to qualify and submit a prize request will receive:

• All of the above plus…
• Limited-edition EzineArticles Fleece Throw Blanket
• Limited-edition EzineArticles Hat

PLUS…

• Invitation to a private 4-hour Article Marketing Teleseminar hosted by Chris Knight, EzineArticles Publisher & CEO (Valued at $10,000)
• Access to the Article Marketing Teleseminar Replay and Downloadable MP3 File

ADDED BONUS #1:
The top 100 members for total number of qualified submissions will also receive a chance to win 1 of 10 FREE 1-year EzineArticles Premium Membership subscriptions valued at $582 each!

ADDED BONUS #2:
In addition to all of these great prizes, each of your approved article submissions will reward you with increased traffic, improved credibility and additional sales!

Want to learn more about the HAHD challenge?

• Follow the hash tag #HAHD on Twitter [learn more]
• Follow EzineArticles on Twitter
• Surf to these blog posts about the first HAHD Challenge:
  • 100 Articles in 100 Days Marathon Challenge
  • #HAHD Celebration Teleseminar
  • Claim YOUR #HAHD Mug!
  • HAHD Teleseminar Replay

Are YOU ready to take the HAHD Challenge? If so, put your pledge in writing by leaving a comment below. Then really solidify your commitment by tweeting your intentions, too (don’t forget the #HAHD) – or click [here] to let us write your tweet for you!

Your renewed dedication to article marketing begins TODAY. Write and polish your first article right now so it’s ready to submit as soon as you get up tomorrow! Then do it again the next day, and the next, and the next…

* The Fine Print:

1. To qualify, all articles must be submitted under the same author name. Articles from multiple author names may not be combined.
2. Those who believe they have met the challenge requirements for any prizes must send a prize request via email to hahd@ezinearticles.com prior to Monday, November 15, 2009.
3. Prizes will be shipped via USPS to the postal mailing address listed in the member profile and to verifiable postal mailing addresses ONLY.

For EzineArticles, the closest thing we have to customers are our members. Our members are the people we think about, and interact with, the most. So in our case it’s probably safe to say that in order for us to be successful, we need to love our members.

The nice thing is… we already do.

An Open Letter from the EzineArticles Team to Our Members:

1. Dear EzineArticles Members,

   You are the soul of EzineArticles. Without you, our website would be little more than an empty shell, a soulless body if you will, but nothing more. It would still grow and evolve… and eventually die. But in the end, it would simply cease to exist, having left no real mark on the world.

   With all of you, EzineArticles not only moves and breathes, it truly lives! You touch the world daily with your written words and in the process turn hundreds of thousands of authors into an international family of Expert Authors.

   For that, we love you. And for so much more…

   • We love you for your top-performers (yes, Lance, you’re still #1) who tirelessly write thousands of articles and in so doing prove that hard work can make dreams come true.
   • We love you for your regulars – those authors who, for years, have been writing a steady stream of original, high-quality articles that now number in the hundreds or thousands.
   • We love you for your up-and-coming members who don’t give up and show the determination necessary to someday become world-class Expert Authors.
   • We love you for the total newbies whose frequent questions are a constant source of amusement… sprinkled with profound nuggets of wisdom.
   • We love you for your blog comment contributors who aren’t afraid to tell the world they love us back… or to let everybody know when we’ve really screwed up!
   • We love you for your gurus, teachers and mentors who share their knowledge of article marketing with the rest of the EzineArticles family.
   • We love you for your achievers who make a simple mug or mouse pad mean so much more than just a token gift.
   • We love you for your Premium Members who have put their ultimate trust in us and the EzineArticles system.
   • We love you for your International Members who struggle daily with the English language in order to bring their unique perspective and diversity to the rest of the world.

   But most of all, we love you for simply being you. For creating the thousands of daily interactions, activities and achievements that make the soul of EzineArticles truly shine. For that, we thank you all from the bottom of our hearts.

   Sincerely,
   The EzineArticles Team

Our very nature demands that we end a blog post with a call-to-action. So here it is: Think about what we’ve just said and apply it to your customers and clients. Do you love them? If so, great! Leave us a comment to tell us about it. Then write your own love letter to them. Even if they never see the letter, they’ll forever hear it in everything you write.