Article Submission Roundup: the Pros and Cons of Automatic, Manual, and Semi-Automatic Article Submission

Article submission is a necessary evil. Everyone wants the back links, brand recognition, and traffic that articles can deliver to an article marketing campaign. But the time and resources required for successful article submissions can be costly.

There are three article submission methods that can be implemented to submit articles to article directories:

1. Automatic Article Submission
2. Manual Article Submission
3. Semi-Automatic Article Submission

Each of these methods has their strengths and weaknesses. Marketers and entrepreneurs must weigh the pros and cons in deciding which method to choose.

Automatic Article Submission

Automatic article submission is the use of software or services to automatically submit articles to multiple article directories with one submission form.

• Articles are sometimes posted to the wrong categories.
• Automatic article submission lacks flexibility to customize articles for each directory. Some directories allow HTML and links in the article body and author resource box.
• Articles are sometimes submitted to irrelevant article directories with little website authority and traffic.
• Save significant time from submitting articles manually to each directory.
• Only a few automatic article submission services submit to the top article directories which represent almost all traffic from article directories.
• Automatic article submission costs money either on a fee or subscription basis.
• Protect against submitting duplicate articles to the same directories.
• Track and manage article submissions automatically.

Manual Article Submission

Manual article submission involves visiting each article directory, registering for an account, and submitting each article by filling out submission forms.

• Manual article submission will offer the best results, because some directories will not accept automatic article submissions.
• Consumes a lot of time and resources to manually submit to article directories.
• Have to limit and select the ‘best’ article directories for submission. There isn’t enough time to submit to all article directories.
• Articles can be customized to comply with the submission guidelines of each directory. This allows you to take full advantage of each directory’s strengths.
• Articles stand a better chance of acceptance using manual submission.
• Takes more time to manually track and manage article submissions.
• Articles are only submitted to the top article directories which drive the most traffic and provide the best back links.

Semi-Automatic Article Submission

Semi-Automatic article submission is when software is used to pre-fill the submission forms on each article directory.

• Some semi-automatic software is free while others cost money.
• Doesn’t require the same time investment like manual submissions but doesn’t compare to the speed of automatic submissions.
• Allows you to customize article submissions to the submission guidelines of the respective article directory.
• You can submit your article to a larger number of article directories than manual submissions.
• Some semi-automatic software tracks and manages article submissions.