I'm wondering if anyone has any good resources or articles about receiving articles to display on your site. I'll be opening a business directory soon which will include business listings but it will also include business related articles.

I'm just wondering if anyone has information on rules of etiquette, stand practice for receiving articles, archiving, time management on editing, where to edit or not, etc etc.

Is there a podcast, or a site with information out this side of things. I've seen a ton of information on submitting articles but nothing on receiving them.

Any help is appreciated.

I'm just wondering if anyone has information on rules of edicate, stand practice for receiving articles, archiving, time management on editing, where to edit or not, etc etc.

The most important things to keep in mind are that the author is providing these articles for free reprint in exchange for advertising. You are allowed to use their articles (provided they've given free reprint permission) and, in exchange, you must give the author credit (post a copyright notice) and also make the links in their article/bio live.

The purpose of the article is not to allow YOU to make money. It's to allow the author to drive traffic to their site and make money. Therefore, most authors will frown on you inserting links into their content, etc. For example, one fellow had a page with one of my articles on it and, throughout the article he'd linked various words or sayings to different affiliate programs he belonged to. NOT a good idea.

Editing... Don't. Unless you have express permission from the author to do so. I never allow editing of my articles.

You'll want to email the author and let them know you've put their article on your site. Provide them with a link to view the article so they can make sure everything looks the way they want. That's common courtesy.

That's all I can think of at the moment.

Good luck!

Hi,

I just wanted to mention you might be better off with plr (private label rights articles). These are articles you can purchase but there is no author bio or links in them to take someone off your site to somewhere else.

You can add to these articles if you'd like. There's more freedom that with the free reprint.

It depends what type of business you're starting. But begin by putting into Google private label rights articles + your topic and see what's out there.

Much success,

Thanks guys, good start.

I am happy to have bio information or web links to the author. The purpose of the articles is to provide value to the directory I am creating. In other words to bring a little more traffic. Since it's a directory, diverting traffic is part of the process. So I'm not worried about people leaving, as long as they come back. So obviously I'd be wanting multiple authors and fresh content so as not to make my site defunct.

The only down side that I can see from what you are saying is free articles will have reprint privileges. Which could create duplicate content as for as SEO.

I'll certainly check out the private label rights articles. Though cashflow may restrict me from purchasing articles. but we will see.

Anyone else with other thoughts or resources on the subject is most welcome to contribute.

In all honesty, I wouldn't worry about the duplicate content filter. I asked Matt Cutts about this and he mentioned that the filter (and it is a "filter" not a "penalty") is not designed to catch everything.

I have always thought Google made exceptions for articles simply because you see them all over the place. If they didn't make exceptions, you would only see one of each article anywhere online. Instead, you can type the title of an article (in quotes) into Google and you'll find it comes up on hundreds of sites. (Well, if it's a good article, it will ;)!) Google is smart enough to distinguish between an article and web copy, I think, if by no other means than the format.

I wouldn't worry one second about duplicate content.

If you want to drive a more quality traffic to your site, I would look into getting article prepared specifically for your site. If you choose to go with articles published on article submission sites, then how is your site going to be different than any other article directory.

Khalid

I was hoping to get direct article submission through the site and therefore have articles written specifically for my topic. Or at the very least articles already written that suit my topic. I realize this won't happen over night, so I was planning on writing the first few myself and going from there.

Loving the comments keep em coming.

well, most authors will not submit articles for your site only. They will most likely submit it to your site as well as other sites. Remember that the goal of each author is to gain back links and drive traffic to his/her site.

Khalid

There are several ways to get articles for your website, but the key when placing articles on your website is to KNOW the real reason for doing so.

If you simply offer advertisements on the sidebars, in the footers, and possibly throughout the text, in hopes of earning residual income "free content" articles and even "private label" articles will work just fine.

But if you want to stand out from the crowd. If you want to become the "expert" in a specific area. If you want to sell a specific product or service, then you are better off hiring a freelance writer or a copywriter and having original (unique) content written for your website.

From a buyer standpoint, I want to know WHY your product, your service, your publication is better than the others out there. I want to know WHY I should stay with you over your competition. And if the only thing I read on your website and in your e-zines, is rehased information that I can find "all over the Internet" I'm not coming back to you.

Free articles are great, in my opinion for e-zines and print publications when you also include fresh, new material. But the main purpose of free content articles is to drive traffic to the competition. And you cannot use free content articles without including a LIVE and ACTIVE link back to the author's website.

Private label articles are good because you can alter them to meet your specifications and do not have to link back to the originating author because in essence, you become the author. But what happens if you say you've authored an article, then that same article appears in another publication or on another website with a different author's name? What will your clients and/or customers think? They might be wondering who is the true owner? Who stole the content? How it's possible for two people to write the exact same thing? Do you really want that type of questioning?

Freelance writers come with various rates. Some charge $20 per article, others charge $150 per article. Pay is dependant upon location, expertise, etc. I'm sure you can find a good writer within your budget, just do a little online searching. :)