Making the decision to submit articles to build my website traffic has been one of the smartest online marketing decisions I've made recently. I've been publishing an email newsletter since 2001, but only started exploring this option as a way to build website traffic a little over a year ago.

My article-writing routine consists of setting aside time in my calendar (every Wednesday from 9 AM - noon) to write my article, post it on my website, set up my email newsletter to go out, and submit my article through a submission service. Creating this routine for myself has created a bank of 25 articles that I've written, along with another 25 or so that I have yet to submit to the article banks.

Writing articles is a challenging task, and many of my clients cringe when I mention it to them as a marketing strategy. However, I think it's one of the smartest marketing strategies in your marketing arsenal. Why? The best articles reflect the writer's character and voice, and contain valuable content gleaned from the writer's personal experiences. Non-writers are encouraged to hire ghost writers, but I think It's difficult for a ghost writer to make an article sound like you -- enough so that someone feels as though you're sitting across the table from them over a cup of coffee. After reading an article in one of my newsletters, I've been repeatedly told by numerous readers who know me, "Oh, that sounded just like you!" There is no higher compliment to my ears -- I know that my authenticity is coming across to my readers. That's an important aspect of article writing to me -- I want my readers to get to know, like, and trust me so that at some point they feel comfortable doing business with me.

Here's how writing and submitting articles are helping me find clients online:

1. Establishes you as an expert. I'm submitting 6-10 articles per month through an article submission service. Anyone searching for articles that I've written in any of the major article banks will probably find at least 10 that I've authored. Today I Googled my name, and found 18,300 sites listing me. I would say that about 98% of the listings actually refer to me, and that 98% of that number are links to articles banks, blogs, ezines, etc. publishing my articles. Much to my surprise, I recently discovered that I'm a SmartBiz Industry Expert at http://www.smartbiz.com/industryexpert/445

2. Demonstrates your credibility. The fact that I write the majority of my articles from my personal experiences establishes my credibility in the eyes of my readers. In fact, I've had some newsletter subscribers whom I've never met call me on the phone and start a conversation with me, as though we're old friends. In their minds, we are old friends, as they've been reading my material for some time, I, on the other hand, have to run to catch up, because I don't know anything about them. I take my time and put much effort and energy into my writing, and I think it shows in the finished pieces. There is a great deal of junk being submitted as articles to article banks, but I'm not willing to dash off a piece of fluff with little value and attach my name to it.

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