Updated 2026: This post was part of a tutorial series about Automatic Article Submitter, a now-defunct tool for submitting articles to online directories. The software and the directory ecosystem it served are both history. But this installment introduced the concept of bum marketing, which is worth revisiting because it illustrates a timeless principle about building an online business with minimal investment.

What Was Bum Marketing?

Bum marketing was a term coined in the late 2000s to describe a method of making money online with literally no startup capital. The idea was simple: find a product to promote as an affiliate, write articles about topics related to that product, submit those articles to directories with your affiliate link in the author bio, and earn commissions when readers clicked through and bought. No website needed. No investment required beyond your time.

In the tutorial video, I demonstrated how to select a product to promote and explained fundamental considerations for product selection. The goal was to show that even using a mediocre approach to research and content creation, you could generate traffic and potentially earn commissions through article marketing.

Why This Strategy Stopped Working

Article directories collapsed after Google's Panda update in 2011, which targeted low-quality content farms. The specific mechanics of bum marketing died with those directories. But the strategy had deeper problems even before Panda:

• No asset building. When you publish content on someone else's platform, you do not own anything. When the directories disappeared, so did all the content and traffic.
• Race to the bottom. Because the barrier to entry was zero, competition was fierce and content quality was terrible. Thousands of people were writing nearly identical articles about the same products.
• No relationship with the audience. Directory articles were anonymous and transactional. There was no way to build a list, develop trust, or create repeat visitors.

The Principle That Survived

Here is what bum marketing got right: you can start an online business with nothing but time and effort. That principle is more true in 2026 than it was in 2009. The difference is that today's no-cost strategies actually build lasting assets:

• Start a blog on a free or low-cost platform. WordPress, Ghost, or even Substack give you a home base you control, where you build an audience over time.
• Create content on social platforms. YouTube, TikTok, LinkedIn, and podcasting all let you reach large audiences without spending money. The key difference from article directories is that these platforms have real audiences actively consuming content.
• Build an email list from day one. Free tiers on email platforms like MailerLite or ConvertKit let you start collecting subscribers immediately. This is the asset that bum marketing never built.
• Promote affiliate products you actually use. Honest recommendations backed by personal experience convert far better than generic articles ever did.

The dream of building an income stream from nothing but effort and creativity is still alive. You just need to build on platforms and strategies that create lasting value.

For more on starting an internet business with minimal investment, subscribe to the Late Night Internet Marketing podcast on Apple Podcasts.