{"id":1705,"date":"2009-06-06T14:03:55","date_gmt":"2009-06-06T20:03:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.masonworld.com\/?p=1705"},"modified":"2026-04-03T07:36:52","modified_gmt":"2026-04-03T12:36:52","slug":"automatic-article-submitter-tutorial","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.latenightim.com\/automatic-article-submitter-tutorial\/","title":{"rendered":"Article Marketing Software: A Review of What Worked and What We Learned"},"content":{"rendered":"

Updated 2026:<\/strong> This post launched a multi-part video tutorial series about Automatic Article Submitter, article marketing software that automated the process of submitting content to article directories. Both the software and the article directory model are completely defunct. But the underlying strategies I discussed, particularly article marketing as a traffic source and the concept of bum marketing, contain lessons that are still worth examining.<\/p>\n

Why I Was Excited About Article Marketing Software<\/h2>\n

In 2009, article marketing was one of the most accessible ways to drive traffic to a website. You wrote articles about topics in your niche, submitted them to directories, and included a link back to your site in the author bio. The directories got free content to publish, you got backlinks and traffic. Simple, effective, and free.<\/p>\n

The problem was that manual submission was incredibly time-consuming. Registering for dozens of directories, formatting articles to meet each one's requirements, and managing the submission process could eat up an entire evening. That is where tools like Automatic Article Submitter came in. The software automated the tedious parts, letting you focus on creating the content itself.<\/p>\n

I was a genuine believer in this tool and the article marketing strategy it supported. I had seen real results using article marketing to drive traffic, including a memorable experiment where I drove hundreds of visitors to a sales page about chicken coops just to prove it could be done in any niche.<\/p>\n

The Bum Marketing Concept<\/h2>\n

The tutorial series was built around a bum marketing experiment. Bum marketing was the idea that you could make money online with absolutely no investment. You did not need a website, a product, or even an email list. You just needed to write articles that ranked in search engines and included affiliate links.<\/p>\n

I was inspired by Jennifer from PotPieGirl.com, who laid out exactly this approach when asked what she would do if she had to start from scratch with nothing but a computer. Her answer was to create content aggressively and use article marketing to generate seed money.<\/p>\n

The bum marketing approach worked in 2009, but it had a fatal flaw: you were building on rented land. When article directories collapsed after Google's Panda update in 2011, everything built on that foundation disappeared.<\/p>\n

What Replaced Article Marketing<\/h2>\n

The core principle of article marketing, creating content to attract traffic, is the foundation of modern content marketing. The execution has changed completely:<\/p>\n

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  • Publish on your own platform first.<\/strong> Your blog, your YouTube channel, your podcast. Build assets you own and control.<\/li>\n
  • Optimize for search intent, not just keywords.<\/strong> Modern SEO rewards content that genuinely answers questions and solves problems, not content that is engineered to game algorithms.<\/li>\n
  • Quality over quantity.<\/strong> One deeply researched, well-written article is worth more than fifty thin directory submissions. Google rewards depth, originality, and genuine expertise.<\/li>\n
  • Build an email list.<\/strong> The biggest lesson from the article directory era is that you need to own your relationship with your audience. An email list gives you a direct line of communication that no algorithm change can take away.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    The Bottom Line<\/h2>\n

    I do not regret the time I spent on article marketing. It taught me how to write for a specific audience, how to think about keywords and search intent, and how to drive traffic to offers. Those skills translated directly to modern content marketing. The tools died, but the lessons survived.<\/p>\n

    For more on content strategy and building online businesses, subscribe to the Late Night Internet Marketing podcast on Apple Podcasts<\/a>.<\/p>\n