Tip #3 – Make sure site is easy to use - Can visitors to site find articles quickly, or do they have to dig around? I’m sure you’ve been to sites that have horrible navigation. The same is true for some article submission sites. When you get there, make sure articles are easy to find. If they’re not, don’t waste your time.

- Does site have a category list and search function? Make sure site has both, as some users will want to use categories, others will search, and still others will do both.

Tip #4 – Make sure it’s easy to submit your article - Can you submit articles quickly and easily? Some require you to login, which is okay, because then you'll probably have an "author page" where you can add a bit more information about yourself, and people can find a list of all of your articles. However, if site makes you enter very much personal information, confirm more than once (most will require you to confirm your email address) or scan your fingerprint (haha, that’ll be day), you can probably skip them. You don’t want to do that every time you want to submit an article, especially if you’re submitting to more than 5 directories.

- If they proofread your article, how long does it take? Some sites proof-read your articles, which is okay, as long as it doesn't take more than 24 hours for your article to be approved and made active on their site.

Tip #5 – Is site popular? - Have many articles been posted in past few weeks? If site hasn’t has submissions for a few weeks, or they’re trickling in, chances are that’s because it’s dead. Do keep in mind, though, that submitting to a brand new site is always great, because chances are owner is promoting it as much as possible, which means great exposure for your articles.

Tip #6 – Do they offer a large list of categories? - How many categories do they have? Most sites have quite a few categories, or they’re targeted to one area (like Internet Marketing). That’s perfect. But if you come across a directory that isn’t targeted, and doesn’t have many categories, skip it. Publishers probably won’t pay it much attention because less categories means less targeting, and more articles to sift through to find what they want.

Congratulations you on choosing article writing to boost your online exposure! It’s an easy technique that, if done correctly, will more than pay for time you spent writing articles. Ok, now go out there and start submitting!

Plus, they have gone through a listing cycle and may be anxious to get on with their lives. But, as you know, or will soon learn, all listings aren't worth having.

As for me, I initially listed every property that I could; vacant land, single family homes, condo's, triplexes, mobile home parks, mobile homes, homes in top notch condition, fixer uppers, whatever.

And I got to feeling pretty darn good (and just a little smug) as my listing portfolio grew to more listings than I could manage.

So, I first hired a part time clerk/assistant to help me market my listings, then took on a newly licensed salesperson as a partner and split listing fees 50/50. Pretty soon my listing system was humming and I was averaging 1-2 listings a week.

I then had an army of agents working for me day and night, as almost all of my listings were in Multiple Listing System. Working to get me paid, even when I was chaperoning field trips, getting a haircut, or just taking a day off!

That's what a good real estate listing system can do for you!

So, if you don't have a good listing system you should get one. After all, if real estate listings are lifeblood of industry then how successful can you be without them?