3 Tips for Developing Healthy Article Submission Habits

Determining the optimal rate at which to submit articles can be a bit of a balancing act - if you go overboard and submit too many articles in a too short a period of time, publishers aren't going to be too happy with you. On the other hand, if you don't submit enough, then you can reduce the potential benefits you'd otherwise receive.

The trick is to find that middle ground - an optimal article submission rate that allows you to stay in the good graces of the publishers, but also gives you powerful bang for your buck SEO-wise.

What is a healthy article submission rate?

I recommend submitting between 1 and 8 articles a month. This submission schedule is both doable and maximizes your potential results.

For a lot of people though, even submitting 1 to 8 articles a month may sound like too many - how can you develop the habit of writing that many quality articles a month?

Here are 3 pointers to help you stay motivated and develop an article submission schedule that'll give you the most payoff:

1) Set monthly article writing goals.

Did you know that people who set specific goals for themselves tend to be more successful than those who just coast through life taking things day by day?

A goal is like a target that we aim for that helps us focus our daily efforts and get to where we want to go.

I encourage you to use goal setting with your article marketing - decide how many articles you want to submit each month, and then schedule time on your calendar when you'll write those articles.

I have a writing schedule that I stick to that takes the guesswork out of my writing time. When I sit down at my desk, I look at my schedule and see, "Ahh, I'm writing an article today" and then I hop to it!

This makes it so that I don't end up at the end of the month feeling guilty and trying to scramble to crank out several articles at once.

2) Write in the early morning.

If you'll take a look at the writing habits of professional non-fiction writers, you'll notice that a lot of them are early morning writers.

Why is this?

Here are a few excellent reasons why the early morning is a super-productive time for writers:

a. Early morning is usually the quietest time of the day. If you wake up before the rest of your household (maybe even as early as 4am), you can generally hear a pin drop, which is great for your concentration.

b. Your mind is more clear and fresh, as the trials of the day haven't started yet. Some people speculate that creativity is at its peak when we first wake up. At least for myself, by the afternoon my mind is mush, and I'm much less likely to create a strong article.

c. It just plain feels good to get your writing out of way for the day first thing - and we don't use up any brain power procrastinating!

3) "Time box" your writing sessions.

One of the reasons why folks procrastinate with their writing is that they dread that it will go on and on, taking up bunches of time from their day with an uncertain result.

I use a productivity technique called "time boxing" to remedy this. Time boxing is merely setting a pre-determined block of time to do a task (such as write an article) and then committing to quitting when the time is up.

It's interesting that by setting a time limit on your writing, it makes you more efficient. When your brain realizes it only has a limited amount of time to accomplish a task, it goes into overdrive!

The amount of time you pick is up to you - you might go with a 1-hour time box to start with, and then if you're not finished with your article, do a time box of 30 minutes the following day to finish things up.

Also, psychologically time boxing helps keep us motivated because we can see a light at the end of the tunnel - we know we're sitting down to write for a limited amount of time, and that's a relief!

Put these suggestions to the test and see if you notice a difference! These 3 tips can make a huge impact on your ability to stick to a healthy article submission schedule.

With article marketing, consistency is key. If you set goals, write at a time when your mind is freshest and has the least distractions, and then put boundaries on your writing time, then writing 1-8 articles a month will be absolutely feasible, and you'll get optimum results for your article writing efforts!