Firstly, format your articles to comply with the standards required by the Directories:

1. Use a very simple, plain font, such as Arial and use about size 12. A non-standard font may impede the conversion into text format.

2. Format your lines to about 50 characters per line, including spaces. This fits the most common line sizes used by the Article Directories.

3. Plan your article to be between about 450 and 600 words long. Your readers will be looking for brief clear information. Anything too long may discourage them from reading the whole article, yet it must be long enough to cover your subject matter.

4. Don't use flowery language or structures; keep it simple and easy to read. You'll not win any points for flowery language, and complicated sentence structures. As a golden rule, keep paragraphs quite short; no more than about three sentences.

5. If you use numbers or bullet points for a list of items, separate items by using line spaces, as has been done in this article. This is to handle the auto-format function used by some directories. The auto-format box should then be un-checked.

Put a brief outline together, starting with a title which covers your subject clearly. Remember that your potential readers are looking for useful information about something, so your title should be clear, eye-catching and should aptly summarize the content. They'll ask themselves,"Do I want to read this?" The answer is more likely to be affirmative if the title is eye-catching, and if it implies that the content will be useful to the reader.

Your opening paragraph should give a broad idea of what you're going to cover. The introduction can also be used where there's a need for a brief summary of the article, as required by some directories.

Proofread your article several times before submission, checking especially for spelling and grammatical errors. Remember to use the spell-check and word-count to make life easier .You'll not have your article published if it's littered with spelling errors and poor grammar or punctuation.

Your final paragraph should be some form of conclusion, and may include a final point of information or advice.

In conclusion, proofread once more! You'll want to be recognized for the quality of your articles, and become known by the directories. This won't happen if components of your work are sub-standard, or if your articles don't adhere to the standards laid down by the main directories.

I sincerely hope that this article will have been of some value to you, to get you started.