Updated 2026: This was the third installment in a video tutorial series about Automatic Article Submitter, a software tool that automated the process of submitting articles to online directories. The tool and the entire article directory ecosystem it served are completely defunct. But the lessons about content distribution and automation remain relevant.
What Article Submission Tools Did
In 2009, article marketing was a legitimate traffic and SEO strategy. You would write an article on a topic related to your niche, submit it to dozens of article directories like EzineArticles, and include a link back to your website in the author bio. The directories got free content, you got backlinks and traffic. It was a simple value exchange.
The problem was that submitting articles to directories was incredibly tedious. Each directory had its own registration process, formatting requirements, and category system. Tools like Automatic Article Submitter eliminated that pain by automating registration and submission across hundreds of directories simultaneously.
This particular video in the series focused on how the software handled the directory registration process. If you have ever tried to create accounts on dozens of websites manually, you understand why automation was appealing.
Why Article Directories Died
Article directories were among the first casualties of Google's quality-focused algorithm updates. The Panda update in 2011 targeted thin, low-quality content, and article directories were full of exactly that. Most of the major directories either shut down entirely or became irrelevant for SEO purposes.
The fundamental problem was that the model incentivized quantity over quality. Marketers were spinning articles to create dozens of slightly different versions and blasting them across hundreds of directories. The resulting content was often barely readable, and Google eventually decided that links from these sources were not worth counting.
What Content Distribution Looks Like in 2026
The core idea behind article marketing was sound: create content and distribute it where your audience can find it. That idea is alive and well. The execution has just evolved dramatically:
- Guest posting on quality sites. Instead of submitting to anonymous directories, write original content for established blogs and publications in your niche. One article on a respected site is worth more than a hundred directory submissions ever were.
- Content repurposing. Take a single piece of content and adapt it for multiple platforms. A blog post becomes a podcast episode, a YouTube video, a LinkedIn article, and several social media posts. This is modern content distribution without the quality compromise.
- Email newsletters. Building your own distribution channel through email remains one of the most effective ways to get your content in front of the right people.
- Community participation. Contributing genuine value in online communities, forums, and social platforms builds visibility and authority far more effectively than directory submissions ever did.
The Automation Lesson
The appeal of tools like Automatic Article Submitter was efficiency, and there is nothing wrong with wanting to be more efficient. The mistake was automating something that produced low-quality results at scale. In 2026, automation is everywhere in content marketing, from scheduling tools to AI writing assistants. The principle remains: automate the tedious parts, but never automate away the quality.
For more on sustainable content strategies, subscribe to the Late Night Internet Marketing podcast on Apple Podcasts.
Mark,
Thank you for putting this video series together! I am sure it will answer some questions I have around bum marketing.
One issue is duplicate content. I don’t get it. I can submit one article e g to EzineArticles and then many people can come and take it and put it on their site.
And that is not duplicate content? Why? Because the sites are all different and not mine or what?
What is the definition of a unique article? I can write the sentence “would you like to lose weight?” and I am sure that this is not a unique statement.
So how much must be unique?
It gets very interesting when you consider writing each sentence in an article in e g 5 different ways – still meaning the same – and then have a software generate unique articles in the sense that the wording is unique but the meaning is exactly the same. And that is not duplicate content?
And of course I can put the exact same article on any page on any of my sites or blogs and avoid any issues by using the “no follow” tag? Right?
So what if I have the very same article on multiple directories? Does it really matter that much? People come to these directories because they like them so they are many times not using Google to end up there. After all, I am writing for human beings and not for the robots so despite I would get slapped for duplicate content, the traffic resulting from humans visiting the directory and reading my article would probably be worth more than someone coming from Google directly.
Just to make it really fun I guess I could print the article and the scan it and put up on every page I have as a picture and Google would not be any the wiser.
What if the article in fact would be the Declaration of Human Rights? Some governments don’t respect these so there would be a point of having it all over the internet to spread the word. Would it be slapped by Google?
What if an article is translated into another language? Does this imply duplicate content?
Another issue I would love to see a presentation about is the use of pen names. I write in niches which are totally unrelated. I don’t want my picture shown either nor do I wish to use my own voice.
I would like the pen names to be on Facebook and other web 2.0 sites. Is this allowed or how can you do it? You hire an actor? Just like acting managers in an offshore company?
It is not that I want to hide anything in particular but my niches are so different that it would be very confusing for my members and customers if I used my real name.
Is there really any point in submitting articles to other directories than the top ten? There seems to be different opinions on it. The only thing everyone agrees upon is that EzineArticles is the best one.
Is there any point in getting backlinks from sites which have a lower page rank than my own site?
I am looking forward to the next videos!
Best wihses
Loved the last character on the video. Guess you do too
HAAAAAAAAH that was awesome! Aside from the awesome tutorial, your little guy is cute LOL What are his rates?
I highly recommend AAS as well!
Hi Mark, yet another good video post. BTW I was trying to contact you via your contact form but it seems like it is not working properly (aka not there) 🙂
Please feel free to contact me on the email provided.
/Mikael
Nice one Mark. Great to see the examples of why some of the sites failed, it’s easy to jump to the conclusion that the software is at fault when in fact the software is working beautifully. I think the star of the show though was the little guy at the end, gorgeous! 🙂
Mark,
Really digging this series right now!
The only thing that I hate about all of this?
You’re taking so long between updates!! LOL!
Come on, man! Time for some more!
I tease, but I’m serious. 😉
Wow, that’s an incredible marketing idea. I watched the video, but clicked away before the “star” appeared. Don’t do what I did – watch the whole show – or you’ll be sorry. 😉 Thanks for the head’s up guys! Had to watch it again.
Kent
Mason,
Just learned about your site today from a video you did on “Niche Finder”. The video was solid and I learned a lot. I’m looking forward to reading the articles and watching the videos on this blog… I’ll be sure to comment and leave my honest feedback.
I humbly suggest that you link less of your words to make your paragraphs easier to read. When I see a long string of hyperlinked text, my eyes get confused, and it makes it harder to read.
Thanks,
Raza
Thanks for the video, i learn much here.
@Peluang — you are quite welcome.
Man – I really got behind on this thread — sorry about that. Next tutorial chapter coming soon.
@Rolf — well, no body actually knows what Google is doing about duplicate content except for google. I personally do not believe that they are able to detect duplicate content very well in the backlink part of the algorithm — and backlinks are what you are after with multiple submissions.
If you are worried about it, you can use the AAS spinner to make each article “unique.”
I am not sure that I understand your questions about pen names. You just write your content under a different name — no need to hire an actor (maybe I misunderstood).
Your last question — The reason to submit to many directories is backlinks, not to get all 500 articles to rank.
@Charles — Thanks. Zach is the MAN.
@Josh — Thanks for your comments. I learned almost all of what I know about Article Marketing from you.
@Mikael — sorry, I will email you.
@Michelle — thanks very much. It’s really great to see you here.
@Chris — sorry. I will get back to this over the weekend.
@Kent — Glad you liked Zach. I asked him if he wanted to play outside or edit a video. He said “edit a video, daddy.” I was kidding, but he was not. LOL
@Raza — thanks and welcome. I appreciate the suggestion.
hi Mark
Cool video! Im just reviewing article submitters and felt that my top 2 were likely to be AAS and article drip robot. Do you know ADP and could you tell me if there is a “drip” function in AAS that allows articles to be put in a queue, a set and forget, whereby AAS submits it directories gradually, dependent on what the user sets it for? I think that is the main difference, but if AAS has this function somehow, then its a nobrainer!!
THanks again for your helpful videos.
Jan
Hi Mark
Just a couple of things.
This tool looks good – I have bought a couple of content submission tools and they were really expensive. Senuke for instance monthly membership is 127$ per month – I was spending so long on the technical side of it, I found I didnt get any articles out there! Cancelled it after one month.
UAW – too time consuming to set up each article submission and also expensive $67 per month.
I like the idea of AAS.
Duplicate content issue – I know you have already replied on this on a previous comment, I take it you personally submit the same content to all directories, without spinning? I have found that anything that involves spinning, to get 40 % unique articles can take an absolute age – doing it 20 times for all the keyword articles, well, – I’d rather not!!.
Before I get this, I want to be sure I am going to be able to use it easily and it will do the business.
Penny
Great videos so far. Can you also do videos on how to use the spinner and or how to import articles? Thanks
Thanks, Vue — that is definately the plan.
To be honest with you Penny — I really think that spinning is best and that you should spin. But you do not have to spin to see results currently. I am seeing results without spinning. However, I do think that spinning is the right strategy long term. AAS allows you to decide if and when you want to spin — a great thing.
Mark,
I’m interested in taking a look at the spinning feature as well. That’s the main question I have when looking at this product because I already have an article spinner that works quite well. I can use it in conjunction with article post robot – I was wondering what kind of quality the article spinning has and the different ways you can alter the articles automatically. Thanks.
Dave Wood
Mark,
I ordered this product a week ago and still haven’t gotten my free bonus. I sent the AAS Bonus email twice with my receipt. Can you send it to me please? Thank you.
David Wood
Thanks for getting this to me so quick. This was incredible, I posted this comment and had my article marketing course in less than 10 minutes. Great customer service Mark, I’ll be coming back!
-David Wood
Thanks — I had the email misconfigured.
Appreciate the heads up.
Mark,
Really, dude? Have you completely forgotten about doing this?
As a general rule of thumb, it’s not good to start a series like this and not complete it.
In all seriousness, the entire series should have been completed before you even started publishing it.
Not trying to be a jerk. Just REALLY disappointed is all. I was really interested in the software in the first place, and with you showing its features and how you use it, that was an added bonus for me to get it from you.
I hope that you have made money from this software. I just wish you’d finish the series.
Hey Chris — thanks for your comment.
You are totally right — and I don’t think that you are being a jerk at all. In fact, I am glad that you are interested, and I am sorry that I let you down.
To answer your question, No — I have not forgotten about this. The truth is that I have at least 17 excellent excuses for the delay that I will not bore you with. The bottom line is that I did not wrap this up as quickly as I planned. My bad.
I will get this back to the top of the list — I am traveling this week, but I will do my very best to get episode 4 out as soon as I can.
Thanks for you comments and you patience.
Regards,
Mark
I have read the above comments and now I am considering on waiting to purchase this
software from Mark…
I would appreciate any comments as to purchasing the software now or waiting
on getting the software at a later date.
I do want to be able to use the software at its fullest ability
Thank
Brian
Brian — the software is done and available – it’s my review of the software that is slow. Since there is a long guarentee, there is no risk in buying now.
How many videos have you produced for this software, so far I have
seen 4:
Tutorial 1a
Tutorial 2a
Tutorial 2b
Tutorial 3
Would this be all of them or is there others such as: Tutorial 1b
Thank you
Brian
PS.. What type of review are you referring to regarding the software since you are selling the
software, I would imagine you have already reviewed the software in the past or are
you reviewing additonal features, etc. as to how to use this.
Brian;
Sorry — you have all of them 1, 2a, 2b and 3
Plans are to create 4 5 and 6 soon.
I call these tutorial reviews — sorry if that is confusing. I use that term sloppily sometimes. Basically, my intent is to give a review of the software through a tutorial format.
The AAS software is written by Milan — he is selling it and the transaction when you buy it is with him. I use the software myself, and I am reviewing it for my readers. I really like it.
If people see the review and buy the software through a link on my blog, I get a commission from Milan — so my review should be considered in that light.
That is one of the reasons that I do video — it is more transparent because you can actually see the software — you don’t need to rely on my opinion as much.
Thanks,
Mark
Hey Mark,
Great VDO’s. I’m an ‘advanced’ Newbie and found vdo’s 1 thru 2b a great review of ‘The Josh KW Technique’.
I just want to pass on the following to any Mac user.
If you have an ‘Intel’ Mac I would recommend grabbing VMWare Fusion or Parallels. I personally prefer the new parallels v4+ because it’s super stable. I had a disaster trying to upgrade Fusion, but with Parallels upgrading was a breeze.
Next, of course you want to get the fastest processor that you can. In my case I have a 2.4 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo.
(It’s easy to find all this techo stuff, just click on the ‘apple’ icon in the menu bar and select “About This Mac”. You’ll get all the important info you need to ‘optimize’ your Intel Mac for running the Fusion or Parallels.)
Finally, and this is the real kicker, do what ever you can to ‘max out’ your Memory. I now have 4GB or RAM. It’s maxed out on my 24″ Intel Mac. By having more (RAM) memory running the Virtual Machine will be darn near as fast as the native Mac OS. Unbelievable.
Of course, you can see the draw back. This needs a little investment of money. One thing I like to do is do a search for Parallels Coupon, or Parallels discount. You can find some places that may give you a 5 to 10% discount.
Again, the key is to max out your memory.
Hi Mark. I’m very interested in this product and have watched your videos with great interest. Does AAS present you the URL’s of the article, once published? I mean, in an automated fashion as opposed to having to manually go in and find them. As I like build links to my links, so to speak. Thanks.
When will the other video series be released? Or have they been released? Please let us know.
Hi Mark,
just wondering, where are videos 4, 5 and 6 ? Are they uploaded somewhere else?
I would like to watch them, since I got a lot of info out of the other videos from you about AAS.
Regards,
Knilles
Hi Mark,
I purchased Automatic Article Submitter through your link and submitted my request for the bonus via your suggested email address. I received a response stating to submit the request via your support desk, which I did and have heard nothing since. It’s been about 7 days now and I wanted to find out if you’ve received my receipt/bonus request etc…
BTW, AAS is a awsome piece of software!
Cheers,
Paul.
Paul – I saw your ticket, and I think you are all set now. Sorry for the delay.
I looked at UAW long and hard until this series of vids. I’ve concluded that Automatic
Article Submitter along with a decent spin tool to save time is the route to take. I realize
AAS has a spin tool but its a bit time consuming. Anyone recommend a spinner?
Mark:
Loved the videos and am very grateful to you for giving us some
insight into article writing and how to automate submissions with
Automatic Article Submitter.
By the way was wondering where I can access videos 4, 5, and
6?
Thanks a million,
Rick
video Automatic Article Submitter Tutorial – Part 3 does not work , please reupload , Thanks
I bought Automatic Article Submitter quite a while ago now, and have stopped using it over other software purely because im not sure how to do one or 2 things with it, and i cannot see it mentioned in the videos.
How do you obtain all the URLs you have created with an autosubmission? And also, if you close the program, will it still submit articles in the job queue on the time/date it says it will?
Some help would be much appreciated as id like to get back into using it.
..And yeah, are videos 4 and 5 anywhere? Ive already bought this.