The point here is to write original articles (or have them ghost written) and attach your own bio or resource box to the end of the article, along with a link to your website or your opt-in page.

Then, you allow others "free reprint rights" to your articles on the condition that they leave your resource box intact. If done correctly, high quality articles can be passed on and on, from one reprinted to another, with no further effort from you.

Sounds easy .... right?

Well, it is. But the traditional methods of article distribution, while they still work to some degree, do not work as well as they once did.

High dollar training courses and a myriad of ebooks have been written about marketing with articles. As a result, competition for article distribution is more fierce than ever before.

Until a couple of years ago, when the floodgates opened, quietly submitting two or three good articles each month to online article directories could gain you a steady flow of incoming traffic and new opt-in list subscribers, all at no cost to you.

While that is still a good idea, and it does help, directory submissions alone are not as effective as they once were. Nowadays, most article directories are flooded on a daily basis with new submissions. Sometimes it takes several weeks after submission before your article is finally approved and placed online in the directory.

Even then, your article is likely to be just another one of dozens or even hundreds that are freely available for reprinting.

So, effective viral marketing with articles involves using a bit of ingenuity to get your articles out of that huge and ever-growing pool, and make them stand alone in full view of those who will be most likely to reprint them.

Here are a few ideas you can use toward that end.

1. Offer your articles to your own mailing list first, before you submit them elsewhere. This will go a long way toward building credibility, good relationships, and making your list members feel special. Chances are your list includes more potential (or established) online publishers than you might realize.

2. Create an ebook every month or two that contains at least 10 to 12 of your freshest articles. Then use the viral ebook tactics described elsewhere in this volume to distribute those ebooks. You can allow the articles to be copied directly from the ebook if you wish. But a better tactic might be to include links to separate auto responders, one for each article, where reprinters can instantly acquire a formatted copy of the article of their choice, along with an invitation to opt-in to your exclusive articles release mailing list.

3. Contact webmasters and newsletter publishers directly, offering to write exclusively or semi-exclusively for them. In this case, it's important to include a link in your article resource box that offers a source of "other free articles for reprint" that you can provide. Getting your articles placed on only a few high traffic websites, or in a few big list newsletters, can quickly increase your traffic up front, and set off a viral distribution effect that can go on for weeks, months, or even years.