Free Advertising on the Net
By Cas Amato   ©2004 All Rights Reserved

Website promotion is fast becoming one of the most debated subject amongst Internet marketers. There are many ways to promote your web site. Some choose opt-in lists, some banner advertising, others choose reciprocal links or ezine advertising.

However, one method which is often overlooked is writing an article and submitting it to various publications. This is, in fact, an amazing, no-cost, way to obtain great publicity for your company, Web site, or organization. And all it takes is a little bit of effort and the information about where and how to get the article published. Today there are over 300,000 online newsletters and "ezines", and their numbers are growing daily. They cover virtually any topic you can think of, ranging from working at home, to parenting, to genealogy. But the best part is that most of them rely on outside contributors for their information. In fact, many ezine publishers are only too pleased to receive quality content. Consequently, they need experts (and you are an expert on something, aren't you?) to provide short articles, tips, and advice to their readers. And we're not talking major treatises or giant tomes here. generally, about 500 - 600 words is sufficient, and many ezines publish articles as short as a paragraph or two. Usually, you won't get paid a penny for your contribution. However, because the publication will run your signature box (which includes your name, company, web site address, etc.), you'll end up getting dozens or even hundreds of leads every time your article runs. That's dozens or hundreds of new visitors to your shop, Web site, or publication. For free! So, why don't more people use article submissions to gain traffic? After all, if you hit the right chord with the readers, you'll find most of them making a bee-line for your site. One of the main reasons is probably because we think that we are not good writers. But, therein lies the beauty of the 'Net - we do not have to write literary prose - we are supposed to write at third-grade level. The Internet has its own language and vocabulary, and it does not matter if we write as we talk. As long as our message gets across to the reader, it really doesn't matter if our grammar goes astray from time to time. Another problem is that people do not know what to write about, or think that have no expertise. But, everybody is an expert in something, right. And, if you're looking for inspiration, then take a look around you. Have you received any interesting emails today? Did you visit any good web sites? have you read any articles that you totally disagree with? You have? Then, write about it! Writing articles and getting them published means is that you are bringing visitors to your site based on your skills and knowledge, not the graphic skills of your banner designer. And what can be better than receiving an ezine in you mail that contains an article YOU have written? So, start compiling a list of publications that you can submit your articles to, start writing articles about topics you have experience with, and start submitting. It is the absolute cheapest way to get qualified traffic to your site.