How would you like to have your name and web address spread all over the internet?

How would you like to have your web site move up to the first few pages on the major search engines?

Actually, it's not as difficult as you may think. It requires some time and effort on your part, however, the rewards can far outweigh the effort that you put in.

Not only can you receive thousands of dollars worth of free advertising and promotion, but you can also develop a reputation as a smart person, one who many people would like to be affiliated with.

So, just what is this all-powerful genie of self promotion?

Believe it or not, it's Article Writing.

That's right, the absolute best method that I have found to get free advertising is to write articles and submit them to ezine publishers and article directories. Website owners and ezine publishers are always looking for content for their sites and newsletters. Why not let them publish yours.

Let me give you an example of the power of writing. I had written just 1 home business article and submitted it to about a dozen online article submission sites. Prior to this, when I checked Google to see how many links I had coming in to my site, MLM Wonders, it showed only 37 links. About 2 weeks after submitting my article I checked again and had well over 300 links incoming.

If you're not sure what that means, let me explain.

By submitting my article to those few sites, I was giving anyone the permission to download it and use it as content on their sites. By checking just one of the sites I submitted to I found that my article was downloaded over 150 times. So, if 150 people put my article on their web site, just think of the exposure (and links) I am getting.

If you consider the fact that those 150 web sites may get thousands of views each month, my little article could be seen by hundreds of thousands of people. All at no cost to me!

You may also be thinking that people do not want to read articles that are just advertisements with a lot of links in them so how does that let you promote your site.

You're right about that, and also remember that most article submission sites will not let you submit articles that are just advertisements for your site or products. In fact I don't put any links into the body of my articles.

So how are all those links coming to my site?

Simple. With each article you write, you have the opportunity to put a resource box at the end. This short 'Signature File' is usually around 5 lines and is where you introduce yourself and tell the readers about what you are selling and how they can get more information. It can contain a link to your web site and an email address. This is your advertisement, and it's free.

What's the matter, don't think you can write about anything interesting?

I didn't think I could either. Then I got to thinking about what I have been doing online for the past few years. I thought about some of the problems I had and how I fixed them and how I used the internet to make money (i.e. this article). I also decided that other people may want to know about these things and presto, a writer was born!

Thousands of people are joining the internet every day and are looking for information on particular topics. Some may be looking for ways to make money, others may be looking for recipes, or articles on pets, or just about anything. The possibilities are endless. If you have a favorite hobby, share it with others by writing articles about it.

If you're not sure about a topic, do a little research on the internet. Read other articles, check websites and then condense what you learn into an article.

You don't need to be an experienced writer, just write like you would talk to someone about your topic. Try to be grammatically correct and check your spelling, or have someone check it for you.

Don't try to write it all at once either. If you're not sure what you are going to say, simply jot down whatever comes to mind then go back and fill in the paragraphs. Stop for awhile and then come back to it. You'll be surprised at how much you can remember about your topic when you are just walking around, then you can come back and type it out.

Try to keep your articles between 500 and 1000 words. Keep your paragraphs short as this makes for easier reading. If you don't like writing paragraphs, you could make it a 'Tips' article, for instance, "7 Tips For ***", or "10 Good Reasons To ***".

Writing articles can give you free promotion and at the same time develop a favourable reputation for you on the Internet.

So what are you waiting for?

Randy Justason is the Owner/Webmaster of MLM Wonders - http://www.mlmwonders.com - A website dedicated to opportunities, ideas and resources for starting a home based business on the internet. You can subscribe to the MLM Wonders free monthly Newsletter at: mailto:subscribe@mlmwonders.com