Writing articles is one of the best ways to get free targeted traffic to your website and isn't as hard as you may think!

You don't need to be an expert on the topic you are writing about. Just pick an area that is related to the theme of your website, do some research using a search engine and before you know it you will have more knowledge on that subject than most.

Here are a few tips for writing your article:

? Think up a catchy headline to attract readers. If you've not re-written your headline at least a few times, it could probably be better!

? Try to keep the length of your article to around 500-1000 words

? Keep paragraphs short and to the point ? lots of white space makes your article easier on the eye for readers

? Don't waffle ? people can become bored quickly on the internet and it's easy to go and read another article instead.

? Don't forget to spell check your article and if possible get someone to proof read it for you.

Once you have your article written, you must remember to add a resource box. This is your chance to tell everyone about you and your website.

If someone has taken the time to read your article right to the end, the chances are that they will be interested in finding out more. This is a great opportunity for you to gain another targeted visitor to your site.

Your next task is to submit your article, complete with its resource box to as many article directories as possible. Start by adding the article to your own website, then submit it to as many directories as you can find.

Alternatively, just type "Article Directories" into Google and start working your way through the 2.1 million results returned!

Finally, the best part ... After a few days you will begin to see your article appearing all over the web.

The beauty of submitting to article directories is that other webmasters go there to search for content for their own websites or newsletters, so you may find your article in places that you didn't expect for months, or even years to come.

Still not convinced? Here are a few more good reasons for you to start writing:

1. Improved Search Engine Positioning ? all these high quality links to your web page from content rich pages will increase your popularity with the search engines

2. Increased credibility for you ? it will help to brand you as an expert in your field

3. Free Advertising ? you have the opportunity to advertise yourself and your site through your resource box

4. You can use your articles to add original content to your own website and send to the subscribers of your own ezine

5. It won't cost you a penny!

Writing your first article can be scary, but the rewards gained from doing so are more than worth the effort!

Suzanne Morrison is the webmaster and owner of http://www.homebiz-direct.com To learn more about how to promote your website visit her Beginner's Guide to Internet Marketing