The first thing we're all told when starting a new site is to promote it. Unfortunately, at least in the beginning, most of us don’t have a budget for promotions. Thus, we're looking for cheap or preferably free methods of promotion, which will still provide us with success.

One of the best ways to promote your website is without doubt through the production of articles such as this one. The only thing better than an excellent method of promotion is one that’s free, and assuming you write your own copy, this is. Producing a well researched, well put together article provides you with (as a minimum) 3 things as a Webmaster.

1) Brands you as an expert in the field your writing about, particularly if the article being read is one of a series.

2) Provides a link back to your website (don’t forget this isn’t just one link, it'll appear on the site of EVERY Webmaster that takes your article.)

3) Provides you additional content for your own site. It’s also a good idea to archive previous articles on your site for readers to access.

There are also various things that the budding writer needs to take into account when looking to get your article in front of prospective visitors to your site.

1) Write about something you know about and interests you. Remember, that a lot of the people reading your article will already have a certain amount of knowledge of the area, so make sure you get your facts right otherwise that credibility you've been working so hard to gain will just disappear. If a subject interests you, then your enthusiasm for it shows in your writing, people can see it and the enthusiasm can be infectious.

2) Harness the inherent power of the web. If you submit your article to the right places, then it can't fail to be seen by a decent amount of webmasters, who, if its of sufficient quality might just use it on their site. Examples of places you might want to consider submitting articles to are article banks and Announcement lists that accept articles. Another advantage of promoting your articles at these types of sites is the addition

Once you've found sites that accept the type of article you've written, be sure to read the guidelines for submission and adjust your text accordingly. This will give you a much better chance of being accepted by the site in the first place. Examples of sites you might want to consider submitting to are as follows:-

http://www.goarticles.com

http://www.ideamarketers.com

http://www.articlecity.com

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/article_announce

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Free-Content

http://www.linksnoop.com

The last tip for this article is an obvious one, but one overlooked by many. Write regularly, now whilst many sites will only accept an article from you on a set timescale (in most cases weekly) if you can have a decent article ready to release for public consumption on a regular basis you stand a much better chance of building up your reputation as an expert in your chosen field. Remember, the hardest thing to build up online is credibility. Get the reader to trust you know what your talking about, once they trust you and respect your opinions, there more likely to buy something you recommend.

So, in summary write about things you know about and that interest you, write regularly so your readers know to expect something new from you. This will enhance your credibility with potential buyers who will be in a better frame of mind when they follow the link at the bottom of your article to your site.

Steve Aston
Joint-Webmaster at http://www.virtualfountain.com