This is a growing trend that is catapulting unknown authors to known experts. The idea is simple: write an article about a chosen topic, submit it through the multitude of article submission sites and presto – your message and content is delivered to people who are looking for exactly what you are “selling.”

The article isn’t a sales pitch however. When you write the article, keep in mind that people really do want to know about the topic you’ve chosen and they want to learn something. Teach them something about what it is you’ve chosen and the idea is to come across as an expert or at least highly knowledgeable in that area so people can trust your information and visit your website to learn more about you and what it is you do.

Here are just a few of the benefits of article marketing:

1. It’s FREE! That’s right, totally 100% free and it is so powerful. Submitting articles through directories does not take up more than ten minutes of your time (excluding actually writing the article) and once submitted it becomes searchable on all search engines and if posted on your website as well, helps with search engine optimization.

2. It promotes your website. Even though writing an article is not a sales pitch, you always enclose an “About the Author” at the end of the article which is great for you! You can add your URL, a short blurb about what you do, a note about your e-zine; whatever you feel is necessary to have in that area.

3. They are used over and over again. If I am doing a search on a particular topic for my latest blog entry and I come across your article, I am going to copy and paste it (including the disclaimer and about the author section of course) and put it on my website which in turn gets you exposure for free. If someone sees it on my blog, they may copy and paste it for their blog which gives you that much more free advertising and publicity. Never underestimate the power of viral marketing.

One hint with using article submission sites: download the free program RoboForm. Some of the submission sites have a lot of information to enter each and every time so you can cut your time in half (or more than half!) with the use of a downloadable program like RoboForm which is a “form filler.”

Resources We Recommend

RoboForm.com – An automated form filler and password keeper for your computer’s internet browser. Cuts down your time spent on repetitive form filling.

EzineArticles.com – One of the biggest and best article submission sites on the web. You can setup an account and post as many articles as you like. Also provides you with great statistics on the number of views you’ve received, how many times your link has been followed and if it has been e-mailed out.