When I was newly online and learning about online business, clicking on the links in articles, forums, and discussion groups signatures was my primary method of finding good information.

I reasoned that if the person was published, odds were that they were somewhat of an expert on that subject. And, if they were experts, the products and services they sold or recommended were likely to be good. Those were the people whose products I bought and whose lists I joined.

If you include a signature with each article, including a line or two about your business and your website URL and/or email address, you may be very amazed at the traffic it will generate for you - the best kind of targeted traffic, too!

Are you having trouble just getting started? I understand. And I can't tell you that writing isn't hard work. It certainly is for me. But once you write the first article it gets much easier. In fact, you may discover, as I did, that you have a hard time stopping!

Here's a "jump-start plan" to get you going:

1. Get a notebook and pen, or if you are a "cut and paste" writer like me - a word processor or computer, and just brainstorm ideas for articles. If you are at a total loss, go and read some articles in other's e-zines or websites. That may spark an idea for a different approach to the same subject or remind you of your own experiences in that area.

Think about what You need or want to know. What have you learned from experience that might help others? Once you get started you will come up with many ideas. Write each one down. If you think of a good title for that article, write that down too. Make it "catchy."

2. What you should do next depends on you. There are several ways writers' work, depending on their personalities. You may like to order and organize your points first by making an outline of the information you plan to include or the points you intend to make. Then all you have to do is go back and "flesh out" the points, adding useful facts or links to more information.

Or, you may be a natural teacher, and write just as though you are explaining the subject to the reader in person. Either method is fine, just do what is comfortable for you. One method may work best for one kind of article and the other for another kind.

3. In either case, don't forget to add "personality" to your writing. Share some of yourself with your readers, make your writing uniquely your own. It's fine to read e-zines and others' articles to see what people may be interested in and spark your own ideas, but don't pattern yourself after someone else. People want to feel that they know You - Your knowledge and personality. This is what builds loyalty.

If it fits with your subject, don't be afraid to mention your product or service and give the URL or email address, but DON'T write a "glorified ad" and call it an article! That can offend a publisher so that they won't even consider articles from you in the future.

4. After you've finished writing your article, read it through aloud, preferably to someone else who will ask questions if they don't understand some point. (You may get an idea for a sequel here too!}

5. Run a spell checker! If you own Microsoft Word or something similar, run the grammar checker also. Have someone else proof-read it for you. Even professional proof-readers will tell you that they try to have someone else proof-read their own writing, because it is next to impossible to catch your own mistakes.

6. Once you finish your article and make any necessary changes, you will need to submit it to as many websites and e-zines as you can. Search the web for "article directory" and you will find many places to submit your article for free. There are also, of course, paid services and software that will do the submissions for you, but you may want to wait until you have successfully written a few articles before you choose to pay.

As I said earlier, writing is hard work for me, and I reworked my first article many times before I was satisfied. But if you persevere you may discover that it can be loads of fun as well as a great promotion method and a quick path to "web-guru-ness."