Writing ezine articles and distributing them to article directories is an excellent method of free website promotion. Why is article writing and publishing so good? The first reason most people will quote is that it is free. Another reason is that writing ezine articles is something almost anyone can do; you don't need anything special in the way of brain power or education to write acceptable articles: all you need in order to get started is a grasp of basic written English, and something to say.

What is an ezine? Ezine stands for "electronic magazine". As the name suggests, an ezine is a web-based magazine to be read online. Ezines exist for every topic imaginable and come in all sorts of shapes and sizes. Some ezines are great big multi-page productions containing full page illustrations and advertising as well as articles (very similar to paper magazines). Some are single web pages. Many ezines are actually newsletters that are sent by email to subscribers.

Many people panic at the very thought of writing ezine articles. This is perfectly understandable when you consider that few people carry on with creative writing after they leave the education system. If lack of recent practice is your problem, the easiest way to get started is to write a practice article on a topic related to any subject you know something about. Set yourself the goal of writing five paragraphs each containing two to four sentences. When you are writing, imagine that you are explaining something to a friend, don't use convoluted sentences or flowery phrases: the object is to be understood, not to send your reader rushing to find a dictionary. If you don't write in a way that's easily understood, your articles won't get read; people reading ezine articles online want instant easily accessible information.

There are plenty of people who will admit that they found essay writing a chore when they were at school. If this is how you feel, take my word: writing ezine articles for free website promotion is nothing like writing essays on boring topics dictated by a school curriculum. If you have a website you feel is worth promoting, put some of that enthusiasm into some short articles telling the world the reasons why they should visit your website. If you are promoting a particular product, write separate detailed reviews of its various functions. "How to" articles are perennially popular, so write some ezine articles to pass on tips relating to your product.

The first thing most people say when they are told they should write ezine articles, is that they don't have anything to say. This feeling is very common in first-time website owners because, until they get a bit of experience, they feel overwhelmed and intimidated. They have the feeling that, due to their limited experience of webmastery, they have no knowledge worth passing on. It is as if they feel that, by becoming a website owner, they have stepped into a different world where none of their worldly knowledge and past experiences count. If you are being held back by these feelings, remind yourself that the Internet is not a different world, it is part of your world and is "inhabited" by people just like you.

Ezine articles work as a means of free website promotion because they are read by ordinary mortals. Forget about being a webmaster and draw upon your real life experiences to write articles; by writing about your own experiences, you will communicate more effectively with other people online. Remember, ezine readers are ordinary people just like you.