The Internet has wholly changed the dynamics of human communication. Today virtually anyone can get whatever attention his/her ideas merit for free. If you have something of value to say, it can be easier than ever to be heard.

There are three principal ways to get your message out online:

1) Start a website
2) Publish a blog
3) Write and publish articles

Starting a website can be easy if you are willing to write a check and/or embrace a little technology. Getting traffic to it is quite another matter.

Publishing a blog will require that you learn a little technology, but finding readers is still challenging.

Publishing articles may require more effort than the other forms of writing, but the trade off is that, done properly, your work will be published or 'cloned' in numerous places online. Once your article is written, you can submit it to scores or hundreds of content hungry web sites. If you have taken a little time to customize your work for each site's individual needs, chances are good that it will be accepted and published, even though it may not appear for a few months.

We actually recommend that you do all three!

Before you groan in agony contemplating all the work ahead of you, consider these important points.

People tend to buy from familiar folks whose work they trust. The website gives you the selling platform, the blog offers the best venue to showcase your humanity and personality, and the wide distribution of your articles gives you credibility, and potentially hundreds of links back to your web site so search engines will love you.

Omit any of the three, and the paradigm dramatically loses its 'ummph'.

Making it all manageable ~

In 10 easy steps you can put this all together. Two years from now you will be amazed at the difference in your business.

First - Finish reading the article and select a completion deadline. Between 6-12 months is good. It doesn't need to all happen now, nor should it.

Second - Pull out a calendar, and schedule about 2 hours a week to make this all happen. Allot about ¼ of the time to create and update your web site, about ¼ to write the articles, ¼ to write the blogs, and about ¼ to integrate everything and submit your articles to the various sites that you want to publish your work. Write down 'soft' completion dates for the different tasks.

Third - Get intimate with article submission sites. Learn their interests, desired article lengths, and technical requirements. Consult ebizstartups.com and articlesubmissionsites.com or do a Google search for 'article submission sites list' or use a service like FreeArticleSubmission.org or a pay service like TitleSEO.com. Identify 15-20 sites where you want to make your initial submissions.

Fourth - Do not write the web site text yourself. Hire a multi-disciplinary design firm or advertising agency, and have them do the necessary online research, craft the site strategy, write the site text and then finish the web pages. You may feel like you can totally write to woo your clients, but how good are you at romancing search engines?

Fifth - Take some scheduled time and list topics for 5 articles, and 10 blog entries. Be strategic. The articles should address major issues, things that are central to your expertise but not well known or understood by your target audience. The blogs should address 'facets' of the major issues discussed in your articles and be warmer, lighter, and more like stories than encyclopedia entries. Humor, warmth and fun are all fair game and good dimensions for blogs.

Sixth - Begin your articles by doing old fashioned outlines of the materials to be presented. Organize them logically and succinctly.

Seventh - Flesh out your article outlines by gathering and incorporating data, quotes, anecdotes, stories and facts.

Eighth - Now that you have your articles well underway, start your blog. Sign up for a free account and get started. Write one, introducing yourself, your business, and your plans for your blog. Don't promise more than you can deliver. Better to promise less and deliver more than vice versa.

There are countless sites offering free blog space. My favorites include Blog.com, Blogger, Wordpress, and Xanga. If you want to look at some sample blogs, try BlogSiteList.com.

Ninth - Write a brief compelling biography linking to your email, blog and website. Finish and submit your articles, customizing them as needed for individual sites.

Tenth - Be certain you are writing your blog according to plan, and as time allows, submit your articles to more sites. Always remember your audience when writing. Use their vocabulary, and make your writing well applicable to their lives or businesses.

Finally - (Our Bonus Tip!) Syndicate your articles at EzineArticles, GoArticles, or iSnare.

"They that sow in tears shall reap in joy" (Psalms 126:5)