So you've gone through all the hard work of creating a website or blog - congratulations! You put in some content, added your product links or affiliate links, and got a really cool header banner made and you're ready to start making money.

But now what do you do? How do you get the traffic you so desperately need? And most of all... how do you get the traffic for FREE?

Here's a list of a few of my favorite free traffic sources:

Article Marketing - Start writing articles and submitting them to the article directories, especially Ezine Articles. Don't forget to add your keywords in the title and the article without "stuffing" it. Make sure your bio is attention-grabbing and has a call to action.

• Tip - Keep track of where your articles go by using Google Alerts. If you see they are being published routinely on a well-ranked blog, ask the site owner if they would like to have you send your articles directly to their in-bin whenever you write one.

Blog Posting - Write and post, write and post, and include your keywords for SEO purposes. It may be hard to do this routinely, but you will reap the rewards if you do. Blogging is a great platform for affiliate marketing because you can do product reviews as well as quality posts that help establish a relationship of trust and brand you as an expert.

Twitter - Every time you send an article to EZA they can tweet the title and a link to it. Ditto with sending an autoresponder email through AWeber or adding a picture to TwitPic. If you build up your targeted followers, Twitter is a very beneficial free traffic resource.

Yahoo Answers - This is a great way to not only get traffic but you can strut your stuff as an expert. Simply find questions in your area of expertise and give value-packed answers. Add your link as the reference material.

Guest Blogging - If you can write an interesting and value-filled post, then consider offering your services to some high-ranking blogs in exchange for being able to add your site link to your post. Again, this won't cost you any money and can bring lots of people to your site.

• Tip - Don't try this with the Gurus, unless you already know them personally. Ask marketers you've established relationships with, and know that summer is when they're most willing, and in fact eager, to have a guest blogger post for them.

Forums - Search for forums in your niche and join the ones with the most traffic. Answer questions, give feedback and become useful in these forums. Be sure to add your link in your signature line, if they allow it. People will build a relationship with you, see that you know what you're talking about, and visit your site.

• Tip - It's important with any of these resources to be legitimate and not spam people. Before you jump into a new arena, read the rules! Then take a look around and get a feel for what is acceptable (the unwritten rules.) If you come across as too pushy or spammy, you've done yourself much more harm than good.