"Writing Articles for Link Popularity "

One of the topics discussed at PubCon was the idea of submitting articles to generate traffic and to gain link popularity. My questions are the following;

1) What are a few quality sites where you can submit articles? (Not 100 in a list but 2-5 quality submission sites)

2) Does anyone have any examples of articles they have written that were widely distributed? Any tips on achieving this?

3) Would an article on the history of the sundial be a good idea for a site that sells sundials?

Thanks for your help, questions 1 & 2 are the ones I am most interested in.

[athand24.com]

For me the best working article directories are:
buzzle.com
ezinearticles.com
I get real visitors from there, not only link popularity!

and this is my most readed and republished articel:
Free Advertising for Vacation Rentals and Holiday Homes
I don't know why. I supose because the people love the word "free"

[ATXBroker]

i like ezinearticles.com as well. Also I get good traffic from ideamarketers.com

Joe

Joe Cline works in Austin Texas Real Estate. If you are looking to buy, sell, or want to refer a client to Joe in regard to Austin Real Estate, it would be my pleasure to help. Referrrals paid.

[naplesrealestate]

I have a big writers block and have difficulty deciding if an article submission versus a post on my blog is better.