You only have to pay if you need someone to write it for you. If you have good writing skills (and I don't mean anything special) then you'll be able to get published on sites provided you have something to talk about. Post your URL and maybe we can see something you can talk about.
I agree with SEO - also getting backlinks from other sites. There is plenty of software out there that will help with that such as Arelis. Also, search the sites of the people who have linked to you for other possible link partners. You can manually search for Web sites that have the same theme as your Web site. When requesting a link, make sure to highlight what your site has to offer visitors, and why they should link to it. You need to give them a compelling case to visit your site. Check out the link popularity of your competitors, find out who is linking to them and try to convince them that your site is also a good bet.