If a site wants to swap links with me, I say "Give me content and I'll give you content."
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Creating a link in content is much more powerful than a link in a directory.
There are many characteristics of killer content, most of which are important enough to make or break your launch. Remember that even a low quality link is as strong as its weakest link.
There are too many better ways out there for building links. I think that people spend too much time on these systems, what you really need is a variety of links. I don't think you should make it your main focus.

