I've created a few (not interested in creating them for anyone else, so please don't ask. Sorry) that have stuck for the last 7 or 8 years now. I have also managed to edit existing pages (add my back links) and have those stick to.
It really depends on a few factors and it needs to be done in the spirit of Wikipedia. Don't expect to slap some spam up and last. Needs to be well thought out, structured, have citations and be somewhat useful and relevant.
It's been a while since I toyed with Wikipedia but I imagine it's much the same today. Provide value and you should be OK. Your best bet if you don't want to pay someone else is to just give it a shot yourself. Try to emulate a similar page that has been around for a while. Worst case it gets deleted. Best case, you now know how to get your own wiki links.