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Home::Newsletters
Jump-Starting a New Ezine
Author : Gail Hornback
You've decided. You know it is critical to your online success,
and you are ready to jump in and become an Ezine Publisher. Good
for you! You are headed in the right direction.
No doubt, the biggest hurdle you'll find along this road is
simple getting started. The easy part is actually developing
your idea, setting up your format, deciding on your content, how
to mail it out, etc. That's a breeze. No problem.
The challenge comes after that is all finished. Now you need to
start enlisting subscribers.
Get ready to work!
First of all, you MUST face the facts. Some recent statistics
tell us that there are AT LEAST 300,000 ezines out there. And
every one of those ezine are competing for the same
subscribers!!
So, are you one of those that, when faced with those kinds of
facts, promptly gets discouraged? Then, maybe you need to face
another fact: You may be in the wrong business! But if you're
one of those who is motivated by a challenge, then read on.
First of all, building a successful subscriber list IS a
challenge. But it is NOT impossible, if you know what you're
doing, and also what everyone else is doing.
If you're willing to work harder than most ezine publishers, you
will get your share of the subscriber market. One reason? A
large majority of new ezine publisher, create their ezine, place
a subscribe form on their site, submit it to a handful of ezine
directories, and proceed to sit back and wait for the onslaught
of sign-ups. NOT!
Building a subscriber list is a multi-tasker's dream! The secret
is in the numbers. Number of places you get your information,
number of different methods you use, numbers, numbers, numbers!
( Work, work, work.)
But, we're getting ahead of ourselves. Let's get back to just
getting started. That was the hurdle we were talking about. If
you are stuck in that overwhelming land of "I don't know where
to start", then here are 4 ways you can jump start your
subscriber list. Start here, and I promise, the ball will start
rolling.
1. Submit to Ezine Directories and Announcement Lists.
EVERY ONE YOU CAN FIND! Remember, numbers. Here are a list of
some of the best ones to get you started. Do a search for Ezine
Directories.
http://www.bestezines.com http://www.ezineaction.com
http://www.ezineadvertising.com http://www.ezine-dir.com
http://www.ezinelibrary.com http://www.ezinelocater.com
http://www.ezine-marketing.com http://www.ezinesearch.com
http://www.ezinesplus.com http://www.ezinestoday.com
http://www.ezine-swap.com http://www.ezine-universe.com
Most will ask for a description of your ezine. A well- written
description can make all the difference in whether folks choose
to subscribe. As you're looking at these directories, make note
of the descriptions that catch your eye.
You might want to check out a great piece of software called
Ezine Announcer. Takes most of the pain and tedious-ness out of
this submission process. http://wetrack.it/eza/af.cgi?47
2. Join an Ad Co-op.
An Ad Co-op is a service (free to publishers) that sends you
subscribers, in return for you running their classified ad.
These folks have agreed to subscribe to your ezine. You have
agreed to run their classified ad.
Two of the best of these are:
2Bucks An Ad http://hop.clickbank.net/hop.cgi?webworks/paaads
10Dollars20ads.com http://hop.clickbank.net/?webworks/cashgalore
Note: The subscribers you get from these programs are not quite
as valuable, percentage-wise as the ones that choose to sign up
from your site, or from an ezine directory. Many use yahoo and
hotmail addresses to collect the ezines, and may never see your
issue. BUT, once again, it is all in the numbers. You WILL gain
some loyal subscribers from these.
3. Install a Popup.
Yes, we know, there is a lot of muttering about popups around
the internet. BUT, facts are, we, and many others have seen the
largest increase in subscriber sign-ups after installing one.
They don't have to be intrusive. A well- done popup can get some
amazing results. (Especially when combined with #4 below!)
Installing a popup is somewhat of an advanced technique for your
site. But we do have an article with instructions. If you would
like a copy, just send an email to:
mailto:gailh@cmymtc.com?subject=popup
4. Give away a gift for Subscribing.
Giving away a gift to your new subscribers can work for you in
more than one way. First of all, it can obviously work as an
incentive to subscribe, if you are providing a gift that has
value and usefulness. Secondly, if you are giving away a gift
(ebook or software) that contains information about you and your
site, then you are doubling its marketing value.
Ultimately, you want to work toward the goal of creating your
own unique give-a-way product. One you can give away, AND
provide to others to give away. (This is called Viral
marketing.) But, realistically, if you are just getting started
as a publisher, you may not be ready for this. So, give away
someone else's product! There are many available that allow you
to insert your site information in a prominent spot on the front
page, or screen. (Called Co-Branding.)
Here at CMYMTC we offer our subscribers a series of Ebusiness
Easy Guides, which are also co-brandable.
(http://makemoneyhowto.com/brandform.htm)
There are many other ways that you can add to the numbers game
of ezine promotion. These few mentioned here will give you a
jump-start on the whole process. Take things a step at a time.
Learn the ropes as you go, and keep adding more to your
numbers!!
An ezine publisher's job is never finished. If you can accept
that challenge, then you will be successful!
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