Is Your E-zine Invisible
A Top source for info. on the Internet
By Andres Munoz
I am sure nearly every marketer who takes their online business
seriously is publishing an e-zine/newsletter however the majority
of newsletters I subscribe to increasingly are becoming invisible.
By invisible I mean less and less relevant content and more and
more ads.
As soon as e-zine advertising became the "best thing since sliced
bread" numerous e-zine publishers have lost sight of their intended
goal. If you're an e-zine publisher your goal is to publish an
e-zine with top quality content and information. Any advertising
you can generate is just gravy. You don't need to include ads to
survive as an e-zine publisher.
For some time I've been receiving "special classified" editions
along with the regular edition. Do these classified editions
really work? To answer that question do you read every single
ad in that edition? Neither do I. A classified edition is merely
an electronic ad sheet with no content. Additionally many e-zines
will have only 1 article with 35 ads. This e-zine is simply useless,
it has no substance just a sea of 35 ads. Not only does it create
an invisible newsletter it also hampers the advertiser's efforts.
The advertiser's ad is also invisible; with 35 other ads the reader
just ignores them altogether.
As an e-zine publisher you must be sensible; never allow your
publication to drown in ads. At a maximum only accept 8 - 10 ads
per publication. I strongly recommend you avoid publishing a
separate classified section. Remember your primary goal, as a
publisher is to provide a top quality newsletter. The only way
to achieve that goal is to provide, CONTENT, CONTENT and CONTENT.
Don't allow your e-zine to fall into the trap by selling too much
ad space, in very short time you will have to place those ads and
your e-zine will become ad heavy. One potential trap is joining
an e-zine broker network. Basically in an e-zine broker you allow
someone else to sell your ad space for you. You may find yourself
having to publish your e-zine more frequently (usually at least
once a week) and lets not mention your added workload.
The best thing about e-zine advertising networks is that your
subscriber base will explode literally overnight (these e-zine
networks see tremendous business). Lets say someone wants to buy
ad space, they choose a particular ad group targeting their audience
and each group has 10 e-zines. The ad buyer must subscribe to each
e-zine. That subscriber now becomes a potential customer for those
publishers.
The best-case scenario in joining an e-zine network is to publish
your newsletter once a week with a maximum of 10 ads. Don't bunch
those ads in a classified edition they will receive considerably
less exposure. The best way to ensure a quality e-zine using ad
networks is to provide quality content. If your e-zine provides
great content you will see less "unsubscribers" and a better
reception.
Create An Interactive E-zine:
I strongly recommend that you put some effort into your e-zine
and do your best to have your e-zine readers begging for your
newsletter.
1) Personalize your e-zine! Use "Dear William" in your opening
paragraph. Make the subscriber feel as if you are talking to
them face to face.
2) E-zine contest are always a good bet. Plant a question in the
e-zine and the first 5 - 10 respondents receive a free e-book.
3) Only offer your subscribers a free resources page that they
can't get anywhere else on your site. It could be free e-books,
templates, resources or whatever you choose.
4) Ask for feedback! At the end of your e-zine ask your readers
for feedback and tips. The feedback you receive will be all too
important, it will guide you to what you are doing right and
should stick to and what you're doing wrong.
5) Sprinkle freebies in your newsletter liberally. If you are
using a free tool that makes some aspect of your business more
more manageable then offer a link to your subscribers to
download.
The best form of e-zine advertising is using "ad swaps." You
simply exchange ads with another publisher. You don't pay a
dime and further it's a win-win arrangement. The best part is
that you can easily swap Top Sponsor ads ensuring maximum
exposure without having to pay for that prized spot. Many
times you won't even have to ask, the publisher will suggest
it to you!
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Copyright (c) 2001 Andres Munoz
Andres publishes the "MyBiz E-zine" newsletter featuring
articles about Promotion, Internet Marketing and Home
Business advice and tips. The MyBiz reader will receive
an article rich e-zine with few ads. To subscribe visit
http://www.mybusiness-resource.com and download your 5 free e-books.
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