Jump-Starting a New Ezine

You’ve decided. You know it is critical to your online success, and you are ready to jump in and becomean Ezine Publisher. Good for you! You are headed inthe right direction.No doubt, the biggest hurdle you’ll find along thisroad is simple getting started. The easy part is actuallydeveloping your idea, setting up your format, deciding onyour 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 statisticstell us that there are AT LEAST 300,000 ezines out there. And every one of those ezine are competing for the samesubscribers!! So, are you one of those that, when faced with those kindsof 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 achallenge. 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 handfulof ezine directories, and proceed to sit back and wait forthe 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 yourinformation, number of different methods you use, numbers,numbers, numbers! ( Work, work, work.)But, we’re getting ahead of ourselves. Let’s get back tojust getting started. That was the hurdle we were talking about. If you are stuck in that overwhelming land of “I don’tknow where to start”, then here are 4 ways you can jump startyour subscriber list. Start here, and I promise, the ballwill start rolling. 1. Submit to Ezine Directories and Announcement Lists.EVERY ONE YOU CAN FIND! Remember, numbers. Here are a listof some of the best ones to get you started. Do a search forEzine Directories. http://www.bestezines.comhttp://www.ezineaction.comhttp://www.ezineadvertising.comhttp://www.ezine-dir.comhttp://www.ezinelibrary.comhttp://www.ezinelocater.comhttp://www.ezine-marketing.comhttp://www.ezinesearch.comhttp://www.ezinesplus.comhttp://www.ezinestoday.comhttp://www.ezine-swap.comhttp://www.ezine-universe.comMost will ask for a description of your ezine. A well-written description can make all the difference in whether folkschoose 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 calledEzine Announcer. Takes most of the pain and tedious-ness outof this submission process. http://wetrack.it/eza/af.cgi?472. Join an Ad Co-op.An Ad Co-op is a service (free to publishers) that sends yousubscribers, in return for you running their classified ad.These folks have agreed to subscribe to your ezine. You haveagreed to run their classified ad. Two of the best of these are:2Bucks An Adhttp://hop.clickbank.net/hop.cgi?webworks/paaads10Dollars20ads.com http://hop.clickbank.net/?webworks/cashgaloreNote: The subscribers you get from these programs arenot 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 subscribersfrom 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 othershave seen the largest increase in subscriber sign-ups afterinstalling one. They don’t have to be intrusive. A well-done popup can get some amazing results. (Especially whencombined with #4 below!)Installing a popup is somewhat of an advanced technique foryour site. But we do have an article with instructions. Ifyou would like a copy, just send an email to:mailto:gailh@cmymtc.com?subject=popup4. Give away a gift for Subscribing.Giving away a gift to your new subscribers can work for youin more than one way. First of all, it can obviously workas an incentive to subscribe, if you are providing a giftthat has value and usefulness. Secondly, if you are givingaway a gift (ebook or software) that contains informationabout you and your site, then you are doubling its marketingvalue.Ultimately, you want to work toward the goal of creating yourown unique give-a-way product. One you can give away, ANDprovide 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 allowyou to insert your site information in a prominent spot onthe front page, or screen. (Called Co-Branding.)Here at CMYMTC we offer our subscribers a series of EbusinessEasy Guides, which are also co-brandable. (http://makemoneyhowto.com/brandform.htm) There are many other ways that you can add to the numbersgame of ezine promotion. These few mentioned here will giveyou a jump-start on the whole process. Take things a step ata time. Learn the ropes as you go, and keep adding more toyour numbers!! An ezine publisher’s job is never finished. If you can acceptthat challenge, then you will be successful!