A
Guide To Increasing Your Subscriber Base
Are you
finding that the growth of subscribers to your ezine is just not meeting your
expectations?
Some ezine publishers are able to build large subscriber lists rapidly by using current
customer mailing lists and inviting those customers to receive their Internet newsletter.
If your business is new, your website is new, and your budget is tight - your results will
not be the same as those of an established company. And - that's OK!
If you are starting at ground zero, remember that it takes time and effort to build a
quality list. Don't get discouraged and stop now; instead, follow the items listed under
these three steps.
=> Step 1: Preparation
=> Step 2: Action
=> Step 3: Follow-Up
STEP 1: PREPARATION
During the course of your
ezine promotion, you will be registering your ezine in directories, search engines,
classified ads and announcement services. This registration process will require you to
complete a a variety of forms.
By taking the time to write these descriptions before you start promoting, you will
present your newsletter in a consistent and well written manner.
=> You will need a 25 word description of your ezine.
Most submission forms will ask for a description of your ezine. This description will be
used over and over, so spend a little time to make it concise and precise.
Example:
ACME NEWS is a monthly newsletter serving ambitious coyotes in the desert. We strive to
provide valuable and practical information about our new gadgets for catching roadrunners.
 Write the instructions to
subscribe to your ezine.
To subscribe to ACME NEWS put BEEPBEEP in the SUBJECT line of an email to
wileycoyote@acme.com.
Create another signature
file with your subscribe instructions in it.
==============================================
Wiley Coyote, Editor, ACME NEWS
Stay up-to-date on the latest gadgets. Read our ezine. To
subscribe to ACME NEWS put BEEPBEEP in the SUBJECT of an
email to wileycoyote@acme.com.
============================================
STEP 2: ACTION
List Of
Directories
Submit
your ezine to these directories. Read the submission instructions at each site to ensure
compliance. Some of these directories are specialized based on type of distribution
software or other guidelines.
EzineSeek
Categorized and searchable directory of ezines
http://www.ezineseek.com
The Ultimate Magazine Database
http://www.infojump.com
Ezines Today
Click on the Free Subscriptions link for instructions to
submit your ezine.
http://www.ezine-news.com
eZINESearch
http://www.ezinesearch.com
The List
http://www.liszt.com/
Questfinder Search Engine with category for ezines
http://www.questfinder.com/
Do It Yourself
DIY Search is committed to helping and enhancing the DIY
community, as it pertains to the web.
http://www.diysearch.com/
The Internet Mailing List Network
http://www.listsnet.com/
The ListTool
Only if you use Listserv, Listproc and Majordomo lists
http://listtool.com/cgi/listTool/addList.cgi
Tile Net
TILE.NET is a project of Lyris Technologies, Inc.
http://tile.net/lists/
HandiLinks
The Internet Publications subcategory is under the Internet
category.
http://www.ahandyguide.com
Get Published:
http://www.published.com/add/
New List Announcements
Announce your new ezine at the sites listed below. Review
the submission samples at each site before submitting your
announcement. Look at other submissions and follow their
examples.
NewJour
http://gort.ucsd.edu/newjour/subscribe.html
New-List from List Universe
http://www.New-List.com
Andover Tech Mailings
Your Guide to free Technology Mailings
http://www.techmailings.com/index.html
Promote Your Ezine On Your
Website
Remember to include a link for your visitors to subscribe to your ezine on every page of
your website.
Current Subscriber Referrals
An often overlooked method of adding subscribers, is the use of online referrals from your
current readers. Here's one easy way to put this idea in action.
In every issue of your ezine, ask your readers to forward the ezine to one other person. A
personal recommendation from one of your readers will often result in a visit to your
website or a subscription from the person receiving the forwarded copy. This is another
reason to put subscribe information in your newsletter.
Go Get Them
Don't wait for your subscribers to find you in a directory, or on a list. Go to them. Do
you know where your readers hang-out online? Are you participating in email discussions
and forums about your topic?
Jump in and answer some of those questions.
Offer solutions to problems.
Be friendly and courteous.
By following these three simple steps, you can establish yourself as
professional, knowledgeable and approachable. Put your new signature file to work for you
when responding to mailing lists. And don't forget to put a link to your site in your
forum postings.
Let Other Ezines Help You
Do you know what other ezines your target market reads? Subscribe to ezines with topics
similar to yours and discover what the competition is doing. Identify what is and what
isn't working, and then use that information to improve your newsletter.
Write articles and submit them to
other ezines for publication.
Your participation in mailing lists and forums will provide you with a steady stream of
pertinent ideas for articles that are of interest to your audience.
How to get your articles published? Each week EZine News Wire sends out a newsletter to
subscribers looking for free content to publish in their ezine. An easy way to get your
article in front of many publishers is to submit your articles to EzineArticles.com at http://www.ezinearticles.com
Apply for ezine reviews and awards.
List-A-Day
Each day a featured email list is sent to all subscribers and posted on the main page at
List-A-Day.
http://List-A-Day.com/
Swap ad space with other publishers.
Many ezine publishers offer to swap ad space with other publishers. Visit http://www.Ezine-Swap.com
Advertise your ezine in other ezines.
If you are going to develop any type of ezine advertising plan, you need to run, not walk,
to the Directory of Ezines. Using this database, you can search for ezines that fit your
advertising criteria.
http://www.lifestylespub.com
Get Off The Net And Network, Network,
Network
There is a great big world out there that is still offline most of the time!
Do you talk about your online presence in the offline world? Are you telling customers,
clients, friends, and associates about your Internet newsletter?
The Usual Suspects
Gifts, pens, mousepads, coffee cups, business cards, etc. Have instructions for
subscribing to your newsletter printed on everything!
Web Cards
Have you seen these yet? They are so fun and effective! Web Cards are postcards with a
picture of your website. Visit them at http://www.printing.com.
On the back of the card, write a headline and announce your website
address. Write another headline to promote your FREE online newsletter and include
subscribe instructions. Do you send out invoices? Great, that means you have customers.
Send a Web Card with information about your ezine and how to subscribe to it in each
envelope with the invoice.
Web Cards are also perfect for handing out as business cards, or even sending out in a
direct mail campaign - with a postcard, you don't have to worry about the envelope getting
opened.
Join The Ezine Publishers Community
There are many members of the ezine publishing community willing to share their
experiences with others. You can learn a lot by participating in any of these forums or
discussion lists.
E-Pub
This email publishers discussion list is moderated by Brian
Alt, a leader in the Ezine publishing field. To subscribe
send a blank email to mailto:epub-subscribe@onelist.com
Online Publishers
To subscribe, send an email to
mailto:op-request@listhost.net?subject=subscribe.
The digest
is published every Monday and Thursday.
STEP 3: FOLLOW-UP
Keep track of what kind of results you get after you post ads or write articles. Adopt,
adapt and improve on any ideas that work best for you!
The real secret to building your subscriber base is KEEPING all of your subscribers. The
single most important thing you can do to follow-up with your subscribers is to
consistently produce a quality ezine.
Display your privacy policy. Make sure
your subscribers are not worried about having their e-mail addresses sold or given away.
Back
to Handbook Table of Contents!
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