Ezine and Newsletter Marketing

It was a heady time to say the least!

Suddenly, a self published ezine allowed the little gal or guy to convey their thoughts, ideas, and experiences from their own home computer to a worldwide readership, with the simple click of a button.

At the same time, ezine readership was in an upward spiral with no stopping place in sight. It was a full blown self publishing frenzy!

Ah, those were good old days - before squeeze pages - when a little form box stuck off in some corner of any webpage would bring a steady flow of new subscribers, day after day after day.

So what happened to that ideal situation?

In a word .... saturation.

In another word .... decline of quality.

It seemed that every website owner and his Aunt Sally were feverishly engaged in publishing an ezine of some sort. And as human nature always goes, that was being done with greatly varied motives and with even more varied degrees of ethics and committment.

In time, the ball had to stop rolling. The natural law of cause and effect had to take over. As the ezine reading public became more experienced, they also became more savvy and more demanding.

- They had asked for information and they received ads.

- They had asked for guidance and they received hype.

- They expected readability and they received jibberish.

- They unsubscribed in droves, and no one can blame them.

The shake out came, the bottom-feeders went on to other tricks and schemes, and it was a good thing overall.

So during the recent past, the traditional ezine and/or newsletter has been comparatively a rare bird. Fewer of today's marketers, even those with good ethics, have the committment to send out much more than an endless string of "hey you - buy my stuff" emails.

And that leaves the doors of opportunity wide open right now for those who are willing to pick up the pieces and publish a quality ezine or newsletter on a scheduled basis.

It's an old idea that is finally coming full circle.

Now don't expect to make a ton of money in thirty days. An ezine is not necessarily a direct sales device. Instead it is just another marketing tool that, when used properly, can and will compliment the effect of any other marketing tools you have in your kit.

Don't expect subscribers to come rushing in, or to stay, unless you're committed to providing them with something worthwhile and professional. Their time is valuable too.

Remember, the first motive for publishing an ezine is to provide ongoing value for your opt-in list members. The second motive is to gain ongoing name recognition for you.

With those two things done, your mailing list will in large part remain quite interested, and perhaps even loyal.

Now, let's continue with a few tips and guidelines on how to publish an ezine, and why you should start up as soon as possible.

- Name Branding and Recognition

This is the chief benefit of ezine publishing; continuous placement of your name or company name before the eyes and into the minds of your readers. Beyond that, each ezine issue that you publish will provide the reader with an opportunity to know more about you and your company - get to know you, so to speak.

This benefit may seem nebulous at first, and difficult to measure, especially in terms of cash flow. But over time, as readers become acquainted with you, it will put more money in your pocket. Personal credibility that is built the old fashioned way will outlast and far outweigh any amount of notariety that could be created by means of fad or social buzz.

- Publishing Ezines and Newsletters to Niche Markets

This is literally a wide open field. Simple human nature makes us crave more information on whatever topics we may hold in interest. In addition, niche ezine publishing did not suffer the rampant abuses of the recent past, as did the field of marketing related ezines.

However, be aware that the public in general is not so familiar with online marketing methods and tactics, as are those who work in the marketing field itself. Now, some might think this an advantage, in that the unfamiliarity itself provides an audience who can be easily duped. We hope that no one will take that view.

It is strongly suggested that you inform new subscribers at the start that yours is a marketing company, and that you will also be sending them advertisements for related products and services that may be of interest to them.

- Content for Your Ezine or Newsletter

Ezine Article Directories: Millions of re-printable articles are freely available at online article directories. Those directories can easily be located with a simple Google search for "ezine article directory" - either with or without the quote marks.

However, that type of content may not be the best choice for your ezine or newsletter. Consider these points first.

With the influx of new authors who are writing articles especially for directories and search engine spiders, you will find that at least some directory articles contain little more than keywords and fluffy verbiage. Since it will be your responsibility to provide informative content for your readers, be sure to screen all directory articles for quality prior to publishing.

Another consideration is that the use of directory articles requires the reprinter to include the author's resource box and typically a link back to that author's own website.

That may not pose a problem providing there is no direct competition with your own products or services. Still, we recommend seeking out articles written by authors who also run an affiliate program on their website. Then request the author's permission to use your own affiliate link in her article's resource box.

Private Label Articles: These may prove a better source for ezine content. Private label articles are widely available, and allow you to claim authorship or even rewrite and copyright if you wish. A rule of thumb says that at least a 40% rewrite should be done before copyright is claimed on any piece of private label content.

If you are not concerned about archiving back issues for search engines spiders, or about allowing your articles to be reprinted elsewhere, you may wish to use private label articles exactly as they are written. That would certainly reduce the workload. Just be aware of the risk that your readers may see the identical content elsewhere.

Writing Original Content: This is not a realistic solution for all publishers, but it is always the best bet. When you write your own original articles, you also have the added advantage of compiling them at a later date into fully original ebooks and reports, submitting them to directories for reprint and further circulation, and even syndicating that content through numerous online sources.

Besides, you will always know for sure that your readers heard it from you first.

- Placing Ads in Your Ezine or Newsletter

It's an accepted practice to include your own ads in your ezine or newsletter, providing you don't go overboard in doing so. Professional ezine publishers commonly hold a limit of two or three ads per issue. It is also advised that you choose ads for any issue that are relevant to the articles you are publishing in that issue.

You may wish to sell advertisements to other people. But be prepared to reject any ads that are improper, unethical, or irrelevant to your content. Remember, it's your reputation and your credibility that will be on the line.

- Building Online Ezine Archives

It's worth the additional effort to convert your ezine issues to HTML and set up an ezine archive directory on your own website - even if you use an online mailing service that already archives your issues.

Here are some reasons for doing so.

- Perhaps it goes without saying that your newsletter will contain lots of relevant keywords, attracting search engine spiders and new visitors alike.

- Creating an ezine archive will not only boost your own credibility as a publisher and expert in your field. It can add perceived value to your newsletter, and the idea that the information in each issue is worth saving.

- Ezine advertisers like it when their ads continue, even months or years after the ezine issue is out of circulation. Statistics show that website visitors will frequently read archived newsletters. You may want to use this point as a selling tool if you choose to offer ads for sale in your ezine.

Converting text to HTML is not difficult, nor does it have to be time consuming. In fact, dozens of softwares are available at little to no cost that will quickly do the job for you. Simply search Google for "convert text to HTML."

After you've converted the body of your ezine to HTML, you can always copy and paste the HTML code into a webpage template, to maintain the look and feel of your site.

With just a few minutes of work, you can develop your own ongoing ezine archive that will serve as a resource for your visitors and subscribers, and as spider food for the search engines as well.

For whatever reason it may happen, when a shake out occurs in any industry or field of endeavor, it removes the less efficient, the unethical, the unprofessional operators. At the same time, new opportunities for positioning are opened for those who are ready and willing to step forward.

Online ezine and newsletter publishing is in that state of flux right now. Opportunities are open, and the options are yours for the choosing.

Visit DanBCauthron.com homepage