Is Your E-zine Invisible?
| Category: E-zines: Writing | Date: 2003-06-05 |
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 site of their intended goal. If youre 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 dont need to include ads to survive as an e-zine publisher.
For some time Ive 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 advertisers efforts.
The advertisers 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.
Dont 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. Dont 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 cant 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 youre 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 dont pay a dime and further its 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 wont even have to ask, the publisher will suggest it to you!
Copyright (c) 2001 Andres Munoz
About the author.
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 mybusiness-resource.com and download your
5 free e-books.
amunoz@mybusiness-resource.com
http://www.mybusiness-resource.com
As soon as e-zine advertising became the "best thing since sliced bread" numerous e-zine publishers have lost site of their intended goal. If youre 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 dont need to include ads to survive as an e-zine publisher.
For some time Ive 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 advertisers efforts.
The advertisers 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.
Dont 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. Dont 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 cant 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 youre 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 dont pay a dime and further its 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 wont even have to ask, the publisher will suggest it to you!
Copyright (c) 2001 Andres Munoz
About the author.
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 mybusiness-resource.com and download your
5 free e-books.
amunoz@mybusiness-resource.com
http://www.mybusiness-resource.com
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