by: Dirk Wagner
The internet marketing “Guru’s” have been saying for years that the “money is in the list”. In other words, having thousand’s of subscribers to your ezine or newsletter increases your chances of potential sales.
It is pretty hard to dispute that quote but how do you go about getting those thousand’s of subscribers to sign up for your ezine?
I use three primary ways to get interested subscribers to sign up for my ezine. Purchased leads and subscription services, ezine directories and article writing.
Purchased Leads/Subscription Services
Purchased leads and subscription services work with you to get subscribers to sign up for your ezine. You agree to purchase x amount of subscribers per month from a subscription service for a fee and they will advertise your ezine for you until they have filled the amount of subscribers you have purchased. Most companies will always give you more than the amount you purchased due to bad email addresses, removals, and undelivered emails. Subscription services are ideal for anyone that is first starting out as a way to get quite a few subscribers in a relatively short amount of time. You will also have a choice of single opt-in or double-in subscribers. Double opt-in subscribers actually have to reply to an email to validate that they are interested in your ezine, where single opt-in will get your ezine automatically. There are many subscription services to choose from and I advise trying different ones because every list is different.
EZine Directories
Ezine directories are websites that will allow you to submit your ezine to their website. There are free and paid directories. You submit your url for your ezine and a short ad about your ezine and that is it. Here are few examples of some ezine directories I use.
You may also do a search at http://www.google.com for more ezine directories.
Writing Articles
Writing articles is a great way of promoting your ezine, website, or products. Simply write a short article of 500-1000 words on the subject of your choice, preferably about your home business and submit them to article directories. At the end of each article you get to use a author resource box to tell the reader about yourself. This is where you promote your ezine, website or product. Use four to six lines to give your name and details. Then submit your article to article directories that are always looking for quality content. Here are some of the article directories I use.
Tools
There are some tools you will need in order to deliver your ezine to your subscribers. A good autoresponder is a must if you hope to have thousands of subscribers to your ezine. Autoresponders house your ezine and subscribers on one system and automatically send your ezine to your subscribers. The autoresponder takes care of when to send the subscriber the next addition of your ezine based on the intervals you set.
Another good tool to use is a pop-up or pop-over ad on your website for those that are visiting your website. The pop-up/over ad will capture the prospects name and email address and send it directly to your autoreponder. Once you have them in your autoresponder you start to develop a trust relationship with your subscribers, this is important because once your subscriber feels like they can trust you they are more likely to buy what you are selling. Good luck with your ezine marketing!
Copyright 2004 Dirk Wagner