Interviews With Successful Ezine Publishers - Eva Browne- Paterson

Evie Browne-Paterson is publisher of EvieB's New-Z, an ezine aimed at people with a business who want to promote it for free or at little cost. Subscribers are provided with Free marketing
software, marketing ebooks, marketing articles, techie tips, contests, where to get bargains, original promotion concepts and more. $590 worth of free advertising as a subscription bonus and two free ads to 32k+ each week!

To subscribe, visit http://evieb.com/new-z.html

KH: How important has publishing an ezine been to your business?

EBP: It is the basis of my business so it is very important.

KH: How long have you been running an ezine and how many subscribers do you have?

EBP: Just over a year, October 2001, and I now have over 32,500 subscribers.

KH: Do you submit your ezine to directories and/or announcement
lists and if so how effective has this been in gaining new subscribers to your publication?

EBP: Yes definitely and I resubmit every other month. I use Ezine Announcer software to do this. It automates the process and makes it much quicker.

KH: Do you write and use your own articles to promote your ezine? How valuable has writing articles been in promoting your ezine?

EBP: Yes. Not as often as I'd like to but I should have more time now that I've just left my full time job. Writing was the whole reason I started an ezine in the first place. I've always wanted to write because I enjoy it tremendously and it is very
rewarding. Promotion wise for the ezine, articles are a great tool.

KH: What methods do you use to promote your products or services within your ezine?

EBP: I use a passive method to promote my services. I don't like to force things down people's throats because if they want to advertise with me, they will. I'm more focused on helping my
subscribers get something of value from my ezine. I always use EzineAdAuction to sell advertising so it's more consistent for me to use that method instead of pushing advertising to my
subscribers. Mind you, if I have a special going, I just include it in the Editor's Blurb to let my subscribers know.

KH: How do you go about preparing your ezine for publication?

EBP: I do a lot of research in the days leading up to publication and send myself links, information, etc., that I
will use in the ezine via email. I keep it in my inbox and then include the information in my ezine when I'm actually getting the ezine ready.

When I'm preparing the ezine, I use the previous issue so I can continue along the lines of the last edition and I update it to the current issue.

As I publish online, I need to copy and paste everything into notepad first and then I make sure all the links open in a new window, and lastly, I run the spell checker over it before uploading. Then I test the tracking link to make sure it works before I send out an email with the tracking link included.

KH: Any advice to future ezine publishers? Things to look out for or things to concentrate on when publishing an ezine?

EBP: Yes. Make sure you have a good web host that won't shut you down at the first spam complaint. I've had several
complaints and I only ever send email to personal friends or my subscriber list. Quite often it's a virus sending the spam and not me. I've never sent spam in my life. It's just not worth
risking everything you've worked hard for to lose over a single complaint!

Another thing: Don't complain to your subscribers! They don't want to hear it! If you use your ezine as a place to complain, then rewrite it, and rewrite it again until it's out of your
system - then click send when you've rewritten it completely to sound more positive! :~)

Ask other publishers for resources and help. They'd be happy to help you out.

Try to keep organized so you don't spend too many hours getting your ezine ready. Make up a mental plan of what you want to include in advance, or write it down. Try not to publish late
if you can help it, but these things do happen sometimes. :~)