Interviews With Successful Ezine Publishers - Thomas Olin

Thomas Olin is publisher of Higher Ground Marketing, a weekly publication sent out to 20,848 opt-in subscribers on Fridays. Higher Ground Marketing's mission is to help people make more money on the Internet from home, by using cost effective marketing techniques.

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

TO: In 20/20 hindsight I would say that until I published an ezine and developed a mailing list, I was really just spinning my wheels and destined to become another member of the 95% that
make little or no money on the net.

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

TO: I started in December 99 with no background in marketing or publishing AND absolutely no idea of how to create an ezine. I read everything I could get my clicker on, followed what the
successful ezines were doing and slowly but surely it evolved into something worth reading and advertising in. There are now 20,848 Opt-in 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?

TO: I'm constantly looking for new ezine and list directories to submit my ezine to. I use ezine submission software such as Ezine Announcer and Newsletter Promote. I would say I receive anywhere between 5-20 subscribers a day just from ezine and
list directories alone.

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

TO: I do write articles occasionally and they are an excellent way to promote your product or service free all over the Internet. Also important are the few paragraphs that I write
at the beginning of each ezine allowing me to establish a long-term relationship with my subscribers.

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

TO: I think it's absolutely vital that an ezine not be used primarily to promote your own products or services. With that said, it is also one of the fastest and most powerful ways of
making money on the net.

When I do promote, I use articles that involve services and products that I'm an affiliate of. I cloak the link so it
doesn't look like an affiliate link.

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

TO: I keep up on the latest software, articles and marketing info from marketing pros, search engines, ezines, etc... saving what I consider to be the most interesting.

I also have various free weekly subscriptions that email me quotes, jokes, and strange facts. Plus I gather all the free & paid ads that have been submitted to HGM during the week.

Then on Thursday night I take the best of all the material I've saved and form a rough draft. Friday morning I polish
it up and send it out around noon.

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

TO: Don't use your newsletter as just a way of promoting your programs, keep your material fresh and most of all -- it really helps to LOVE WHAT YOU'RE DOING!