While there are many ... ways to promote ... and gain ... the one I've had the ... with is to write and submit articles for usein OTHER people's e-zines. "But wait a minu
While there are many effective ways to promote your
e-zine and gain subscribers, the one I've had the MOST
success with is to write and submit articles for use
in OTHER people's e-zines.
"But wait a minute," you say. "Aren't I supposed to be
creating great articles for MY e-zine?"
Yes, you are! AND after your article appears in your
OWN e-zine, you should then submit it to others. This
past fall, I quickly learned that this is by far the
BEST, FASTEST, FREE way to promote an e-zine for three
reasons:
1) Instead of just advertising your e-zine, you're
giving others a hearty taste of it! And by sharing
these useful articles, you emphasize your expertise in
your particular subject area.
2) You have the right to plug yourself, your biz, and
your e-zine at the end of every article! And anyone
using your article must keep this information intact.
(More on that in a minute.)
3) You can quickly gain exposure to THOUSANDS of
untapped prospects at a time. For example, last
summer, a popular Internet marketing e-zine featured
my article "Avoid These 5 Web Site Blunders." I was
overjoyed to learn the publication had more than
*10,000* subscribers! Since this was a great article,
and all of these readers saw my ad for my e-zine right
after it, I gained hundreds of new subscribers by the
end of that week.
<< HERE'S HOW TO GET STARTED >>
1. PICK A WINNER
Browse through your archives and pick an insightful
article that really showcases your expertise. Make
sure it's one that you featured in your e-zine several
issues ago. Why? It's a courtesy to make YOUR
subscribers feel as if they're receiving unique
information from you, BEFORE you offer it to the rest
of the world.
2. POLISH IT 'TIL IT SHINES
Since you probably haven't looked at this article in
awhile, do another proofread and clean it up if
necessary. Publishers will not be interested in your
article if it contains typos, misspelled words,
grammatical errors, or inactive Web links --- these
goofs would compromise the integrity of their
publications.
3. ADD A COPYRIGHT NOTICE
At the end of the article, insert a copyright notice,
dated when you first published the article.
Example: (c) 2001 Alexandria K. Brown
4. WRITE A JAZZY "RESOURCE BOX"
In exchange for your letting other publishers reprint
your article, it's customary to require that they
include the contact information you provide. This is
usually called the "resource box" and it should come
RIGHT after your copyright notice.
Here's where you can ham it up! Take about five lines
and promote your E-ZINE!
Don't waste time promoting your *business* in the
resource box. Why? You'll gain MORE potential clients
by first getting them to subscribe to your e-zine.
THEN you've got them! You will then be in front of
them REGULARLY, and that's when they'll understand
what a genius you are and why they should hire you.
Don’t forget to mention if your e-zine is FREE!
5. SUBMIT YOUR ARTICLE TO ONLINE CONTENT DIRECTORIES
There are dozens of "free content" Web sites and
announcement lists where you can submit your articles
for other publishers to use. Some even let you include
a picture, which I love because I'm a ham at heart. ;
)
Here are three to get you started:
http://www.ideamarketers.com
http://www.marketing-seek.com
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aabusiness
Keep in mind this is just the tip of the iceberg!
There are DOZENS more places where you should submit
articles for publication. In my "E-Zine Queen Resource
Report" (available with my e-book at
http://www.boostbizezine.com), you'll get direct links
to more than *25* of these sites and lists.
6. SUBMIT YOUR ARTICLE DIRECTLY TO APPROPRIATE
PUBLISHERS
For best results, take the bull by the horns and
contact publishers directly. But not just any
publishers -- ones with e-zines that would be perfect
for the articles you write and the type of readership
you want to attract.
I STRONGLY recommend that you become a member of Ruth
Townsend's Directory of E-zines. Her list is by far
one of the most credible and reliable ones on the Web.
It costs about $40 to join for the year, but it's well
worth it --- your membership lets you search through
hundreds of other e-zines. You can search by all types
of factors: topic, readership, subscriber numbers,
etc. Learn more here:
http://www.netofficetoolbox.com/app/adtrack.asp?AdID=10606
When you have your personal list of publishers ready,
craft a friendly note to send along with your article.
Here's an example of what I use:
"Dear Editor:
I see from your e-zine that you occasionally accept
articles from outside authors. Would you like to use
my article titled [article name here] in a future
issue?
You're welcome to use the article for FREE, provided
it remains intact and unaltered, and you retain my
entire resource box at the end of the article. If
you'd like to publish it, just send me a copy of the
issue it appears in.
If you have any questions, feel free to write me back
at [e-mail address here] And if you do not accept
articles, I apologize --- just let me know and I'll
remove you from my editor list.
Best,
[name and contact info here]"
Simple, yes? Then just paste your article right
underneath your message. Do NOT send it as an
attachment -- it likely won't get read.
TIP: Your article will get picked up by MORE
publishers if you format it to around 60 characters
per line with hard returns after each line. Many
publishers don't want to do ANY formatting work to
guest articles, so the more "ready to go" yours is,
the better! : )
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