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.
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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