An e-zine, also know as an email
magazine, online publication or electronic newsletter is simply a newsletter
available via email and/or online. There are hundreds of thousands of e-zines
on various subjects available on the Internet free of charge.
Why should
I publish an E-zine?
If you're serious about your
Internet presence, having your own publication will not only enable you to
keep in touch with your visitors, but it will help you build a huge database
of targeted customers. In addition, you can make a nice income by selling
sponsor advertising and classified ads. For every 1000 subscribers you have,
you can charge $25 - $35 for an ad. If you publish your e-zine weekly and
run just 10 ads, you can earn $250 - $350 per week and $1,000 - $1400 per
month.
How much
will it cost to publish my E-zine?
You can publish your e-zine
completely free! There are many list servers such as;
Egroups,
Onelist &
Listbot that will host your list (e-zine)
free of charge. They will provide you with everything you'll need to publish
your publication except the content. There are also professional services
such as; OakNet Publishing
& Postmaster Direct that
will host your publication for a small monthly fee. I suggest starting your
e-zine with a free automated service in the beginning. You can upgrade to
a professional service after you've built your subscription base and need
to expand.
What subject
should be my E-zine's focus?
Your e-zine should focus on a
subject in which you have a great deal of knowledge. You also need to take
into consideration the focus of your web site. I.E., If your web site's focus
is on Internet Marketing, you wouldn't want to have your e-zines focus to
be on "Animals & Pets", you would want it to be on "Internet
Marketing".
What should
my E-zine be titled?
The title of your e-zine is one
of the most important decisions you can make. Many e-zine list sites list
their e-zines in alphabetical order. By selecting a title such as, "Advertising
Secrets" instead of "Working Online", your publication will be listed towards
the top instead of the bottom. This will give your publication an advantage
over the publications listed below yours. Potential subscribers will see
your e-zine first and be more apt to subscribe.
Your title should sound intriguing and tell your potential subscriber exactly
what your publication is all about.
How often
should I publish my E-zine?
You can publish your e-zine as
often as you like. When you first begin you may want to only publish once
a month until your subscriber base has grown. You can always increase your
publication to bi-weekly or weekly whenever you'd like.
How large
should I make my E-zine?
There has been a great deal of
controversy over the size of an e-zine. In my humble opinion, size really
doesn't matter. If you publish a quality e-zine with a great deal of content,
I don't feel your subscribers care what size it is within reason. You should;
however, take into consideration that your subscribers may not want to download
it. If it is too large, America Online will automatically turn it into
a file attachment. Consider either condensing it or separating it into "Part
One" and "Part Two".
Do I need
to have a web site for my E-zine?
It isn't imperative that your
e-zine have its own web site, however, it is HIGHLY recommended. Having your
own site will enable you to give your visitors an in depth look at exactly
what your publication is all about. You can include highlights of upcoming
editions, polls, archives and a subscribe box to allow your visitors to easily
subscribe.
What day
of the week should I send my E-zine?
Many publications are mailed
out on Monday and Friday. Your subscribers are probably subscribed to many
e-zines so, it's a good idea to send your publication on a day that isn't
so busy. Consider sending your publication out on Tuesday, Wednesday
or Thursday.
When can
I begin to sell advertising space?
You should probably wait to begin
selling advertising space until you have at least 1000 subscribers. You can
sell ad space for $25 for every 1000 subscribers you have. There is a lot
of advertising competition to take into consideration when selling ad space
so, you may want to begin selling your ad space at a lower rate or offer
special incentives. I.E. Buy two weeks of advertising for $20 get the third
week free. |