Guaranteed Ways to Build Up Your Ezine List
By Suzanne Falter-Barns
Want your ezine list to catch fire and really start to fill up?
Jenna Glatzer took her own list from the hundreds all the way to
75,000 in 7 years by simple, steady marketing, and using many of
these techniques. (Jenna bought only 4000 opt-in names along the
way.) Here are some tips we provided, and some I've pulled from
my own experience, building my list for The Joy Letter to 17,000
over five years.
1.Free Stuff. Pick genuinely useful free stuff that you know
your audience wants and needs. For instance, my brand new ezine,
Expert Status, attracted 600 readers in just a few weeks by
offering a report, "25 Top Self Help Literary Agents". The
practical freebie works. Jenna Glatzer offers two free
ebooks/reports to subscribers on agents who are receptive to new
writers, and on writer's markets. She notes: "Before I did that,
my subscriber numbers were in the hundreds, not thousands.
2.Put a subscribe box on every page of the site. This has worked
for both Jenna and me. Mine is parked in the left hand column of
the site. Experts advise putting a simple sign up box (with
freebie mentioned) in the top left hand corner, as that's where
the eye naturally travels first. A simple sign up box that
requests only email address works best.
3.Ad swaps. Exchange plugs for your ezine with another website,
to run in each other's ezines. Be sure to mention those
freebies! Doing this on a regular basis with a rotating
selection of web partners will keep your subscription page busy.
4.Cross-registration. I've found subscribers by having a plug
for my ezine on the thank you page of a comparable (but not
directly competitive) website. This offer is made to folks who
just signed up for an ezine, and are therefore deemed 'in the
mood for more.' Offer a swap with your site, and try not to list
more than about two other ezines. Also, make a point of
including only really good, reliable publications that reach
your target market.
5.Give away a bonus for other sites to use, based on your ezine.
A popular web marketing technique is the special one or two-day
promo that offers big bonus lists when you buy a certain product
on those particular days. (I cover this promo technique in more
detail in my e-book/binder, Get Known Now; How to Build Your
Platform as a Self Help Expert.) So collect some of your best
ezine essays, pack 'em up in a downloadable PDF-based e-book,
and offer it as a bonus these sites can use in their special
promos. Don't forget juicy descriptive copy about your ezine,
and a subscribe link at the end of your e-book. I've gotten
hundreds of new readers this way, and much traffic to my site.
6.Announce ezine 'events' on PRweb.com and other PR sites.
There's an entire world of web-based press release distribution
services out there, some of which are low cost or even free. So
use them. But be sure to only plant press releases that are
truly newsworthy, and thus likely to get press attention. Even
if the media don't use your words this time, they'll hopefully
file you as an expert for future use.
7.Use discussion boards or groups. These are sites frequented by
gangs of people interested in the same thing. Avoid the
unmoderated sites, because they're likely to be spam targets
that generate little bonafide traffic. Boards found on member
sites are the best. Don't spam the board with your subscribe
message. Instead, offer some genuinely helpful info. Then sign
off with a signature line that includes ezine and subscribe
info. You can find some of these groups at groups.yahoo.com,
topica.com, mail-list.com, and listfool.com for starters.
8.Sponsor other people's contests. Jenna Glatzer gives away
products like her paid newsletter, Absolute Markets Premium
Newsletter, to writers' groups, contests, and conferences that
request it, regardless of size. I've tried this too, to good
effect. Simply run an announcement in your ezine that you'd be
happy to sponsor comparable events. Ask them to provide a URL
for an event description so you know it's legit. Then offer up
your gifts, and ask for a plug for your ezine and for them to
talk up your dazzling freebie, as well. Jenna notes that groups
she sponsors "often send out ads for us to their lists . just as
a thank you."
9.Run quality content. There's no substitute for heartfelt
writing plus solid information about a subject that matters.
Jenna writes: 'The main reason our list stays so big is our
'letter from the editor' . Each week, I chronicle my writing
life and my triumphs and failures . when an article is killed,
when I'm having trouble finishing a book . And I share personal
things, too, like when my grandfather died.. People write: ' I
feel like I know you so well.' And I think that's why they stay
on the list, even when their mailbox fills up with dozens of
other writer's newsletters.
10.Allow reprints. Allow any newsletter that wants to reprint
your articles do so. I like to have an email requesting
permission, so I can enter their info into a big database I use
to track where I can send more articles in the future. I end
each article with the line: You may reprint this article in your
own ezine or website. Simply send an email requesting permission
to EMAIL ADDRESS. Please be sure to include our full bio box at
the end.
11.Create a survey or contest. This would be one of those
newsworthy 'ezine events' I mentioned above in point # 6. Make
it a fun, relevant question that you could really develop a
good, newsy story from. I did a survey asking people what they
fought with their spouse/partner/boy or girlfriend about. The
results made for the kind of reading offline media enjoy running
short, 100-word pieces about (fillers.) I made sure to attribute
the survey to my ezine, The Joy Letter, with a mention of the
site's basic URL. You can get the technology to run your own
survey and collect responses at surveymonkey.com (for a fee) or
bravenet.com (for free.)
I think I could actually go on and on here. The possibilities
seem to be endless. If you try even half of these techniques on
a regular basis, you'll find your subscriber rates double and
even triple. Here's to building your list . the foundation that
much of your traffic and success rely on.
About the author:
Suzanne Falter-Barns' website at getknownnow.com offers tips and
tools that help you build your platform and get known as an
expert in your field. Sign up for her free ezine, Expert Status,
and receive her free report, "25 Top Self Help Literary Agents."
Want your ezine list to catch fire and really start to fill up?
Jenna Glatzer took her own list from the hundreds all the way to
75,000 in 7 years by simple, steady marketing, and using many of
these techniques. (Jenna bought only 4000 opt-in names along the
way.) Here are some tips we provided, and some I've pulled from
my own experience, building my list for The Joy Letter to 17,000
over five years.
1.Free Stuff. Pick genuinely useful free stuff that you know
your audience wants and needs. For instance, my brand new ezine,
Expert Status, attracted 600 readers in just a few weeks by
offering a report, "25 Top Self Help Literary Agents". The
practical freebie works. Jenna Glatzer offers two free
ebooks/reports to subscribers on agents who are receptive to new
writers, and on writer's markets. She notes: "Before I did that,
my subscriber numbers were in the hundreds, not thousands.
2.Put a subscribe box on every page of the site. This has worked
for both Jenna and me. Mine is parked in the left hand column of
the site. Experts advise putting a simple sign up box (with
freebie mentioned) in the top left hand corner, as that's where
the eye naturally travels first. A simple sign up box that
requests only email address works best.
3.Ad swaps. Exchange plugs for your ezine with another website,
to run in each other's ezines. Be sure to mention those
freebies! Doing this on a regular basis with a rotating
selection of web partners will keep your subscription page busy.
4.Cross-registration. I've found subscribers by having a plug
for my ezine on the thank you page of a comparable (but not
directly competitive) website. This offer is made to folks who
just signed up for an ezine, and are therefore deemed 'in the
mood for more.' Offer a swap with your site, and try not to list
more than about two other ezines. Also, make a point of
including only really good, reliable publications that reach
your target market.
5.Give away a bonus for other sites to use, based on your ezine.
A popular web marketing technique is the special one or two-day
promo that offers big bonus lists when you buy a certain product
on those particular days. (I cover this promo technique in more
detail in my e-book/binder, Get Known Now; How to Build Your
Platform as a Self Help Expert.) So collect some of your best
ezine essays, pack 'em up in a downloadable PDF-based e-book,
and offer it as a bonus these sites can use in their special
promos. Don't forget juicy descriptive copy about your ezine,
and a subscribe link at the end of your e-book. I've gotten
hundreds of new readers this way, and much traffic to my site.
6.Announce ezine 'events' on PRweb.com and other PR sites.
There's an entire world of web-based press release distribution
services out there, some of which are low cost or even free. So
use them. But be sure to only plant press releases that are
truly newsworthy, and thus likely to get press attention. Even
if the media don't use your words this time, they'll hopefully
file you as an expert for future use.
7.Use discussion boards or groups. These are sites frequented by
gangs of people interested in the same thing. Avoid the
unmoderated sites, because they're likely to be spam targets
that generate little bonafide traffic. Boards found on member
sites are the best. Don't spam the board with your subscribe
message. Instead, offer some genuinely helpful info. Then sign
off with a signature line that includes ezine and subscribe
info. You can find some of these groups at groups.yahoo.com,
topica.com, mail-list.com, and listfool.com for starters.
8.Sponsor other people's contests. Jenna Glatzer gives away
products like her paid newsletter, Absolute Markets Premium
Newsletter, to writers' groups, contests, and conferences that
request it, regardless of size. I've tried this too, to good
effect. Simply run an announcement in your ezine that you'd be
happy to sponsor comparable events. Ask them to provide a URL
for an event description so you know it's legit. Then offer up
your gifts, and ask for a plug for your ezine and for them to
talk up your dazzling freebie, as well. Jenna notes that groups
she sponsors "often send out ads for us to their lists . just as
a thank you."
9.Run quality content. There's no substitute for heartfelt
writing plus solid information about a subject that matters.
Jenna writes: 'The main reason our list stays so big is our
'letter from the editor' . Each week, I chronicle my writing
life and my triumphs and failures . when an article is killed,
when I'm having trouble finishing a book . And I share personal
things, too, like when my grandfather died.. People write: ' I
feel like I know you so well.' And I think that's why they stay
on the list, even when their mailbox fills up with dozens of
other writer's newsletters.
10.Allow reprints. Allow any newsletter that wants to reprint
your articles do so. I like to have an email requesting
permission, so I can enter their info into a big database I use
to track where I can send more articles in the future. I end
each article with the line: You may reprint this article in your
own ezine or website. Simply send an email requesting permission
to EMAIL ADDRESS. Please be sure to include our full bio box at
the end.
11.Create a survey or contest. This would be one of those
newsworthy 'ezine events' I mentioned above in point # 6. Make
it a fun, relevant question that you could really develop a
good, newsy story from. I did a survey asking people what they
fought with their spouse/partner/boy or girlfriend about. The
results made for the kind of reading offline media enjoy running
short, 100-word pieces about (fillers.) I made sure to attribute
the survey to my ezine, The Joy Letter, with a mention of the
site's basic URL. You can get the technology to run your own
survey and collect responses at surveymonkey.com (for a fee) or
bravenet.com (for free.)
I think I could actually go on and on here. The possibilities
seem to be endless. If you try even half of these techniques on
a regular basis, you'll find your subscriber rates double and
even triple. Here's to building your list . the foundation that
much of your traffic and success rely on.
About the author:
Suzanne Falter-Barns' website at getknownnow.com offers tips and
tools that help you build your platform and get known as an
expert in your field. Sign up for her free ezine, Expert Status,
and receive her free report, "25 Top Self Help Literary Agents."
posted by Nabil Chaouche at 5:24 AM
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