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The 'Secret' of a Successful Free E-zine
There are currently over 300,000 e-zines on the Internet. The number is growing every single day.
Most of these e-zine publishers never earn any real money (over $1,000 a month). They work their butts off
week after week to produce good content and then only receive a very minor income from selling ads or linking
to affiliate programs.
The first thing you need to understand is that establishing a big circulation e-zine is not your goal. It is a means
to the goal. Your business goal isn't to build a 100,000 person e-zine list. Your goal is to make money online.
Building the list is just the vehicle that will take you there.
This isn't just semantics. Having the right focus and position for your e-zine is all-important. If you don't understand
why you are running an e-zine, then I guarantee you won't get maximum value out of it.
Say this out loud with me...
"The goal of my e-zine is to build relationships with prospects and turn them into customers."
If you are building a large e-zine list just to sell advertising, then you are missing out on the primary income
stream it can provide you with. Your e-zine is the gateway into selling more of YOUR products and services.
If you are the member of an affiliate program, then your e-zine is the gateway into selling more of their products
and earning higher commissions. Your e-zine should become the source of multiple streams of income
from selling both your products and the products of those you affiliate with.
One of the biggest mistakes I see being made from e-zine owners is not inserting your own personality into
your e-zine. Part of the advantage to having a small business is that you are a real person, someone folks can
contact, agree with, disagree with, etc.
Don't just publish other people's articles and call that an e-zine. Sure, you can use some articles from other
people. All of your articles could be from other people.
What you need to do is add a few paragraphs you wrote yourself to the top of the e-zine. Do an editorial section
just like in magazines.
Don't just run ad copy from an affiliate program. Tell your readers how you feel about the product. What did
you gain from it? How did you learn from it? What don't you like about it?
What you say may offend some people and they may unsubscribe from your e-zine. So what? They weren't
planning on buying from you anyway!
I'm not telling you to purposely offend anyone, just letting you know it's going to happen. Use spell checkers
and have someone edit your writing for you, but guess what? There are still going to be mistakes people will
let you know about.
Be a real person
It's not exciting or highly technical. It's just the truth. People online are looking for people who are real, who
have opinions, and who make mistakes.
"Personality" is one of the most underused tools in the e-zine publisher's arsenal.
Right alongside personality is good content. You need to balance the one with the other. You won't be able to
produce a growing e-zine without good quality content.
If you don't feel you can write good content for your newsletter, then use other people's articles. Just keep in
mind your primary goal - "to build relationships with prospects and turn them into customers."
Being a "real" person. Let's wander off the subject for a minute... I remember in high school when a buddy of mine said "Get Real!". I guess I must have said something stupid, but I thought, "I am real dork". That was highschool and of course now I am an adult. My point is, your personality or "real you" will come through in your words either in a newsletter or commentary like this. People will judge you based on what you say and how you say it. Your personal confidence or lack of it will come through. I knew that as ePlex grew I would have to as well!
I came across this powerful ebook by Shawn Nelson,MSA. He hit the bullseye with me a few times as I was reading it.
Here are some key points he brings up in his book:
# Why you fail to succeed 9 Hidden Success Barriers Revealed
# How to turn your words into cash
# Why focused reading is important to become successful
# What is success
# Why you will never get paid what you are worth working for someone else
# How applying your knowledge can increase your income
# Why skeptical people never succeed
# How planning for success is easy
# How sharing your ideas can increase your income exponentially
# And much more
There are many PMA (Positive Mental Attitude) books out there that aren't worth much, but this one is. Please click through and learn more.
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