Subscribers of a publication are the "lifeblood" of any newsletter or e-zine. No subscribers means no readers. No readers means no money being made through the act of publication, and realistically, a publication needs to at least generate some income in order to survive over a long time period.
Attaining subscribers is a slow, steady process, which actually reflects the start-up process a great deal, as there are several steps that should be followed for maximum efficacy. The first, and perhaps the most important, is getting a newsletter or e-zine listed in the major newsletter and e-zine directories, as well as the smaller ones, as more listings means more possible subscribers.
Publication listing directories are relatively easy to find (simply do a search for newsletter or e-zine directories and the results will produce hundreds, if not thousands of these directories). It is a time-consuming process, however, but one that must be included for successful promotion. It can also be a somewhat frustrating process, as each directory will have its own unique "qualifications" or "terms" for listing, all of which must be decided individually upon listing.
It does help to be prepared however, before the listing process begins, and the following outline of procedures to follow will speed up the actual process quite a bit, although a good deal of time will still be involved:
1. Decide beforehand if advertising will be allowed. If advertising will be allowed in a publication, develop parameters for the advertising.
These parameters should include:
a. The cost of any paid ads.
b. The number of characters per line.
c. The number of lines, inclusion (or exclusion) of punctuation, (whether or not the use of capital letters will be allowed, whether or not the use exclamation marks and quotes will be allowed, etc., and the actual number and types of punctuation allowed).
d. Whether or not adult materials in ads will be acceptable.
e. Whether or not certain types of programs, i. e. MLM or Network Marketing Programs will be acceptable.
f. Whether or not free ads will be accepted.
It's much easier to have all these parameters well-thought-out and written down before any listing begins, as it is important to be consistent with future advertisers, and each listing in any directory will require one or more of these parameters to be chosen in order to complete the listing.
2. Provide a direct link to the e-zine or newsletter. If the
publication is not yet "live", simply wait until it is, as listing
successfully does require a direct link for verification and perhaps a review
of the publication by the listing directories.
3. Check and re-check that all links, archives, and other pertinent
information is correct and flawless. A link that is non-operable, or information
on the Home page of any publication will cause listing directories to disallow
the listing.
4. Be honest when listing. If there are no subscribers yet,
or very few subscribers, admit this. It really will not affect the listing.
5. Decide beforehand on a "category" that most closely
matches the type of publication that is being produced. Categories are required
by almost all publication listing directories and inclusion depends upon the
"best fit possible" here. If in doubt, it does help to e-mail the
directory in question before proceeding. Some directories allow multiple listings,
so a good solid determination of category/categories will aid immensely in the
listing process.
6. Provide an e-mail address to the listing directory that is
absolutely free of auto-responders for any contact or question that the listing
directory staff may have. This does many times require an e-mail address which
is current and that is not of the "free" variety, such as "hotmail",
"yahoo", etc. Listing directories are reticent at times to include
publications that lack a "professional e-mail address", so it is wise
to obtain one before the listing process begins.
7. Provide, if at all possible, samples of the publication on
the Home page or Web site of the publication. While not all publication listing
directories require this, some do, and it does save much time if these are in
place before the listing process.
8. Decide upon a description for publication before submission
to the directories. This description should be brief, and yet encompass as much
information in detail about the publication as possible.
9. Be consistent in listing. Keep a detailed chart or list of
where the publication has already been listed, and where it still needs to be
listed. Nothing is as time-consuming or frustrating as going through the process
of listing only to find out that it has already been done. Listing can be a
long process, and does take a certain amount of organization to achieve properly.
10. Set a timeframe for listing of a publication. Determine
how many listings will be done each day or week, and judiciously follow the
timeframe. Consistency is key here, and will result in the most listings, with
the most results if this is done.
11. Decide if articles will be accepted for publication, or
if content will be entirely self-developed.
12. If articles are to be accepted, then parameters for said articles also need to be established. These parameters should be succinct and easy-to-understand, and should include the following:
a. Length of acceptable article.
b. Subject of acceptable article.
c. Formatting of acceptable article, i. e. Size of fonts, length of lines, number of characters per line, use or non-use of capitalization.
d. A direct statement of either inclusion or non-inclusion of links to other products and/or services, specified placement of any pertinent links or URLs, acceptance and placement of any advertising within the article.
13. Link exchanges
with other publications. The linkages should reflect the same general theme.
14. Assuring the most
professional look possible. Use only the best quality publication creation software.
15. Submit articles to other publications to create increased exposure and generate interest.
Aside from the publication listing directories, other marketing of an e-zine or newsletter does consist of successfully "spreading the word" in as many ways as possible. It is highly advantageous to consider adding a "send to a friend" link within any publication, as then the publication can be "shared" by other readers, adding to a subscriber list effortlessly. Good quality e-zine and newsletter creation software will undoubtedly supply such a feature, and if it doesn't, then perhaps a new creation software is needed.
It is also advantageous, especially once a subscriber list has grown considerably, to look into publication co-ops (co-operatives), in which publishers share listings within a general database, as well as subscribers, which can generate many subscribers within a short period of time with minimal effort. Co-ops however do vary greatly in efficacy as well as tone, and research does need to be done before joining any of these, as some loss of freedom occurs after joining, with publishers required to list other publications and/or ads within each mailing.
Some programs also exist where credits can be earned by use of software or other tools that generate subscribers for entire lists of publishers. Again, research as to these choices needs to be done judiciously as some programs or tools are much more effective than others, depending upon the publication being promoted and the readership that the publication targets.
In addition, never forget the "smaller promotion" methods, that of forums and discussion boards, where others with an interest in publications may gather. A signature line is usually permitted in many of these, and some subscribers may be garnered in this fashion. Include a publications' signature line in each and every e-mail sent as well.
There are many ways to promote
and establish a readership of subscribers. As with anything else, it does however,
take time and patience, but publishing can be highly rewarding and lucrative
with enough effort. Creating an active list is well worth the time and effort
as it does have the potential to reap huge rewards.