How To Make Money Online With Internet Publishing

By Ian Sumter
Posted Wednesday, September 15, 2004

One of the most popular and relatively straight forward ways to begin making money online is to set up your own regular newsletter or ezine.

Typically, an ezine will be published several times a month and be sent via email to a regular list of subscribers.

Ezines are a very useful means for other internet entrepreneurs to promote their products and services - so having regular low cost ads provides a useful source of revenue.

It is, of course, possible to promote your own products too within the ezine - but it is important to remember that the ezine should provide valiable informative and entertaining content - and not become a glorified sales catalogue.

Ezines can benefit almost anyone with a business or regular subscriber list. For an offline business owner, an ezine or newsletter is a simple means of keeping in touch frequently with existing customers. For an online business, it is possible to capture details of non-buying visitors to your site by offering a tip-sheet, newsletter or mini-course.

One of the biggest barriers to would-be online publishers is the fear of running out of fresh content. There are, however, many websites, such as (www.marketing-seek.com) which have literally hundreds of ready to use articles submitted by freelance internet writers. You can also search for 'free content' in any major search engine, and you should find many articles suitable for your ezine.

Also, don't be afraid to be personal - write a bit about yourself, what you're doing and what is of interest to you. In the anonymous world of cycberspace, a good dose of individuality goes a long way.

Another hurdle to those starting out on the internet is the lack of a regular subscriber base. There are a multitude of methods to try and build this list:

Promote the newsletter through articles of your own Enter the ezine in online directories Put a subscription box on your website Trade ads with other publishers Post to discussion boards

Potentially the fastest way to grow subscription is through paid subscriber lists such as (www.listopt.com). For a low fee per subscriber, you will be given a database of names and email addresses to send your newsletter to. How you keep people interested and continuing to subscribe is then up to you.

One word of warning here. It is important not to send entirely unsolicited emails in the hope of gaining subscribers. This is termed spam and is illegal. Penalties for spam include fines and suspension of email facilities. Make sure that any subscribers you gain are from genuine opt in lists.

As a practical guide, your ezine should have a consistent angle, approach or method. This will help build loyalty in your list, and make your newsletter distinctive. Automation of the whole process will also save a great deal of time and effort. This can be done effectively through a wide range of autoresponders available online.

Perhaps the most important thing to remember with ezines is to make it enjoyable. Newsletters and publishing provide an ideal opportunity to build networks and friendships online - that can only have a postiive effect on your internet trading.

The information in this article is condensed from the ebook Ezines 101 available from (www.internet-marketing-downloads.com). Further information can be obtained by: mailto:ian.sumter@igsmarketing.com.

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