We are going to go into a little more detail concerning the topic of getting your Ezines listed in directories and forums. Exposure is so key to getting subscribers, so you want to spend a lot of time on this part. It will pay off for you in the long run. Let's start with forums. Forums are wonderful places and there are many of them around. All you have do to is go to a search engine and type in the word "forums" and you'll see about 12 million entries pop up. But wait. Before you start going through each one of them, you're going to want to narrow this down a little more. Why? Well, if your Ezine is about building a home based business, you're not going to want to post it on a forum that deals with race cars. Most likely, you won't get very many people who are interested. So what you want to do is type in something like "Home Business Forums". Now you'll get about forty pages of results. Not too bad. Now you can start looking through them and find some that will be more targeted to your Ezine. Once you have found a forum, you want to introduce yourself. Do NOT post an ad. Most forums do not allow this. What they do allow is a link in your signature. Post something that shows your knowledge of the subject. Give some free information that people will find useful. Do this on a regular basis so that the people at the forum will begin to see you as an expert. Over time, they will begin to trust you, especially if you have shared things with them that have helped them. Now, when they see the link in your signature promoting your Ezine, they are more apt to subscribe. You have already given them so much info that the trust is there. Now you just have to capitalize on it. Directories are a little different because they are not as personal. The truth is, directories are very impersonal. These are simply listings of Ezines. But again, the same principals apply as to finding a forum to advertise in. You want to narrow your search to Ezine directories that focus on your topic. Listing your Home Business Ezine in a directory that specializes in home gardening isn't going to do a thing to increase your subscriber base. If anything, most of these directories will reject your Ezine if it doesn't fit their theme. So don't waste your time submitting to them unless they are specifically targeted to your audience. Once you have found an appropriate directory you want to carefully read their submission guidelines. Almost all of them specifically say NO ADS. You are listing your Ezine, NOT promoting your product. Also, you want to make sure that you upload your listing with an appropriate and interesting description. When people read it, you want it to be something that will capture their attention and make them want to subscribe. A dull, lay-on-the-floor do nothing description, will do just that, nothing. So take your time with your descriptions. It may mean the difference between getting subscribers and not. |
