Interviews With Successful Ezine Publishers - David Geer

David Geer is the publisher of "Success 4U Marketing Ezine" - a weekly ezine, providing tried and proven eBiz tactics, practices, insider secrets, and expertise. It's free ... sign-up today by visiting: http://www.ezinelistbuilder.com/ezine.htm

KH: How important has publishing an ezine been to your business?

DG: Any decent money that I've earned online has come from either my ezine, or from someone else's ezine.

For example, a few months ago, I exchanged solo ads with a publisher from Ireland. On the day my ad ran, I sold 41 ebooks, at $67.90 a pop. And, over the next few days, I sold about 10 more.

The above can only happen, though, if your ad runs in an ezine in which it's editor/publisher has earned the trust of the subscribers. That's the key to making money with ezine marketing.

KH: How long have you been running an ezine and how many subscribers do you have?

DG: I started Success 4U Marketing in the first part of 1999. Now, I have 20,000+ great subscribers. I usually get between 50 and 100 new opt-in subscribers per day depending on how well my promotional efforts work.

If, for instance, one of my articles gets published in an ezine that targets my market, this can easily generate 100 or more new subscribers.

Believe it or not, getting subscribers is the easy part. The hard part is keeping them. So, it's most important that you treat them like gold because that's their potential for your ezine.

KH: Do you submit your ezine to directories and/or announcement lists and if so how effective has this been in gaining new subscribers to your publication?

DG: Yes. It's fast and easy. That's because I use software that automates the process.

KH: Do you write and use your own articles to promote your ezine? How valuable has writing articles been in promoting your ezine?

DG: Yes, and it's powerful. If you can write well for your target market, you already own one of the best subscriber generators. Discover how to use it and you'll never want for a huge opt-in list.

The secret here is to find your niche and focus, focus, focus on it. Discover all that you can about your niche, educate yourself about it, and become an expert. I think it was Einstein who said something like:

If you study something for just 15 minutes a day, before long, you'll become an expert about that subject.

So, it's not that hard, but it does take dedication.

KH: What methods do you use to promote your products or services within your ezine?

DG: Before I answer this question, I'd like to make a short comment:

Until you build a trusting relationship with your subscribers, they won't respond well to your promotional efforts. And, in order for your subscribers to trust you, they must know that you have their best interests at heart.

For example, if you're going to recommend an eBook to those folks, you should have first read that eBook. How else would your recommendation be honest?

Bottom line: Never personally recommend anything to your list just to make a buck or two.

Now, back to the question. The two promotional methods that work best for me are:

* Solo mailings to my subscribers, which I only send three or four times a year. That's because, if you bombard your list with solos, it can lead to a depressing number of unsubscribes.

* Writing product/service reviews. Again, make sure your review comes from personal experience, not a rehashed ad from someone else. Otherwise, your review will fall on deaf ears.

KH: How do you go about preparing your ezine for publication?

DG: Usually, I work on my ezine everyday. Sometimes, it's just a few minutes here and a few there. For example, if I discover a powerful quote, it gets added to the *Empowering Thoughts* section of my ezine or, if I hear about either a free report or a free ebook, they might get added to the *Enjoy the Benefits* section.

Bottom line here: by getting your ezine ready ahead of time, your *send day* can be stress free.

KH: Any advice to future ezine publishers? Things to look out for or things to concentrate on when publishing an ezine?

DG: Great question ... just hope my response does it some justice; however, that would probably take a long article - maybe even a booklet. Anyway, to keep it short, I'll just offer the following short list of suggestions and information:

* Ask yourself, " Why do you want to publish an ezine?" If it's just to make money, or because some guru recommends it, or because everyone else is doing it, or because you want the status of ezine publisher, and so on, you won't succeed for long. That's because your readers don't care about what you want — they only care about what you can do for them.

* Before you start your ezine, educate yourself. Learn the basics, such as how to format one, which list server you might want to use, the best day to mail your ezine, and so on.

* Also, I'd suggest subscribing to some great ezines that cover the area that yours will cover. Those ezines will give you some great ideas for your ezine. Don't, however, become a copycat. In other words, you want to add your personal touch, not serve up a rehash of what's already there.

* Yet another wise move for you: Before you decide on your publishing schedule ... daily, weekly, monthly ... or whatever, put together three to five ezines ... ones ready to mail. This will give you a good idea about how often to publish.

* Last, keep in mind that your ezine will be read by living, breathing, feeling human beings ... those folks want to connect with other living, breathing, feeling, human beings.