The Edge Marketing

Do sales come from your ezine regularly? How many well-written articles do you submit per week to opt-in online ezines? How often do you send thank you's and follow up messages to your different email groups?

If you answered not many, then you need to re-evaluate. The answer to online success is the same as traditional success--promotion, promotion, promotion.

Use these easy ways to boost online credibility and sales:

1. Market and Make your Ezine a Sales Tool

Ezines are one road to sales if you have targeted subscribers who stay with you at least eight months. After four-seven issues, their trust builds and they eventually will buy from you. At the end of your feature article in your signature file include a link straight to your product or service sales letter related to your piece. Entice your ezine readers to go to your site often and stay a while to see new information, so they will eventually become faithful customers.

Many professionals complain that many subscribe to their ezine, but not many buy. Ask yourself why?

Is your ezine list of subscribers a targeted, preferred audience?

Many business people collect email addresses, but fail to categorize them so they can target a particular message and offer.

Be sure to give your targeted audience what they want. If you don't know who they are, write a short survey of less than five questions to potential readers. Ask them, "What do you want?" Include the answers in your ezine and send a thank you to those who participate.

As a book coach and Internet marketing coach, my ezine may not appeal to free-lance writers looking for work. While my ezine reports news on traditional publishing route, it focuses on self-publishing and eBooks by non-fiction writers.It shows authors how to sell online, much cheaper, easier and make more profit than traditional marketing.

What do you put in your subject line when you send your ezine out? 

Did you know that less than 50% open your ezine? Give subscribers a reason to open your ezine.  Put the title of your feature article in the subject line followed by a dash and your ezine title. If too long to fit on the line, just include the part that will be recognized followed by ellipses.

How are you building your ezine subscriber list? What do you offer people who subscribe?

This sign on most Web sites turns people off: "Subscribe to Our Ezine."

What's the motivation? None. To increase your targeted subscribers include a free eReport or ebook with every subscription. Get a strong testimonial like Dan Poynter's for The Book Coach Says... ezine: "Filled with useful tips and resources--definitely worth your time." Place it on your home page. Give visitors a reason to buy.

Another way to build ezine subscribers is to submit articles online to opt-in ezines. When you get published your article will be seen by at least 15,000 ezine subscribers looking for information. You can send to 15 or more of these each time. 

Many Webmasters and other business people who subscribe will see your professional article and want to post it on their Web sites or in their own ezine. Why? Because they need fresh content for their site and ezine. They want and need your information. While the list changes you might try article_announce-subscribe@yahoogroups.com. What great publicity for you! It's so powerful, my site got to #1 in Google and 35 other search engines in just eight months after submitting 30 plus how-to articles.

You can also submit to Web sites directly such as Marketing-Seek.com. When people see your articles, they will see the link to your Web site and visit, even buy. This viral marketing spreads the word fast and wide. It listed your coach's URL on 4500 other web sites.

Submitting these how-to articles increases new subscribers from 10-25 each time you send.  You can see why I'm sure to submit at least one article each week.

2. Submit Articles to Ezines and Web sites

After seeing different articles by you, your audience from the opt-in ezines and other Web sites will take advantage of your benefit-driven signature file, take you up on your free offer, visit your site, subscribe to your ezine, and eventually buy. Each time you submit an article, like me, you can boost new sales $50 to $100 a day.

Read articles on "How to Write a Publishable Article," "How to Write an Article Fast," "How to Submit Articles to Ezines and Web sites." Remember, the trick to promoting yourself and your products is giving away free information. It's like tasting chocolate cookie samples at Mrs. Fields. Visitors will be more likely to buy after they experience a piece of you.

Keep your articles categorized too. At first, I submitted random articles. Then I realized 20 years of coaching experience could be put into six categories:

- Writing/Publishing
- eBooks
- Online Promotion
- Web Marketing/Promotion,
- Offline/Traditional Marketing
- Under 500 words

Like me, you can offer these categories and a new tip category by auto responder to specific audiences who want specific kinds of information.  They appreciate the categories and the easy way to receive promotional articles. To receive over 100 articles on these categories go the web site link at the end of this article.

For the largest profits and connecting with people so they will want your product or service the two best ways to promote online are:

- Write a sales-oriented ezine and send regularly
- Send weekly how-to articles to your opt-in ezines and their publishers

Together they work beautifully to make you well known on the net.

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