8 Easy Steps to Achieving Ezine Article Profitability

Introduction

Ezines and ezine articles are, potentially, a rich source for dual-fuelled online profitability.

Firstly, you have the ezine, itself, working for you as an entity: distributed to ezine directories, promoting your business, showcasing you as author and making you world-renowned. 

Secondly, you have your featured ezine per article distributed to article directories, potentially being used in many other ezines worldwide and displayed on third-party websites and blogs across the Internet, helping your promotional efforts and enhancing your reputation as an expert in your filed as they go.

So long as you have a strong tie-in product or service from which to make sales and earn money, the twin elements of your ezine should boost your success rate and help you to achieve a position of dominance within your chosen niche.

So, how does it all fit together? Let’s take a look.

Step One: Assemble Your Ezine Toolkit

In addition to a word processing package, you don't need many tools at your disposal to publish ezines... and each but Item 5 in the list is free, although many autoresponder companies will offer a free trial period and free versions of their software, which carry ads and are basic featured.

Item 2 is not strictly necessary, but is worth doing if you do not have a hosted website.

1. Visit Google and Bookmark the Keyword Tool
2. Sign up for an account with Blogger.com
3. Open an account with Twitter.com
4. Open an account with Facebook.com
5. Sign up for an autoresponder account

Step Two: Choose a Strong Niche

The biggest mistake new marketers (and, indeed, more than a few experienced ones) make, virtually without exception, is this: wrong niche choice.

When it comes to deciding niche choice, most will start the process on the thought: ‘What do I know?’ rather than: ‘What do people want and what are they looking for?‘

Training your mind to focus on and accept this one point as fact will save you months of anguish and set you on the road to Internet Marketing riches.

So, how do you set about the task of choosing a strong niche?  Like this:

1. Type a phrase in the Google search box along the lines of: ‘Top Searches’; ‘Top Search Terms’; ‘Popular Searches’, 'How To', etc.
2. Scan the pages you are presented with, look for a recurring theme.  Choose a topic that looks promising.
3. Return to the Google search box, type ‘[the topic you have chosen] forums’ - e.g. 'home business forums' - (or ‘bulletin boards’, or 'discussion boards, etc) to check what’s being asked or discussed on your chosen topic. This step gives you your ‘angle of attack‘ - i.e. the question you will supply the answer to, or the problem you will solve.
4. Create - or find - a product or service that will tie in with the theme of your ezine and your feature article, which answers the question or solves the problem you identified from your forum/bulletin board/discussion board research.

You have now identified a strong niche to work in, a precise need to fill (from the very mouths of your prospective customers) and you have designed and produced your own product; or sourced a suitable affiliate product.

Now you know the subject for your ezine and ezine article, next you need to do one of two things:

1. Write your feature article
2. Source your feature article elsewhere

Step Three: Article Sourcing

Should the thought of writing your own articles paralyzes you with fear, there are ways around this knotty problem.  Other authors will let you use their articles free of charge, provided you leave their signature/resource box intact when publishing.

That's only fair.  They are helping you with free content, your helping them get free publicity: a win-win.

These articles can be obtained from any article directory. You can use Private Label Rights (PLR) articles too.  Type either emboldened term into the Google Search box for lists.

Tip:  Check third-party articles for grammatical and spelling errors.

Step Four: Choosing Keywords

As well as quality, original content, you also need to be mindful of the words you use for your ezine introduction, feature article title and body text. These need to be as Search Engine Optimised as possible.

The best way to achieve optimisation is to go to Google and add their Keyword Tool to your browser's Favourites list (to use often!).  Now use as follows:

1. Enter a word or phrase into the Keyword search box, as per instructions.
2. Type the verification word into the box beneath it.
3. Click the 'Get Keyword Ideas' button.
4. After a few seconds, a list of keywords (or phrases) will appear under 'Keywords', with the month's 'Volume' figures to its right. The higher the number, the more popular the corresponding keyword (or phrase).
5. Copy the most popular words (or phrases) and work them into your titles, headings, sub-headings and body copy.

Step Five: Ezine Publication Profitability

Ezines are the most cost effective way to promote your online products or services.  A well-written, original, story or article is far more likely to be accepted by an article or ezine directory, and Search Engines look on originality of content far more favourably and should rank your content closer to the top when returning search results.

Step Six: Adopt Social Networking

Social networking sites such as Twitter™ and Facebook™ can help no end to popularise your ezines, blog entries and articles.  You can even customize Twitter™ so that your Twitter™ entries automatically generate in Facebook™.  Here’s what you do:

1. Register for an account with both Twitter™ and Facebook™.
2. Click on the ‘Confirmation’ link in the email both sites will send you.
3. Once confirmed, sign into your Twitter™ account.  Complete your ‘Profile’ (do the same with Facebook™ later), then look for the ’Goodies’ link at the foot of the page.
4. On the next screen, click ’Widgets’.
5. On the next screen, click ’Facebook™’ as your chosen Widget.
6. On the next screen, click the title ’Facebook Application’, which is a hyperlink.
7. Finally, on the next screen, click the ‘Install Twitter in Facebook’ button on the ‘Add Twitter to Facebook’ page.

Now when you make an entry (a Tweet) in Twitter™, your Facebook™ wall will update automatically with the same message, saving time on duplication.

Make regular posts to Twitter™ and Facebook™, get yourself well known, make contacts, attract a crowd of Followers, and you have a quick, no-cost, means of attracting a flood of targeted traffic to your website, sales page or blog.

Step Seven: Ezine Formatting

Having thought out the content of your ezine and written your feature article centred around your product promotion (or sourced one), you now need to format your work to ensure effortless - and therefore optimum - readability prior to delivery and circulation to directories.  My top formatting tips are as follows:

1. Sign up for at least five ezines. These do not have to be in your niche.
2. Compare each. Study presentation and stylistic elements, noting whether (or where) images are used.
3. Note how many content sections are featured.  This will give you a feel for stylising and populating your own ezine.
4. If planning an HTML version of your ezine, test it in two or more different browsers (Windows Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, Opera etc) to check that it renders properly in each.

Step Eight: Ezine Circulation and Delivery - Autoresponders

Autoresponders are software scripts that allow you to distribute mass mailings automatically and at a controlled frequency.

When you sign up to receive your sample ezines (Step Seven above), they will have been delivered to you via autoresponder into your Inbox.

Autoresponders are much more user friendly than they used to be and are considered essential tools for ezine or article distribution.  They will allow you to set up multiple campaigns with as many prewritten issues as you wish; several years’ worth if you want!

Conclusion

Hopefully, you can now see - and are even excited by - the potential profitability in ezine publishing.

Marketing with ezines does require consistent effort.  When you start to publish, it is imperative that you maintain a regular delivery schedule: weekly, bi-weekly or monthly, the frequency is up to you: but once launched, keep it going... or risk losing credibility, customers and potential income.

Keep the content of your ezine original and fresh and your articles unique and tied in to your product theme. Keep your ezine content within three printed pages and your featured article within 700 words.

Use ezine and article directories to help circulate your ezines and articles more efficiently throughout the Web. Use social networking sites like Twitter™ and Facebook™ to drive targeted traffic to your website, sales page or blog.

All the above are cost-free advertising methods that should help boost your online recognition, increase your following and ultimately lead to improved sales conversion rates.

All of which might just see you attain that often elusive though very achievable online fortune.

Whether small or large is very much dependent upon what you do next.

To your ezine publishing success!