Participating in E-zines
© 2002, Susan Sweeney / Connex Network Inc.

 This is the first installment of a two part discussion on e-zines and how they can be a very important part of your marketing strategy. In this issue we will focus on participating in other people's e-zines and in our next edition we will discuss creating your own e-zine.

E-zines or electronic magazines are the online version of magazines. They are content-rich and contain information regarding a certain topic in the form of magazine articles and features and sometimes advertising as well. More than 60 percent of Internet users frequently read online publications, or e-zines. This is why they are among the most popular marketing tools on the Internet. Today there are thousands of e-zines dedicated to a wide variety of topics. The e-zines may be full versions of traditional print magazines, partial versions of print magazines or may be previous month's editions.

There are two types of e-zines:

  • Web-based e-zines - have only an online presence and are accessed through their Web site by browsing from page to page. They have the look and feel of a traditional magazine and have lots of pictures and advertisements. There may or may not be a subscription fee.
  • E-mail e-zines - may come as plain text or HTML emails. They tend to be more content oriented with several pages of articles and often classified advertising. Most are run weekly or bi-weekly and are usually free to subscribers. Because the subscribers are interested in the content and have taken the time to subscribe they are a very valuable marketing tool.

1. Tips

  • You can participate in electronic magazines in a variety of ways:
     

    • advertise directly
    • be a sponsor
    • submit articles
    • send press releases
    • start your own
       

  • Advantages of E-zine Advertising:

    •  
    • long lifespan of your ads - may be saved for future reference in recipients' mailboxes or there may be an archive
    • ads included in issues in a relatively short period of time - perhaps in the next week or two as opposed to print magazines which close their ad space months before issues hit the newsstand.
    • your ad is more likely to be seen as advertising in e-zines in limited as opposed to print magazines where every second page is an advertisement.
    • e-zine ads can include a hypertext link to your Web site so your potential customers are only a click away from purchasing your product or service.
    • e-zines are often shared with friends and associates and viral marketing encourages readers to send a copy to a friend - however you are only charged for your advertising based on subscribers, so you are receiving extra exposure for free!
    • e-zine subscribers are interested in the content of the e-zine or they wouldn't have subscribed - this means readers are extremely targeted and have a genuine interest in the information
    • geographically speaking e-zines have a far broader reach than traditional print magazines - it is not uncommon to have subscribers from around the world.

2. Tools  - Finding e-zines

BestEzines
http://www.bestezines.com/ezines/master.shtml
Directory of e-zines organized by category. A great site to find appropriate e-zines to reach your target market.

Ecola Newsstand
http://www.ecola.com
Ecola Newsstand has over 8,400 magazines, newspapers and publications. There are over 100 categories of magazines to choose from.

eZINE Search
http://www.ezinesearch.com/search-it/ezine
Billed as the world's ultimate e-magazine database. Searchable by category.

Ezine-Universe
http://ezine-universe.com
Ezine-Universe is a great directory of e-mail based e-zines.

List City's Book of E-zines
http://www.list-city.com/ezines.htm
A list of e-zines organized by category that accept paid advertising as well as all the details and contact information on each e-zine.

3. Techniques

  • Guidelines for Your Advertising:
     

    • check the ads displayed in the e-zine for repetition - if advertisers have not advertised more than once they probably did not see positive results.
    • respond to some of the ads and ask the advertisers what their experiences were with advertising in that particular e-zine - tell them who you are and why you are contacting them and they will likely be more receptive to your inquiry.
    • ask the e-zine publisher questions (eg. how many subscribers are there?, what types of ads do they accept?, is there a policy of not running competing ads?, is there a set of advertising policies you can receive via e-mail?)
    • find out if the publisher provides tracking information and if so what specific reports you will have access to
    • find out if your ad can have a hypertext link to your Web site
    • if the ad allows a hypertext link make sure it links to an appropriate page - one that is a continuation of the advertisement or a page that provides details on the item you were advertising and provide a link to the order form from this page to assist in the transaction.
    • obtain an editorial calendar if possible so you can target your ads if there is a specific topic being addressed in an upcoming issue. Perhaps there will be an article relating to a product or service you provide so you may choose to advertise in that issue.
    • make sure the advertising rates are reasonable based on the number of subscribers - ask about rates for a one time placement as well as multiple placements. Another option if the rates are not in your budget is to ask the publisher if they would accept a link on your Web site in exchange for an ad.
    • develop your ads with your target market in mind - wherever possible include a link to your Web site and an e-mail link to the appropriate individual within your organization.
    • develop a mechanism for tracking advertising responses - use different email accounts and different Web page URLs for different ads.
    • make sure you are aware of the publication's advertising deadlines and ad format preferences.
       

  • Providing Articles and News Releases to E-zines:
     
    • target e-zines that have the same target market that you do and that have a broad subscriber base.
    • include information on your products and services in an interesting article that would fit the publisher's guidelines.
    • make sure the e-zine includes a resource box at the end of the article crediting you as the author and provides a hypertext link to your Web site or your e-mail address.
    • having articles published enhances your reputation as an expert and people like to buy products and services from people who are experts in their field.
    • in addition to e-zines, submit your articles to "article banks" online which are resource sites for e-zine publishers - they search the banks looking for articles for their e-zine and if they use your article they include the resource box.

4. Resources - articles

Advertising in E-zines
http://www.akamarketing.com/advertising-in-ezines.html

Online Advertising using E-zines
http://riskfreemarketing.com/online-advertising.htm

7 Undeniable Reasons You Should Be Advertising in E-zines
http://www.superpromo.com/reasons.html

Advertising in E-zines - Something for Everyone
http://www.the-time-is-now.com/ezine/article_ezines.htm

E-zine Advertising
http://www.jvmarketer.com/ezine/ezineads.html

Visit my Web site at http://www.susansweeney.com/