by Monique Harris
It's a fact that most e-zine editors rely on advertisers to
generate revenue from their publishing efforts. But there are three inherent
problems with this approach...
1) Unless you have 10,000+ subscribers, you can't really
charge a high ad rate. (Which limits the amount of money you
can make.)
2) You can only accept a certain
number of ads per issue, before your e-zine starts looking 'junky.' (Which
again, limits the amount of
money you can make.)
3) You'll always have a steady flow of new
competitors coming out with new e-zines. Think about it. If 90% of your
competitors also accept advertising, it's going to get harder and harder to
stand out from the crowd.
However there is a way
to make money as an e-zine editor, without having to depend solely on
advertising dollars. And the icing on the cake is that very few editors use this technique, so you
won't be overwhelmed by the competition.
What is it? Publish your own
information product.
As an e-zine editor, clearly you have some type
extended knowledge on a particular topic. Take some of that knowledge, and
package it into an audio tape, video tape, e-book, booklet, or manual. Then sell
it to your e-zine subscribers.
Easier said than done, you think?
Here are a few tips to help you put together an information product in 30-days
or less:
* Create a Recipe Book. Even if your topic isn't cooking, any
process can be explained in a step-by-step fashion. (Just like you're writing a
recipe.)
Suppose you publish a tennis tips
e-zine. You could create an e-book featuring various recipes to help beginning
tennis players. Like a
recipe for a killer backhand swing, and so on.
You may even wish to
include other peoples recipes. Especially people who have a recognizable name in
your industry.
* Use Previous Articles as Stepping Stones. If you've
written articles for your e-zine, use them as 'chapter starters' for your
information product. Simply continue to add data to your existing articles, and
before you know it, you'll have a completely new product to sell.
*
Solicit Stories From Your Subscribers. Since you have this captive audience at
your fingertips, ask them to contribute stories and tips to your information
product. They'll get free publicity, and you'll get free content.
Once
your infoproduct is complete, you can continuously promote it in your e-zine.
You might even want to offer your subscribers a discount on the
price.
The main point is that you'll now have a continuous
moneymaker, outside of advertisers dollars. Two money streams are always better
than one.
