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Issue: June 10, 2003

"Newsletters/E-zines, Why? How?" Part 2

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If you're reading "Starting Smart" because a friend sent this issue to you, get your own copy every other week by clicking either of these addresses.

http://www.9mistakes-online.com
http://www.online-newbie.com

Here's the link to subscribe:
http://www.9mistakes-online.com/startingsmartnewsletter.htm

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"Starting Smart"
The Ezine for the Online Marketing Newbie

June 10, 2003
Karl Augustine - Publisher

Subscribe Link:
http://www.9mistakes-online.com/startingsmartnewsletter.htm
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*Greetings...a quick thought, I hope all is well with you...
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Hello,

It's hot! Ugh...it was actually 90 degrees here in Seattle a few days ago, which is rare! There's a lot of sunburned people here...fortunately I'm not one of them.

I hope the last couple weeks have been prosperous for you. Welcome to this PART 2 special edition of "Starting Smart".

I had a discussion with a true expert this last week, we were discussing marketing in general and my book. One thing we were talking about was answering the question "Where do the majority of the "wanna be" Internet marketers fall on the newbie scale? I realized and he already knew that there are many levels of "newbie", it all depends on how you define "newbie".

• There's many levels of "newbie"...
  *Someone new to the Internet and to the computer
  *Someone fairly fluent with the Internet and can work their way around an Operating System...Windows, Mac
  *Someone fluent with the computer in all respects and has some level of understanding of Internet Marketing, may have read a book or 2
  *Someone who has read many books, promotes products via the web (possibly their own, but doubtful) but isn't getting the results they want
  *And on and on!

What I realized by talking with this expert is that to some degree, we are all newbies because the Internet changes so fast and we can never stop learning. Continuous education is a key factor in success which is why I am constantly searching for new products to buy, promote and critique...seeing what's out there helps me to learn. (I will have a full critique of a new product at the end of the featured article, we'll get to that later.)

Looking at new products is educational, but not nearly as educational as talking to people who have been successful on the Internet for years and years...they've seen Internet marketing change dramatically over time and it really is enlightening to look at what worked in the past to try to predict what will work in the future.

Keep learning, always...never stop. If you think you know it all, you're doomed most likely. Be humble...

For those of you who are truly newbies, my friend Jane has a site and newsletter just for you! From Jane...

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Take my hand and learn the basics of your computer, how to print your own Business Cards,
Letterheads....... and even how to start marketing on the internet. Subscribe today--Don't miss one issue and it's Free!
http://janes-place.com/sos.htm

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Onward and upward!

Thanks for reading.

Enjoy and all the best online,

Karl Augustine
"The Regular Guy"

P.S. Don't forget to protect yourself with WebLockPro from Mike Chen...I've had it a month now and still love it! Easy to use interface, easy instructions, works fast, etc. Mike has serious claims on his sales copy and the software lives up to it.

Protect yourself, protect your images and your code. I've protected my "thank you" page and my "download" page with WebLockPro. You won't go wrong…I own it, I love it, it's worth it.

Get WebLockPro here--->WebLockPro

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In this special edition..
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*2 Great additions to your arsenal...
*Featured Article: Newsletters/E-zines, why? how? Part 2
*A tremendous time saving tool! You'll love this one..
*Ask me?
*Welcome New Subscribers! Help us grow!
*Copyright and Publisher Info
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2 Great additions to your arsenal...
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#1 - Spam Terminator!
Spam Terminator - FREE trial to check it out and "try before you buy". Here's the best part! You can begin to make money immediately with the affiliate program. The affiliate program is viral and works very well, it's automatic in fact.

Check out Spam Terminator here...
Spam Terminator
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#2 -Push Button Leads
This is WAAAAAAAY overdue! - Push Button Leads is a very easy way to get new subscribers to your Ezine or Newsletter! Your E-zine ad is viewed along with other ads and the "would-be" subscriber chooses which he/she will sign up with in order to join Push Button Leads...great concept! E-Z to sign up and it works very well. I got 10 new subscribers in the first 2 hours. You also get a FREE trial...

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*Featured Article: "Newsletters/E-zines, Why? How?"

You've got your Newsletter named, know who your target is going to be, and you like what your going to write about! Congratulations, now what?

Promote, promote, promote...that's the name of the game.

Before we get into promoting your Newsletter, I want to make sure you keep in mind that what you write about, and what products you promote in your Newsletter, are actually forms of promotion by themselves. Be careful and build trust with your readers...only write about useful subjects and identify with the needs of the reader. When promoting a product via your Newsletter, make sure you truly believe in the product and NEVER promote something you do not own, use and love.

Steps you should take...

Write a 50 character description, a 250 character description, and a long description of your newsletter. Make sure you choose your words carefully and be as specific about your newsletter as you possibly can. You want to catch any "would be" subscriber's attention when they see your description and click your link to your main newsletter sales page or your main web page.

Once your descriptions are well written, submit your Newsletter to every E-Zine and Newsletter directory that you can find that fits your niche! There's quite a lot of directories, so make sure you weed out directories that aren't a good fit for what your readership will benefit from.

Important side note: When writing, use your own personality...don't be afraid to voice your opinion about things...not being "vocal" is a major mistake for an online publisher.

After registering your Newsletter with the directories, post your articles to as many directories as you can. Make sure that your articles are also posted to your website for viewing because some directories and publishers like to read what you offer before they decide to publish your articles.

Once you have written solid articles, go to Google and find other site owners with E-zines that accept articles and submit your articles to them. This is a great way to establish yourself as an expert and will certainly increase your traffic! Make sure your articles are in the proper format and keep them between 500 to 800 words since that's the standard these days.

I use NoteTabLight for my article writing but you can use any good text editor. NoteTabLight is free and has lots of nice features. It's easy to use which is just the type of product I love.

When you finish an article make sure you add the resource box at the end. The resource box is where you'll get your traffic from because it includes your ad, bio, link, etc. A resource box looks like this:

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This article is an excerpt from the eBook
"9 Deadly Mistakes To Avoid When Starting An Online Business".
How much time and money have you wasted?
For more time saving and money making tips, get your full copy
here ====> http://www.9mistakes-online.com
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Create as many relationships as you can with other publishers who have similar target lists. If you do this, you should be able to keep a core group of publishers that will look forward to your articles and publish them regularly. Publishers are always looking for articles to run...using other publisher articles is a time saver and a good business building tactic.

Another great way to promote your E-zine is to have other publishers endorse your E-Zine for you. Of course, they'll ask you to return the favor which is only fair. Through endorsements, you can easily reach thousands of "would be" subscribers in one mailing. Usually the publisher who promotes your E-Zine in theirs will allow you to write your own promo. Ad swaps are free and another great way to pool resources and grow together.

One often overlooked but powerful way to promote your Newsletter is to do a joint venture with other publishers by exchanging promo's on each others "Thanks for subscribing" pages. This works extremely well because the prospect has already signed up for a particular E-Zine, so while you have their attention, why not offer them something else they'd find useful? You can see an example of my Thanks for subscribing page here...Thanks for Joining!

Promote daily if you can, at least weekly...there's lots of Newsletters out there but people who live online always crave the latest and greatest! Write, promote, write, promote, etc...it's that simple.

All the best online,

Karl Augustine
"The Regular Guy"

(c) Karl Augustine
http://www.9mistakes-online.com

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*A tremendous time saving tool for every online publisher!

I usually don't get this wound up over software but this is special because it is a huge huge time saver! I hate tedious and monotonous work, especially if it absolutely has got to be done! Yeah, I'm whining...

After sitting for hours manually looking for and submitting my articles and E-Zine to every directory and publisher I could find, and really having a deep deep respect for the old timers who did this without automation, I knew there had to be a better way!

Jason Potash's E-Zine Announcer is just that, better way. A+ through and through! It's not an A+ because it's easy to use and the interface is "all pretty" with solid documentation, it's an A+ because it saves me hours and hours of time submitting my articles and E-Zine! I rarely give an A+ to anything, let alone more software! Check it out now!

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*Ask Me?

If you have a question, ask me. I'll do my best to answer all the questions I receive. I can't guarantee exactly when, but I'll do my best!
mailto:karl@9mistakes-online.com

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*Welcome New Subscribers!

For those of you just joining, welcome!

Your time is valuable and I'll do my level best to make this "read" time well spent. I am just a regular guy, just like many of you out there...I stuck with it, and now am having a blast doing what I love to do. Keep a positive attitude and you can do just about anything....seems like old news, but it works and we all can use a little reminding now and then.

Please forward this ezine in its entirety to any friends or colleagues who you think may find it useful.

Thanks for helping us grow!

Here's the link to subscribe:
"Starting Smart" newsletter

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*Copyright and Publisher Info

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"Starting Smart" is copyright 2003 by Karl Augustine.
No part of this publication may be reproduced
without consent from the publisher.

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