Almost everyone on ‘Net is familiar with ezine article promotion. However, Business Essentials subscriber Steve Watson (of Watson’s Streetworks http://www.watsons-streetworks.com) has found a way to get some “free ink” in national paper magazines, too. No… not press releases – full-length articles.

KARON: Hi Steve. Thanks for your time today.

STEVE: Sure, Karon. Glad to do it.

KARON: If I understand you right, you’re getting some excellent coverage in national trade magazines… free.

STEVE: That’s right.

KARON: I’m all ears. Tell me what you’re doing.

STEVE: The magazines that appeal to our customer base and feature our product line (street rod and custom car parts) focus on two basic types of articles: vehicle features - where a car or truck is photographed, described in detail, etc.; and informational pieces. It’s informational pieces that are a potential gold mine.

KARON: “Informational” pieces? You mean like “how-to” articles?

STEVE: Exactly! Info articles can be installation “how-to” pieces, new product introductions, shop tours, etc. These are very important articles for magazines.

KARON: Yes, I’m sure they are. But – traditionally – paper mags have been very protective of their writers. Even professional freelance writers have had a hard time getting ink. How are you breaking into that group?

STEVE: Well, editors are continually caught between a rock and a hard place; that is, at least 20 percent of magazine space must be editorial (non-advertising) material. At same time they have limited resources for editorial material - their own writers, who are becoming few and far between, and paid-for pieces that group managers would prefer not to have to fit into their budgets. Enter do-it-yourself article.

KARON: So you’ve found, at least with auto mags, that they are willing to “sacrifice” their principles rather than hire freelancers?

STEVE: Pretty much!

KARON: OK, tell me how you get your pieces through maze of management.

Ask successful ezine publishers what draws subscribers to their ezines, and you’ll be told one very important thing. Content, content, content. However, many would-be ezine publishers focus more on selling than they do on valuable information. They turn their attention toward making money instead of building relationships. If you follow suit, that practice will surely be death of your ezine, my friend.

“What? Ezines are supposed to be this wonderful marketing tool. They are supposed to help me get more sales. What do you mean that selling will be death of my ezine?”

Exactly what I said. Think of it this way. When you subscribe to a paper magazine, what are you paying your hard-earned money for? You don’t want to get a copy of “Forbes” or “Glamour” only to find 90% ads and only one article in entire issue, do you? Certainly not! Neither do your ezine subscribers… even if your ‘zine is free.

They subscribed to your ezine because they believed they would get a wealth of information. Instead, they’re likely to feel they’ve fallen into a sales trap.

Don’t get me wrong. Ezines are a wonderful sales tool. They can help to build your business. They do bring in more clients. But they only do this if presented in a professional manner that shows you care about providing a quality publication, and not just promoting products or services that will make you money.