David Geer. .
David Geer: Can you give us a little background information about yourself?
Terry Telford: Sure David. I graduated from college in 1991. I majored in Advertising and soon discovered that this was my true “calling” in life.
Between 1991 and 2001, I tried lots of different things. I started my own advertising agency, which I later sold to my partner, I worked for two other agencies as an account manager, I dabbled in the construction and real estate markets and I managed a paint warehouse.
In 2001, I decided to try business on the internet. I instantly loved it and built my first website, BridgeportCommunications.com using software from GoDaddy.com. I built my second website, bpcPublishing.com using FrontPage and my third site, TheBusinessProfessional.com using Dream Weaver.
In December 2003, I sold the majority share of BPC Publishing so I could focus on building The Business Professional, THE magazine for webmasters and affiliates. The first issue of The Business Professional was published on May 15th, 2004.
And that”s me in a nutshell 🙂
DG: How long have you been publishing an ezine? And, how many subscribers do you have?
TT: I started publishing The Marketing Pack Journal in January 2002 to promote the BPC Publishing site. Today it”s published by Raj, the owner of BPC Publishing. He”s really done a great job with it. The subscriber base for The Marketing Pack Journal is somewhere around 280,000.
The Business Professional is an online magazine, which could be classified as an ezine, I guess. It”s a subscription based publication, and I”ve only started publishing it, so the subscription base is still in its infancy.
DG: What”s the most effective tool/resource that you use for getting new subscribers?
TT: It”s hard to know exactly how much damage programs like that are doing to the ezine/email publishing industry, but it is making it more and more difficult to actually get to the subscriber”s inbox. With The Marketing Pack Journal, we”ve been very fortunate. The majority of the advertisers are receiving a substantial response to their offers, so it seems that the ezine is getting through.
With The Business Professional, I”ve started looking into some other options for delivering messages to the subscribers. There are some interesting channeling programs on the market which allow publishers to contact their subscribers directly on their desktop and by pass the email problems. After investigating several options, I”m leaning towards http://www.thebusinessprofessional.com/channel.html
DG: What adjustments, if any, have you taken to get around email filtering programs?
TT: I started misspelling words like f”r”e”e and adding the date into the subject line. But if a publisher is delivering a publication to a Yahoo or Hotmail address they”re most likely being filtered, it doesn”t seem to matter what tactics are used.
DG: What works best for getting your present subscribers to recommend your ezine?
TT: I built The Marketing Pack Journal subscriber base in two ways. The first way was to put a sign up box on the non sales pages of the BPC Publishing site. I also used a pop up and a button at the bottom of each page. Second, I paid for co-op leads where people sign up for more than one ezine or offer at a time. Both systems worked well.
For The Business Professional, I”ve mainly concentrated on joint ventures. Since it”s a paid subscription publication, the tactics are a bit different.
DG: What, in your opinion, is the least effective way of getting new subscribers?
TT: That”s a tough question. Almost everything works to a certain degree. It”s really a matter of how much time a person wants to spend getting each new subscriber. Obviously spam is a no no, but any serious publisher already knows that.
DG: What works best for getting your subscribers to recommend your ezine?
TT: In each issue of The Marketing Pack Journal, I always included a note that said something like,
“Please feel free to pass this publication along to your friends and colleagues. All I ask is you leave the entire ezine intact.”
That worked pretty well.
The other key to getting your ezine passed along is to make sure you provide good quality content.
With The Business Professional, I have an affiliate program set up for subscribers only, so they get paid for each new subscriber they refer. Subscribers get $5 per month for each new subscriber they refer and an additional $5 per month for each new subscriber that their referral refers as well. That”s a big incentive 🙂
DG: Do you think that “pay-for-subscriber programs”, such as Lead Factory or Post Master Direct, are a cost effective way for publishers to get new subscribers?
TT: I can”t comment on the two programs you”ve mentioned because I haven”t personally used them, but buying leads or subscribers is effective as long as they are profitable. The best thing to do is buy a minimum amount of subscribers and send them a test mailing. If you get a reasonable amount of click throughs and minimal spam complaints, that”s a good first test. The second test can only be done over time. If the new subscribers actually make purchases, you can work out your average profit per subscriber and base your lead purchase price on your profits.
For example:
If you pay $100 for 1,000 leads, that”s 10 cents per lead. If those leads purchase $500 in products and services from you over a one year period, each lead is worth 50 cents ($500/1,000 leads). This doesn”t take into account the extra income stream you could generate from selling advertising space in your ezine.
DG: What advice would you give to your best friend who wants to start an ezine?
TT: Basically the same advice I”d give him/her about starting any business online. Dig deep inside yourself and find your passion. If you”re doing something you enjoy, you never feel like you”re working.
For me it”s publishing and marketing. I love it. I live, eat and breath these industries, so I can spend hours and hours pounding away on my keyboard and still keep smiling 🙂
DG: What should be included on a web site sign-up form for an ezine?
TT: For a free subscription ezine, the max I ask for is first name and email address. If you ask for more than that on a simple sign up form, you risk losing a lot of subscribers who become suspicious of your intentions. You can gather more info about your subscribers by doing a survey after they get to know and trust you.
You should always include a privacy statement or a link to your privacy statement if you provide one. You want to let your prospective subscribers know that you will not abuse them by selling their contact info. This is assuming that you don”t sell their contact info.
I use a simple privacy statement right on the sign up form that says,
“Your contact details will not be shared with any third party. Period.”
DG: On the above form, what should not be included?
TT: Spaghetti. LOL. Seriously, the sign up form should be minimalistic. Only ask for the bare necessities. In this case less is more.
DG: As you see it, what is the greatest challenge faced by new ezine publishers?
TT: Creating fresh content for each new publication. That”s another reason it”s important to choose a subject that you are passionate about. I could probably write a few issues of an ezine about fishing, but it would be a chore for me because I don”t know anything about fishing. It also becomes very easy to spot someone who doesn”t really know what they are talking about.
DG: What ezines do you look forward to finding in your inbox?
TT: That”s a good question. I don”t spend as much time reading ezines as I should, but the last one I read was SitePro News.
DG: Anything else that you”d like to add?
TT: I think the best advice I can offer anyone who wants to publish an ezine is choose a topic that you are passionate about. Remember, you have to write a new issue every week, or month and you always need new content. If you have experience and passion about your subject it will come through in your writing. Your subscribers will love your enthusiasm.
The other thing to keep in mind is your ezine is a business all on its own. You should be able to make a decent living just publishing your ezine. You can develop income streams from selling ads and recommending products and services to your subscribers.
I wish you all the success you deserve.
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