Part 2 : Independent Publishers and email overload

Email publishing technology has grown in scope and price and a number of professional email publishing giants have appeared. Is it still possible for a small independent publisher to build a popular list without having to spend too much cash?
Absolutely! But it will be easier if you do spend at least a little cash. For example, an ezine's brand will suffer without an accompanying domain name. I would also advise independent publishers to get professional, CGI-capable Web hosting (as little as US$10 a month), a list hosting solution like Lyris (I use SparkLIST which starts at US$50 a month), and to spend some money on some of the more effective paid promotion techniques/submissions (LookSmart, and GoTo.com come to mind). We're talking about less than US$1000/year.

Of course, none of the above expenses are necessary. There's free Web hosting, free list hosting, and virtually infinite promotional techniques that cost nothing but your time. But without spending some money, your success will be inhibited by your lack of the best tools for the job.

There's a money and time trade-off; if you don't have either, don't bother getting into email publishing. A surplus of one or the other is a prerequisite.

What specific advice would you have for someone considering starting up their own publication?
Buy my soon-to-be-released book on the topic...

Okay, seriously...

Planning, goal-setting, and picking a good topic are all very important when you're just getting started. If profit is among your publishing goals, identify your potential sponsors ahead of time. Find a niche in which your publication can either be the first or the best publication (or both). Listen to your readers' needs and opinions and respond with relevant improvements to your publication.

The first three chapters of my book all cover the various aspects of a successful email publishing strategy, so I could go on for days here. There are also a number of articles on ezine strategy on our site.

Can you give us some examples of ezines that do their job really well?
I'm a big fan of Eldon Sarte's Dirtsmart Netpreneur. Eldon has been publishing since early 1999 and has provided some really excellent content on the topic of Web site design and Internet business. His is also a good example of an email publication offered in both plain text and HTML formats.

I'm a regular reader of the columns on ClickZ, which does an excellent job of aggregating the views of numerous writers on a variety of niche business topics. ClickZ also presents its content in a number of formats for the convenience of its readers.

Boogie Jack's Almost A Newsletter is not your typical monthly ezine on the topic of Web design. He's one of the best at presenting great educational content in a humorous way.

Editor's note: You may enjoy our interview with Boogie Jack himself.

Given the growing number of publications and the continuing commercialization of the Internet, do you think that email overload will kick in more and more - what does this mean for email publishers?
You bet. As I said earlier, this is definitely one of the biggest challenges facing email publishers. What it means for publishers is that high-quality niche content and persistence are becoming increasingly more important. I think it also means that ezines with "personality" will be the ones to win a loyal audience.

Finally Brian, as someone interested in philosophy, what do you think Nietzsche would have to say about the Internet?
Hmmm...I think you've stumped me there. I'm not sure what he would have to say about it, but had there been an Internet in Nietzsche's day (late 19th century), he certainly would have benefited from it. His work was pretty marginal until after his death, and the Internet might have allowed him to reach a worldwide audience more quickly. Who knows, maybe old Fritz would have published an ezine!