Web Publishing Options...
By Jim Daniels

Last week I ran a guest article called Publish or Perish by Charlie Page. Today's issue will expand upon that subject and help you get started. Whether you are new to web publishing or you simply want to add an additional format, today's issue will help you save time and money.

You'll learn about publishing formats such as Ezines, eBooks, Reports/Articles, RSS Feeds, Blogs, Forums, and Email follow-up series. You may even find a resource or two you never knew about.

Special endorsement from Jim...... (Ad #1 of 3)

As Charlie pointed out in that last issue, if you are not publishing, you won't make it on the web. While the word itself scares some folks off, it shouldn't.

Publishing simply means to make content available to the public. Thanks to technology, publishing online can now take on many forms...

Ezines, EBooks, Reports/Articles, Blogs, RSS, Forums, and Email follow up series are just a few formats that are proven to work on the web.

Today I'll break down each format and offer resources that simplify your publishing tasks...

Ezines

An ezine is simply an electronic magazine, also know as an email newsletter. Some ezines are sent as text via email, others are posted on the web like this one, then announced via email to subscribers. Ezines are a simple, yet effective way to connect with subscribers and share knowledge about your area of expertise, or your niche. The benefits are countless, and a good ezine can be the backbone of any web business.

Starting an ezine is fairly simple. You need an opt-in form at your website and a way to contact your subscribers. I use a program called webbusinesswizard to signup new subscribers and announce new issues. It is a web based solution from the 1shoppingcart.com platform. There are many different solutions available on the web.

When choosing your solution, be sure it offers double opt-in (to confirm new subscriber signups) as well as automatic unsubscribe options. Manual list maintenance can be a hassle as your list grows so you need those two features.

Once you have a tool in place, you simply send your content to your subscribers on a regular basis. (If you're in need of content, here's a unique content solution that may do the trick for you.)


eBooks

As you probably figured out, "eBook" stands for Electronic Book.

eBooks make great free gifts that can be used as incentive to get customers on your subscriber lists. You can also sell ebooks for profit. In 1997 I created an ebook call A Beginner's Guide to Starting a High Income Internet Business and it has been downloaded more than 100,000 times. (More than 22,000 downloads at C/Net's download.com alone.) Now that's great free promotion for a business!

There is a wide variety of ebook creation software available online. Some create PDF files which can be read with Adobe's free PDF reader. Others create ebooks in the .exe format for Windows machines. If you're planning to publish an ebook, I suggest you make it available in both formats for maximum compatibility. Here is a listing of some of the better ebook creation programs.

Reports/Articles

Reports and articles may be the easiest way to publish on the web. You are reading one right now! You simply compile some information about your niche and write about it. Once you have an article written, you post it at your website, in your email newsletter and share it with other websites.

It's also a good idea to pre-license your content so other sites and publishers can use it. Notice how I do that at my marketing article archive -- it is a self-propelled marketing vehicle that grows website traffic and sales all by itself.

In addition to being an extremely effective way to grow your website traffic, sharing your articles grows your reputation as an expert in your niche. In fact, writing and sharing articles was one of the few strategies I employed during the first few years of growing my business. Much of my success can be attributed directly to this strategy. And here's further proof that this is STILL one of the best web marketing strategies there is.

Blogs

Blogging is one of the web's hottest new technologies. So what the heck is a Blog? A blog is simply a web site where you post content on an ongoing basis. The content can be articles, memos, your thoughts or simply whatever you want to write.

As you post new content, it appears at the top of your "blog web page" so your visitors can immediately read what's new. They can then comment on it if they want to.

One benefit of blogging is that search engines seem to love blogs, most likely because of their fresh, niche content. There are also other benefits, such as ease of use.

If you'd like to explore the world of "blogging" you can check out some blogs or create your own right now at blogger.com - there is no cost involved, other than your time.

RSS

RSS is a new way to publish your content, that is gaining in popularity. RSS stands for Really Simple Syndication or Rich Site Summary, depending on who you ask.

RSS allows you to distribute and receive content such as newsletters without the use of email. RSS can a bit difficult for the average publisher to implement, and frankly, that's why this average publisher is slow getting into RSS. But maybe I'm just a techno-phobe. After all, there ARE many publishers migrating to this new platform, and I'm finally getting around to trying it. (I'll report on my results in a future BizWeb eGazette.)

One thing is certain... the more publishers and subscribers who use RSS, (and those numbers are growing rapidly) the more viable it becomes. Simpler ways to implement RSS are already on the way in. For instance, did you know that a blog can automatically plug into an RSS feed? Actually, that's the easiest way to enter into RSS as a content provider, in my opinion. If you'd like to get more information on tricks like that, here's the RSS resource I recommend. It explains all the benefits of using RSS, as well as exactly how to best implement it.

Forums

Forums were very popular about five years ago though their popularity has waned. In my eyes, they were sort of a pre-cursor to blogging. Folks post their thoughts, opinion and feedback at a website for all to see. And even though forums are old technology, they still can attract lots of website traffic. In fact, I've had a web marketing forum running for about eight years now. While I pretty much let it run itself, the forum generates more than 10,000 page views every month.

So what can you do with a forum? Well, it's a great place to advertise. In fact, I'll be plugging a Google Adsense channel into my forum in the near future and generating an instant income stream. You see, when you use multiple publishing formats, it opens up multiple income streams as well!

If you'd like to start a forum in your niche, it's easy and cheap to do. The service I use, called Network54 can be used at no cost whatsoever. You can also use it to start a blog if you want.

Email Follow-up Series

This one may be my favorite web publishing strategy. Remember how I mentioned that more than 100,000 people have downloaded my free ebook on getting started with an Internet Business? When they download it from my site they are added to the subscriber list of this newsletter you are reading right now. They then receive a regular follow-up message every week or two with tips on growing their business.

This helps me form relationships with many folks in need of my products and services. Of course, they can unsubscribe anytime, but you'd be surprised at how very few folks mind getting those message.

Are you using this proven strategy yet? If not, the time to start is now. Most autoresponder services offer automated follow ups. The secret is to fill your follow-up messages with niche specific helpful information. Sure, you can plug an occasional product or service, and even an affiliate link occasionally, but use your follow-ups to TEACH and HELP and you'll do far better.

Actually, that brings up a good point I should make before closing today's issue. Publishing on the web is not only about sharing information. It is about forming relationships. So don't be shy about asking your readers for feedback. Offer to help them if they have questions. Make new friends! Even online, business is about PEOPLE, and too many publishers lose sight of that fact. Make helping folks your number one priority and you'll go far.

To your online marketing success,
Jim Daniels - JDD Publishing
Creator of ezWebBusinessBuilder.com - the world's first View it and Do It software for profiting from the web.

P.S. Oh, and of course, you have permission* to reprint what you just read. Use it in your ezine, at your website or in your newsletter. The only requirement is including the following footer with it...

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