One of the most effective ways to build a mailing list is to set up your very own Ezine publication. But running an Ezine can be a tedious process. Firstly, you must know how to generate leads for your publication. Secondly, you must be able to convert these leads into subscribers. And finally, you must be able to convert these subscribers into paying customers who will be loyal to you.

It may only be 3 steps, but each step would take some time to produce results. No success in this world can be achieved overnight, and your mailing list is no different. In this Internet marketing strategy article, I will share with you some ideas that you can use to implement these 3 steps in the most effective way, and turn your Ezine into a wildly successful profit-pulling machine.

Generating highly-targeted leads for your Ezine

The leads you generate must be highly-targeted ones who are looking for information that is relevant to the topic of your Ezine. But how will they find you? In order to understand this concept, you have to put yourself into their shoes. As a prospect, if you are looking for something on the Internet, the first resource you go to is the search engines.

This is the main reason why your opt-in page should figure prominently in the search engines. The higher your page ranking, the more chances you will have of driving targeted leads to your Ezine's lead capture page.

If you are not comfortable with generating leads via the search engines because you know nothing about search engine optimization, then there are other resources that you can tap into. Below are just some ideas that you can use for successful lead generation.

i.) Enter a joint venture with established Internet marketing experts to promote your respective eZines with each other's list.
ii.) If you have the budget, you can purchase leads from credible lead generation companies that can offer targeted leads for your own mailing list.
iii.) Advertise your eZine in solo ads offered by other newsletters of high traffic websites.
iv.) You can even try your luck in offline publications.

Converting your leads into subscribers

After you have managed to drive prospects to your lead capture page, your next challenge is to convert them into subscribers. There are many ways for you to achieve this. Just take your pick from any of the below suggestions:

i.) Write an inspiring cover page about your eZine and the value of the information it can provide. Remember to emphasize the fact that you are providing these information for free.
ii.) Give out some freebies, like an eBook, a special report, free memberships, and the likes that they will find hard to resist.
iii.) Offer a free e-course to be delivered in a series that would teach them how to carry out a critical aspect of the subject that your eZine is focusing on.
iv.) Provide contests, with their subscription serving as their entrance form.

If you were to analyze the above suggestions carefully, you would have noticed that all of them involve one particular strategy: offer something valuable and compelling enough for your prospects to sign up.

The main idea behind this strategy is that before your leads can lay their hands on all the goodies that you have presented before them, they would have to subscribe to your mailing list first. This will be enough to motivate them to sign up for your Ezine.

Converting your subscribers into paying customers

Any Internet marketing expert would tell you that your mailing list is a virtual goldmine; it is where all the big money come from. Now, why is this so? Your subscribers would have known you by now, they know what you are capable of, and most importantly, they are loyal to you, so it will be that much easier to generate sales from them.

On average, it would take anywhere between 7 to 12 contacts with a fellow subscriber before he decides to make a purchase. So it is a must for you to develop a solid follow-up system in order to have a successful Ezine publication business.

Just how do you convert your subscribers into paying customers?

As highlighted earlier, if they are loyal to you, then half the job is done. Therefore, your challenge here is to make them feel comfortable with you, so that they can put their trust in you, and are able to warm up to your offer. Below are just some ideas for you to use:

i.) Continue to offer them freebies from time to time, even if they have already subscribed to your eZine.
ii.) Deliver product reviews about your products or your affiliate program through third party testimonials.
iii.) Always focus more on valuable content than sales pitches.

There you have it. All the ideas and suggestions that you will ever need to turn your Ezine into an unstoppable profit-making machine. But remember, patience is a virtue. All good things are worth the wait, so just give your mailing list some time to develop, and you will eventually enjoy the fruits of your labor.