It just wasn't happening. Yes, visitors were coming to the site, but the opt-in list was growing painfully slow. A new approach was called for, and a friend recommended trying a co-registration effort. And darned if it didn't work!

With both free and paid variations available, co-registration is based on the practice of presenting a prospect with multiple opt-in opportunities (usually subscriptions or memberships) at the same time.

The Free Way:

The free method of co-registration involves a cooperative effort between competitors, where each offers their list the chance to sign up for a competing ezine(s), often on a confirmation page after a purchase is made.

In this way, members of the co-op 'share' each others traffic. You can think of this as a type of joint venture. It works best when you partner with one or two other ezine publishers, offering 3-4 ezine options. You must limit the choices, as too many can be overwhelming to the prospect.

The Paid Way:

There are a number of services popping up across the Internet where an ezine publisher can pay to have their ezine posted with others, in a directory setting. A prospect visiting these sites will be presented with a number of sign up opportunities to opt-in. These services are also known as pay-per-subscriber directories.

However, as with other forms of paid promotions, before investigating a paid co-registration service, you MUST have a firm understanding of your numbers. Do you know how much a new subscriber is worth to you?

Once you've grown your opt-in list to around 500, run your conversion rates; know how much you can afford per lead beforehand to break even.

If you're brand new and haven't yet gotten a firm sense of your return-on-investment (ROI), wait until you do before signing up. Without an understanding of your revenue and conversion, you could end up overpaying.

Remember, the internet is a numbers game - make sure you know yours before proceeding.

When considering a co-registration service, there are a few critical questions you must ask:

*Does the service provide only opt-in traffic? If it doesn't, move on. The more targeted the lead, the better.

*Can the new leads be automatically subscribed/added to your opt-in list? Or will the service give you a list of new subscribers that you'll need to input manually?

*If you're paying, try to avoid buying leads that have been shared too heavily with ezines that have a target market identical to yours.

*Only use those services that allow potential subscribers to read short descriptions of the ezines being offered - again, this serves to
sort, target and pre-qualify the potential opt-in traffic. The closer their interests match your offered information, the better.

*Avoid those services that collect email addresses based on promotions and/or contests. These leads are not as qualified, since subscribers often opt-in only to win a prize. Their interest may be short-term, while you are looking to build a long-term, lasting customer relationship.

So, as with every opportunity, do your homework first. There are a number of co-registration services to consider; you can start with the ones listed below:

http://www.list-builder.com
http://worldwidelists.com
http://ezinecentral.com
http://www.zmedia.com
http://www.profitinfo.com
http://www.myfree.com
http://www.funezines.com
http://www.internetfuel.com
http://www.bay9.com

About the Author:
Paula Morrow is webmaster of http://www.idealmarketingcorp.com and has extensive marketing experience earned from 20 years in the public relations, entertainment and advertising worlds. Now applying this experience to the Internet, she enjoys creating cash-generating systems and coaching new marketers on innovative ways to promote their businesses both online and off.

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