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More and more, it appears to me that the old method of selling subscriptions to readers for magazines is dying. After all, who wants to pay for reading material when there is so much offered for free on the Internet? What I foresee happening appears to be a return to the old patronage system the arts once used. How this will happen is easy though it won't be easy for every genre to accomplish. First of all, any new eZine will have to establish itself in terms of credibility, reliability, and visitation.
Credibility?
Clearly the editor (and staff) will have to show that they know what they're doing. This can be shown by how well they manage their product in presenting it, acquiring quality stories, commenting on stories, and so forth.
Reliability?
Even easier, though many eZines are woefully deficient in this area. Quite simply, it means getting the product out on time. It can also mean that the eZine staff acquires stories of a consistent caliber in quality.
Visitation?
Well, this is obvious. It means that the eZine will have to use a counter provided by some service, such as HitBox, that maintains reliable statistics which can be used to show how many readers consistently visit the eZine site each month. Unfortunately, it means that the eZine will probably have to operate without funding for up to six months before it can even consider hoping for a corporate sponsor. Not many corporations are likely to want a new eZine without a proven, substantial track record when it comes to flying the corporate colors.
Of course, some genres will have greater difficulty than others in gaining a sponsor. How many corporations are likely to want a splatterpunk eZine flying their corporate colors? Even horror might have difficulty. On the other hand, romance, most science fiction sub-genres, westerns, thrillers, and other genres will probably find themselves in demand. There will be other ways to establish a successful eZine, if they can convince people to subscribe or simply put the eZine out as a pure labor of love. Otherwise, they will still need a sponsor if they hope to get paid for their efforts.
Why will corporations want to sponsor eZines? The answer ought to be obvious. Besides the PR image it gives them of supporting the arts and literacy, it will also give their web sites additional content that's inviting to the public. Many corporations haven't learned yet that the Internet can hurt them if they don't have a web presence. A strong web presence. I even dare predict that some eZines will have corporations bidding for them. After all, it shouldn't be too difficult to program the eZine web pages so that they can be entered only through the sponsor's web site, thus giving the public more reason to visit the sponsor.
For now, the financial situation appears bleak for most eZines. However, their editors should take heart and prepare now for the future. It's coming at the speed of the electron.