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Title: "So You Want To... Start An Ezine"
Written By: Peg Bastin
Web Site: http://www.BastinMarket.com
© 2008 Peg Bastin
There are articles that tell you how to publish an ezine, step-by-step. As a subscriber to many ezines, I'd like to tell you what I look for in an ezine.
First, try not to look like everyone else. There should be a specific theme for your ezine and the content should match the theme as much as possible. Some publishers are very unique. You'll find ezines for women helping women, health and nutrition, humor, newbie oriented, cooking, music, marketing, software, advertising and promotion, name branding, christian, children, pets, and many more. Find your niche and create your own special ezine.
Your format should be clean, easy to read, and match your personality and the theme of your ezine. Decide whether to do plain text or html or both. There are some things I don't care for in a newsletter. I don't like to read the first paragraph of an article and then have to click to read the rest of it. I prefer all the information to be on the same page. When given the choice, I prefer reading online. It allows the editor much more creativity than a text edition.
Every publisher should show their personality. Share your problems, let us know when you need help, or just write about what happened to you this week. There can be many lessons for us in their experiences. Some publishers have an uncanny ability to explain so clearly that you actually feel as if you were there!
Rants - What can I say? I love them! Editors say what others fear to say. I can't believe some of the things that subscribers expect, or do to publishers! Rants teach as well as let off steam. While a good rant is beneficial, it shouldn't be a frequent occurrence.
The content should run along the lines of the theme of your ezine. One or two articles, tips, the publisher's comments, resources, a contest, feedback are some some of my favorite items. Also, what you have found that would be of interest or help to your subscribers.
One thing that irritates me is when I see errors in spelling or grammar. Using *to* when you mean *too*, *your* for *you're*, *accept* for *except*, *their* for *they're*, *peak* or *peek* instead of *pique*, *than* instead of *then*. A lot of spelling errors are simply typos, which should be found when you proofread your work.
Advertising is one of the main functions for an ezine. It is one of the ways a publisher has of making money. After all, the publisher is doing all the work finding information and resources for us. If you decide to allow free ads, less is better than more. You will probably be using a number of the coop programs to help build your subscriber base and you will have more ads than you have space to print them. You don't want your ezine to look like an ad sheet. Most get deleted, not read. You've done a lot of work for nothing and your subscribers ads are not seen.
As a publisher, you will be asked for your advice. I always got the answers I needed when I wrote asking a publisher for help. They are the most understanding, helpful, friendly,and knowledgeable people I know. Request feedback, subscriber articles, tips, and questions. This is another way to help you get to know your readers and provide them with the information they need.
I love contests! Most subscribers don't take advantage of them, so your reader's chance of winning is pretty good. I don't care for word scrambles myself, but I do like clicking a link to enter, finding the duplicate ad, riddles, and visiting websites to fill in the blanks. Try several kinds of contests to see which your group likes best. You can offer free ebooks or advertising for the rewards.
Feedback is the publishers lifeline! I'll send it to let the publisher know whether I liked something or not. Maybe a link isn't working, so I write to let them know so they can fix it. Besides, feedback usually gets in the issue later with your sig file for free exposure. I've gotten to know a lot of the publishers this way and make a lot of friends, and even met my soul mate.
I look forward to reading motivational and inspirational articles. Using your mind to create your reality. We all need help boosting our confidence and realizing we are not the only one having these problems. We just need a gentle nudge, or another way to look at the situation.
There are so many resources on the Internet we can't possibly hope to find them all ourselves. Publishers do the research and try the resources out first before offering them to their readers.
So, as you can see, there is a lot of work involved in producing a quality ezine. When you acquire a group of responsive readers, your reward and satisfaction know no bounds! So hurry and start your ezine so I can be your first subscriber!
About the Author
Written by Peg Bastin mailto:peg@bastinmarket.com - Success? It's All in Your Mind! The Ultimate Secret to Getting What You Want NOW! http://tinyurl.com/ywt4f
Today's article was originally received for publication in October 2004. The author has given full permission to publish it either electronically or in print, free of charge in your ezines, newsletters or on your websites, as long as the article content remains unchanged as is published here today, and that the authors copyright with resource box is included.
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