"So You Want To... Start An eZine"
By 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
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 coments,
resources, a contest, feedback are 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 made a lot of
friends, and even met my soul mate.
I look forward to reading motivation and inspiration
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!!
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Written by Peg Bastin
Success? It's All in Your Mind!
The Ultimate Secret to Getting What You Want NOW!
http://tinyurl.com/ywt4f
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