Starting and building an online business takes a lot of
commitment. You must promote yourself and your reputation in
order to build trust among your visitors. By doing this, you
will also be building and improving your business.
One of the best ways of doing this is by publishing an ezine or
newsletter. Obtaining subscribers for your ezine is a great way
to stay in contact with these potential customers and to create
the relationship needed to establish trust. I believe an ezine
is very critical to your online success.
Some of the fundamentals of a good ezine are:
1. Clean, sharp design 2. Personality 3. Quality Content 4.
Reliability 5. Professionalism
**Design
The first thing you want to do is decide on the design and
format of your ezine. You can take a look at some other
successful ezines to get an idea of what a good ezine consists
of. Find lots of ezines here:
http://www.ezinelocater.com/ http://ezine-universe.com/
http://www.freezineweb.com/subject.html
Visit these sites for more information and a free template:
http://www.e-zinez.com/handbook emplate.html
http://www.websuccesscentral.com/ezinesuccess/part1.html
Keep your ezine simply designed so that it is easy to read. Do
not overdo the squiggles, decorations and section dividers.
Leave a sufficient amount of "white space" between sections and
sub-sections. This will make your ezine easier to read and will
also make it look more professional.
**Personality
There are hundreds of quality ezines available on the Internet.
You must make yours unique. One of the best ways of doing this
is to add your personality to the ezine. Let your readers know
you are there for them. They will begin to trust you more if you
let them know more about you and how you run your business. Talk
to your readers and involve them in the publishing of your
ezine. Let them tell you what they like and dislike. This
process helps build the relationships that are so essential to
your business success.
**Quality Content
I have seen a lot of ezines that had great potential, but were
turned into a giant ad sheet. One of the most important things
for a successful ezine is to have LOTS of quality content. Limit
the number of ads you run in each issue. This leaves more room
for resources
and information.
Some of the things you should include in your ezine:
Informative articles Helpful links Useful tips and ideas Product
reviews Original material Free resources
Some places to find quality content:
http://www.makingprofit.com/mp/
http://www.ideamarketers.com/syndicated/
Surf the web for quality resource links and products.
http://www.excite.com ( search for whatever kind of content you
are looking for)
Write your own articles or run an editorial in each issue. Have
some content that is not found in any other ezine. This is a
good place to add your personality.
Subscribe to a few discussion lists. These networking lists are
a great source of information and resources. You can also join
in the discussions and promote your business.
mailto:digital-women-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
mailto:entrepreneurs-network-exchange-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
I find these two groups invaluable for resources, networking and
promotion.
Watch your email for new site announcements, new products,
affiliate programs or great new ezines.
The supply of quality content on the Internet is endless. When
you find a good bit of content, copy and paste it into your
ezine template immediately. This will save time when you are
finishing your current issue.
**Reliability
Always deliver your ezine on time (unless out of your control),
in which case you send an apology with explanation. Making and
keeping a schedule will confirm your readers trust in you. This
will say a lot about your business in general.
**Professionalism
Make sure there are no careless mistakes in your ezine such as
spelling or grammar. An ezine can be loaded with good content,
but if it looks like a child put it together it doesn't say much
for your business. Make it look professional while adding your
own personal touch and you will be a hit.
Of course, we will all make mistakes sometimes, but avoid this
as much as possible for a professional, quality ezine.
About the Author
Terri Seymour owns and operates MyOwnEzine.com
MyOwnEzine.com is a website, ezine and service which
provides the resources, tools, guidance and more to help
you start, publish and promote your own ezine. You can
contact Terri at mailto:ter02@newnorth.net Subscribe
at mailto:subscribe@myownezine.com or visit
http://www.myownezine.com for lots more info.
Written by: Terri Seymour
