| |
| |
|
Go Back | About | Contact | Web Design News | |
|
|
|
The Sticky Issue of E-zine Schedules
While many new e-zine publishers are anxious about developing good content for their e-zines, many of them seem to have more trouble simply deciding on a schedule and sticking to it! It's smart to tame the schedule beast right from the start. Here are a few tips to help you. For your beginning stages, plan on at least five hours to develop each issue if you're developing your own content. This includes time for researching, writing, formatting, proofreading, and publishing. And this estimate is for an e-zine featuring only one article. If you're going to feature more than one article, plan on making more time, or publish articles by guest authors. When you're planning your e-zine, you'll probably be so excited and brimming with ideas that you want to publish as frequently as possible. Stop! Your enthusiasm is admirable, but start off monthly for now. You can always increase the frequency later, when you're sure you can handle it. I excitedly began my first e-zine several years ago as a weekly gig, then immediately dropped back to monthly once I caught myself moaning and groaning whenever I was scheduled to write it. Now that I have support staff, I've increased my schedule to biweekly (every two weeks). Yep, that's right. You want to be on your prospects' minds, but not in their faces every day. We all get SO much e-mail as it is! Even if you write a phenomenal missive, it's best to leave your readers wanting a bit more. I was recently on the list of a very good daily e-zine, but I just couldn't keep up with reading it every day. I felt extremely guilty watching the issues build up unread in my e-mail inbox, so I finally canceled my subscription. If you want your e-zine to be joyfully anticipated and well read, I recommend publishing no more than once or twice a week. Many sales experts say that people are most receptive to hearing from marketers on Tuesdays. So why not have your e-zine arrive in your readers' e-mail inboxes then? Other good days are Wednesdays and Thursdays, according to other sales pros. However, I ignore all this and publish on Fridays, simply because it's my favorite day. ; ) Setting a schedule suggests to your readers that you're organized and can meet deadlines. No matter how busy you are, sending out your e-zine at random looks flaky and unprofessional. Now, we're all human and take vacations, get sick, and get plain busy. So what do you do when you just CAN'T get that new issue out? Do a rerun. Choose a past issue from more than six months ago that you got great feedback on. Republish it with a little intro that says something like, "Hey folks, right now I'm sipping drinks on the beach in Bali, so by popular request, here's a rerun of one of our best articles. We'll be back next week with fresh, insightful content!" Of course, only say something like that if you are actually on vacation - people do understand that you take time off. Otherwise, never share that you're behind schedule or too busy to write your next issue - that would tell your readers that they come last on your list. If you must, stretch the truth a bit, and say you're at a conference, traveling, etc. This is great for those times when an emergency strikes or you're too swamped to write a new issue. The next time you get a few ideas at once (and don't they seem to come in multiples?), get psyched up and whip out a few at once. You can always edit them later - just get the ideas out of your head and onto your screen. (E-zine Queen Secret Tip: Need a little extra inspiration? Try whipping up a fresh margarita - works for me, every time! Just be sure to do an extra proofread later on. ; )) Who says you need to write in-depth articles? Everyone's time is short, so readers LOVE quick tips. Tips are easy to put together when you're close to deadline, also meaning you'll be more likely to stay on schedule. So if you're tight on time, publish simple monthly or weekly tips instead of detailed articles. (c) 2000-2003 Alexandria K. Brown. All rights reserved. ABOUT THE AUTHOR Alexandria K. Brown, "The E-zine Queen," is author of the award-winning manual, "Boost Business With Your Own E-zine." To learn more about her book and sign up for more FREE tips like these, visit her site at http://EzineQueenTutorial.com/
MORE RESOURCES:
SEO - Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Should You Upgrade Your E-zine From Text to HTML? A few years ago, when I first started seeing HTML e-zines in my inbox, I admit I was jealous. They were attractive, attention getting, snazzy. Secrets To Successful Publishing Have you ever wondered what would it take to compete successfully with the "big guys" like Simon & Schuster and even get to the top of the heap? If there is such thing as a magic formula for success, then the story of Geela, the author of the bestseller book THE AMERICAN DREAM can certainly make a believer out of you too. Mastering the art of the possible is at the heart of Geela's brand new book where her message is that the possible always exceeds the impossible. Why Self-Publish Your Book? When I meet an author with a great book concept, one who's definitely the right person to write that book, right away I'll often encourage him or her to self-publish. This is because I know that, if an author is thoroughly invested in what they have to say, and if they're determined to create a buzz about their message, they'll discover . Newsletter Software Newsletter SoftwareWhat types of newsletter software can I use to make the creation and publishing of my newsletter an easier task?Newsletter Software can be divided into different categories.1. Your E-zine Promotion Checklist While there are seemingly endless ways to promote your e-zine and attract new subscribers, here's a list of my favorite 15. Which ones are YOU using?Print this out and check those you already do, and note those you should "get a move on. The Disintermediation of Content Are content brokers - publishers, distributors, and record companies - a thing of the past?In one word: disintermediation.The gradual removal of layers of content brokering and intermediation - mainly in manufacturing marketing - is the continuation of a long term trend. Does Your Ezine Publisher Try To Rape Your Pocket? If you have been online for a while, one of the most well know ways of selling online is to build an optin email list or ezine. So now there are thousands of email ezines on just about every possible topic. 8 Effective Ezine Publishing Tips To Put You Ahead Of The Game 1. Swap sponsor, feature, or solo ads with other ezine publishers. Section Ideas to Include in Your Newsletter Design A good newsletter template is not only consisted of a good design, but also good sections to make your newsletter interesting.I spend a lot of time studying successful newsletters and collected a list of section ideas for my own newsletter. How to Format Your Email Newsletter When subscribers' email readers (programs) receive your text newsletter, they will display it in all kinds of ways. Not only are there different programs, but each one has several customization options. The Plain Truth About Branding for Newsletter Publishers and Web Designers Branding, or brand marketing as some now call it, is one ofthe buzzwords of public relations and marketing. I searchedseveral dictionaries in vain for a precise definition ofthis high profile concept as it is applied in the businessworld. How to turn your Newsletter into a Web Page...in 45 seconds! Do you place back-issues of your Newsletter onyour website?There are two good reasons why you should:(1) It shows potential subscribers that you'reserious about your Newsletter(2) Newsletters are rich in keywords, so it'sa very good idea to turn back-issues of yourNewsletter into HTML documents and then submitthem to the major Search EnginesHere's a little trick that will help you formatyour Newsletter as an HTML document:Copy the text of your Newsletter into a text editorsuch as NOTEPAD.Then copy the text from NOTEPAD into Microsoft Word. 10 Newsletter Ideas to Write Articles for Your Newsletter Since you publish your newsletter on a regular basis, sometimes it's difficult to find newsletter ideas for your next issue's content. You sit in front of your monitor and stare at the white screen where the typing cursor is blinking. Writing, Publishing, Self Publishing, Website Promotion, Blogging, Internet Marketing Are You Ready For The Publishing Revolution?Writing has traditionally been considered a solitary craft.You wrote you article or book in seclusion. Are Your E-Mails Bouncing? Hard Bounces, Soft Bounces, and Everything in Between Are you doing "the bounce"? No, it's not a new hip-hop dance. A bounce, or bounce-back, is an e-mail that is returned to you because it cannot be delivered for some reason. Email Newsletters: The Header Managing Subscriber addresses: At the top of your email message you see the header, where you insert addresses and a subject heading. It all looks simple enough, but there are some tricks and tips you should know, and one very important warning. Learn How to Choose a Great Topic for Your Newsletter Since you're going to write your newsletter on a regular basis, it's essential that you choose a topic you're passionate about. Otherwise, it will be too boring and difficult for you to keep writing a valuable, informative article every day, week, or month. You Can Develop An E-zine Even If You Dont Enjoy Writing! Do you know that many business owners market their businesses by writing content for their online newsletters (e-zine)? And if you don't enjoy writing, the authors make those articles available to you.You can find both articles in article directories and article bank located on the Internet. Explode Your Business You can make a decent income selling products and servicesbut you can become insanely rich by creating and controllingmarkets.That's what I'll help you to do. How Many Articles Can An Author Write As An Expert In A Field? More and more smart business people are finding the value of writing articles and putting them online in order to propel their expert status in their field. From this they develop a clientele base, which will patronize their businesses.
|
ChicagoAnimation's Acquisitions: Market Polls - 1pennyStock.com
Sponsors: Paving | VTL's | Religious Statues
