| |
| |
|
Ezine Publishing Information |
|
11 Quick (and Good) E-zine Content Ideas
Publishing an e-zine is the ideal opportunity to showcase your business. By sharing your knowledge and expertise, you build credibility as an expert, while spreading the word about your services and products. While sometimes you'll have dozens of content ideas, other times you'll find yourself staring at a blank computer screen, grumbling that it's publishing time again. Well, have no fear! Here are 11 quick (and good) content ideas for when you're in a pinch. 1. Give real-life examples. Describe a problem you've solved for a client/customer, and use that as a springboard to offer more general advice. Show your readers how you've helped customers address challenges - "case studies" if you will. This positions you as the expert in your readers" minds more than your coming out and saying so. 2. Think of three areas in which you'd like your clients to think of you as a resource. Now develop content in those areas. For example, as a professional copywriter, I really enjoy working on Web sites. To help encourage my clients and prospects to hire me for these projects, I published several articles on how to write Web copy that sells. 3. Read industry publications for ideas. Are there any hot issues in your field right now? The more controversial, the better. Don't be afraid to offer your own opinion - your readers want to know it. After all, YOU are the expert! ; ) 4. Jot down 8 questions your clients have asked you in the past. You know, the ones they ask you over and over. Answer each in a short article. If you publish weekly, that's two months' worth of content, right off the bat! And if you can't think of any questions, send all your current clients/customers a quick e-mail, asking them what topics they're most interested in learning more about. 5. Learn anything neat lately from an industry conference, workshop, seminar, or insightful article? No one says you have to reinvent the wheel of information! Pass on any gems of advice you've learned elsewhere - just give them full attribution. Or give your opinion of the event or article itself - your readers will appreciate your frankness. 6. Offer a list of your top 5 or 10 tips on a certain subject. It's much easier to bang out a list of tips than to put together a real article. Of course, the tips can evolve into an article if you wish! Be sure to list your best tip first, or at least close to the top. (If you "fire your biggest gun" last, you risk losing your audience before they get to the good stuff.) 7. Interview associates whose expertise would interest your readers (while not competing with yours). E-mail interviews are incredibly easy to do. Just send your interviewee 3 to 5 questions via e-mail, edit their answers, and have them approve the final version. Be sure to give them a short plug in your e-zine as a thank you. (A one-sentence description of their business, phone number, their Web site URL, and e-mail address should be fine.) 8. Recommend books and resources that you use, and offer full reviews on them. In one issue of my first e-zine, "AKB MarCom Tips," I featured reviews of my favorite four copywriting resource books. I then later posted them at my Web site. 9. Invite readers to write you with their own questions, and answer one in each issue. Right after their question, publish the person's name, business, e-mail, and Web site address. They'll enjoy the attention/publicity! 10. Invite readers to send in profiles. Ask them to tell you about themselves - their names, businesses, locations, and how they use the information gained in your e-zine. Feature one profile in each issue or one every few issues. 11. When all else fails, borrow an article! There are dozens of Web sites offering hundreds of articles that you can use in your e-zine. The articles are free and available for you to use immediately. The only catch is you're required to leave the entire article intact, including the author's promotional information. Here are three places to check out for free content: Business Article Announce List - http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aabusiness Marketing Seek - http://www.marketing-seek.comWorld Wide Information Outlet - http://www.certificate.net/wwio/index.shtml One last note: Keep in mind that if your e-zine's main objective is to get you more clients and customers, you should not feature other writers' articles more than once in a blue moon. Showcasing other professionals on a regular basis undermines the idea of establishing YOU as the expert in your readers' minds. (c) 2002 Alexandria K. Brown 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: Unable to open RSS Feed $XMLfilename with error HTTP ERROR: 404, exiting |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Want To Start a Publishing Revolution? Calling all publishers, editors, journalists and freelance writers. It's time to breathe more life into your copy. 10 Valuable Tips For Ezine Publishers 1. Write your own articles. An Embarrassment of Riches - Part II The DOI Foundation has unveiled the DOI-EB (EB stands for e-books) Initiative in the Book Expo America Show 2001, to, in their words:"Determine requirements with respect to the application of unique identifiers to eBooksDevelop proofs-of-concept for the use of DOIs with eBooksDevelop technical demonstrations, possibly including a prototype eBook Registration Agency."It is backed by a few major publishers, such as McGraw-Hill, Random House, Pearson, and Wiley. The Nitty-Gritty Of Ezine Publishing I sat here this morning, and decided to work out exactly how much time I use on creating my weekly ezine, and I almost kinda shocked myself. I`m not the ONLY publisher who refuses to automate, so please, after reading my hours, spare a kind thought for all those other publishers out there that do everything manually, and who really take the time to get down to a personal level with their subscribers. OK People - Lets Get Real! It's all about numbers - or so some ezine publishers would have you believe.10,000 subscribers and counting!20,000 subscribers and counting!30,000 subscribers and counting!You get the picture. Publish Articles Online: Start With Your Own ezine So, you want to publish articles online? It's really quite simple, and it's a great way to promote yourself or your product. But where do you begin? This is actually quite simple too. How To Make Your Subscribers Stick To You Like Super Glue One of the biggest obstacles to building a good sized opt in list is the drop out rate. Sometimes it seems subscribers are leaving as fast as they are joining. 11 Quick (and Good) E-zine Content Ideas Publishing an e-zine is the ideal opportunity to showcase your business. By sharing your knowledge and expertise, you build credibility as an expert, while spreading the word about your services and products. PublishAmerica - Publishing Parasites I have to admit to being readily impressed by company names. Maybe it's an age thing. Are You Getting The Most Out Of Your Ezine? There are two reasons to publish an ezine. 1. How to Build Your List - 7 Powerful Strategies If you have been an internet marketer, or had any type of online home based business, for more than a few days, then you will no doubt have heard someone say, "if you want to make money online, you have to build an opt-in list."Take that advice very seriously, because it's true! It took me a long time to finally let the list building advice sink in, so I didn't start doing it until I had my home business for quite a while. Good News About Getting Published So you want to get a book published and add "author" to your resume. A decade ago, there weren't too many options for professionals and consultants to get into print. 7 Ways You Can Make a Huge Impression With Your Ezine Welcome Message Many times I receive a Welcome Message from someone after I subscribe to their ezine that leaves me wondering what I just jumped into. A welcome message is one of your first contacts with your subscriber, and it should say something that sets you apart from everyone else right at the get-go. 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. Why Arent You Using CGI? The very name CGI used to send chills up my spine. Foryears I put it in the 'too-hard-basket'. How To Develope Content For Your Ezine Without Having To Write Your Own Articles Do you struggle with creating content for your ezine? You think you are not good enough? Or you just don't have enough time to write quality articles? Here's some good news: You're not alone!The simple truth is? you don't have to be an expert writer on a particular subject, or require plenty of time to write a quality articles.It's not hard. Internet Marketing Strategy: 9 Pragmatic Ways Increase Your E-zines Subscription It is possible to increase the subscription to youre-zine or newsletter.You can do so by implementing the internet marketing strategy below:(1) Hold an ongoing prize drawing in your e-zine. Publishing Your Own Newsletter - Is It Worth Your Time? Is publishing your own newsletter worth your time and effort? Most publishers will tell you the rewards are well worth the investment. By publishing your own newsletter you can build recognition and be looked at as an expert in your field of expertise. The Power of Personality Owning an online business and publishing an ezine can be very frustrating, AND rewarding! There can be 100's or even 1000's of websites and/or ezines that are almost exactly like yours. What can you do to make your online business stand out from the rest?The number one answer to this question is - add your own personality to your business and in your ezine. 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.
|
| home | site map | Contact Us |