The Most Important Thing About Your E-Zine Is Its CONTENT
In e-zine publishing CONTENT IS KING. If you provide content of a consistently
superior quality, your e-zine will be a success.
>>> What forms of content should you use ? <<<
It's your e-zine. You know best - or should - what your audience wants. Here are
some suggestions:
=> Editorials
As an e-zine publisher, you are perceived as an 'expert' in your field. Over time, your
readers will begin to trust your opinions and views on issues.
You can leverage that into e-zine content by writing editorials. Use an editorial to
share your viewpoint on a topical - maybe controversial - issue.
There is an added benefit to this strategy. Readers will respond to your message,
either endorse it or oppose it. Their feedback can be incorporated into a follow up
article in a future issue!
You could also use the editorial space to establish personal contact with your readers.
Write a short chatty piece, maybe about what's been happening in your life lately, or
introduce a new author or resource.
=> Feature Articles
A feature article is the most common - and one of the best - forms of content in most e-
zines.
Here are some tips for writing good feature articles for your e-zine:
� Articles shouldn't be too lengthy. While there aren't any rules, it is perhaps safe to
keep feature articles below 1200 words long.
� Articles should be relevant to the topic of your e-zine.
� Articles should educate or inform. Try and limit the message of a piece to one or
two new ideas.
� Articles should be original. The originality should preferably extend to the idea, the
concept behind the write-up as well. Don't simply rehash an article you've read
elsewhere. By publishing an article that hasn't been already featured in many other
newsletters, you enhance the value of your own e-zine. This however means that you
must
- Write your own features: It's hard work, but rewarding. And it assumes you can
write reasonably well.
- Get someone to write articles specifically for you: It's difficult to arrange, but the
long-term benefits are enormous. You could offer to
a. pay guest authors for their article or
b. contribute an article of your own to their publication in return. This way, you are
adding value to readers of your e-zine by providing them with another (your guest
author's) point of view, without doing any 'extra' work yourself. A fringe benefit is that
you might hook some new subscribers from your guest's list!
- Articles should be exclusive. If someone else writes for you, make sure the same
article won't be submitted to dozens of other e-zines. Benefits from publishing
exclusive content include
a. syndication opportunities in other publications, online and off
b. no risk of readers leaving you to find your content elsewhere
Reprint articles only if you have to. Even then, add value by putting your own 'spin' on
the content - maybe introduce the subject, or comment on the author's opinions or
conclusions.
Caution - do NOT 'edit' the original article without the author's permission. Avoid
articles that have been reprinted many times before in other publications.
=> News Clips and Stories
Staying informed of the latest developments and happenings in areas of interest is
becoming increasingly difficult and time consuming. Your e-zine can offer a solution to
this dilemma by providing timely news on topics that might be of interest to your
readers.
You may create a separate section to deal with industry news. Or you might devote
an entire issue to news updates. By this you are adding value to your subscriber, and
ensuring that your e-zine is read every time.
There are many ways of presenting news:
� as a feature article
� a short news clips, with a link to the full story on a website
� as news stories, where each item is explained at length
Whichever way you choose to present the news, make sure to stamp it with your own
personality. Make it interesting, personal, chatty, fun, unique, or all of these - with
your style of writing, or by adding your point of view.
As with feature articles, news clips should be
� relevant
� useful to your reader
� timely. Remember, old news is no news!
=> Aggregating the best content
Finding, tracking and regularly visiting informative websites on a specific topic is
difficult and time-intensive. Many readers will appreciate a listing of the best resources
on a subject. Website picks are therefore a valuable content idea for your e-zine.
As an expert on your topic, you can evaluate sites and other resources (e-zines,
directories, books, offline publications) for the best. And then list them, along with
your rating and opinion of the site, with a link to the site itself.
Many excellent and very large e-zines follow this success model - you can too.
=> Reviews
Here's your chance to help your readers by guiding them to the very best - books,
websites, music or other products and services. You, the expert, tell them what is
good and what isn't.
Why should you present reviews?
A guiding principle in writing reviews is that the reader's need comes first. In a review,
you share something that will be of interest and benefit to them.
If you read a great book, or surf into a wonderful website, then tell your e-zine
subscribers about it in a review.
How to write a review?
Some tips:
� Be brief. Provide contact / ordering information for those who want to know more.
� Be relevant. Limit your reviews to the topic and subject of your e-zine.
� Be selective. Set high standards for the products you review. A review in your e-
zine should become an honour people will vie for!
