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Anyone with the ability to write and the will to persevere can become an ezine editor.
An ezine is an Internet newsletter or magazine used to share information or promote a business. Email newsletters are the wave of the future. An inexpensive way to advertise and/or share information through cyberspace, reaching a vast audience.
If you always wanted to be the editor of your own newspaper or magazine, now you can!
The first step should be to consider what type of newsletter you want to distribute to the public.
Viewing other ezines with the same interest as the one you are planning to create is very important. Reading article content, advertisements and the overall layout of other ezines will assist you in creating your own ezine in many respects. By viewing different layouts you will be able to better determine how you want your ezine to present itself and discover how you might design your ezine in both similar and unique ways.
Make sure you have a purpose in producing your ezine. Having sufficient knowledge of your subject and unlimited resources to write on going articles for your ezine is essential. Knowing what type of content you want in your ezine is an all important step in this endeavor.
You may be planning to write all content articles yourself or you may want to check out other resources. There are a number of sites that offer free content articles on a variety of subjects. Ezine Articles, Media Peak, and Internet Wire are just a few content resources available.
Other writers who subscribe to your ezine may also be interested in sharing their views and ideas. Many ezine editors offer free ads, bio's and/or links to outside writers in exchange for articles they can use as content for their ezine.
While free content is a great resource and extremely helpful in a pinch I highly recommend you write your own unique articles to continue to attract your own unique audience.
Now, ask yourself how you might create a need for the type of information contained in your particular ezine. Your content and readers will be the key to making your ezine a success. You will need to know what type of subscribers you want to attract. Be specific during this thought process. If you are planning to promote your services or product you may need interesting articles that indirectly pertain to that service or product.
For instance, if you are promoting pet supplies, you might want your ezine to contain articles on different breeds of dogs or health tips for pets. If your ezine is for a particular group, such as musicians, your content may consist of articles about famous musicians or different makes of guitars.
Consider your audience in all respects. Their age range, their region, their goals etc., and write accordingly. In fact, if you are writing an ezine for musicians you may want to narrow your audience to a specific arena, such as string instruments or guitarists.
You will also want to carefully consider the frequency in which you will produce your ezine. Whether it be weekly, bi-weekly, monthly or quarterly, you will need to be certain you will be able to produce and deliver your ezine in a timely fashion. Set a deadline and stick to it!
The next phase in starting your ezine is to plan some promoting strategies. You may already have a list of subscribers if you are designing an ezine for your business. Requesting the email addresses of your clients and/or employees is a wonderful start. However, you may want to expand your clientele or you may be starting from scratch with a special interest ezine. In that case you have several options.
Many ezines offer free ads to subscribers. If you have already subscribed to several ezines to investigate layout and content why not investigate a little further and see if you can announce your new ezine with a free ad or even trade links with other editors.
Another option is using search engines to locate Internet sources of free advertising. There are a multitude of free ad sites that will gladly run your ad. On-line announcement groups such as egroups.com are also a wonderful resource. Search for groups about ezines, such as Ezines Today, Get More Subs or Zine Directory.
If you have a web site for your service, product or interest you may want to check out the Listbot website. Listbot offers a free service in which you can have your web site visitors click a link and sign up for your ezine. Having a complimentary web site is also useful for promoting your ezine by designing a page you can link your past ezine articles to and spark interest in your visitors to subscribe to your free ezine. This practice can go both ways as you can invite your ezine subscribers to visit your web site by supplying a link to your site in each issue.
If you don't yet have a web site I would recommend creating one. Check your search engines or any free site and you will find many hosts such as Angelfire who offer free web sites with easy navigating and basic programs, which make creating your own web site a breeze.
You can also list your ezine in ezine directories or by purchasing email lists.
Take heed and never send your ezine out to just anyone. Unauthorized use of email addresses is called "spamming," and there is an anti-spam law to protect individuals from unwanted solicitations. I strongly recommend you become familiar with this law and always include an "anti-spam" clause at the beginning of each issue you publish offering any subscriber the right to unsubscribe at any time. You should notice this clause on all the ezines you have subscribed to during the process of investigating similar ezines.
Most ezine editors have separate email accounts. I would recommend having three accounts for your ezine. On for subscribing, the second to unsubscribe and a third to invite comments, submit articles and/or asking questions. If your ezine is for musicians you might title your ezine "For Musicians." For example your email accounts might read something like..."To Subscribe email us at formusicians-subscribe@email.com" or "To Unsubscribe email us at formusicians-unsubscribe@email.com" or "To contact For Musicians or to submit an article for publication email us at 4musicians@email.net"
Again, check out search engines and free sites. There are numerous sites offering free email accounts on the Internet.
Before you publish your first issue you should consider all the above in order to be a successful ezine editor. After your first publication there is much more work to be done. A continual cycle of researching, writing, promoting and keeping your subscriber list updated.
It sounds like a lot of work and it is. However, if you love to write and share information and ideas with others, becoming an ezine editor can be a rewarding experience.
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