Insider Guide to Ezine Publishing

1. Choose a catchy name

You might wonder what's in a name. The short answer - Everything.

A catchy, descriptive, short and memorable name can do wonders for your ezine's success.

The name you choose should be relevant, representative and add to your business' brand value. And an important point - the same domain name for a website must be available !

(See Lesson 3.2, pg.20 of Ezine Launch for detailed instructions on choosing the perfect title for your ezine - including important details on how search engines rank ezines based upon their name.)

Important Note: As soon as you find the perfect name for your ezine, order the domain name right away. Don't wait - someone else might grab it. You don't have to build a website immediately, you can simply reserve the name for later use. To start registering your ezine's domain name, click here.

2. Develop a layout including the various elements of your ezine

Having a well designed, pleasing and consistent ezine format adds to its appeal.

Most ezines are made up of a header, table of contents, the actual content, a footer and advertisements.

   a. Header: The header element is at the top and includes the ezine's name, issue number, date of publication, a slogan or descriptive phrase and the website URL for the ezine.

   b. Table of contents: A table of contents shows the reader at a glance what is in this issue.

   c. Content: This is followed by the actual content, presented in an easily readable and attractive layout.

   d. Footer: The footer is a standard set of administrative trivia including details about subscribing or leaving the list, location of the archive of past issues, copyright notices, legal information, feedback requests, author/editor/owner details and any other relevant announcements.

3.Experiment with different arrangements of the various elements

View the samples in different email clients to make sure they look good in all.

4. Creating HTML ezines

If you intend publishing your ezine in HTML or Rich Text format, you'll have to organize your ezine elements in a different way to make it look more attractive.

(In Lesson 4.1.1 to 4.4.7 of Ezine Launch, you'll find a detailed breakdown of all the major steps of ezine layout and design you must follow to make sure your ezine is both user friendly and sells effectively to readers.)

The topics covered in this section include:

   - Making that crucial first impression that takes your reader's breath away

   - Using your ezine layout for branding your business

   - Making sure each issue is easily identifiable by using numbering conventions

   - Why you must offer a table of contents and how to create one

   - Using links to draw readers into 'Buy' mode

   - When and how to insert advertisements

   - How to make it easy for subscribers to contact you

   - Getting more subscribers by simply asking them to sign up

   - Designing links and email addresses to be clickable

   - Determining the correct way to offer back issues

   - How to use personal information to build trusting relationships

    - and a whole lot more.

Keep This In Mind: The longer you spend planning and laying out your ezine and its content, the fewer roadblocks you'll run into later on. Plan for the future, factor in growth and the related needs, make the best use of existing technology, especially to automate everything. And always have your USP as the guiding light when you make decisions and alterations.

Your ezine is an extension of your goals and ambitions - keep them in sharp focus always..