Are you looking to grow your business one member at a time? Then
start your own e-zine. Be careful to decide just what you want
your e-zine to be and be consistent in sending it out. If you
don't enjoy writing, there are "article banks"
http://www.coachmaria.com/articles/articlebanks.html and other
options that provide you the opportunity to use other authors'
articles on the Web. For original content or expression of your
ideas, consider hiring a ghostwriter to write it! Below are some
questions to ask yourself before you start.
1.What is motivating you to write an e-zine? 2.What type of
e-zine are you looking to produce? Tips, newsletter, ideas,
URLs, etc. 3.What will you include in your e-zine? Such as:
quotes, short or long articles (how many), someone else's
articles (guests or through
http://www.coachmaria.com/articles/articlebanks.html), a contest
(how often, what is the prize), questions for readers to respond
to, a challenge for the week, summary and a link to a Web site
for more information, links to other resources, book reviews,
teleclasses, in person classes, etc. For an excellent checklist
of what you can put into your e-zine, go to:
http://www.ezineuniversity.com/courses/ez201/201-03.html 4.Will
your e-zine be text only? Simple HTML (colors, bold, italics)?
Or HTML (fancy with pictures)? 5.How often will your e-zine be
published? (minimum once a month) 6.What day ime of the
week/month will you send it out? 7.What company or service
(listserv) will you use (see e-zine choices)? 8.Will you write
all of it, part of it, etc.? 9.Will you be the primary
administrator of your newsletter or will you hire someone else
to "format and send" such as a virtual assistant, copywriter or
ghostwriter? http://www.coachmaria.com/business/virtual.html
10.Will you accept ads from others? Will they pay for the ads?
Will it include ads be ad swaps? NOTE: it is easier to make
money from ads after you reach 1000 subscribers. 11.How will you
publicize your e-zine? 12.Is your ideal client on the Internet
or would an in-print newsletter reach them better than an
e-zine? 13.Will this be a discussion group or newsletter
(sometimes called an announcement only list)? 14.Will the
messages be approved (also called moderated) before its sent
out? 15.Will the moderator approve all new members before they
are allowed to join the list (also called moderated)? 16.Will
the membership list be available to the public, list members
only, or the moderator only? Will the messages be viewable to
the public, list members, or only the moderator? 17.How do you
want your readers to send your e-zine to others? In its entirety
or can they send a link or an article to someone as long as
copyright information is included? Decide this and let your
readers know your rules, up front.
