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Part 2
How Do I Start?
When starting your ezine, the first
thing you want to do is name it. I would suggest keeping
the name as close to your website/business name as possible.
If you do not have a website or business yet, use a name
you could name your business as well.
For example:
If you sell gifts/products for you & your home and
your business name is Gifts Galore, you could then name your
ezine "Gifts Galore News" or
"Gifts Galore Ezine".
For content, you would include home decorating links, beauty
tips and ideas, articles on frugal decorating home remedy
recipes, camping tips and resources, whatever pertains to the
gifts you are selling. This
type of ezine would be great fun to publish!
Now to get started with the design and layout of your
ezine...the first thing you want to do is to find a good text
editor such as Textpad. You can download the free version
at http://www.textpad.com.
This is what
I use and I love it. It is very easy and efficient.
A lot of people format their ezine to 60 or 65 characters per
line, but I prefer 55. That means that after every
55 letters/numbers/spaces typed, you would press enter and start
a new line. You can set
the Textpad to do this automatically, but I find it works better
to do it manually. Just watch the number at the bottom
right of the TextPad screen and hit enter when you get to 55 or
60/65.
Create a template for your ezine so each week you can just open
up this template and fill in the necessary sections. This
will save you lots of time.
At the top of the ezine, you want a centered heading with your
title, and contact info.
It should look like this:
Gifts Galore Ezine
October 15, 2002 Issue No. 1
Jane Doe, Publisher/Editor
mailto:janedoe@giftsgalore.com
http://www.giftsgalore.com
(c) 2002 All Rights reserved
You should have all your contact info in your closing at the
bottom of your ezine as well.
If you are not sure how to do the layout of your ezine, there is
a free template you can use or use as a guide here: http://www.myownezine.com/tutorial/page1.shtml
Just read through the info and take a look at the template.
Try a few different ideas, change things around a bit until you
find the layout you like and are comfortable with. You can
make improvements/changes after you start publishing as well.
One thing I suggest is not to have too many squiggles and
decorations. Some are ok, but keep it clean and sharp
looking. Too many decorations can make it hard for some
people to read.
Some things that should always be included in your ezine are:
Your contact info - top and bottom of ezine
Subscribe and unsubscribe info
Privacy Policy - at or near the top
Disclaimer - towards the bottom
Table of Contents - at the top of the ezine
Editorial - chat a bit with your readers and discuss
any current events or happenings at your site/business.
Start forming that all important bond with them!
Thank you to your subscribers - include this in the
editorial section.
Once you find the layout you are satisfied with, fill in your
standards like disclaimer, contact info and anything else that
will remain the same from week to week and save it in a
folder on your desktop. Each
week or however often you publish, just open this template and
you are ready to get going.
In Part 3, I will be going over content. What to have for
content and where to get it.
Ezine publishing is very important and you can do it! DO NOT let
your doubts stop you form this rewarding and enjoyable
experience! Please feel free to contact me if you have any
questions.
| About the Author: Terri
Seymour and her husband Terry offer a no-cost, non-MLM
home business opportunity. They strive to help you build a
successful home business. They also provide a website
building service. Take advantage of the gifts,
resources & more provided for your home and business at
http://www.seymourproducts.com FREE ecourse at:
business-building-ecourse@getresponse.com |
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