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10 Time Saving Tips for Ezine
Publishers
by Paul
Easton
I recently spent several frustrating hours laying
out and mailing an email newsletter. If you publish
a free ezine,
you will know it's very time consuming to get
all the
information formatted correctly before sending. My long
lesson
should help you!
1. Use master templates
Create a master template using a word processor like
MS word.
Opening a word document, change the font to
courier new - The same font that standard text files
use.
Create a line of 60 characters across the page. Use
"select all" then move your right hand margin to
the
end of the line, to set the margin for the whole
document.
This stops this effect:
---
Hi
Welcome to
My
ezine and Hope...etc
---
Include any details that go in every ezine. -Title, date,
lines for
layout, contents list
copyright etc
Save as a "text file with Line breaks" You
can use this to format all your ezines.
Do the same for any articles you write, so your
articles are formatted and ready to cut and paste
into your
ezine.
2. Use a word processor
A
lot of editors' recommend using a new program
just for your ezine, simply follow these steps:
Using the master, open MS word or similar program
and open your master file you have created. Now you
can use
the grammar checker, spelling etc of a powerful
program
without formatting problems. When you paste any
information,
recheck the margins.
Remember to check and save as July.txt or whatever for
your newsletter and not over your master.
3. Another pair of eyes
Always get it checked "twice", wait until
the next day to read it again before sending. I use
my wife as a
first check, before it goes any further.
4. Check Send
You can see what it looks like in your mailbox by
using an email bounce service. Send it to
mailto:echo@c... or
mailto:format@m....
It will bounce back to you. This is
helpful especially if you
publish an html mailing list.
5. Shortcut on desktop
Place a shortcut to your directory where your master
and upcoming
ezines are in. That way every time you
find
a link, that would be helpful to your subscribers,
copy and
paste it straight in.
6. Build over time
If you ezine goes out fortnightly, the day after it
goes out make some progress on the next one, even if it
means
just checking the layout, but get it started and
finish
it a couple days before publishing day. This gives
you time to
check it before sending.
7. Write your own articles
How can this save your time? By having your own
articles, you can
increase your credibility and never
have to
look for new fresh information.
Ezines build customer trust for ongoing sales.
Anybody can write articles, you don't have to be a
world class
author.
8. Use a proof reader
This doesn't have to be a large expensive service, I
use students
who do a good fast job. I email the
information to them, the next day I get it back
ready to send.
The
best way is to send it as an attachment and keep an
eye
on your formatting when you get it back from
them.
9. Treat it like a 100,000
That's right, 100,000 subscribers "and"
$100,000. Keep to your publishing dates, treat your
subscribers
like
gold and they will trust you and become long time
repeat
customers.
10. Use a mailing list provider.
I used a lot of services from software, like
Mailloop, list servers etc. So far bringing the
service in house
using a personalized script Mail Master Pro has been
a good
option, check it out at
http://www.cgitoolbox.c
om/cgi/mmp/
Personalizing your newsletter will make it
"stand out" from the other 80,000+ ezines
online.
Producing an email newsletter is an excellent way to
build trust,
promote your site and increase sales.
Remember that it should be only one of your
promotion methods and
ways of increasing sales. Have a great day.
--------------------------------------
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.htm
for more information
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