5 Tips to Create an Ezine That Kicks Some Serious Butt

An ezine, email newsletter, is a very powerful tool in marketing your business. I've found this to be absolutely true!

My clients and I have found a proven system for our ezines that pays off. So I would love to share the secret of how I created my award winning ezine.

1) Model what works- In this case it's best not to re-invent the wheel. While I like standing out from the crowd in my marketing, in this case, there is a reason to model other successful ezines. Others have tested, tested, and tested again so you don't have to. So find a few email newsletters you really enjoy and make it your own. Think of a way to model and then tweak it for your personality and business.

2) You still have to test- Even though you are modeling your ezine after other successful ezines, you will still need to test it. I use Outlook 2007 and a lot of ezines do not look very good when I receive them. It's important to test it in a few email clients if not all. You're not going to catch everything, but it's a start. Also, now you can test and see what your ezine looks like on your mobile phone.

3) A one column format- An ezine is very different from a website. With an ezine it's best to use a one column format and keep it very simple. What's great about this format is it's the easiest to create. The biggest mistake you can make when designing your ezine is to design it like a print newsletter. There is a big difference in print newsletters versus email newsletters. We read email differently than we do a printed newsletter. So it's best to not use too many graphics or sections.

4) Personalize it- Add your personality to everything you do! Most of the comments I get about my ezine are about my personal note rather than the feature article. So it's important to get personal with your readers. Make your ezine something they look forward to receiving in their inbox. I have a couple ezines I subscribe to that I can't wait to open! Why? Because their whole ezine is so personal. It's filled with pictures, conversational writing, and stories. It seems like they are speaking right to me. So if you can find your voice when writing your ezine, you'll have everyone wanting more.

5) Add images- Even though you want to keep your ezine simple it's important to still use images throughout. I love adding a few images throughout the ezine to draw the eye to the important parts. I usually just use a candid photo or clip art from Microsoft Word. Using these graphics throughout the ezine keeps the reader's attention. Also, when sharing a video clip in your ezine you can create a graphic out of the screenshot of the video. This tip alone will increase your click through rate on your videos.