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Easy
EZine
Contributor:
Mike de Sousa, Director, AbleStable®
EZines
sound great. Sign up to an EZine and you'll enjoy
great articles that tackle the issues most dear
to your heart. Ezines are regular Internet publications
generally sent either weekly or monthly and delivered
direct and often free to your email inbox. We explore
the world of EZines and discover there's a little
more to receiving and sending an EZine than at first
meets the eye.
The
advantages of the EZine
EZines
can provide quality content that can be read at
a convenient moment. Rather than browsing or revisiting
web sites to retrieve information, the recipient
of an EZine knows its' content is chosen according
to their particular area of interest. When an EZine
has a dedicated team working on it as a self contained
ongoing publication, the EZine can prove a valuable
and welcome addition to your inbox.
Lazy
Writing
All too often however, EZines do not offer quality
content. Articles are generally written for an on-line
rather than off-line readership. Articles in EZines
are usually not more than 1,000 words in length,
use short sentences and paragraphs, and tend to
ramble in a repetitive conversational style rather
than informing the reader in a well written pertinent
fashion.
In contrast, articles such as those at AbleStable® are
created with an off-line readership in mind. That
doesn't mean they can't be read on-line, more
that the kinds of values associated with traditional
real-world quality magazine publications have been
adopted in the writing, editorial and delivery
of
our articles and reviews.
Why
EZine?
The
most common reason a web site will offer an EZine
is to build customer relationships and make money.
Don't forget this. Businesses recognise the EZine
as an effective way of generating interest in their
web site, product, service, and as a gateway to
encouraging sales. There are sites like AbleStable® that
provide articles and reviews that also have the
intention of providing a point of contact and
information between a particular group of people,
in our case these are creative professionals.
Read
the small print
When you sign up to an EZine you're entering a contract.
If you're receiving a free EZine, check the site's
terms and conditions carefully as your email address
may be passed on to 'trusted' commercial organisations.
In practice 'trusted' all too often refers to any
web site that will pay for the privilege of acquiring
your email address.
Ensure the site offering the EZine provides a satisfactory
Privacy Statement and that there's a contact page
with details of how to remove yourself completely
from their mailing list should you wish to. If you're
confident the EZine provider will supply high-quality
valuable content, and that it is unlikely to release
your email address, then take advantage of their
offer. If there's a moment's concern about their
credentials, walk away.
Be aware that by subscribing to an EZine, existing
customers and potential clients will usually be
granting their permission for the supplier providing
the EZine to include advertisements and other commercial
messages via email.
Receiving
Spam
You may have been very careful about vetting a web
site before signing up to an EZine yet still receive
Spam as a result of your email 'leaking' out of
a system somewhere. There's a tremendous commercial
temptation to exchange email addresses for profit,
and despite the best intentions of the site owners
who provide the EZine, an employee with Administrative
access may attempt to benefit from the illicit sale
of email addresses. Before you know it you're receiving
Spam email and you have no way of proving how the
sender acquired your email address.
If you are currently receiving Spam, don't reply
to a Spammer or take the option of removing yourself
from their email list as your reply will merely
inform the sender you're receiving their email and
may increase the volume of your unwelcome messages.
Ignore the email and report the Spammer to http://songseek.com/spamorg/
where you'll find invaluable information and advice
about Spamming.
The
long game
The bottom line is that good writing takes time
and few businesses are willing to make the necessary
investment to ensure EZines maintain high standards
of writing and content.
Most EZines are produced with the express focus
of generating additional leads rather than delivering
consistent high-quality content. If the author's
aren't varied and the editorial hand isn't disciplined,
the EZine lasts a few months before interest in
it dwindles and it shuts up shop. The most successful
EZines (paid-subscription and free) are often produced
with an eye to viewing their development and maintenance
as a long term prospect, and their focus is on the
company's strategy of developing its on-line community.
The
future Fridge magnet
In time the best EZines will establish a world-wide
readership that will outstrip any of their real-world
counterparts. In many instances real-world magazines
will gradually and inevitably be superseded by on-line/EZines.
The EZine is here to stay as the world of the screen
increasingly becomes part of our daily experience.
In next to no time they'll be a touch screen on
every fridge door carrying the front page of your
next EZine. As you click to the first page you'll
be presented with the option to purchase your favourite
fruit juice at a knockdown price...
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| Authors
background |
Mike
de Sousa is the Director of AbleStable®.
Mike has been commissioned as an artist, music
composer, photographer, print and web site designer,
and author.
If you observe inaccuracies in our in-house
contributions or wish to contribute an article
or review to be included at AbleStable®
visit Feedback.
Copyright
Notice
Although our contents are free to browse, copyright
resides with the originators of all works accessed
at AbleStable®, and unauthorised copying
or publication of our site contents is strictly
prohibited.
AbleStable © 2002-2008 |
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| All
Material: AbleStable © 2002-2008 |
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