Elements of an E-zine

Consistency is the key to a well designed e-zine. Aside from the format (look and feel) of the e-zine, the layout and order of your e-zine must be consistent.

When you pick up a book to read, you expect the book to run in a certain order: the title page, copyright information page, possibly a table of contents, an introductory chapter, body of the book made up of various chapters, and a chapter that concludes the book and wraps everything up for you.

The same is true for e-zines. Most e-zines run in a specific order to help make it easy for the subscriber to quickly read the pertinent information. Following are the basic elements of an e-zine.

--> Subject line: The subject of the e-mail. While one could use "John Smith's Monthly e-zine," a unique title might entice people to open and read. Try to keep it short so the title fits in most e-mail clients' allotted space. At most, you have about 30 seconds to capture the reader's interest. If the reader doesn't find something to interest him/her, the e-zine will be deleted.

--> Table of contents: This is optional; some e-zines do not have table of contents. However, most readers like to be able to skim the table of contents to see if there is anything that is worth reading.

--> Introduction: While an e-zine could just jump right into the first article, market research has shown a higher readability rate when the introduction is personal and captivating. Start your e-zine with a personal note, directly written to your subscriber.

--> Articles: This is the meat of your e-zine. Here is your chance to shine and show your expertise. Use headings and bullets to break up the text, as most people are reading your e-zine on-line. Breaking up the text makes your e-zine easier to read on the computer and results in higher readability. If you present readers with paragraphs and paragraphs of endless text, they will give up.

--> Any offers: After you've written your brilliant articles and established your expertise, you now have the opportunity to put offers for products or services in front of your readers.

--> Closing: As any good English teacher will tell you, you always need a conclusion.

--> Can Spam Requirements: You should include the following information in order to remain in compliance with the Can-Spam Act of 2003.

--> Contact information: Name, e-mail address and physical address.

--> Unsubscribe link: Besides being required, it's a customer-friendly option for your subscribers. If they really don't want to be on your subscriber list, you don't want them there either.

--> Copyright information: This really is YOUR material. Since you've written it, you can add a copyright.

Remember, by establishing consistency in the format and elements of your e-zine, you will have a great tool to building a loyal subscriber base.