One of my most lucrative virtual assistant services is to work on client ezines and online business newsletters (terminology used interchangeably throughout).

Either I am picking up the work on an already established ezine or I am creating an online newsletter from scratch.

Recently, I received an ezine in my Inbox. The ezine’s author, who is a well-respected coach has a professional website and blog but the actual newsletter she sent to her subscriber list was awful. There was no other word to describe it. The document was sloppy and lacked visual appeal. The font was boring and difficult to read. The featured article was uninteresting and required proofreading. The author left very little white space between paragraphs. The document did not reflect a professional flavor. In the highly competitive coaching industry, a professional image is key to a successful business.

The author-coach asked for feedback so I explained that a newsletter is a marketing tool and needed to be treated with the same strategic plan as any other marketing tool.

She agreed with my assessment and admitted that she ‘threw something together’ and sent it out to her subscriber list, which interestingly (and in this case, unfortunately) had accumulated to several hundred recipients over time.

In a separate scenario, a client contacted me to write articles for her ezines. She had two subscriber lists (two separate business markets) but she used the same articles in each publication.  This made me wonder if she too was just ‘putting something together’ as well for the sake of claiming she offered a monthly ezine.

To both individuals, I say, “If you want to send out your own newsletter, you must first realize who your target reader will be.”  This is Ezine Marketing 101. Once the readership is established, then everything else in the document can begin to fall into place.

A business ezine should never be something ‘thrown together’ because a poorly put-together newsletter offers an unprofessional view of the business owner.

A hastily published newsletter could mean the loss of potential customers.

Further, it takes time, effort and money to build a good subscriber list. It takes just one reader to click the ‘unsubscribe’ link. This could begin the trickle of ‘money down the drain’.

Imagine how much it would cost to lose 50 subscribers a month with whom you might have so carefully cultivated through article marketing, blog posts and networking?

Know who you want to reach before creating an ezine

If you are a business owner and want to reach more than one target market, consider creating two separate ezines. (If you are appealing to more than two or three target markets, you may be spreading yourself too thin.) But understand that if you are sending out more than one ezine, the contents must reflect the wants and needs of that specific reader.

If you have two separate subscriber lists for two specific markets, don’t skimp and send both lists the same articles. Or worse yet, do not use the same article and then change one paragraph to ‘fit’ the reader’s interest. I personally feel articles look ‘fake’ and ‘canned’ when a business owner forces the same article to appeal to two separate markets in two different ezines by simply changing one paragraph; usually the closing paragraph.

You may lose potential customers who might have purchased your product or services if the ezine does not make a personal connection with the reader.

For those with an unsuccessful, already established ezines, these are issues I encounter when reviewing these types of online newsletters:

1) The ezine has no title targeted for the reader. The ezine is typically titled the same as the client website.  Yawn.

2) There is no subtitle for the ezine explaining what the reader can expect from within the contents.

3) If the client sends out more than one ezine to two different lists, the articles are simply duplicated on each ezine (see above).

4) The ezines are treated like ‘something that has to get cranked out each week or month’ and the format never varies with the exception of self-promoting ads the client repeatedly includes in the ezines…looking the same in each and every publication. (What I see here is a new article each week/month but everything else is a copy-paste from the previously sent newsletter.) Lazy journalism.

In the case of creating a brand new ezine for a start-up business, the problems I frequently encounter:

1) Not knowing who the ezine is attempting to reach.  Trying to appeal to everyone but really reaching no one in particular. [This is a problem with start-ups who are initially leery to find their target market for fear of alienating a larger pool of customers.]

2) Not knowing what type(s) of content will be offered? Will the author have a Book Review, a Contest, a Featured Article and/or a Guest Article? Name the ezine column titles first then create the ezine template, not the other way around. Every ezine needs a plan!

3) The ezine title is the same title as the business website. The ezine title should be catchy and memorable but should also tie into the business theme.

4)  Not shopping the competition’s ezines. Tip: Bookmark ezines that you like and ask yourself why you like these documents.

5)  Not asking fans and friends what they would like to read each month. Tip: Take a poll on Facebook, on your blog or your website and ask your readers about topics they would like to see you write about. Offer a free tips page or a download if they participate in the poll.

Once your ezine is up and running, continue to poll your readers for ideas and suggestions. Make it easy for them to contact you with questions and comments.  Tip: End each article with ‘Feedback welcome. Email you@yourbusinessname.com’.

Feedback from your readers is key to a successful ezine. When you receive feedback from your readers, publish both the negative and the positive comments to show that you know how to handle opposing thoughts. This helps to increase the level of credibility and expertise with your readers.

Janine Gregor

Marketing Virtual Assistant