Many people I speak to tell me the
y do not use e‐zines because they simply do not have the time. As a marketing speaker and marketing coach to very busy CEOs, business owners, other professional speakers, and consultants, I hear you.
Here's the secret: It only takes me two hours or less per month. And those two hours are some of the highest ROI hours I can spend.
You're getting my simple formula for writing e‐zines that will make your ezine much easier to write - and more profitable to send.
Write five to seven short stories about a topic, one to three paragraphs each. You want the reader to be able to get through each story in under a minute. You do not have an unlimited amount of time with your reader so make sure he can read your entire e‐zine issue in about five minutes.
The next little tip might seem insignificant but I think it is vitally important. Do not put any click links to your stories; you do not want to give the readers mind a chance to wonder, because they are waiting for another page to load.
Many Websites like to give you a brief description of the article and then ask you to click on a link to read the whole article. That is just too many hoops to go through to read the story. Do not have just a story title and first paragraph with a link to the entire article.
Write short articles and include the entire article in the e‐zine itself, not a teaser part.
So here, it is in 4 Simple Steps:
1. 5 – 7 stories
2. 1 – 3 paragraphs each
3. Maximum reading time < 1 minute per story < 5 minutes per issue
4. No click links to stories—the full story is in the e‐zine.
There you have it quick, simple, and effective.
BONUS: Here are 8 more tips for writing an e‐ zine, courtesy of Dan Ranly, www.ranly.com:
1. Write for surfers and scanners
2. Provide information quickly and easily
3. Think both verbally and visually
4. Cut copy in half
5. Use lots of lists and bullets
6. Write in chunks
7. Use hyperlinks
8. Give readers a chance to talk back (feedback)
Feedback from YOU is always welcome in the comments area below...
Copy writing 101: compelling and results-producing copy requires two skills: You must learn how to break complex items into smaller (more digestible) parts and you must be able to convince your readers to take action.
Here are guidelines that have served me (and my clients) well. I hope they're equally helpful to you.
1) The first few paragraphs of any marketing document must tell your reader what's in it for him. We don't want our reader looking up after 30 seconds and wondering, "Why am I reading this?"
2) Each marketing document (sales letter, web page, brochure) should focus on a single purpose -- it should be written to stimulate a specific response. This response could be an action (take the next step in the sales process) or it could be emotional (I want them to feel worried about a particular problem).
3) Density (not length) is important. Marketing materials that stimulate interest and curiosity have lots of new and good ideas. Ideally you should introduce a new fact, figure or idea every couple of paragraphs. This stimulates interest, builds credibility and goes a long way towards ensuring that your entire piece gets read.
4) Write only about what you know.
Keep these points in mind the next time you sit down for a heavy-duty session of copy writing to grow your business.