The Ezine as a Unique Media Form
by Ellen Jackson
So if an ezine is an electronic magazine, then it's just
like a magazine, only online, right?
Not quite. There are some similarities, and also some
striking differences. Understanding these important
differences is the first step in creating an effective
online publication.
An electronic magazine and a hard copy magazine are
different creatures altogether, and people read an ezine
much differently than they would read a magazine. An ezine
differs in form and in function from a magazine because the
Internet is a different medium from hard copy magazine
print. People use the Internet for different reasons and
in different ways than they use a magazine.
You can't read an ezine in bed!
When you read a magazine, you're focused on that
publication as your sole activity for a period of time.
You may sit down for 10 or 20 minutes or more and browse
through various sections, flipping past the parts that
you're not interested in at the moment. I keep the
magazines I subscribe to on my night stand, and I go back
and read them bit by bit throughout the month. Eventually,
I get around to looking at most of the contents, even the
parts that are somewhat less interesting to me. Reading
magazines is a form of relaxation. Even more serious
publications such as news and trade magazines are designed
to be attractive and entertaining at some level.
You can't read an ezine in bed or in your favorite lounge
chair. Well ok, if you have a laptop, technically I guess
you can, but I don't know of many people who do. When people
sit down in front of their computer, they're usually there
for a number of different reasons. A computer is inherently
a multitasking tool. With the advent of the Internet as an
extremely popular form of communication, the multitasking
function of computers has increased beyond all measure.
Ezine readers are busy people with short attention spans
When your ezine pops up in your subscriber's email window,
they already have other things on their mind. There's almost
certainly other mail for them to go through, in addition to
whatever else they have planned for their time in
cyberspace. You've got a lot of competition.
You have approximately five seconds to capture your reader's
interest, or they're off to the next thing on their list.
And when they click on to the next item on their agenda,
they're not turning the page to check out the next article
in your magazine, they're gone from your publication and off
to something else altogether. The Internet is all about
instant gratification. At the click of a mouse, they can
pretty much go wherever they please. If they don't like
what's in front of them at the moment, the delete button
is a pretty handy and accessible tool.
People don't generally read ezines for relaxation, but for
information. While there are exceptions to every rule, this
is especially true with business oriented ezines. And
because of the "instant gratification" quality of the
Internet, we want our information and we want it now.
Ezines have a lower "perceived value" than print media
Unlike print magazines, ezines are highly disposable. We're
not likely to throw out our print magazines until we're sure
we've read everything we want to read. Magazines are
tangible, we can hold them in our hands. And people seem to
have an inborn aversion to tossing out a magazine before
they're sure they've gotten their money's worth. Your ezine,
on the other hand, is intangible. Like most ezines, it may
even be free. But even if it is not, the simple fact that it
is intangible and much shorter than a magazine means that it
has a lower perceived value than a paper print magazine
subscription.
It's now or never
Granted, the people who receive your ezine have subscribed
to it, they are predisposed to a desire to read what you
have to say. But they are not usually going to spend 10 or
20 minutes with your publication, and they're probably not
going back to it later, even if they save it with good
intentions of doing so. There's just too much competition
for their attention. You've got about 5 minutes max, and
you've got to assume that it's a one shot deal.
So you'll need to make the most of those precious 5 minutes.
For starters, you've only got about 5 SECONDS for them to
decide whether to read the issue or not. If they are familiar
with your publication and have enjoyed it and benefited from
it in the past, you've got a definite advantage, but many
will still skim through it first to decide if the content
is of interest to them. Capture their interest with an
attention getting headline and a well-written main article,
and they're likely to keep reading. Further their interest
with a few links to interesting subject matter and resources,
and you might have a chance of keeping their attention
focused on your purposes for quite a while.
Too much of a good thing
Too much quality content, on the other hand, might be a
waste of time. If they can't get it all read in one short
sitting, they may set it aside for later, which you might
think would be a good thing. But what are the chances of
them actually coming back to it? Tomorrow, if not sooner,
there will be another ezine waiting for their attention.
Like I said, you've got a lot of competition.
Get to the point
If you look at any print magazine, the first few pages are
advertisements and fluff. You can't do that in an ezine.
A sponsor ad at the top of the page is an acceptable part
of the medium, but you'd better follow up pretty quickly
with some solid content that is targeted to your
subscribers' interests if you want to keep their attention.
If your reader has to scroll down the page to find out if
there's anything of interest to them, you'll likely lose
some of them. Make sure your main article or at least a
table of contents is placed high enough so your readers
can see it when they first open the email.
Bottom line is, readily accessible, high quality content in
a manageable quantity is everything in ezine publication.
If you don't have that, you may have many subscribers, but
few actual readers.
Successful ezines CAN and DO make six-figure incomes for
their publishers. Learn how to rev up the marketing
potential of your ezine today with "Ezine Adrenaline" at:
http://www.offbeatmarketing.com/resource/ezineadrenaline.html
------------------------------------------------------------
Ellen Jackson is the publisher of Offbeat News and the
owner/webmaster of Offbeat Marketing. Visit Offbeat
Marketing to find information and top quality, affordable
resources for building your online business at
http://www.offbeatmarketing.com
| DISCLAIMER: The content provided in this article is not warranted or guaranteed by Developer Shed, Inc. The content provided is intended for entertainment and/or educational purposes in order to introduce to the reader key ideas, concepts, and/or product reviews. As such it is incumbent upon the reader to employ real-world tactics for security and implementation of best practices. We are not liable for any negative consequences that may result from implementing any information covered in our articles or tutorials. If this is a hardware review, it is not recommended to open and/or modify your hardware. |
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