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11 Quick and Good Ezine Content Ideas
Publishing an e-zine is the ideal opportunity to showcase your business. By sharing your knowledge and expertise, you build credibility as an expert, while spreading the word about your services and products.
While sometimes you'll have dozens of content ideas, other times you'll find yourself staring at a blank computer screen, grumbling that it's publishing time again. Well, have no fear! Here are 11 quick (and good) content ideas for when you're in a pinch.
1. Give real-life examples. Describe a problem you've solved for a client/customer, and use that as a springboard to offer more general advice. Show your readers how you've helped customers address challenges -- "case studies" if you will. This positions you as the expert in your readers" minds more than your coming out and saying so.
2. Think of three areas in which you'd like your clients to think of you as a resource. Now develop content in those areas. For example, as a professional copywriter, I really enjoy working on Web sites. To help encourage my clients and prospects to hire me for these projects, I published several articles on how to write Web copy that sells.
3. Read industry publications for ideas. Are there any hot issues in your field right now? The more controversial, the better. Don't be afraid to offer your own opinion -- your readers want to know it. After all, YOU are the expert! ; )
4. Jot down 8 questions your clients have asked you in the past. You know, the ones they ask you over and over. Answer each in a short article. If you publish weekly, that's two months' worth of content, right off the bat! And if you can't think of any questions, send all your current clients/customers a quick e-mail, asking them what topics they're most interested in learning more about.
5. Learn anything neat lately from an industry conference, workshop, seminar, or insightful article? No one says you have to reinvent the wheel of information! Pass on any gems of advice you've learned elsewhere -- just give them full attribution. Or give your opinion of the event or article itself -- your readers will appreciate your frankness.
6. Offer a list of your top 5 or 10 tips on a certain subject. It's much easier to bang out a list of tips than to put together a real article. Of course, the tips can evolve into an article if you wish! Be sure to list your best tip first, or at least close to the top. (If you "fire your biggest gun" last, you risk losing your audience before they get to the good stuff.)
7. Interview associates whose expertise would interest your readers (while not competing with yours). E-mail interviews are incredibly easy to do. Just send your interviewee 3 to 5 questions via e-mail, edit their answers, and have them approve the final version. Be sure to give them a short plug in your e-zine as a thank you. (A one-sentence description of their business, phone number, their Web site URL, and e-mail address should be fine.)
8. Recommend books and resources that you use, and offer full reviews on them. In one issue of my first e-zine, "AKB MarCom Tips," I featured reviews of my favorite four copywriting resource books. I then later posted them at my Web site.
9. Invite readers to write you with their own questions, and answer one in each issue. Right after their question, publish the person's name, business, e-mail, and Web site address. They'll enjoy the attention/publicity!
10. Invite readers to send in profiles. Ask them to tell you about themselves -- their names, businesses, locations, and how they use the information gained in your e-zine. Feature one profile in each issue or one every few issues.
11. When all else fails, borrow an article! There are dozens of Web sites offering hundreds of articles that you can use in your e-zine. The articles are free and available for you to use immediately. The only catch is you're required to leave the entire article intact, including the author's promotional information.
Here are three places to check out for free content: Business Article Announce List -- http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aabusiness Marketing Seek -- http://www.marketing-seek.com World Wide Information Outlet -- http://www.certificate.net/wwio/index.shtml
One last note: Keep in mind that if your e-zine's main objective is to get you more clients and customers, you should not feature other writers' articles more than once in a blue moon. Showcasing other professionals on a regular basis undermines the idea of establishing YOU as the expert in your readers' minds.
(c) 2002 Alexandria K. Brown
About
the Writer of this Article
Alexandria K. Brown, "The E-zine Queen," is author of the e-book, "Boost Business With Your Own E-zine," available at http://www.ezine-queen.com. For *hundreds* more great tips like these, visit her site and sign up for her FREE biweekly newsletter, "Tips from the E-zine Queen." Don't miss the next issue - subscribe today!
Keep the Content Fresh!
Sample-Widget-Company, Inc. spent several months and and somewhere around $90,000 developing their corporate web site. When the project was completed, they celebrated with an "all-hands" meeting, a stack of pizzas, and a press release that went out on the business wire.
Care was also taken to make sure that their web site ranked high in search engines and could be found in several online directories.
What a surprise it was to read their web site statistics at the end of that month! 500,000 hits! Even the company's stock went up! Their efforts were successful! - or so they thought. Six months later, the average monthly hits to their web site went down to 6,000. What happened?
Perhaps the question should be re-phrased, "What didn't happen?" Sample-Widget-Company, Inc. developed a very static web site and never gave anyone a reason to visit again.
When the content of a corporate web site does not change over a period of time, viewers may feel that the company is stagnate. As our society becomes more web-savvy and dependent on the internet for news and general information, a stagnate web site could be detrimental to the life of a company.
Blow Your Own Trumpet!
Does your company have new products, stories, recipes, offers, etc.? Then tell the world about it! Put a photograph of your new product, a brief synopsis of the story, or mention the offer right on the home page. Have a featured product section in full view for all to see and change it weekly or monthly. If visitors know they will find something new each time they visit, they will come back!
Some companies update their web site's overall look and feel on a regular basis. One company, Quark, Inc. (http://www.quark.com), was well known for changing the entire architecture (both information and graphics) of their web site on a monthly basis. While most companies do not have the resources to do this, there are some definite advantages: 1) People return to see what you're up to, and 2) it helps your company to develop a brand that works.
Glen Turpin, Corporate Communications Manager for Quark, said "Our site architecture has evolved over time to meet the needs of the people who visit the site. Understanding who those people are and what they want is critical."
Find Out Who Your Visitors Are and Invite them Back!
An important key to getting return visitors is "the reminder." Tell them that you have something new for them to see. How do you do that?
Develop an "opt-in" e-mail database. Give the viewer the option to send you their e-mail address. Then, on a regular basis, send out a newsletter to your list that gives a brief synopsis of the new items on your site. Provide a link in your newsletter so that the viewer can easily jump to your site.
What It All Comes Down To...
Are you a music fan? Have you listened to the same CD everyday since you were born? Chances are the answer is "No." If your favorite music artist puts out a new album, do you purchase it? Most likely yes. Why? Because it's new.
Imagine that your company is a famous band. Your web site has fallen to obscurity on the pop charts. It's time to give the public something new to hum along with. Keep the content fresh!
About
the Writer of this Article
Jake Gorst is a writer, film maker, and president of Exploded View (http://www.explodedview.tv), a new media advertising and design company. He also is a frequent contributor to various trade publications on topics related to Web site and architectural design psychology and trends. Previously, Gorst served as Vice President and Chief Creative Officer for E-Media Publishing, Ltd. and as an Internet content developer for Citibank and other Long Island based corporations.
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