When you send an ezine to your subscribers, the formatting and layout are important, because they form part of your brand, which affects how readers perceive your newsletter. By using the same formatting in every issue - and in fact, being consistent within the same issue - you reinforce your brand and make it easier for readers to focus on the content.
Follow these guidelines to keep your ezine formatting consistent.
Use The Same Sections In Every Issue
The content in your local newspaper changes every day, but the overall layout is the same - for example, a feature story on the front page, other important stories on the next few pages, then world news, then Letters to the Editor, then local news, then business news, the weather forecast, comics and crossword, and classified advertising, and the sports section. Keeping the same sections every day makes it easier for the newspaper and for its readers.
Although your ezine is much shorter than a newspaper, follow the same principle. For example, you might start with a feature article, follow it with a short advertisement, follow that with a cartoon or joke, and end with a link to an interesting Web site. This makes it easy for you to write each issue, and your readers become comfortable with this layout.
Start from a Template Each Time
If you follow the advice above, you can use a standard template for every issue of your ezine. Either start with a blank template (with sample headings and blank space for filling in the content) or start by copying and modifying the previous issue.
Most ezine providers allow you to save and use templates. But even if yours doesn't, you can keep a copy yourself and use that as the starting point for the next issue.
Write First, Format Later
Don't write and format your ezine in Microsoft Word before pasting it into your ezine software, because Word's formatting doesn't always transfer correctly or consistently. Besides, Word also tends to create a lot of unnecessary formatting codes that make your ezine bigger and can cause unexpected problems with some e-mail programs.
Instad, write your ezine content in a plain text editor, such as Notepad on Windows or Textedit on Mac. Then paste that into your ezine software, and do the formatting there. This makes the formatting more reliable and consistent, because you're doing it directly in the software that will send the ezine.
Test and Preview
Always preview your ezine before you send it to your subscribers. At the very least, your ezine provider should have an option for you to send the ezine to yourself as a test. Do this every time - even if you think it isn't necessary - because even one small error can affect the entire ezine appearance.
Some of the more sophisticated providers (such as MailChimp) also allow you to send it to a number of different e-mail programs to see how it appears. You don't have to do this every time, but it's worth doing it regularly and if you're doing anything different or slightly more complex than usual.
Publish a lot of ezines!
Finally, keep publishing ezines regularly. The more you do it, the more comfortable you will be with various formatting options, and the easier it will be to remain consistent, professional and reliable.
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