How to format your Ezine…
November 30, 2007 · Print This Article
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One of the most important decisions an Ezine owner will have to make is how to format and manage a given Ezine. The formatting alone can have a significant impact on how the success of the Ezine.
Currently, there are two ways in which to format an Ezine: HTML and text. There are both disadvantages and advantages to each of these different formats. The major advantage of using an HTML format is that you can then view email-opening statistics. This will help you determine how powerful certain headlines are – and will help you to determine how active your current list is; and if there is any way you can improve the activity.
The major problem with HTML for your E-zine’s format is that emails in HTML format are often much harder to get through email filters. In many cases, they are flagged as spam, which means that less emails will actually get through, which not only will affect your statistics, but will also decrease the amount of revenue you generate with a given mailing.
The major advantage of text format Ezines is the exact opposite of that of HTML format E-zines: you can tune them very carefully to make them have virtually no chance of being flagged as spam by email filters.
Of course, the major trade-off is that you cannot check the statistics on text-based emails, so you won’t know how many people are even opening them; however, you can get a rough idea based on how many people click through to your most wanted response page.
Alternatively, you can create two separate formats for your emails: text and HTML; and then let your subscribers decide which they would prefer to receive. Just use your HTML group as a testing group for different subject lines.
I am excited about list hero, can hardly wait to get started.
Hi Millie
Thanks for your message, it’s great to have you here.
I’ve taken a look at your website and I highly recommend getting your own domain name and creating a squeeze page that directs people to an affiliate website or a website of your own where you control the content and it’s not full of tacky banner ads for ebay and amazon.
The problem is the page you showed me showed me here
http://www.y17376.youronlinecashstore.com/ makes every mistake a newbie can make.
1. It’s full of banner ads
2. Has no clear benefit to the visitor, what is your site all about (it took me ages to discover this once I got past all your banner ads)
3. The design of your page looks tacky
4. You give people way too many choices and opportunities to click away from your website.
4. Your domain name stinks of it being a spam website. Come on what does y17376 mean?
Here’s what you need to be doing…
Get a squeeze page set up where you’re giving something of value you can then follow up with people on (via autoresponder) sending them to any website you like… it’s as simple as that!
To start you off you can get hosting here for free (with no banner ads):
http://www.doteasy.com
And you can get decent free website templates from here:
http://www.oswd.org
Alternatively if you’re not confident with HTML here’s a website who provide you with hosting and an easy way to build professional looking websites (with no banner ads):
http://www.weebly.com
I hope this helps because right now you’re going about it all wrong!
All the best!
Hero, Thank you so much for this insight, you are a life saver. Again thank you!