More Content Alternatives



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More Content Alternatives
By Brian Alt

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Yesterdays' tip looked at some types of ezine content that depart from the traditional "articles" typically associated with an email publication.

In response to my request for additional types of alternative content, I received the following helpful feedback from Ezine-Tips readers. I've also interspersed my own comments throughout.

Hi Brian,

Very good article/tip today! I liked it a lot! I printed a copy for my husband who is just starting to get into the ezine publishing field with his own fishing ezine.

At your request for alternative content sources...

The other content alternative I thought of is the "editorial". It's not a typical article but can be made into a regular feature. Its a place for the editor to talk to the readers and be a little more lax with the "rules" of standard article writing.

I do this myself with the LRS News & Tid Bits section in Website Success Monthly and that is why the editorial immediately came to mind :-)

And upon even more reflection there is possibly another "content" source available... the ads. Whether that is a positive or negative for an ezine I think depends on whether the ads are targeted and useful to the readers.
Sometimes I find that when I'm done reading a particular ezine the most important thing I got from it was the advertisement in it. Especially if it resulted in a great bargain or some secret knowledge that I didn't possess before. So...I think ads also qualify as content ;-)

Again, great job & take care!

Lisa Schmeckpeper
http://www.lrsmarketing.com/

Thanks Lisa. Editorials are a great idea. I suppose I didn't think of it because I tend to include my opinions and rantings throughout ;-)

You also bring up the excellent point that if advertising is relevant, it will be much less annoying to your readers and may actually be a valued source of content. Check out the tip on Sponsorship Relevancy from a couple months ago for more on this.

I re-circulate some of the discussions, questions and recipes (we're a cooking site) that are in our message boards in the ezines. New people get interested in the message board discussions this way and join in and the people who's posts I quote feel like celebrities for a day. Really works well for everyone.

Cheri Sicard http://www.fabulousfoods.com/

Great idea, Cheri. Similar to reader feedback, member-generated content from a community that might be associated with your ezine can be an excellent addition, for precisely the three reasons you allude to:

Readers find the comments of other readers and members helpful.

Reprinting the content from your message board or discussion list makes your ezine's subscribers aware of that community.

Members whose content is featured are in the spotlight, which rewards their contribution and encourages them to contribute more frequently.

Brian, love reading you. I learn a lot. It's always a pleasure to see your name attached. Thank you for you. Here are some of my suggestions for alternative sources of content:

word for the day

healthy living tips

household hint, i.e. add an apple to brown sugar to keep it moist

weird piece of knowledge, i.e."ants don't sleep"

calendar info, i.e."on this day happened"

Guinness book of records happening

from Chase's calendar of events a list of the unusual i.e. Bald Day, Edgar Allen Poe Day, Hug Day, etc. with a brief history.

Keep up the great work helping others to help themselves.

Raleigh Pinskey
http://www.promoteyourself.com/

Thank you, Raleigh. While some of the ideas you mention would only work in certain ezine topics, many of them can work in some topical ezines that might not be obvious at first glance. For example, you could include a "marketing term of the day" in an online marketing ezine, a weird piece of trivia or a "this day in history" related to whatever topic or industry you cover, or upcoming events that might interest your readers.

Thanks to everyone who sent in feedback! I do read all of it :)

Ezine-Tips for September 15, 2000

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More Content AlternativesBy Brian Alt

More Content Alternatives
By Brian Alt