What is an ezine? And why do you need one?
Before I explain what an ezine is, let me first clear up some confusion that you might have.
Ezines are also called email newsletters and e-newsletters. So don’t be confused if you see these phrases and words being used instead of the word ezine. They all practically mean the same thing.
And by the way, ezine can also be written with a hypen like so, e-zine.
OK so now that we got that out of the way, let’s focus on the definition of an ezine.
What is an Ezine?
An ezine is simply a newsletter that you send to your subscribers by email.
So in order for you to send an ezine, you need to get people’s emails first. One of the main ways that you can do this is via an opt-in form that you place on your website or blog in a prominent location.
One of the most important things that you need to have in order for your ezine to be successful is permission from your subscribers.
Nobody likes receiving spam. This is why it is crucial that you have a system in place, where people confirm that they actually want to receive your newsletter, after they’ve put in their details in the opt-in form.
You can automate this by having an email ready, that is automatically sent to new subscribers. All they have to do then, is click on a specific link so that they confirm that they want to start receiving your newsletter.
In addition, you need to make sure that on each ezine that you send, it is clear that people can unsubscribe at any time.
Why You Need A Newsletter For Continued Online Success
Why go through all the trouble of creating a newsletter? Isn’t it enough that people come to your website?
REASON #1: To Increase Repeat Visitors
You might think that if people found your website or blog than you’re doing a good job. Well strictly speaking you ARE doing a good job, but that’s not enough.
Why? You may not want to hear this, but only a small percentage of your visitors will come back and check out your website again after their first visit.
For example, on one of my websites, I average a 20% repeat visitor rate. This means that for every 100 people that visit my website, 20 of them will return to my site after their first visit, while 80 never will. So essentially, I’m “losing touch” with 80 visitors out of 100. That’s a lot of people!
How can I make sure that I don’t “lose” those 80? Or at least try to make some of them come back and visit my website again? With a newsletter.
So one of your main goals with your newsletter would be to try to find ways to direct people to your website by providing links to your site.
You need to do this strategically of course and not just link to your site just for the sake of doing it. There must be some real value on the other end (i.e. your website), otherwise people are just going to click, quickly scan your content and leave your site within a few seconds.
See your newsletter as a second (third, fourth and so on) chance to reach your customers.
REASON #2: Peace Of Mind
I’m sure you’ve heard of the saying “never put all of your eggs in one basket”.
What if you relied heavily on Google (or other search engines) for your website traffic and suddenly your website “disappeared” from the first pages of Google.
This is something that’s VERY real with all the changes that's been going on with Google’s algorithm lately. Google Panda anyone?
Google makes hundreds of changes to its algorithm each year. For the most part, they usually have minimal effect on websites. However lately, there's been some real big changes that effected thousands of websites.
This in itself should be enough motivation for you to start an ezine.
If you manage to build a solid subscriber list, you won’t be relying too heavily on the search engines to drive traffic to your website or blog, because all you’d have to do is send out your ezine with relative links to your website and people will click and go to your site in no time.
REASON #3: Solid Relationships Rule
In a world choc-a-block with automation and technology, people are craving genuine “humanized” relationships.
Yep, we’ve come full circle. People are longing for that little corner shop treatment once again.
One of the best ways to build and nurture a relationship with your customers and website’s visitors is via a newsletter. Listen to their worries and concerns, then go create content that your customers are craving for.
Your ezine will help you create top of mind awareness and also “romance” your customers, so that when the right time comes for them to purchase they will choose YOU over your competitors.
Now that you know the answer to "What is an ezine?", commit to starting yours today. Don't put this "ezine thing" on the back burner any longer.
Answer me this. How many items do you have on your back burner right now? And how many of them have been there for months or years even?
Trust me on this. Go start your ezine right now!
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