The advantages to creating and writing your own ezine are many.  First of all it is much less costly to create and send your own ezine.  It does cost money to advertise in most ezines, and by creating your own ezine you can have your own marketplace  whereby your customers can click on your products or your free viral ebooks.   By creating your own ezine you can also add graphics and banners for products and affiliate products that you may be promoting. 

You are also 100% in control of the content of the ezine when you create and publish your own.  You are not subject to other advertisements that may be similar to your own plus you get the opportunity to write your own articles showing yourself as an expert in your niche.  In addition when you create your own ezine you control the frequency that the ezine is sent out.  You may prefer to have a weekly ezine rather than advertise in a monthly ezine. 

There are two styles of ezines....  plain text e-mail ezines  and HTML ezines which usually include graphics and designs.  Plain text ezines have the advantage of being easier to create and a higher deliverability because they do not contain as much HTML in the body of the ezine.  Plain text ezines are basically nothing more than a good old-fashioned e-mail.  They don't stand out or differentiate themselevs from  other e-mails or offers that you receive  everyday.   Although the deliverability of plain text ezines may be higher, the open rates and click through rates of them are much lower than graphic HTML newsletters designed to catch the readers eye and attention.  The plain text ezine appears to be nothing more than a sales letter and tends to get deleted and overlooked more often than the HTML graphic ezine.  The plain text ezine may offer just as much content as the graphic ezine but readers prefer to read the "easier on the eyes" formatting of the graphic HTML ezine. 

To have your ezine really stand out in your readers mind and grab their attention you should be creating HTML ezines with a branded header, graphics, articles and indexes.
The drawbacks to an HTML newsletter are that they are slower loading in your client's e-mail boxes and not all e-mail systems support HTML...however as people are upgrading their computers and their e-mail systems the latter is not as much of a problem as it was several years ago.  The other drawback is that the large amount of HTML can put a higher "spam" factor on the e-mail so there is a greater chance of your newsletter ending up in a junk folder.  The spam factor is usually minimized by the fact that your subscribers have already whitelisted your e-mail address so there should be no problem with your newsletter getting delivered to your subscribers In Boxes. 

So what do you need to start your own HTML ezine:

• Templates (preferably HTML templates)
• An HTML Editor (this one is easy and I'll show you how)
• A Domain Name (you can get these for less than $10)
  
• An FTP (Stands for File Transfer Protocol).  This is simply the tool you'll use to publish  your newsletter to your domain web-server.  These are free and I'll give you my favorites.
  
• An Autoresponder Service that lets your create HTML e-mails or a service that will send out your newsletter e-mails for you.
• Content to add to your newsletter.  We'll discuss further content ideas that you can add. 
  

That's pretty much it.  Other than the domain name purchase, a small investment in some templates,  and the monthly auto-responder service fee...creating and sending out your own newsletter can be a very inexpensive means of advertising and viral marketing. 

If you chose to use a service to send out your e-mails (as opposed to using your own auto-responder e-mail client), you will also have to pay a monthly fee. 

So let's dive in and dig deeper into all of the above and how you go about obtaining each of these items and set up your newsletter. 

Templates

For your newsletter templates you really have 3 options.  You can learn to create your own templates, you can use free newsletter templates or you can make a small investment in professionally designed templates. 


You can invest in an HTML editor such as Dreamweaver that has all the bells and whistles for creating webpages, but there's really no need to invest at all if you already have the professional templates.   Your HTML editor will be used to add your own content and company name and logo to your templates. 

Free HTML editors are perfect for use with your newsletter templates.  Most computers already have Microsoft Front Page which is a good HTML editor.  If you don't have Front Page you can download a free HTML editor at NVU or Netscape 7.2 Composer (most of the newer versions of Netscape no longer have Composer on them but this version does and if you click it on it's the direct linke to download Netscape 7.2).  If you want to use Netscape Composer save yourself some time and just use this link because you could spend hours trying to find the Netscape 7.2 download on your own. 

If you want to use NVU it's also a free download.  When you get to the site just click on "Enter NVU Site".   Then click on the "Downloads" navigation button at the top of the page and on the next page chose your system of download (Windows, Mac, etc.). 

All three of these free HTML editors are easy to use and all you'll need to do is open your templates and start adding your content in plain text.  You can also go to the HTML source and make necessary changes such as adding your own newsletter name and logo, etc.    To open your templates with any of these HTML editors, all you'll need to do is copy and save the newsletter template you're using to your Desktop.  Once you open up Front Page or NVU or Netscape 7.2 you'll go to File and Open, then open the template file that you have saved on your desktop.  You can edit your contents in Normal (plain text mode) and you can also go to the HTML source with all 3 of these editors to change any of the HTML code you want.   The 42 Professional Newsletter Templates package does include a video that shows you how easy it is to open your templates with your HTML editor and make changes to the content and HTML of the template. 

Your HTML editor will also also you to upload and add any images you would like to your newsletter.  You can upload images from other web pages or from your own local files on your hard drive.  When you do upload an image make sure that you also add it to a special images file that you create for all images included in your newsletter.  These images will need to be processed and transferred to your website later when you use your FTP to publish your

Next step is go get your own domain to publish your newsletters to your domain. 

Setting Up A Domain

If you already have your own domain, you can create a new page or directory on your website such as newsletter.html.  For example, if your website name is http://www.johnblack.com, you would create a new page for your newsletters which would be http://www.johnblack.com/newsletter.html. 

If you do not already have a domain you may want to consider purchasing a separate domain to archive all of your newsletters and images on so that your customers can go back and read previous issues of your newsletter.  You can also link them to your blogs, etc. from your domain website.  You can pick up a very inexpensive domain and web hosting at 1&1 Internet.  There are many places to purchase domains, but recently some of those such as Go Daddy are becoming more and more difficult and time consuming to get through with their dozen or so one-time-offers before you get to the actual domain purchase.  It can be a little frustrating.

1&1 Internet has good web hosting and their customer service is extremely supportive.  They also make it easy to get to the actual domain name purchase and registration process without taking you through a whole string of offers and their prices are as competitive as any you'll find. 

Now that you've purchased your domain, your newsletter templates and downloaded your HTML editor and created your newsletter, you're ready to publish your newsletter to your website.  You do have to publish it before you can send it out in your e-mail system.  You'll need an FTP so publish your newsletter and put it online.

Downloading An FTP

You can download a free FTP at Filezilla or Smart FTP.  We use both of these however our preference is Filezilla.  It seems to be quicker with your file transfers and a little easier to use.  Just click on either of these links to download your free FTP.

One your have created your newsletter, you'll need to rename it index.html and save it on your desktop as such before you send it to your FTP.  You'll also need to create an image file on your desktop for any images that you are using in your newsletter.  In addition to your actual newsletter (which you have renamed index.html), you'll also need to publish all of your newsletter images with your FTP.  If the images you have used are found in other files on your computer, make sure you upload and publish them all. 

Once you open your FTP, you'll need to log-in with your domain, username and password.  This information can all be obtained from your web hosting service.  If you use 1&1 Internet just click on the FTP and it will give you all of this information.  If you use another web hosting service you will need to find out where this information can be found.

Once you have logged in with your FTP, you will need to open the domain name and folder where you will be storing and publishing your newsletters.  Once you have opened this folder, all you need to do is drag and drop your index.html (which has your newsletter template and content) and your images folder into your domain folder and upload them to publish them online.   If you have any problems with this, your web hosting service will be able to help you out with publishing the newsletter to your domain.  1&1 Internet does have a technical support area for outside hosting support which will lead you through the process and they even have a "Netviewer" you can download from their site so the technician can see your computer screen and lead you through the publishing process step by step. 

Once your newsletter has been published online, you'll need to send it out to your list via your e-mail auto-responder service. 

Finding An Auto-Responder Service For Your Newsletter

I use A Weber to distribute my newsletters because I use them for my list-building subscriptions and they warehouse my subscriber lists.  They have a high deliverance rate for my newsletters and their newsletter delivery system is extremely easy to use.  In the past I have tried others but have not found one that comes close to the service and support that A Weber provides.   They will give you a 30 day 100% free test-drive of their service (and no..you don't pay up front with a 30 day refund guarantee...you pay nothing at all and get to try out and use their services for 30 days completely free). 

To send out your newsletter with A Weber after you have published it to your domain/website, you will first need to go back to your index.html that you created for your index and copy the HTML source code for the entire newsletter.  You can do this in several ways.  You can simply open up your index.html file in your browser then right click on the page and click on "View Page Source".  This will bring up the entire HTML coding.  Just right click on the code and chose "Select All", then "Edit" on your browser, then copy.  You can also go to the online publication of your newsletter and follow these exact same steps.  In addition you can copy all of the HTML coding from your HTML editor that you used to create your ezine. 

In A Weber you can chose "Broadcast" in the message section of your list.  You can send your newsletter to more than one list at a time with A Weber if your newsletter is applicable to several of your lists.  After you chose "Create A Broadcast Message" and chose all lists you want to send your newsletter to, you'll want to complete the "Subject" line of your ezine e-mail.  Personalization is always good with a newsletter so you may want to make sure and add the subscriber's first name in your subject line. 

Now scroll down to the HTML portion of the e-mail broadcast.  In the HTML source you'll want to "paste" the HTML coding that you previously copied from your ezine (newsletter).  If the images that you used in your ezine are NOT in HTML coding you'll need to make sure that you assign absolute URLs to them in your A Weber newsletter broadcast.  For example:  if your image source reads as "img/blanklogo.jpg" in your HTML coding that you have copied, you will want to change it to read "http://www.yourwebsiteaddress/img.blanklogo.jpg".  All you need to do is add your URL that is housing your newsletter to the beginning of the image name.  If you do not assign the absolute URLs to your images in your HTML e-mail the images will not show up in your subscriber's copy of your newsletter. 

That's it...you should now have all of the tools you need to start creating and sending out your own professional HTML newsletter with your own graphics and content. 

So where do you find the content to add to your newsletters?

Newsletter Content-Where To Find Fresh New Ideas

Before we discuss where to find content to add to your newsletter we wanted to give you a layout of section ideas to include in your newsletter design. 

• Table Of Contents.  Let your readers know what they are going to find inside your newsletter.  A table of contents gives your newsletter a professional feel and look.  All of the professional newsletter templates in the resale rights package we showed you above do have a table of contents included which you can easily edit in text to fit your newsletter design and content. 
  
• Editor's Notes.  This is where you can share yourself with your readers.  You can write about something that has personally been happening with you since your last newsletter or your personal opinions and views on something.  Dedicate this section to a place for your readers to get to know you and who you are and don't be afraid to share your feelings so your subscribers start to feel that they know you.
• Feature Article.  This will be your main content and we'll show you below lots of ways you can come up with new content for each issue of your newsletter. 
  
• Guest Article.  Completely optional but you might want to invite others in your niche to write  a short article to enhance your newsletter. 
  
• Ask The Editor.  You can include a section here where you invite your readers to send you questions.  In each issue you can chose a question that you think is relevant to your readers and answer that question as a section of your newsletter.
• Review a Product Or A Product Giveaway.  You can give your readers an honest review of some product you have either loved or hated that will either save them time and money or will be a complete waste of their time and money.  You can also use this section to let your readers know about a free download that you have used and know will be beneficial to your readers.
• Marketplace.  This is where you can put some ads for your own products and affiliate products or sell advertising space in this area.  Your newsletter should not be any more than 10-15% of sales (with the other 85-90% being good free content) so don't go overboard here and try promoting every affiliate product you have. 
  
• Your Blog Update Section.  You can create a regular section of your newsletter to provide links to your most recent blog posts.  This will serve to not only create more activity on your blog but also if you have correctly monetized your blog your readers of your newsletters can now purchase products you have reviewed and written about on your blog.  This is a great section to add!
  
• Other Section Ideas.  You could include a Quote of the Day or Joke Of The Day in each issue.  You could also include a survey section.
• Contact The Editor.  Be sure to include this information in each issue of your newsletter.  Provide your name and e-mail address and we even go as far as to include our address and telephone numbers.  Your readers need to know you're a real person that they can reach and trust.
• Unsubscribe Information.  If you use A Weber to send your newsletter they will automatically include the Unsubscribe Information at the bottom of the newsletter.  We like to add a little note referring to this unsubscribe information that A Weber includes. 
  
• How To Subscribe.  Encourage your readers to share your newsletters with others.  Include your autoresponder somewhere in your newsletter so that if someone reading your newsletter is not a regular subscriber they can add themselves to your newsletter subscription. 
  

Final Notes On Creating Your Own Ezines

Just one last time we'd like to emphasize the importance of using a professional easy to use reader friendly template when creating your own newsletters.  Your newsletter and it's design can make or break the success of your newsletter and all of your hard efforts.  Amateur looking newsletters will lose your readers attention and possibly their trust. 

With the professional designed newsletter templates you'll have the peace of mind that your design will attract your readers to read your newsletter and not turn them into "Unsubscribes".   It's worth a small investment in your future to create the right newsletter to build your business with.


We recommend sending out your newsletter each week so having these professional templates on your computer makes the process easy to do on a weekly basis.  Once you've created your own ezine there are a multiple of other viral marketing opportunities that will open up to you.  It's also a great way to brand yourself...your name...and your business!

If you have some advertising money to invest in your business, advertising in well known ezines in your niche are a great source of advertising.  To find the right ezine for you to advertise in you can just type in "free newsletter+your niche".  It's a good idea to subscribe to the ones that interest you and read them for a few weeks.  Make sure that you're happy with the content and design of the ezine you chose to advertise in so that you feel comfortable with how your ads will perform in that particular ezine.

Don't be afraid to ask other people what their favorite ezines are.  There are thousands and thousands of ezines being published and recommendations from others in your niche business can be a great source of finding an ezine to advertise in. Find out what the readership is of the ezine you chose to advertise in.  Remember, you're making a financial investment and you need to know how many readers your ad will be reaching. 

When you advertise in other ezines you should not use pre-designed affiliate ads and banners.  Most affiliate programs provide their affiliates with these pre-written ads but you have to realize that these same ads have been seen over and over again.  Be creative and write your own ad to improve your chances of your ad getting clicked on. 

Use a catchy headline in your ads .  Apply attention grabbing characters and formatting styles such as bold print.  Also remember not to try and sell your product in your ad.  You want to make the reader curious so that he'll click on your ad to find out what's on the other side.  Avoid hype but do include a call to action! 

Here are a few other important points to remember before deciding to invest in advertising in other ezines:

• Set up your advertising with a suitable ad tracking in place.  This is vital.  You need to track your click-throughs and conversions to determine if your choice of ezines or the types of ads you are using are getting the return on investment (ROI) you need. 
  
• Utilize the expertise of the ezine's publisher.  They are more familiar with their readers than anyone and will be best able to advise you as to which types of ads are performing the best.  They do have an interest in trying to sell you ad space so the publisher should be more than happy to assist you in preparing your ad campaign.
• Make sure to set up custom landing pages for your ad campaigns.  It could be set up as a thank you page specifically for visitors from the specific ezine you are advertising in which will also serve as an additional ad tracking means.  You may want to offer an additional incentive on the landing pages you create for your ezine advertising.
• Pay attention to the different types of ads and ad placements.  Publishers will usually offer a number of placement options and ad sizes.  Do some testing to determine if your premium ad placements are outperforming ads in other placements.  Premium real estate ads will cost more however in some ezines your non-premium ads can get lost or scrolled over as people get tired of reading. 
  
• Make sure you have a good understanding of the publisher's rules regarding ad formations and follow those rules.  Be easy to get along with and work with. 
  
• Check your ads for links, spelling, grammar, etc.  It is your job not the publisher's to make sure your ad is correct so invest the time to maximize your return on investment.

Ezine advertising is very much a" learn by doing" system.  It takes trial and error to determine what's working for you in your own ezines and in those that you advertise in.  It is an extremely effective way to brand yourself and your business and it just takes some time to figure out what's working and what's not.