“Seven Questions For Your Publishing Success”—Part V: What Kind of Content Are YOU Willing To Have?

When we last visited, the discussion concerning YOUR publishing success centered upon the purpose for YOUR ezine. That ezine or other publication must have content. And it’s that content that’s going to define YOUR ezine.

So the fifth question we ask pertaining to YOUR publishing success is this:

---What Kind Of Content Are YOU Willing To Have?—

Once you’ve established the purpose for YOUR ezine or publication, you’re going to need to have content that matches that purpose, as well as YOUR values, principles, and beliefs.

Honesty and integrity are reflected in the content of the articles you publish, the tips you share, and the things YOU write yourself.

Are YOU going to place the articles of others in your ezine? If so, then what criteria are you going to use to determine whether such articles meet the standards you wish to uphold?

If your intent is to make lots of money, and you believe that to do so you’ll have to do Joint Ventures with other publishers, then you’re going to be accepting articles for possible publication, written by people whom you may not know. Having a plan in place to investigate the claims these JV partners make concerning their product or service is essential for the integrity of your publication.

Whatever YOUR intent is for your publication, remember that whatever you publish needs to be in keeping with that intent. Don’t allow yourself to be sidetracked by the latest fad or “whim of the day.” If you do you can bet you’re not going to be a successful publisher.

---What Kind of Content Are YOU Willing To Have?---

To answer this question further requires some conception as to whether or not your going to have a niche or a general publication.

Each of these types of publications can be useful and successful.

Niche publications place their focus on a particular type of information. Perhaps YOU want to cater to those who want information on marketing techniques. Or, YOU may want to reach those who are interested in search engines and their viability for website traffic. Maybe YOU believe in “blogging” as an effective means of reaching a large, focused audience.

Whatever niche it is that you wish to fill, your ezine content is going to have to focus on that niche. Your articles, information, and tips should be the best and the newest you can find. Remember to exercise all of YOUR standards for integrity, truthfulness, service, and quality.

As you assemble information that will fit the needs of your niche readers, you’ll want to ensure that the content is in fact viable and accurate. Much of what you’ll want to share will come from YOUR own pen, because you’re going to be the expert YOUR niche readers seek out. That means YOU need to become an expert in that field, which means hard work researching, testing, and writing.

---What Kind Of Content Are YOU Willing To Have?---

A general publication may appear easier to publish than a niche publication, but looks can be deceiving.

A general internet marketing ezine, for instance, can be a grab bag of content. One issue might talk about search engine optimization for a website, the next issue might discuss email advertising. Another topic might be Google Ads, while another might talk about Classified Advertising.

Such a general approach, however, lends itself to inaccuracies and fallacies concerning certain subjects. As the publisher, it becomes very difficult for you to check out every piece of information that comes your way. There’s so much that it can be utterly overwhelming. If you publish something you haven’t checked out thoroughly, you leave yourself open to criticism and, ultimately, losing your readers.

A general publication will quite frequently also attract Joint Ventures that you’ll not be able to check out as well as you’d like. Remember the old saying, “If something appears too good to be true, it probably is.” If your publication reflects that you’re a “jack of all trades” and a master of none, you’re leaving yourself open to becoming irrelevant and useless to your readers.

Too many ezines go to content sites and use the same articles a thousand other ezines are using for publication. In the end, subscribers to general content ezines end up seeing the same content over and over again, and they eventually drop their subscriptions.

In short, YOUR content has to be top-notch. If YOUR content is going to be of a general nature, then publish your ezine less frequently. That way you’ll have the time to research each edition, check out all articles submitted for publication, and test out any offers that might be presented to your readers. Keeping to a specific theme for each edition can also be a way to ensure the integrity, truthfulness, service, and quality of YOUR publication.

---What Kind Of Content Are YOU Willing To Have?---

A final item that should be of concern to every ezine publisher is advertising. It’s as much a factor to YOUR success as a publisher as the articles you publish.

As I noted in Part I of this series, I usually subscribe to at least a hundred ezines because I’m an “information junkie.” I love ezines with great content, that inform me of current trends, analyze how those trends are affecting the internet, and provide resources which will allow me to further investigate new ideas and concepts. Since there’s always something changing on the net, ezines which inform me, in a timely manner, about those changes are of great value to me.

In the past couple of months, my ezine subscriptions have declined markedly. The main reason for this is that so many of them stopped being sources of information and became, instead, sources of advertising.

One publication stopped being creative in its approach and started publishing the same articles everyone else was publishing from the content sites. A few months later, only two articles even appeared in the weekly publication. All the rest of the space was devoted to classified advertising, with repeated solicitations for the readers to advertise in the ezine. I dropped it.

Another publication had been very effective in researching the effectiveness of the various forms of advertising on the internet. Over three years of subscribing, I had gained a great deal of respect for the information the publisher printed. Most of it he had researched himself and could speak from personal experience as to the value of each form of advertising.

Six months ago, in an attempt to bring in more revenue, he stopped researching his topics, started using content site articles exclusively, and he began sending solo ads five times a week, in addition to loading the ezine with at least three pages of classified ads, in direct violation of a principle he had advocated a year earlier. Not only didn’t this change bring in the revenue he desired, but, as a result of the ezine’s loss of integrity, it folded two months ago after losing half of its subscribers.

The lesson is clear. YOUR content also includes what you do with advertising: How YOU handle it, and what its purpose is in YOUR publication.

---What Kind Of Content Are YOU Willing To Have?---

Ultimately, the key to content is YOU.

Where YOU decide to get YOUR content…

What standards YOU decide are important for YOUR publication…

And…How YOU determine to maintain the integrity, truthfulness, service and quality of YOUR ezine…

Putting these all together in a cogent manner, will ultimately put YOU on the road to publishing success. These are the basics about which every publication needs to be concerned.

To put it succinctly---CONTENT Is King. It reflects on YOU as the publisher and determines the success of YOUR publication.

****************************************** Rev. Richard Boeck is co-editor of "Publish & Profit." He is also writer and publisher of “Today’s Devotion,” a brief, daily devotion that brings the grace and love of God in Jesus Christ to bear on the events of the day and people’s lives. It is a free publication, with no advertising. If you wish to subscribe please send an email to: revrboeck@netscape.net and put “Please send ‘Today’s Devotion’” in the subject box and include your first and last names in the body. You may also address any questions or comments you may have about this article to the same address. Copyright @2003. All rights reserved. *******************************************

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