Knowing the best eZine format to use, is really a simple matter of preference.
EZines are newsletters that your readers can subscribe or opt in to, that are usually delivered via email.
To get the best results, the best eZine format to use, should be the one you are most comfortable with.
Most eZine publishers today use any one, or a combination of the 3 most commonly used formats briefly noted below.
Although each format has its pros and cons, ultimately you are the arbiter.
- For myself, the best eZine format to use,k and the most commonly published, are text eZines.
The advantage of using this format, is that no special skills, other than being able to write, or being able to use a Wordpad or Notepad program, are necessary to produce a quality product.
- The next best eZine format is the HTML format.
This requires a certain amount of HTML skill on your part, but produces a more sophisticated eZine with added features to your publication.
You can make your eZines more appealing to your subscribers, and increase your readership, by using the HTML format. Plain text eZines are not nearly as aesthetic as HTML eZines.
With the HTML eZine format, you can include pictures, change fonts, or even add videos to make your articles more interesting to your subscribers.
The only drawback to using HTML eZines, is that they sometimes get picked up by the spam filters before they reach your subscriber’s inboxes.
- The least used of the three eZine formats, are the PDF eZines.
One of the benefits of publishing your eZines in PDF format, is that you can include your afiliate links in your issues.
Your subscribers can then share your eZines, along with your affiliate links, with their friends and business associates.
The drawback to publishing you eZine in PDF format, is that it takes more time and effort to create your articles.
Because of the commitment it takes to produce quality PDF eZines, they are usually published on a monthly basis, to a quality readerships.
The best eZine format to use, really depends on your preference and comfort level, since many eZine publishers now publish in more than one format.
Of the many Squidoo benefits to profit from, Squidoo is tailor made for affiliate marketing.
There are thousands of Squidoo lens masters that have not yet discovered the power of ‘bum marketing’. There are also about the same number of ‘bum marketers’ that have not yet discovered the power of using Squidoo.
By combining ‘bum marketing’ with Squidoo; you can totally dominate a niche market using ‘long tailed keywords’ to get your lenses ranked at the top of the Google search engine results. 
Once there, you can funnel targeted traffic to your lenses to sell your main product or service, promote your AdSense, or your affiliate products.
The important driving force behind Squdoo and ‘bum marketing’, is the use of long tailed keywords.
Most Squidoo marketers focus on highly competitive keywords to get their lenses to the top of the results page, however, using long tailed keywords will get your lenses to the top of the Google search results in a hurry.
Google loves Squdoo, and standard SEO techniques can get you listed in the #1 and #2 positions almost overnight.
In fact depending on the keyword phrase, Squidoo even beats out Ezine Articles.
Squidoo is tailor made for affiliate marketing, and it’s free to use.
You need not worry about building your own website, or having to worry about re-directs; plus you can add YouTube videos, RSS feeds, audio, and many other niche marketing tools to your lenses.
Unlike blogs, Squidoo is tailor made for affiliate marketing because of it’s focus on a single niche, and not the entire Web.
Each ‘Lens’ is a single page that is focused like laser targeting, to a particular niche topic.
Lenses can be connected together with other lenses, that have related content, to give users a more comprehensive targeted search result.
Lens users are much more likely to take immediate action when they land on a Squidoo lens, because their search results are more relative to what they are actually looking for.
Affiliate marketers can build a number of lenses quickly, and connect them together with other relevant lenses, to provide a type of ‘search engine’ style.
This way the users can quickly find the right lens when you most need it.
One of the main benefits of using Sqidoo for your affiliate marketing, is that you don’t have to worry about having your Lenses banned for breaking their terms of service, like you do with some of the other social sites.
You can do your marketing up front and center without worry.
One thing is for sure, compared to other sites; Squidoo is tailor made for affiliate marketing and traffic generation.
Here are two simple email marketing techniques that convert well and will increase your bottom line.
- Using Featured Based Headlines.
Writing ‘newsy sounding featured based’ headlines can often get you the highest conversion rates.
This is primarily because most email marketing headlines, have nothing but ‘Big Benefit’ subject lines, that lean heavily towards hype.
A “newsy sounding” headline that sounds like something has just happened, stands out like a sore thumb.
For example; “internet marketing guru receives F+ in internet marketing seminar” is a subject line that gets a ton of click thoughs.
Because it sounds “newsy”, and is definitely intriguing, it stands out from the crowd.
Another one to use is “Pennsylvania marketing trucker stuck in snowdrift for 3 days discovers innovative marketing plan…”.
Again it’s intriguing, timely, and sounds enough like a breaking news story, that people will click through and read it.
Using this email marketing technique, will have your emails standing out in anyone’s full in-box.
Try using this technique in 4 out of 10 of your headlines and you will find that people will soon discover WHO YOU ARE, and begin opening your emails just to see what you’re up to!
When you’re email marketing, this is exactly the situation you want to be in.
- Put Two Calls To Action In Your Emails.
Try putting one call to action that is directly related to your offer in your email along with a second call to action that is “newsy” or “gossipy” and has nothing to do with your offer.
If you’re offering your list an easy way to create and profit from their own eBay site, you could try something like this.
Your first call to action could read something like, ‘Discover my new website creation software that will have your unique traffic generating website up and running in less than 30 minutes’.
‘Yessiree, CLICK the link below NOW to get it for just a buck. Http://slw39.com Oh, sorry about the video – I had an accident just before I made the video. Anyway I wanted to shoot this out to you ASAP but didn’t want you to hear my “wheezing”, but it’s still really neat. So why not check it out at http://slw39.com….’
The second call to action has absolutely nothing to do with the offer, but it gets people who love to gossip interested enough to open up your offer.
It may sound ridiculous, but some of the wealthiest marketers often spend more of their time gossiping about minor insignificant things, than they do about marketing.
Sounds crazy, but true. Anyway, try appealing to that portion of your list, and see how many more click thoughs you get.
These two simple email marketing techniques convert extremely well and even though they sound a bit off the wall, should make you a believer in KISS and thinking outside the box.
