Essential
Elements of a Successful E-Zine Publication
Standing Elements
The essential components of an e-zine start with the Standing Elements. The Standing
Elements of an E-zine are those sections that occur in all issues. Your Standing Elements
will tell your readers who you are and how to get in touch with you. Creating the Standing
Elements of your E-zine is the first step in developing your E-zine Template.
The Nameplate
The Masthead
The Table of Contents
The
Nameplate
The Nameplate is just what you expect it to be. Your e-zine's nameplate "opens"
the issue and should include your e-zine's name, tag line, dateline and volume or issue
number. The Nameplate is the first part of your e-zine. It belongs at the top of the
e-zine.
Date and volume numbers serve
as reference numbers so that you and others can identify your newsletters. You will put
the issue date and the volume numbers at the top of the newsletter. What is a volume
number? Volume numbers are reference tools that indicate the age of your newsletter. A
volume usually covers a calendar year. So, Vol. 1, No. 1 - is the first issue of this
e-zine.
The
Masthead
The Masthead is the place your readers go to find out basic information about your
newsletter. It should contain information about subscriptions, advertising and copyright,
in addition to the name, address and phone number of the publisher. In e-zines, you will
see quite commonly that the masthead is split into two parts.
One part of the masthead follows the nameplate and the rest is at the end of the e-zine.
Generally, you want to put the name and e-mail address of the editor or publisher, along
with subscription information, right under the nameplate in your e-zine. The purpose for
this placement is to let your readers know right away who YOU are and also how to get off
your mailing list if they choose.
The remaining parts of the masthead are usually at the end of the e-zine. When your e-zine
is opened, the first 8-10 lines should let your readers know who you are and what the
e-zine contains. Let them know right away that your e-zine is not SPAM by including your
name and subscription information in the opening of your e-zine.
The other parts of the
masthead include: Copyright, Subscription Information,
Advertising Info and Signature File. Each issue should contain the same information
in the same location.
Copyright: The copyright notice should contain the
the following elements.
1. The symbol
© (the letter in a circle), or the word "Copyright".
2. The year the work
was first published.
3. The
name of the owner of copyright.
As the publisher
of your e-zine, you are free to express your approach in handling the material in your
e-zine. Some publishers ask their readers to redistribute their newsletter and pass it on
to friends who might be interested.
If your e-zine is a marketing tool, you will probably want to encourage readers to send it
along to their friends. Maybe one of them will want to subscribe, which, of course, is
another reason you want to put subscribe information in the masthead. In this instance,
you should encourage your readers to forward the whole e-zine but specify that it must be
forwarded "in its entirety".
Of course, if you charge a subscription fee for your e-zine, this is not the type of
behavior you wish to condone.
For more information about copyright, visit the Library
of Congress Copyright Site.
Subscription
Information or Mailing List Maintenance. You must make it easy for people to
remove their names from your mailing list. Include subscribe and unsubscribe instructions
in each issue.
Classified
Advertising Information: If you accept classified advertising in your
e-zine, you should include information to direct your readers to the advertising
rates and policies for your e-zine.
Signature File:
Your e-zine should end with your signature file. A Signature File is a standard block of
information at the end of an e-mail message. It can be used as your electronic business
card or letterhead. It should contain your name, contact information and a marketing
slogan, if you have one.
Place your signature file at the end of your e-zine to ensure that your readers can reach
you. It will be visible to all customers, clients, and prospects who correspond with you
electronically. Think of your signature file as a little billboard advertisement on
your e-mail messages.
Table of Contents
The table of contents box lets your readers know what to expect and the order of
the articles in your e-zine. In
a text based e-zine, you cannot refer to page numbers, so make sure that your table of
contents matches the sequence of articles.
Remember, your Standing Elements should be produced in the same
location for each issue. Start your e-zine on the right track by including these Essential
E-zine Elements in every issue of your e-zine.
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