An Easy Method of Market Research
Does the mere
mention of the word "Research" conjure up visions of late nights at the library,
endless searches, or just in general a feeling of---blech!!!
Don't panic. Market Research can be your new best friend! Why? Because it will help you to
focus on what you want from your e-zine. Start your Market Research by completing the
following Questionnaire, Quiz and Checklist. It's easy and fun. You will soon be on your
way to developing a successful e-zine!
Questionnaire: E-zine Profile Questionnaire?
Quiz: Who are Your Readers?
Checklist: Resource Checklist
E-zine Profile Questionnaire
1. Why do you want
to start an e-zine?
2. What is the purpose of the e-zine?
3. Who do you want to read your e-zine?
4. How much do you want to cover in your e-zine?
5. How do you hope to affect your readers?
6. How often do you need to publish to reach your objectives and goals?
Read
Our Sample Completed Questionnaire by
The ACME Widgets Company.
Why do
you want to start an e-zine?
Our company has decided to use an e-zine to build a customer mailing list for our widgets.
We want to keep in touch with our customers on a regular basis and give them pertinent
information about our products and services. We also expect to offer "subscriber
only" specials and introduce our ancillary products and services to our existing
customer base through our e-zine.
What
is the purpose of the e-zine?
To develop a customer mailing list and an e-mail marketing campaign using our company
e-zine.
Who do you
want to read your e-zine?
Current customers, visitors to our site who have not yet purchased from us (potential
customers), anyone who might be interested in our widgets.
How much do
you want to cover in your e-zine?
Tips List:
Our company wants to publish a list of Top 5 Tips for our widgets. We would like our tips
list to feature the Top 5 ways to "do something" with our widgets.Our Tips
feature will also include suggestions from our customers with a little bit of information
about the customer.
In-depth
reviews: Our e-zine will feature an in-depth review of a new software
widget in every issue. The review will be an extensive and detailed review complete with a
technical opinion.
Digest: Compilation
of Lists: Our e-zine will include a list of news articles relating to the widget industry.
The list will be hyperlinked to the articles on the web so that our readers can jump to
each article.
Questions
and Answer: Our e-zine will include a Question and Answers section. The featured
questions will be selected from our customer Service Department's list of frequently asked
questions.
Guest
columnist: Our e-zine will always include an article by a guest columnist. The
article will be related to the widget industry and written by an industry expert.
Classified
Ads: Once our subscription base reaches 1,000 members, we will accept classified
ads on a limited basis. We will accept 10 classified ads - up to 5 lines - at a cost of
$50.00 per ad.
Contests: Each
issue will feature the winner of our widget software.
How do you hope to affect your readers?
We want to develop a loyal following from our current customers. We want to build a
relationship of trust and confidence with our customers and potential customers so that
they will buy from us in the future. We want our readers to forward our newsletter to
friends for referrals.
How often
do you need to publish to reach your objectives and goals.
We want to publish a monthly e-zine. Because our e-zine will be comprehensive, we think
our readers will be overwhelmed if they receive it more frequently. Our industry is
well-suited to a monthly newsletter.
End
of Sample Questionnaire!
Quiz: Who are Your Readers?
Who?
Men or
women: Are your readers mostly men or women or evenly divided?
Age range: How old are your readers?
Geographic location: Where do they live? Are your readers
concentrated in one location? Are they all over the world?
What?
What do
they read? Is there any one publication that you would expect most of your
readers to read? Do they read the Wall Street Journal, The Journal of American Medicine,
Hot Rod Cars, Fishing Magazines, Consumer Magazines, etc.
What
are their interests? Is your newsletter a hobby for them or business related
or both? For example: If your business is travel related, what else would your customers
be interested in? Places to eat? Shop?
What is
their income level? Does your product or service tell you anything about
income levels? For example: are you selling custom made swimming pool covers in Minnesota?
What is
their Education Level? Is your product or service targeted at a particular
profession - lawyers, accountants or doctors? Are your readers already knowledgeable about
your topic? Is your product or service geared toward beginners, intermediate or advanced
audiences?
What is
their attitude about your product or service? Is this something they need?
Want to have? Is it fun or is it work? Do they feel good after using your product or
service? Example: Car maintenance - we all know it has to be done. Some people love this
stuff - others (like me) just can't find the excitement in it!
Why?
Why are
they unique? Is this a "rite of passage" purchase? First car?
First anything?
Where?
Where
is the best place to get their attention? At the point of purchase?
Where are they online? Newsgroups? Discussion Groups? Mailing Lists? AOL?
CompuServe? Game Centers?
Where do they live? Is your product or service relevant only to
certain geographic areas?
When?
When is
the best time to get their attention? Morning, noon or night? What day is
best? Perhaps beginning of the month, middle of the month, end of the month? January,
February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December.
Is any one season better than another? Is your business seasonal? Holidays? Tax Time?
How
How are your readers
like you? Do you have the same interests? Are you from the same part of the
world? The country? The state? They city? Do you all like to wear hats? Drive the same
kind of cars? Play the same sports? Eat the same foods? Well, you get the idea.
How are your readers
different from you? Is your newsletter trying to persuade someone to "do" something
differently from what they are currently doing?
The E-zine
Resource Checklist
The resource checklist is to help you figure out the
"who" part of the e-zine. Before you can go on to decide content and frequency
of publication of your e-zine, you need to look at the resources at your disposal for
producing your e-zine. Let's take a quick look at your resources.
Question #1: Human Resources
How many people will be involved in producing this e-zine?
 I am producing the e-zine by myself.
I have my husband/wife/mom/sister/boyfriend to help me.
I have a co-worker to help me.
I'm the boss and I'll have one of my overpaid and underworked staff
members take care of this for me.
Question #2: Time
How much time do you currently have to support this endeavor?
As
much as it takes.
1 hour a week
1 hour a month
Other: You tell me!
Question #3: Money
What is the size of your budget for this endeavor?
Budget?
Do I need one?
$0
As much as it takes.
Other: $_______ You tell me!
Congratulations.
You have completed the basic requirements for research to develop your e-zine. Once you
start publishing your e-zine, you can survey your subscribers to stay on top of any
changes in your readers' profile!
Back to Handbook Table of Contents!
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