-•- HomeOfficeDigest.com Newsletter - Issue 148 -•-
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THE HOME OFFICE DIGEST NEWSLETTER
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Here is your issue of the HomeOfficeDigest.com newsletter. 
This e-mail is never sent unsolicited.
Our e-zine is mailed twice a week to a 100% opt-in database.
There are currently over 44,000 opt-in subscribers. 
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BE YOUR OWN BOSS
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One of the joy's of working for yourself is being able to take 
time off to enjoy the holiday season. Be a nice boss this year
and give yourself some time off! Take a few days to decorate
the house. Take a few days to pick out the perfect gift for that 
special someone. And make sure you give yourself plenty of time
to spend with family and friends. We've all worked hard over
this past year and are in need of a little rest and relaxation
to get ready for the next. I know it may be tough for some of
us to take a full day off but BOY do we need it. There's a
reason that most of the public doesn't work 7 days a week, 
and it's not nice bosses! Enjoy this holiday season!  


FEATURED ARTICLE
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5 Steps to Creating an 'Anticipated' Ezine

by Gail Hornback

Everyone and their brother seem to be getting into
the ezine (Electronic Magazine, or newsletter) business. 
Competition for subscribers is getting fierce.  Getting
subscribers is not too hard.  But KEEPING them is
a challenge! 

Here are five important steps to making your 
ezine subscribers anticipate, open, and read it every 
time, rather than looking for the delete button or the
unsubscribe instructions.

1.  Spell it out.  Let your readers know exactly what
they are going to find in each issue right up front.
Include an easy to scan Table of Contents as near the
top of the issue as possible.  Try to limit any ads or 
information that precede your ezine Title and table of
Contents to one (or less!  LOL)

It's no secret that folks are busy.  You MUST inform them
of what is included in your issue, in a manner that is easy to 
scan.  Of course, this makes the wording of your titles 
extremely important, if you're going to catch their attention
and convince them to scroll down and read what you've 
spelled out for them.

2.  Be consistent.  Set a format, and stick to it for every 
issue.  Decide on some basic categories for content, and 
don't make changes very often.  Your subscribers will
know what to expect in each issue, and be able to find
the information they have been anticipating.  

2.  Keep it short.  Don't overload each issue.  Two or three
segments per issue. (as above, repeating the same segments
in each issue)  Don't overwhelm your subscribers with
more than they are able to digest, or browse through. 

Consider offering one feature article, and one or two other
segments, which will all depend on the theme of your ezine.
You only have their attention for about 5 - 10 seconds after
they open your email.  You MUST catch their attention in 
that time, or they'll be gone.  And you'll only get a couple
of chances.  Sometimes, even less.  One or two issues 
of not catching their attention, and they're looking for the
unsubscribe instructions.  

3.  Pack it full.  Just because you offer a short, quick,
simple to read ezine, doesn't mean you can't fill it full of
great information.  There is your challenge!  And the bottom
line to establishing your publication as the one that's read
and anticipated.  What you choose to include in the short
time that you have their attention, MUST be informational,
useful, fresh, inspiring, and entertaining.  Write your own
articles, if at all possible.  If you are not ready for that yet,
work at finding content that is full of meat - content that 
gives the reader something to take with him, something 
you know he can use.  There are a lot of article writers out 
there.  Pick and choose carefully - insist on the best!

4.  Avoid advertising overload.  Yes, we all know, our 
ezine is our promotion connection to the internet world.  
But don't take advantage of your subscribers.  Minimize 
the advertising as much as possible.  One or two sponsor
ads, and a handful of classified ads (no more than 10!) are
about all any reader can handle.  And beware of trying to
pawn off advertising for all your informational content.  It
might work on some newbies, but you're not going to
pull it over on the more experienced reader who is looking
for real information.  At least, not if it is all they are getting.

This is an important point, especially if you write your own 
articles.  The most published and anticipated articles are
those that contain NO personal promotional links whatsoever,
except in your bio or resource box that you include with the 
article.

Think about how its done on television, radio, and in all the
hard copy magazines.  The advertising is there, no doubt.
And  there is usually more than we appreciate, but we 
accept it and tolerate it, knowing it pays their bills.  But
in between the ads, we are more than likely reading that 
magazine, watching that program, or listening to that 
station because we are getting something we can use 
and/or enjoy.  

Publishing an Ezine is an important part of marketing any
internet site or Ebusiness. It's not an easy task, or something
to take lightly.  It takes loads of time, lots of research
and/or writing, and genuine dedication to your 
subscribers!   Just give them information that is useful, 
entertaining, inspiring, or of course, all three!  They'll  
anticipate the arrival of your latest issue, and keep on 
coming back for more!

----------------------------------------------------------------------
Mike and Gail of CMYMTC.com, masters in E-Book and Ezine
creation along with Internet Marketing, Hosting and Website
design, can teach you everything you need to know so you can
produce and publish successful E-Books and Ezines. You can 
share in the profits of their successful products with their top
affiliate programs. http://www.cmymtc.com/affprogs.htm
 

DOWNLOAD OF INTEREST 
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The download of the week this week is Apple's QuickTime player.
WHOA! Hold on there! I know I said Apple, but QuickTime is a 
program that is designed for both the Mac and the PC! With the
flood of digital camera hitting the market with video capture 
mode, QuickTime is fast becoming the format of choice for small
web-based streaming video. This neat little program can also
play MP3's other video formats, other audio formats, and if
you go for the pro version you can ever view 3d images! To get
QuickTime ( or to upgrade your version ) just go to the Apple's
QuickTime page at http://www.quicktime.com and get it free! One
word of warning, during the install QuickTime will try to make
itself the default program for a number of other formats so 
keep your eyes open!


WHAT ARE THEY THINKING
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I don't understand how some people think. Each and every time 
and order is placed on one of our websites and email is sent to the
client letting them know their order was successful. This email
is VERY short. The email lets the client know who their Credit
Card will be billed by, when their ad will run, and who to contact
in the event of a problem. Every single day, without fail, we get
multiple phone calls, and or emails asking the same questions we
already answered in the thank you email sent to every advertiser. 
Why is it that so few people actually read these emails? What are
people thinking? I know that a lot of junk email hits the average
inbox daily but don't we all look for receipts? 


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