Web Design Programs

How to create a commercial ezine.

Creating Commercial Ezines

Web design programs exist in abundance: try tucows or any other software site to download free or shareware HTML editors. Ezines commonly include both websites and emailed newsletters, but here we consider only websites, technically known as webzines. Your chief concerns are to:

• produce an attractive website with salable content.

• provide enough free content to be popular with visitors and search engines.

• encourage visitors to sign up for the pay-to-view sections.

• keep the content appealing and up to date.

• protect the pay-to-view sections.

• prevent the pay-to-view sections being stolen and sold on.

  Attractive Website

Our building the site section shows why you should build your site to achieve a good ranking in the search engine, and this requirement means balancing many factors. The content itself has not only to be worth paying for (and Internet users dislike paying) but to hold its own against material in competing sites that are heavily subsidized.

Free Content

You'll need free content to attract visitors and achieve a decent ranking in the search directories — or any ranking at all — but give too much away and your customers will keep their wallets closed. They've got what they want from your site, and will go elsewhere for the remainder, the research effort not entering into consideration. To counter this tendency, consider providing:

• examples of the subscription content: enticing but not actually useful — e.g. past financial forecasts.

• a contents table of the subscription section, perhaps with word totals or depth of research indicated.

• free content that is specifically written as copy to sell the subscription section.

Making the Sale

Advertising copy is written to certain rules. However crude the techniques, they work, and cannot be ignored. Our marketing resources provide introductions.

Restricting Access

How do you restrict viewing to subscribers only? The e-book describes the possibilities.

Preventing Theft

Once subscribers have gained access to your pay-to-view section, what's to stop them copying the pages and selling them on as their own? Legally — as far as content is concerned — nothing. Copyright protects the form of the information, but not the information itself. Again the e-book outlines the possibilities.

Getting Paid

The simplest way of charging is doubtless to password-protect a directory, solicit payment by check, and then email your subscriber with the password once the has been cleared. A more professional approach is to employ one of the many subscription companies that allow payment by credit card, additions to phone-bills, or by online checks. You do not generally need a merchant account. Our product comparison table provides more details.

Selling Content

Perhaps you have excellent content that other companies would be glad to buy? Our resources page lists companies that will syndicate this information for you.

Consult the e-book for more information and listings.

 

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