Choosing a Format for Your Ezine

There are several different formats to choose from for your ezine. How do you choose? Below are four of the most common options you will come across.

As always, we're here to support you. If you need assistance beginning or growing your own Ezine or Newsletter, feel free to contact us.

Plain Text:
It looks just how it sounds-- plain. The beauty of sending a text formatted ezine is that just about any email program or browser will be able to read it. However, more and more users are capable of reading HTML, somewhat antiquating the need for a plain text newsletter. If in doubt, you can always give your subscribers the option to subscribe to a plain text version, which can include a link to an online HTML version of your newsletter.

HTML:
We really like HTML for ezines. It allows you to create a more dynamic publication. These days, just about all email applications can read HTML. If you are constructing an HTML ezine, you may want to create a template to work off of so that you do not have to reconstruct your ezine with every issue.

Recent research suggests that 92% of content-driven ezine subscribers prefer to receive ezines in HTML format. Most spam filters do automatically deduct a few points for sending in HTML; however, if your ezine content and composition is compliant with the rest of the filtering rules, HTML should not impede the delivery of your ezine.

Tip: Host any graphics for your ezine on a server and do not try to send them in the body of your email. This will save a whole lot of download time for your subscribers!

RSS:
So, what's all the buzz about? RSS stands for 'Real Simple Syndication.'"Subscribers" sign up to receive your news feed, and when they launch their "News Aggregator" software, are alerted to any new versions of your ezine. Generally, they do not receive the whole ezine with RSS, just a headline and the first few sentences of your ezine. They need to click on the headline to read the full ezine.

We recommend using RSS as a supplemental delivery method, and not to rely on it as your sole delivery mechanism. Currently, there are no technological standards for the composition of RSS, and this has held back the technology quite a bit. Additionally, as of this writing, "subscribers" need to install a separate software application, or use a web-based version, called a news aggregator, to receive RSS feeds. This can be intimidating to many users.

PDF:
There's really no reason that we can see to use a PDF format for your ezine. If it is essential that your document be in a PDF format, we recommend sending your ezine in either text or HTML and simply including a link to the PDF file on your site.

About The Author

Lisa Micklin is the co-founder of EZezine.com and the moderator/hostess of the Ezine Publishing Cafe.

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