Read, Practice and Write

A mark of a good E-zine is how well it s written. This can include a multitude of things: grammar, punctuation, word choice, style, voice of the author. Many things combine to make a written piece great and to keep your readers coming back for more.
So how do you ensure that your own E-zine is worthy of your readers attention?
Write from your heart.
Writing from the heart and letting the real you shine through is what I call voice. The best writing, in my opinion, has a strong voice. You get a great sense of the author and what kind of person he is. Maybe the author has an irreverent voice and is always railing against status quo. Maybe the author s voice is comedic, and you laugh right along with her as she tells tales of office politics to make a point. Maybe the author s voice is gentle, quiet, and kind, and you feel drawn in to hear what he has to say.
What kind of voice do you have and how can you develop it?
First, be aware of voice in others writing. Really pay attention as you re reading newspaper and magazine articles, other E-zines, and blogs. What voice do you hear in what you read? What voices appeal to you? More than likely, as you start paying attention, you ll see a pattern emerge. Certain authors voices will appeal to you, and others will turn you off.
If there s a type of voice you re most attracted to (be it irreverent, wickedly funny, gently humorous, kind, irate, political, you name it), you ll write more passionately if you use that voice. Practice writing something from different voices. Have an article on communicating well within an organization? Try writing it with a humorous voice, and then rewrite using a different voice. Soon, you ll find a voice and a rhythm that appeals to you.
Finally, once you find a voice you like, use it. Maybe that means you change the style of your E-zine. So be it. The more passionate and authentic you are about your subject matter, the more interested and engaged your readers will be.
Let me give you an example. A client of mine writes an E-zine on creating effective work environments. Boring, right? Not so. She uses a story format with fictional characters to bring these issues to life. In the year that she s been publishing this E-zine, she s grown her subscriber base from 0 to 537, and she s had five unsubscribes. Five unsubscribes! That s unheard of in E-zine circles! What this means is that the readers are engrossed in the story, and they ve become loyal subscribers. They don t leave.
That s the power of a well-written E-zine.



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