Ten Steps to Creating Your Own Ezine Newsletter

I have published 83 issues of The Dreaming Cafe weekly newsletter and 5 special issues.

Writing and publishing The Dreaming Cafe’s weekly ezine / newsletter is one of my favorite activities each week. (You can subscribe using the box to your right.)

It’s a lot of work and I used to feel overwhelmed by the task, but I learned that by breaking the process down into small action steps I can dive right into it each week and just have fun.

If you are considering writing and publishing your own ezine / newsletter, but feel overwhelmed by the task maybe my process can help you, too.

Ten Steps to Creating Your Own Ezine Newsletter

1. Identify the parts
The Dreaming Cafe’s newsletter has 5 parts:
• Greeting
• Main article
• Reading List
• Last week’s blog posts (links)
• 2nd article: event announcements and promotion, reader profiles, other
2. Formatting
Most email marketing services provide ready made templates for you to use.

I use a standard template I have tweaked to include a custom header/logo and colors that correspond with my website. These two things provide a consistent look and feel whether my readers are visiting my website or reading my ezine.

Each week I set up this template and prep it or format it for the new issue.

3. Writing
Each section or part of the newsletter needs to be written and can involve several drafts. I break down each part and work on them one at a time.
4. Pulling it all together
*Inserting text copy into newsletter framework
*Check text formatting
*Choose (or create) and insert graphics and images
*Insert external links as needed
5. Send a test email
6. Proofread test email
7. Edit and make changes based on proofreading (grammar, punctuation, copy, etc)
8. Repeat steps 5 thru 7 until satisfied
9. Select subscriber list
10. Schedule day and time of delivery (or send immediately)
The Dreaming Cafe newsletter is scheduled to be delivered every Sunday at 5am EST

Two Bonus Tips:

1. ‘To-Do’ List
These ten steps form the basis of my weekly, newsletter ‘to-do’ list. By using a ‘to-do’ list I can check my progress throughout the week or throughout the day to see where I am at and how much I left to do.
2. Writing
In terms of writing, I keep a both a manila folder with ideas for articles, as well as a folder on my laptop of ‘articles in progress’ that I can use if I am having trouble writing a main article.

These two bonus tips, in addition to the ten steps outlined above have helped me streamline my ezine / newsletter writing and publishing process and eliminate any feelings of overwhelmed.

Special Note:

Writing and publishing your own ezine / newsletter is a great way to connect with your customers, clients and build a community. If you’d like to learn more having your own ezine / newsletter contact me at Sandy@TheDreamingCafe.com