Do you read all your Ezines? Or do you file them away in special folders and then forget about them?
I used to be like that.
When I first started subscribing to ezines I was amazed at the quantity of valuable information that was available for free.
But I soon became complacent about it. If anything, the 60-odd newsletters I was receiving each month became a burden. I was suffering from 'information overload'.
Ezines contain a wealth of information. Every week, in hundreds of newsletters across the Web, experts share with their readers the latest tips, techniques and resources they're using to succeed in the world of online business.
But if you don't have a system for processing and organizing that information, you'll quickly become overwhelmed by it.
Here's the system I use:
1. Open a Word document. At the top of this Word document, type in 15 to 20 'Information Categories', one per line. These are the categories I'm currently using:
Ad Tracking
Affiliate Programs
Auction Sites
Auto Responders
Banner Advertising
Copy Writing
Credit Card Processing
Discussion Boards
eBook Compilers
eBook Promotion
eBook Publishing
Email Marketing
Ezine Advertising
Ezine Articles, Writing and Publishing
Ezine Promoting
Ezine Publishing
Free Classifieds
Free Software
HTML coding
Internet Marketing
Java Script
Joint Ventures
Online Community
Portal Websites
Search Engine Positioning
Traffic Building
Viral Marketing
Visitor Management
Web Hosts
Website Design
Website Promotion
Webstats
2. Highlight the first of these Categories. Then go to the Menu bar at the top of your Word screen and click on 'Format'. In the drop-down menu, click on 'Style'. A new window will open with a box titled 'Styles'. Click on 'Heading 1' and press 'OK'. The category you highlighted will be come a Heading 1. Do this for each Category.
3. When you see an ezine article that contains valuable information, highlight it, copy it, and paste it under the appropriate 'Information Category'.
4. Highlight the title of the ezine article and use the same procedure described above, but choose 'Heading 2' (instead of Heading 1).
5. Now go to INSERT | INDEX AND TABLES and insert a 'Table of Contents'.
You'll find that your 'Information Categories' appear as Chapter Headings and the title of the ezine article appears as a Section within a Chapter.
Notice that the page numbers at the far right of your Table of Contents are hyperlinked; you can go to any ezine article with the click of a mouse.
This Word document will become your personal 'Web Marketing Encyclopedia'. It will contain everything important that you've ever read in an ezine. Isn't that better than having that information scattered amongst 20 or 30 ezines?
When you have in place a well organized system like this, it changes the way you view new information. Instead of feeling overwhelmed by new information, you'll simply place it under the appropriate Information Category.
And when you need that information, instead of searching through dozens of folders in your email client, you'll know exactly where it is. This system has saved me an enormous amount of time.
Eventually you'll end up with a large document that contains as much valuable information as any web marketing book. And it'll be much more up to date!
(c) 2001 by Michael Southon.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Michael Southon shows webmasters how to use Ezine Marketing to build a Successful Online Business.
Start using this simple technique today - watch your traffic and sales go wild!: http://www.ezine-writer.com/