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Defining The Relations Between Blogs, E-zines, Rss And E-mail
Defining The Relations Between Blogs, E-zines, Rss And E-mail
By Rok Hrastnik, Sat Dec 10th
Copyright 2005 Rok Hrastnik Although RSS and blogs are slowly reaching mainstream, they arestill missuderstood by most marketers in relation to eachotherand in relation to their relatives, e-zines and e-mail. How dothese four really relate and what does this mean for yourinternet marketing strategy? The most common missconception is comparing blogs and e-mail,with many bloggers actually touting blogs as a replacement fore-mail. The truth is, there’s no comparison at all, just likecomparing apples and oranges.
The second missconception is believing that RSS and blogs aresomehow strongly related or even that RSS is good only fordelivering blog content. The result of this on one side aremarketers who do not see RSS as a full-powered communicationalchannel, and bloggers on the other side who refuse to see e-mailas a viable content delivery vehicle. Let’s set the record straight … RSS and e-mail are content delivery channels; the tools thatenable us to deliver our content to end-users, and in the caseof RSS, to other websites as well. Blogs and e-zines are two different internet media contentformats, differing in how/what content is provided and presentedthrough them. Explained in even simper terms: Blogs and e-zines or newsletters are "the what" --- what youpublish online ... the content side. RSS and e-mail are "the how" --- how you get that content orinformation to the reader ... the delivery side. RSS/e-mail and blogs/e-zines cannot be directly compared. Blogcontent and e-zine content can both be delivered via RSS ande-mail, and there is no direct business/logical relationbetween, for example, blogs and RSS. Saying that "blogs have some attributes & features that emaillacks" is in fact comparing two completely different things (aninternet media content format with a content delivery channel),which are not directly related. What makes sense, for example, is comparing e-zines and blogs ... Blogs are "personal" conversations, opinions and news, deliveredin a linear structure, usually written in a more personal style,and confined to a limited number of content types. E-zines on the other hand are more
similar to magazines ornewspapers, carrying content presented in a complex non-linearcontent structure, and having the ability to carry manydifferent content types that do not mix well together ifprovided through a linear content structure. A typical e-zine might include: --> an editorial; --> a leading article, representing theprevailing topic of a specific e-zine issue; --> supportingarticles, clearly structured to show they are secondary to theleading article; --> links to "best of" blog posts in the giventimeframe; --> links to the most relevant forum topics andposts; --> a news section; --> a featured client case study; -->different advertisements (banner ads, textual ads, advertorialsetc.); --> a featured consultant; --> a Q&A section; --> afeatured whitepaper; --> etc. Providing all of this content demands a complex contentstructure and a strong and experienced editor. The blog formatsimply does not provide the level of structure needed toeffectively present such a complex content mix. But that's not to say that blogs are in any way inferior toe-zines, they're just different. And businesses need both, andthey need to deliver both via RSS and e-mail. However, what is worrying is that some seem to think thate-zines and e-mail are "backward". That's a dangerous line ofthought that comes close to shooting yourself in the foot. Personal preferences towards content delivery channels andinternet content media formats have no place in business. Whatmatters is what our audiences want and how they want it. Our goal must be to satisfy as many of "our people" as possible,implementing all the tools and technologies needed to achievethis goal. Letting our personal preferences get in the way isdangerous at best. And even if 90% of our customers/prospects/partners (etc.)preferred RSS to e-mail to receive our content, it would stillbe good business practice to provide both. About the author:Find out immediately how you can power your online business withRSS and integrate it in all of your marketing. Request the free28-page Business Case for RSS report, with easy-to-followinstructions, examples and advice on how to get the most out ofRSS in the shortest possible time. Get the free download here:http://rssdiary.marketingstudies.net/case/index.html?src=sa14
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