Let's continue our topic on creating impact for e-zines:

4) Set the tone from the beginning. Use a single voice to communicate your thoughts. Be careful with editors who unknowingly change your tone. You don't want a stitched-together, Frankenstein-created article.

For instance, Martha Stewart has her individual tone. Star Jones has hers. Mixing the two tones is suicide because each transmit very unique vibes.

Another example:

B.B. King is bringing down the house, but then his guitar snaps a string, and his backup is still in transit. You happen to have yours there and offer it to him. B.B. plucks your guitar and although the sound is different, the tone is uniquely his. There's no mistakeB.B. King fans can tell it's him blazing those blues.

You may not be aware but there's a rhythm that comes from your writing. Something keeping beat in the background. A dynamic pulse that isn't heard, but felt. And as in music, if you break that rhythmyou'll create confusion.

To prevent this, set your unique tone...

Use your voice throughout the article. Employ words and phrases you'd normally use in your daily conversation. Avoid clashing contrary ideas into one sentence.

Suggestions: If you write a financial newsletter, you might take a bold and confident tone. For a gardening publication, your tone can appear informativebrimming with ideas. And for a business opportunity e-zine, you may consider an excited and positive tone.

Now let's tie everything together with:

5) Bucket Brigade copy. This prevents eyeballs from leaving your message. It connects thoughts, paragraphs and continues the rhythm.

This goes back to the days when volunteer firemen formed a line to heave buckets of water to put out a fire. Each man was important. One man collapsing would break the flow.

The same holds true with your copy. An abrupt break destroys the flow and may give your readers a reason to question you. For example:

"It's two outs in the ninth with the bases loaded, game tied at three, and the home team's hottest slugger at bat. The crowd held their breath and were on their toes. Lou was on the mound for the visiting team during this twilight thriller.

"The game was called off and rescheduled for the following day. A sigh of relief as the fans headed for their cars. They knew this would create extra pressure for Lou."

There was something missing between the paragraphs. There's no transition. Something like, "All of a suddenthe lights went out..."

These transitions help connect and smooth out two bodies of thought. It continues the copy flow. It keeps people's eyeballs glued to your message.

Another critical issue that's important to impact writing is:

6) Letting it breathe. There's nothing worse than suffocating. Especially from overcrowding. If you get a chance to ride the Muni buses through San Francisco's Chinatown, you'd understand the meaning of gasping for air.

And the same holds true for your copy.

If you have three or four thoughts that belong in three or four paragraphs, it's better not to squeeze them into one. You'd suffocate your readers with that single paragraph. And you'd confuse them.

Here's an example taken from a live webpage...

"Nothing makes people feel more appreciated than a kind word or two contained in a personalized greeting card from you. It works because it's unexpected, shows attention to detail, and it communicates your message in a way that's virtually guaranteed to be well received. And now, the process of sending a greeting card couldn't be easier, using our automated greeting card sender."

The salesman is making too many assumptions and is trying to sell me in one paragraph. He's assuming I'm drooling over his persuasive message and dying to give him a call.

NOT!

This might have worked in 1906, but it doesn't work in 2006.

Separate your thoughts, use as much space as necessary, and allow your audience to follow you without feeling squeezed. If limited space is an issue: it's better to reduce your message to keep within limits rather than being guilty of paragraph clutter.

And never, never, never:

7) Put the cart before the horse. Too often business clients are introducing their product, service, or event too soon in their marketing promotion. There's no building up. They've put a roof over the foundation before the walls were even built.

In those promos, the prospect feels rushed and leaves in a quick heartbeat because she feels she's being sold. People don't want to be sold. Period.

Here are the first three paragraphs from an author's homepage:

"Everyone is on a lifelong journey of change. It is how effectively we deal with change that determines whether we lead an ordinary existence or a heroic life that fulfills our personal and professional vision and dreams!

"We provide consulting services and products that promote personal growth, organizational transformation and global evolution. Our goal is to help individuals and organizations make the most of change so they can:

"Fulfill their mission with greater clarity and ease, Bring richer meaning and depth to their personal and professional lives, and Positively affect the future of the world in which we live."

Did you feel you were slapped upside the head with her services? From out of nowhere, she wants you to know she can help you. Without even introducing the need for her services.

And talk about a horseless cart...

I subscribe to over two dozen e-zines. A couple of them offer little value. Each time I receive one of those, I scan for something valuable, but usually I quickly delete them. It seems all the publisher wants to do is pitch me on some product.

The message goes like this:

"I've got this great product for you. So-and-so, who is the expert on such-and-such, produced it. And because of my relationship with her, you have the chance to buy it on sale."

Yeesh!

That's the bulk of the message. There's nothing engaging at all. It's a shallow sales pitch.

I'm left asking, "Who the hell cares?"

But that's not you. You care. You're not one of them. Your growing readership appreciates you.

If you want your readers to know, like, trust, and buy from youyou must deliver valuable content. And from your unique voice. Offer information that gives them the edge in their daily affairs and you will have a colleague for life.

Tommy Yan helps business owners and entrepreneurs make more money through direct response marketing. He publishes Tommy's Tease weekly e-zine to inspire people to succeed in business and personal growth. Get your free subscription today at www.TommyYan.com.