Making a Zine for Your Busines

Many think of a ‘zine as some creative rant project made of recycled clip art and a Sharpie marker that is hand-stapled and given away.  Or as an informative newsletter that may be typed with saddle-stitching. While this early form of self-publication is still around today, few manage to break even profit-wise.
The reasons for not generating revenue can vary but if you are a blog owner, it can save you when it comes to creating fresh content.

A ‘zine allows the author to place images and other concepts that may be restricted on their normal blogging platform.  For example, some platforms allow the placement of charts and bulleted lists but it may be the placement of an image that will convey a message best.  Depending on your blog host, special layouts may be affected by text wrap, ads or other properties you may not have control of.

As scores of blogs are started every day, only a handful manages to find a niche and stick with it.  Then figure about half of those people make enough from marketing campaigns like Google Adsense to have what most may consider pocket change.

Between veteran bloggers who have suffered permanent writers block or sold their concept to a media conglomerate, there is still room for a newbie to make some money.

If you have old ‘zines that you would like to convert to your blog, here are a few suggestions.
For ‘zines that were created using desktop publishing or word processing software, convert these to a Portable Document File (PDF).  Save to the lowest resolution possible so that it will take less time for readers to upload. Create a hyperlink within your blog post letting your readers know that the ‘zine is a PDF to be downloaded.
‘Zines that are hard copy only can be scanned and saved to a program that allows for PDF conversion.  If this is not possible, save as a JPEG document with a resolution of 300 dpi or less.  

If you have high resolution images but want a platform outside of your blog hosting service, try Openzine.  This is a free service that will allow you to import JPEGs from your computer.  You can also write content that may be restricted (nothing slanderous or hateful but some sponsors are sensitive when their ads are placed near words such as porn or pills, even when the content is newsworthy).  Openzine also allows linking to YouTube videos that meet certain criteria.  Once your e-zine is finished, you will be provided with a large or small image link or text link that can be used on your blog, email or online profile.

While Openzine does not allow the direct sale of your ‘zine, it does help to drive traffic to your brand and can act as a teaser for your paid or premium publications.

However, there are other online publishers that allow for direct selling such as Payloadz as well as others.