As technology becomes more widespread and people have come to rely more on electronic information, e-zines have also risen in popularity while print editions of magazines and newspapers have also experience a shift in their electronic readership. The ease and convenience that technology has brought has helped in the creation of several e-zines with wide ranges of topics that could never have existed if it was in print.
E-zine is derived from electronic magazine. The first large e-zine is Salon and was reportedly published in as early as 1984 by a group of hackers called the Cult of the Dead Cow.
E-zines have a wide range of topics. Because of their comparatively low costs of production, e-zines can afford to be more choosy and specialized compared to their big budget counterparts in the print media. There are a lot of e-zines whose topics may be perceived as odd and caters to the most specialized and specific albeit small niche in the market.
When e-zines first appeared, a lot of people were uncertain about their purpose and potential. However, as time went on more and more people and businesses have begun to see their potential as marketing devices. E-zines have continued growing and these e-zines can be made more effective if complemented with a content delivery system that allows for interaction as well as an advertising piece that adapts to the changing needs of the business and the target readership.
E-zines are usually updated whenever there is a new article that can be published electronically. Unlike the typical print magazines that are published on a regular schedule, the e-zines’ constant update allows readers and potential customers to view the magazines everyday to check out the e-zine as soon as a new article is published or posted. Since the readers visit more often to view the new content, this creates more opportunity to capture their interest and increase the e-zines’ marketing potential.