• Oh Canada
• Canada. Eh?

I'm thinking of titles and taglines for a Canadian newsletter at BackWash. It's going to be monthly. There are two reasons for making it monthly. One being a lack of Canadian content to add to the newsletter. Once a month should work out just right. The other reason is that this will be my fifth newsletter at BackWash. I couldn't do it more than monthly and find something new to write and the time to type it out.

Anyway, I like the idea of a Canadian newsletter. I don't think I've really seen something like that online before. There are some "proud to be Canadian" personal sites but I don't of any newsletters.

We'll see how it goes.

Try this: Consider your website (or your computer if you don't have a site) and put together a FAQ (frequently asked questions) page all about your site. Don't forget a guide to how to use the site as well as the purpose for it being there. Study a few other FAQs to get ideas.

This is what I wrote as the new writing exercise for HerCorner. What do you think? Could you write a FAQ for your website? You should be able to. In theory at least, your site should have a theme, one main idea or purpose, right? So, it seems reasonable to expect a FAQ could be forthcoming.

Anyway, I like the idea. So tonight I am putting my fingers where my mouth is and I am creating a FAQ of my own for HerCorner. I might even do one for my personal site. But, I freely admit my personal site is not a great example of sticking with one idea.

So, getting down to the FAQ of it. What do you need to include in a FAQ? Likely you've read a few or skimmed them as I tend to do. Which is a good point, actually. Your FAQ should be skimmable when you get it into HTML. Do you know how to set up targets? Targets are those clickable points in the middle of a page. You can read a table of contents and find a clickable link to that exact section of the large body of content. If I sound like I'm gabbling send me an email and I will hunt out a link to demonstrate this target idea for you. Most FAQ's will use this, if you check for examples on your own.

Now, the meat of the matter. What does a FAQ need to include? I think the first thing is a statement of purpose. Someone reading this sentence (or short paragraph) should be able to understand what your site is about. But, this is a time to keep it simple. Just the basics. If it appeals to them they can dig into your FAQ for the details and specifics.

Next, explain the parts. Think basic and plan out what you really need people to know. Put it all into logical order, sort of a learn as you go thing. Read it back, try to think like someone who doesn't already know the answers. Did you miss anything?

Do your best, ask for feedback at the end and don't try to be some computer melded brain. It's almost certain you will leave something out that someone else will pick up on later. You are not the world's most perfect writer, you're just someone trying to be creative and share their FAQ with the world.

Now go get FAQ'ed!

Someone told me that the front page of my personal site is just a webring page. I was really peeved! I've worked hard to make that a nice entrance way. It still seems kind of unprofessional and "needs improvement" but it's so much better than my first few versions. I'm getting the hang of tables. Sometimes I even understand why they suddenly warp and flop around like fish out of water. Only sometimes.

Anyway, I took a few dozen second looks at my site and I realized that she may have ignored all my graphics and the bit of introduction and just decided that my front page was for webrings and an index to the rest of the site. I guess graphics aren't enough. They are pretty pictures but they are also discounted as far as meaty content.

So, I am trying to think of something more to do with some of that front page real estate. You are welcome to take a look and offer suggestions. http://www.thatgrrl.com/

I don't want to do any of the standard home page things like an introduction or a biography. Why put site visitors to sleep before they have even begun to look around? Once you read a few biographies they all start sounding the same.

I need something unique and startlingly new. Something that will have people talking about my amazing feats of front page technique for as long as the Internet still clicks. The problem is, I have no ideas, so far.

Isn't it interesting how much time we put into catching people's attention? Is it entertainment or information? That is the first thing I need to decide. I'm leaning away from entertainment. But, once I get that figured out all the other decisions will be much easier.

I'll let you know how it goes. Keep in mind, all my website tampering takes place over months, not weeks. In other words, don't hold your breath, it could be hazardous to your health.

PS - It's amazing. My typing must be getting much much better. In all of this blabberation I had just one typo when I ran it through spellcheck. Damn I'm good!

What are the keys to a good website? I think there are 3 main things. I have created this list from many years (6) spent reviewing websites.

Navigation, style and content. You can adapt that to NSC, or not. Not works for me, I'm not even sure how to say that.

Anyway, navigation is probably the most under rated website building thing. But, if people can't find your content... what's the point? Navigation needs to be simple, easy to use and easy to find. Some people hide navigation in graphics. Some of them hide it in text. Have you ever seen a site where you click on your browser type to enter it? There is nothing there to say "hey! this is how you enter my site!" Unless it's a site for psychics, it's not very useful and it's a navigational flop. Not to mention pretty annoying for someone who spends time trying to find access to the site and gives up eventually.

I put content ahead of style because content is what people actually came to your site for. It wasn't a demonstration of frames, flash or pop up ads. Hope that didn't come as a shock to anyone. Content should be spelled right, proofread for typos and at least a little fact checking is a good idea. It's also a good idea to change your content now and then. Ideally you should update your site as often as you want people to come in and visit it. If you want daily visits a blog is a good way to go. But, blog everyday with something at least a little unique and interesting. Focus is a good thing too. Being too diversified makes it hard for readers to know your voice and understand what you believe in, who you are. People like to see pictures of the people they read because they want to know who is behind the words.

Last, style, it's kind of the buffer between your content and navigation. It's what makes your site colourful, unique and gives it an attitude that people can see even before they start reading your content. But, style should not take over your site. After all, you want them to read your words too. Things like flash or a ton of graphics will drown you out. Also, people are not likely to wait for an unknown site to load. Especially when it's just a bunch of graphics, not what they came for.

So, off you go. Put up your brilliant websites, make the rest of us green with envy. That, or you know we'll be there to borrow your best ideas and adapt them for our own sites. Did I just type that... ignore that woman behind the curtain she knows way too many of my secrets.

Originally posted to Backwash - Bonnie Burton: How to be a Zine Queen

Making your zine isn't as hard to do as you may think. If you know how to use a scissors, glue and a copy machine, you're half way there. Think of a zine as part scrapbook, part journal. You will want to make your homemade publication interesting to read and fun to look at. But before you start production, here are a few tips to begin the process.

Read other zines Any happy zinester will tell you that before burying yourself in paper, read the zines that are out there now. Do you want your zine to have a different theme each month, or do you want it to be a random mish-mash of ideas and pictures? Perhaps you'd like your zine to be on a certain subject all the time. There's no rule saying you have to make your zine a certain way. After all, it's YOUR zine. But a becoming an avid zine reader, could help you decide what kind of zine is missing from the rest. For example, if you want to do a zine dedicated to snowglobe collecting, make sure there isn't one out there already.

But let's say you want to do a zine on something like Barbie - if there are tons of zines with your theme, try taking a different approach, such as writing articles on weird Barbie art or women who have plastic surgery done so they can look exactly like Barbie. Chances are, if you've been wanting to do a zine, you already have an idea of what you want to do.

Find your stuff When you decide what theme you want to do it's time to gather your stuff. By stuff, I mean comics, poems, essays, articles, photos, illustrations and whatever else you need to put together your first issue. Please keep in mind that you should be gathering art and illustrations that are copyright-free. Don't just take art from magazines and paste them in. The best way to illustrate your zine is to draw the pictures yourself, get a artistic friend to do it, or buy a few clip art books from the local book or art supplies store. You don't have to draw like a pro to get the job done. In fact, some of the more popular zines have art that could make your little sister's scribbles on the fridge look like masterpieces.

Just be creative and take a few chances. Your stick people drawings may be the highlight of the zine! The same courtesy goes for articles, essays, poems and other writing. Don't copy someone else's work to put in your zine. Get their permission first if you can call, write or email them. There's really no need to copy someone else's work. If you can't write and draw everything yourself, get some of your pals to contribute. Gathering stuff for your zine is also a great way to meet people. Put a notice on your community bulletin board or post a flyer in your favorite coffee house, asking for submissions for your zine. You'll be surprised how many talented people have something to offer!

Also think about advertising. I suggest waiting for a few issues before asking people to pay you money to advertise in your zine. This way you can concentrate more on what you want your zine to look like, than how much money you want to make from it. You might want to put in free ads of places you like to shop at or other people's zines, but be sure you ask them if this is okay first.

Put it all together Once you've collected all the stuff you want to put in the zine, start organizing it on paper. You can make your zine as large or small as you like. Some zines are the size of greeting cards while others can be the normal size of a paper. Again it's all up to you, but keep in mind that if you plan on mailing out your zine, the smaller, the better.

Before you paste the pictures and articles on the paper, organize them in different ways. See how placing a photo in the middle of a blank page attracts the eye differently than when it's surrounded with words. Look at other zines and see how they put their articles together with illustrations. Take some chances. Experiment with different typefaces. Use your own handwriting with a few headlines, or get on a computer and chose a funky font other than Times New Roman or Courier. This is your time to have fun with the design and layout of your zine.

Once you paste (or tape) your content into the zine, you will want to make copies. The cheapest way to do this is find a friend that works in an office or copier place, like Kinkos. Or ask your roommates/spouse/neighbor off a few copies of your zine at work. Sometimes, you can offer to put free advertising in your zine, for places that will make free copies. There's always a way to get free access to a copy machine if you put your mind to it. This is important to think about since most of the times a single copy of a one-sided page can cost ten cents or more. This can add up to be a lot of money if you have a big enough zine. So be careful.

After making copies of your zine, you will have to decide how you want to bind the pages together. Most zines are stapled together because it's fast and cheap. But if you plan on only making a few copies for family and friends, you can get a three-hole puncher and bind your zine together with brads or fancy ribbon.

Send it out Now's the time to distribute your zine. You can send copies to friends or family members, or try sending out a few to people you admire. Most people love getting fun stuff in the mail and new zines are no exception. Try sending a copy of your zine to a magazine that reviews zines such as The Zine Guide. There are also plenty of Web sites that review, distribute and trade zines. So do a few searches online to see what's out there.

Enjoy it One of the best things about doing your own zine is knowing that you have complete control over what goes in it. You are the editor, so you can make the decisions. If you want to do an entire issue devoted to Troll dolls, do it! If you want to dedicate an issue to your pet cat, Crackers, then do it! Have fun with it and try new things. The more you work on your zine, the more you'll learn…and entertain your readers in the meantime!

Welcome to DIY publishing -- now get out there and make a zine already. Sheesh.