Reasons to offer a value packed ezine

Here are some significant reasons to offer a value packed ezine to your subscribers.

Do you know how you can create a connection with all of your
potential clients with one action?  How to build relationships
over time in a consistent way?  One of the most efficient ways
to do this is with a newsletter also known as an ezine.

Don't panic, there are many ways to create valuable information
that don't include writing long articles.  We'll get to that in
a minute.  First, here's why this is important.

Maybe you're thinking this sounds like a great idea but it will
be a lot of work and take a lot of time.  It is an investment
and one that can pay off big time.  Here are several reasons
why it's time to start connecting and sharing:

1. It is a great way for you to reach your entire community at
one time.

2. You'll always have something valuable to offer people who
are interested in your business.

3. If you don't stay in contact, people forget about you and
your business.  You know the expression - out of sight out of
mind.

4. People's needs change over time.  Just because someone isn't
interested right now, doesn't mean that they may not be later.
Plus, the more people who know about you, the more referrals
you will get.

5. You position yourself as an expert.

6. You can reuse the information on your website, for
workshops, ebooks, or in a free report.

7. You have the opportunity to ask your community for feedback
and/ or to announce new products and services.

You may have heard the people who subscribe for your ezine
referred to as your 'list' as in a list of people.  That feels
really impersonal to me so I'll be referring to this group of
people as your community.

You already have a community of people you know, although they
may not yet have agreed to receive your information.  Put
together a list of people who you think would be interested in
your new ezine and ask them if they'd like to receive it.

To attract new people (who don't know you) into your community,
you need to do a bit more.  You will need to offer them
something extra, in addition to your ezine, in order for them
to give you their name and e-mail address and agree to receive
your ezine.  Think about offering a special report, a case
study, or a list of worthwhile tips.

You've heard the expression, content is king.  This is still
the case.  What you share must be valuable and relevant
information that people in your community can use.  Here are
some ideas of what you can use for content.  You can use one,
or a combination of these:

- Valuable Tips.  A tip doesn't have to be long to be powerful
and effective.  If you provide great tips that people can
really use, you will build a following.

- Inspiring quotes.  This means no writing for you, only
research.  Pretty easy since quotes are everywhere and easy to
find.

- Articles that other people write. Type the words 'free
articles' into a search engine and you'll get page after page
of websites packed with articles you can use for free.

- Articles that you write.  They don't have to be long.  I've
seen some ezines that describe themselves as a "one minute"
read.

In addition to the beneficial information you provide, it is
perfectly acceptable and normal for you to also promote your
products and services.  In fact, it would be a disservice if
you didn't.  You want to make it easy for your community to
understand how your business can help them.  Think about
keeping the portion of promotion about your business to about
20% of the total content of each ezine.

So how often should you be in touch with your community?  Here
is the general consensus about this.

> Once a month is the minimum

> Every other week is ideal

> Weekly is the maximum

What is absolutely critical is that no matter what frequency
you choose, deliver what you promise.  Consistency and
reliability are critical for building a relationship with your
community.  This is the trust part of the fact that people do
business with people they 'know, like and trust.'  You can send
out additional announcements in between your regular schedule,
just don't overdo it.

Please, do not use your e-mail program to send out your
information.  It just won't work over time as your community
grows, trust me.  I use 1shoppingcart.com and there are some
other popular options as well like: aweber.com,
constantcontact.com, and ezezines.com.

Are you starting to see how consistently staying in touch with
your community by providing them with useful information is
more than worth it?  Don't delay; make the decision to begin
today and start connecting and sharing!
 
Sharon Gauthier
giftlady24@msn.com