Have you started a newsletter or ezine?
By sending out valuable tips and articles on a regular basis, you get the chance to demonstrate your expertise and build relationships with prospects and clients.
You may have heard that your name and marketing message need to be seen or heard by people at least seven to nine times before they are ready to do business with you. An ezine or online newsletter is a great way to keep your name and expertise in front of your target audience.
Prospects sign-up and agree to let you deliver your message directly to their inbox. This is a great way to get people’s permission to deliver valuable content as well as some promotion by email for your products and services. And the best thing is – it’s almost free to do it!
Use your ezine to provide valuable tips, articles, recommendations and resources. You can also write about your latest service or product, but write a short piece to direct people to your website where they can find out more information. Don't be too ‘salesy’ in your ezine or people will be put off. Keep the majority of your publication focused on tips, information, advice and resources for your readers to maintain your credibility as an expert in your field and trusted advisor.
Two to four times a month is a good number of times to send out your ezine. Two times would be enough if you also have a blog that you regularly post to where readers get more exposure to your expertise in your area of specialty. Once a month works for some, but if you're using your ezine to build relationships, twelve contacts a year is not really enough to build trust and to demonstrate the value you can provide. I recommend at least twice a month.
Over time, as you provide consistent valuable information in your area of specialty, your readers will come to know, like and trust you, and your brand will become established in their mind.
One of the main marketing activities in your business should be to grow your list. Tell everyone you meet about the valuable tips and articles you send out and invite them to sign up. You'd be surprised at how many people will take you up on your offer!
If you're just getting started building your list, start by asking your current clients, associates and friends to subscribe. Anti-spam laws say you can't automatically sign them up yourself, but you can send them a sample issue and direct them to a sign-up form at your website.
There are many good online services to automate your ezine subscription process. If you're just starting out and only need a database and delivery system for your ezine, you might try Constant Contact. AWeber is another good system that will manage your database and automate the subscribe/unsubscribe process.
I use and highly recommend the 1 Shopping Cart system as your online management system for your ezine database and customer relationship management. It's the best system for marketing online, and they offer a free 30 day trial. You can upgrade as your online business grows from the basic package to the more advanced system that includes a shopping cart, digital delivery of your ebooks, and an affiliate program.
Take action and start today to begin publishing regular information to send to your prospects and clients, or if you already have an ezine, set a goal to grow your list.
