7 Reasons to Offer a Value Packed Ezine

 

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.

           

WHY

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.

 

WHO

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.

 

WHAT

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. 

 

WHEN

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.

 

HOW

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!

 

© Stephanie Ward, 2007

 

WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR NEWSLETTER OR WEB SITE?

You can, as long as you include this information with it:

Life & Business Coach Stephanie Ward helps business owners

set their profits on fire!  Grab your FREE copy of the special report

'7 Steps to Attract More Clients in Less Time’ plus monthly business

building tips, at: http://www.fireflycoaching.com.