Is Publishing an E-zine Worth the Effort?

PREselling

With all of the noise about blogging, twittering and facebooking nowadays, you would think that everyone has forgotten about e-zines (i.e., e-mailed newsletters). If they have, that's a mistake.

A quality e-zine lets you revisit your visitors. It reminds them about you, and it gives them reasons to return to your site. Possibilities include e-zines that deliver one or more of the following...

• new info about your site
• new product/service introductions, upgrade announcements, emerging trends, specials, etc.
• brand new content exclusive to subscribers (this model is more challenging because it involves creating new content)
• the rest is, as they say, limited only by your imagination.

The goal of your newsletter is to deepen the "P" in Content Traffic PREsell Monetize. Use it to build likability and trust. Nurture a great relationship with customers and prospects by keeping in touch with them on a regular basis.

For a service provider, an e-zine is a must. It's another way to demonstrate your expertise and ability to deliver.  Repeat exposure is the effective repeat credibility-booster that you need to quietly convince your prospect that "you are the right person" to retain.

What makes a successful e-zine? The answer is simple...

Provide what your subscribers want to hear, not what you want to talk about. Make them look forward to receiving the next issue!

Some small business people who publish an e-zine become so delighted about the praise they receive for delivering all the good content, they forget or become shy about trying to monetize.  Stay away from that trap. As we all know, you can't eat "praise."

Yes, in order to get your Most Wanted Response ("MWR") (ex., visit your website where your visitor will buy something, or to click on an AdSense ad, to take an e-course, etc.), you first have to give great content. But the next step is equally important...

Give, Then Get

Do not let your e-zine become a one-way street, where you just give, give, give. Weave in reminders that you want their business, or they simply fall into the habit of taking great content for free. After a while, they just take, take, take and they don't even thank you anymore! So...

Always tie e-zine content back to your MWR (visit your site). Provide excellent content, but let your reader conclude that the "best stuff" lies in your MWR.

Use "gentle" and creative persuasion. If you are an infopreneur, this is not hard. You can simply "tease" readers back to your site with good headlines about each new page. But if you are selling a service, you have a fine line to walk. If your e-zine turns into a straight "sales pitch," you'll simply get unsubscribes.

That said, don't be shy to do some "selling" to get the "M". Each issue should directly increase your chances of getting your MWR. As long as you "take" with class and subtlety, your readers/prospects won't object. If they do, they weren't really potential customers in the first place.

Is an e-zine on your list? If not, what's holding you back? Please comment below.

See this related article, Freebies... Your Chance To Shine and Get More Subscribers!