As an online business owner, you know you must stay in touch with your email list on a regular basis if you want to have a successful and sustainable business. Publishing an ezine is one of the most effective ways to do so, but sometimes that can feel overwhelming and cumbersome. This article gives you 5 alternatives to putting out an ezine.
I often hear from my clients and ezine subscribers that they aren't sure they can commit to writing a regular ezine as a way to keep in touch with their list, even though they know they "should."
My response is usually something like, "if it's going to be an albatross, then don't do it!" But since they know that they must stay in touch with their email list on a regular basis if they want to have a successful and sustainable business, they are usually stumped for what to do instead.
Here are five ideas I typically share with them:
1. Evergreen Ezine
I first learned of this concept on a teleclass last year, and it seemed so simple that I was amazed that I hadn't thought of it myself - which is usually the reaction I get from my clients as well when I suggest this.
An evergreen newsletter is one that's content is applicable all the time. It's not based on trends or on what's hot in your industry at the moment. It's solid need-to-know information that is based on principles or strategies that rarely change.
To create an evergreen newsletter, you would simply gather your content for as many issues as you plan to publish, create each issue and then drop each one into an autoresponder system to go out automatically at whatever interval you set.
This method takes a bit of work on the front end, but then you 'set it and forget it' until you run out of issues. Then you can let it simply repeat or create a new set of issues by repeating the process above.
2. Ecourse
You can create an ecourse, which is simply a series of emails that shares valuable information with your reader over a period of time.
This is a method I use myself. When you sign up for my mini-ecourse, you also get a subscription to this ezine. I could simply offer the ecourse as a stand alone, though if I did, I would add more days to the series (say from its current 5 to 26) and send them out every couple of weeks as a way to stay in touch with my list.
You set up an ecourse in an autoresponder service, so it's another 'set it and forget it' option once the initial work is done.
3. Audio Tip
If you prefer to talk than type, then consider an audio tip. When I coach clients who are just starting their written ezines, I remind them that it doesn't have to be longer than one valuable tip for each issue.
The same is true if you would prefer to create an audio keep-in-touch vehicle for your list. A colleague of mine sends out a 1-minute audio (and video) marketing tip each week and it's hugely successful.
The easiest way to create and publish audios online is through an inexpensive service like AudioAcrobat.
4. Blog
A blog can be a great alternative to an ezine IF you love to write and are willing to post regularly, if you use search engine optimization to increase your blog's exposure to your market on a continual basis, and if you put a subscription form on your blog so your readers know when you add a new post.
You can start blogging for free at blogger.com or very inexpensively with Typepad (which is the service I use for my personal and business blog).
5. VIP List
Invite people to sign up to receive special offers from you. Many of us do this in our personal lives for places we frequently shop (a quick look at my inbox reveals offers from Eddie Bauer, Old Navy, Red Envelope, etc.), so know that people will sign up to receive discounts and other special offers from you if you invite them to do so.
It's best to use this strategy with a group of people who have already gotten to know you a bit, say from a live event or if you have a blog where you stay in touch with people by posting on a regular basis.
BONUS TIP: If you're writing a regular ezine now, you can add one of these methods as another way to stay in touch with your list, as some people who are on your list may not always read your ezine, but may listen to a short audio or may prefer to read brief posts at your blog instead. Giving your list options as to how they recieve your message will increase your ability to connect with more people in your niche.
Copyright 2006 Alicia M Forest and Client Abundance
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