Dare to Be Different: The Evolution of an Ezine

As a marketer, and for the record, I do believe that we are all full-time marketers; I am always looking for ways to connect more regularly with and add value to my target audience – I want top-of-mind awareness for myself, my business and my offerings.

Now for years, I’ve known that publishing my very own newsletter would be an optimal way to do that and more however, as an innovative marketer, I kept coming back to the fact that there are already a ton of newsletters out there – and some of them are excellent. So I fought the concept of creating one tooth and nail. Did the world really need another newsletter?

Then one day I happened to take off my scarcity-mindset hat and put on my abundance-mindset hat and came to the realization that there’s room for all of us out there. So I said to myself, "Why not, there are plenty of potential subscribers available to me; there are over 6 ½ billion people in this world! And a portion of those people are meant to hear the information I will provide, from me."

Being an online entrepreneur, I knew that if I took this major commitment on, I would want to do it electronically because in my mind, it would be cheaper, faster and easier for me to produce. So I went ahead with an electronic version of a newsletter or better known as an ezine. For weeks I scoured my favorite ezines, looking for both what I liked and didn’t like about them and came up with a professional and traditional layout for my soon to be ezine. I got it all ready – it looked great, I was all set to go.

Then right before I hit the send button in my contact management software, I slammed on the brakes. "Wait a minute", I said, "What was I about to do". This ezine, while potentially could be well received, looked and felt just like all the rest. Then my inner monologue really kicked in as I heard myself saying, "It could very easily get lost in the shuffle or worse yet, go unnoticed! That could translate into a significant number of people not getting the value I plan to offer every week – value that could possibly make or break a business"! And the conversation in my head went on and on and on. Bottom line, I just didn’t feel good about it anymore. And I knew if my heart wasn’t in it, the subscriber would know and ultimately both the subscriber and I would lose! They don’t get great content and I lose a subscriber and potential ‘Raving Fan’.

Now I don’t believe in being different just for the sake of being different. I believe in being different when it makes a difference, to both my target audience and to me. I educate my clients and prospects all the time on how to differentiate themselves from the competition. Basically, it was time for me to practice what I preach.

So I shifted gears and went back to the drawing board. That was painful. I was done. Why not just send it out? I just couldn’t. I wanted to create a something that made a difference and I wanted prospects to take notice. I wanted to create an ELF (Easy, Lucrative, and Fun) experience for them – I wanted a masterpiece.

Then it clicked! I love to speak! I love to write as well but I certainly enjoy speaking more. I also knew that studies prove that people are more likely to listen than to read and that they also retain more that way. On top of that, there were a lot less audio-based ezines than print ones so I would certainly stand out from the pack. All signs pointed to using audio, so right away, I knew an audio-based ezine was right for me. I felt great about it! And the rest is history…

So, what ways can you add more value to your target audience? How can you become top-of-mind with them? What else can you do to differentiate yourself from the competition? How can you do all of these things and actually have fun doing them? – Because believe me, people will notice.

My ezine the "Marketing Minute" worked for me, what would work for you? Ponder that one a bit.

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