Top 10 Ways to Promote Your Practice Using an E-mail Newsletter

If you publish an e-mail newsletter, or "e-zine," it's
important to realize that it WON'T attract and keep
subscribers without offering practical content. If you
only drone on about how wonderful you and your
services are, your readers won't stick around for
long.

But you CAN toot your own horn, as long as you don't
drown out the useful content your readers are looking
for. This careful balance is the key to increasing
your response rates and increasing business.

Here are my top 10 tips on how to accomplish this:

1) Make sure your MAIN ARTICLE always provides
information that your readers will find valuable.

By having a main article as the foundation of your
issue, readers will feel they got what they came for -
helpful information. Try a "how-to" article, a list of
resources, a list of top 10 tips, a review of a trend
in the industry - that sort of thing.

2) Begin each issue with an "EDITOR'S NOTE" or
"PUBLISHER'S NOTE."

I have found this is the perfect place to let readers
know about what's happening with me and my business,
give them a taste of my personality, and announce any
upcoming events or workshops. Because this is a
personal message from you to them, and because it's
NOT your main content, you have more leeway in being
direct and self-promotional.

3) In your article, throw in LINKS to related articles
you've written or been featured in, when appropriate.

Your readers will appreciate the additional
information and resources, and it's one more chance
for you to demonstrate your expertise and credibility.

4) Make sure your links are "clickable."

To ensure your links come through as hyperlinks on
your reader's end, make sure you put the "http://"
prefix before them. And to make any e-mail addresses
clickable, insert the prefix "mailto:" before them,
with no space in between.

5) Directly after your article, give a quick PROMO
BLURB, mentioning your services, books, reports, or
workshops.

Why right after the article and before anything else?
If someone reads your article and says to themselves,
"Gee, that was great information!" They'll be ready to
hear what else you have to share on that subject.

A great lead-in for your blurb is: "Did you like
today's article? If you did, you'll LOVE my [services,
book, report, upcoming workshop, etc.]..."

6) In each issue, offer a TESTIMONIAL or success story
from one of your clients.

I saw another e-zine publisher doing this last year
and thought, "What a great idea! She's giving her
readers further reason to try her services."

After your article and promo blurb, put a small
section that says "What My Clients Are Saying." In
each issue, feature a short but raving testimonial
from one of your clients here.

7) Tell us what YOU'RE all about!

At the end of your e-zine, take at least 10 lines and
give a concise description of YOU, what you have to
offer your readers, why they should hire you, and what
they should do next (e.g. call you or e-mail you).

8) End your e-zine with a "call to action."

What would you like your readers to do next? Call you
for a free consultation? Sign up for your teleclass?
Buy your book online? Tell them what to do and they'll
be more likely to do it.

9) Don't forget your contact information!

This may seem like a "duh-duh," but it's amazing how
many e-zines I've seen that don't tell me how to
contact the publisher. Give us your name, title,
business name, phone number, e-mail address, Web site
URL, and street address (optional). The phone number
is important, because some folks will want to speak
with you instead of writing you.

10) Occasionally, make a special announcement in a
SOLO MAILING.

If you have something very special to announce, send
it out separately from your regular issues as a solo
mailing. A solo mailing is any mailing you make to
your e-zine subscriber list that is NOT a regular
issue of your e-zine. Keep these to a minimum of two a
month, and make sure your announcements are truly
newsworthy. Perhaps one of your special discounts is
coming to an end, you need your readers' help, or
you're offering a last-minute workshop and need to
fill seats. Get the idea?