Get More Clients Online

Unsubscribing from email lists

I just recently went through a big email purge, taking myself off of many lists that aren't really helping me with anything or those that I simply have no time to read.  I'm discovering that the majority of the lists offer a pretty quick way to unsubscribe.  You simply hit the unsubscribe link in the broadcast, and you're either immediately unsubscribed, or have to choose the list(s) from you you want to unsub and you're done.  Pretty easy, overall, just like I make it for people on my lists.

However, even in 2010 I'm discovering 2 things:

1.  Large companies, retail stores and department stores in particular, make it VERY difficult to get off of their lists.  I won't name names, but going through this unsubcribing process with them doesn't endear them to me at all.  In fact, it really makes me not want to do any future business with them.  Once I finally figured out how to get off of the list, I got a message that the unsubscription request will take 7-10 business days to process.  Really????  In this day of automation, when even a micro biz owner like me can offer unsubscription automation, a huge corporate entity is unable to do this instantly?  I think not.  Or, if that is the case, they REALLY need to rethink their email marketing policies.

2.  Some of these same large companies require you to dig for the email address you used to subscribe to their list in order for you to enter it into a box to get off of their list.  I realize that their goal must be to make  it as difficult as possible to remove yourself from their list in order to retain list numbers.  However, how much customer goodwill is being sabotaged in this process?  And sometimes you have to enter the email address twice for confirmation purposes.  Again, really???  Whoever heard of anyone stealthily unsubscribing people from a list??  Doesn't it usually work in the opposite way?

OK, I'll hop off of my soapbox now.  Too bad that they don't subscribe to my general business philosophy of making it as easy as possible for your customers/prospects to choose to do business with you.  If we all operated with this philosophy, the world would be a better place. <g>

Getting subscribers to my ezine

Q:  I recently advertised my ezine as a part of a radio show I was on and didn't get a single opt-in. Should I have done something differently? And now that I have a sales page for my newsletter, which can I do with it?

Susanna Opper
Shawenon.com

Hi Susanna--

A:  Here are a couple of recommendations I have for you:

1.  Subscribing to an ezine doesn't get the response it once did.  Now, you have to give something away (report, audio, ebook) to entice someone to sign up for your ezine.

Here are a couple of articles on how to cretae that giveaway:

Grow Your List with an Effective Client-Capturing Device

5 Secrets to Moving the Free Line with Your Client Capturing Device

10 Most Effective Client Attraction Device Giveaways

2.  Your sales page (squeeze page) needs to have its own URL that's easy to say and to remember, especially if it's being promoted on a radio show.  You can see my ezine squeeze page here:  http;//www.TurbochargeYourOnlineMarketing.com.

Here's an article I've written about creating an ezine squeeze page:

How to Triple Your Ezine Opt-ins with a Squeeze Page

3.  And, once you have your ezine sales page and your client attraction device created, use the squeeze page URL whenever you speak or when you have an opportunity to drive traffic to your site, rather than using your website URL.  I regularly submit all articles I write to various article directories, and the URL I give in my bio (resource box) is the one for my ezine squeeze page, as seen here:

Internet Marketing Automation Coach Donna Gunter helps independent service professionals create prosperous online businesses that make more profit in less time by teaching them how to automate their businesses, leverage their expertise, and get found online.  Would you like to learn the specific Internet marketing strategies that get results? Discover how to increase your visibility and get found online by claiming your FREE gift, TurboCharge Your Online Marketing Toolkit, at ==> http://www.TurbochargeYourOnlineMarketing.com

Bonus tip:  For more help in creating and implementing these strategies, names of the resources and tools I use to implement these strategies, and answers to your questions, become a member at OnlineBizU.com.

Got an Internet Marketing question?  Ask it here: AskDonnaGunter.com.

Ethical Bribes: 10 Most Effective Client Attraction Device Giveaways

One of the quickest ways to build your email marketing list is by creating an ethical bribe, or what I refer to as a client attraction device.  This free giveaway serves to entice visitors to your site to sign up for your email list because they want to access your solution to their problem proffered in your email list opt-in box.

What are the two most important characteristics of an effective client attraction device?  It must provide the solution to at least one of the problems of your target market and utilize the keywords that your target market might use when seeking this type of solution. Secondly, your offering must have a high enough perceived value that your visitors would be willing to pay for it.

I routinely opt into many lists just to get the client attraction device.  More times than not, the giveaway is simply a long reiteration of a problem, with the solution being available for purchase on the web site.  This is the WRONG way to introduce yourself to prospects. Don't be afraid to share some solutions with your prospects -- it's part of developing the Like, Know and Trust factor with them.  If you are truly an expert in your field, the info you share for free is only the tip of the iceberg of the variety of solutions you can provide to your prospects.

What is the easiest way to create your own client attraction device? Here are 10 ideas that you can use to package your information into a valuable ethical bribe for your web site:

1.  Audio of a presentation.  Hold a teleclass on a particular topic and record it, or simply record a presentation with audio recording software on your computer.  An audience isn't necessary for a good recording -- it is quality content that is the key.

2.  Interview of an expert.  Request to interview a noted expert in your target market.  Ask the expert questions, or pull questions from a pre-assigned list you've been given. Record the interview and have it transcribed to create a two-part giveaway.

3.  Special report or ebook.  A special report is simply a short PDF report that runs between 2-5 pages.  You can create this pretty easily by writing an article that's 1500-2000 words.   Typically an ebook is longer than a special report, combining several articles, or topics, to make a more complete overview of a topic.  Format it to be easily read and add a bio page and and upsell page and your report is complete.

4.  Checklist.  A checklist is a 1-2 page PDF file that walks someone through a to-do checklist to complete a task.  To create a checklist, simple outline the steps required to complete a particular task and insert a checkmark box in front of each so that the user can print out the list and mark off the steps as they are completed.

5.  Video.  Using video to promote your business is one of the hottest Internet marketing strategies today.  You can create an info video that is a training or tutorial video made by using video screen capture software, or record yourself answering questions or presenting a topic with an inexpensive video camera.  Upload it to your site or to one of the video hosting sites, and you've got a new client attraction device to give away.

6.  Software.  For as little as $50, you can hire a programmer to create a simple piece of software to help your prospects automate a task or solve a problem. Another option is to buy a license for some inexpensive software that you can then distribute as you wish.

7.  Rolodex (Resources) list.  Once you have developed a relationship with your prospects, invariably you will get asked to make recommendations for vendors to perform certain tasks. Because this list is valuable in that you have already gone through a number of services to find just the right provider and are thus saving your prospects hundreds of dollars and hours of time, create a list of these providers in a PDF document.

8.  Templates.  Templates are another time-saving device that prevents your prospects from having to reinvent the wheel.  Package together templates you regular use, like templates for telephone followup calls, emails, email newsletters, to-do list, budgets, etc.  Anything that will let your prospect use as a model for developing her own version will be greatly appreciated.

9.  Worksheet/workbook.  Sometimes information is better delivered in a format where the prospect can jot down ideas, answer questions, or brainstorm.  A PDF worksheet or workbook is the ideal format for that to happen.  Create a document with a series of questions and space to answer the questions, along with a bit of introductory text to set up the question, and you've created a useful workbook.

10.  Ecourse.  An ecourse is a series of emails that deliver information over a specific course of time via email.  Your ecourse can last as short as 3 days or as long as 52 weeks.  Once you pick a topic, simply determine the number of points that you want to make as you discuss the topic, and then create an email that thoroughly explains each point.  Put the emails together in a sequence in your email marketing program and you have an ecourse.

If you simply request visitors to opt into your ezine list or your blog list, you're not maximizing the work that your web site can do for you.  Add a client attraction device to your opt-n box and watch your list grow!

WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR EZINE OR WEB SITE? You can, as long as you include this blurb with it:  Online Business Coach Donna Gunter helps baby boomers create profitable online retirement businesses by demystifying the steps needed to successfully market a baby boomer business online. Would you like to learn the specific Internet marketing strategies that get results? Discover how to increase your visibility and get found online by claiming your FREE gift, TurboCharge Your Online Marketing Toolkit, at == > http://www.TurbochargeYourOnlineMarketing.com

Email Marketing Tips: 5 Best Strategies to Develop a Responsive Email List

I see the well-known Internet marketing gurus do this all the time -- they begin to try and sell to me when I first opt into their list. This has worked quite well for them over the years, but I think the tide is turning and people are generally becoming more marketing-savvy. Your list members don't mind being sold to, provided that they have a relationship with you and have completed the like, know and trust journey (or are at least on the path of this journey) of getting to know you before they decide to buy something from you.

Whether you have a 500-person list or a 5000-person list, the rate at which they respond to your offers ties directly in with how well they know, like and trust you and see you as the expert providing answers to the problems keeping them awake at night.

Here are the 5 strategies you can employ to develop a responsive email list.

1. Get personal. Discovering the inner workings of people's lives makes reality television shows popular. In the same vein, your readers want to know more about you as a person. Don't be afraid to share what's going on in your life, be that good, bad, or ugly. I receive the greatest number of comments to my ezine and blog when I post articles about very happy or very sad occasions in my life. I was overwhelmed with the responses of sympathy, care and concern I received from around the globe to an article I wrote for my ezine when my mom passed away. As a matter of fact, some folks still check in on me occasionally to see how I'm doing.

2. Talk about your business in first person. Many marketing books and training courses tell you that you need to appear to be a large company to encourage others to do business with you. For many of us, this means referring to ourselves and our companies in third person or by our company name, even though we're really a one-person shop. In reality, people want to do business with other people, not some nameless and faceless corporate entity.

I dread calling my ISP for tech support because invariably I get a nameless, faceless drone who acts as though I'm a bother and that I'm interrupting his productive goofing off during work time. All he wants to do is make me jump through the hoops outlined by his script rather than really listening to what my problem is. Instead, when I need technical assistance, I call a friend who has a tech support business and pay him to solve my problems (instead of using the free tech support provided by my ISP) because I know that my friend will get my problem fixed -- the first time.

3. Show up as the business owner. Part of the process of having your list get to know you is sharing images and audio of yourself. You can do that by using your headshot in your blog or ezine header or by posting an audio or video intro on your web site. Make sure the images that you share are recent and are reflective of how you look today. I was a guest speaker a conference several years ago and had many of the participants tell me with some amount of surprise that I actually looked like my photo in the program guide. I've had the experience of going to someone's workshop and thinking, "Wow, that headshot on his web site must've been taken 10 (or more) years ago! Man, has he aged/gained weight/fill in the blank here...." Be accurate in the images you share online -- that's very important in the relationship-building process.

4. Contact consistently. One of the questions that I'm asked all the time is about the best day of the week to send out ezines or email broadcasts. Usually I can recite the results of a recent survey that some marketing company has conducted and rattle off the stats that support certain days for B2B (business-to-business) broadcasts and other days for B2C (business-to-consumer) broadcasts. Ultimately, for the most part, the day of the week that you send a broadcast doesn't matter. What's more important is training your list to come to expect your ezine to arrive every Thursday morning, for example. Tell your list when you'll be in contact with them, and do what you say you're going to do. It is really that simple.

5. Contact frequently. Most of my clients make the big mistake of not emailing their list often enough. Many are concerned that too many emails will cause list members to unsubscribe. You need to develop a thick skin in this business because reality dictates the following: You will lose subscribers with every email you send. Perhaps you're no longer relevant to them or they're overwhelmed with email or they never really had an interest in what you offer in the first place. Who knows the reason? You need to get used to it. Send them away happily knowing that they would probably have never purchased from you anyway, and their departure makes room for a more perfect list member to join your list through one of your many list-building strategies. (You are practicing good list-building, aren't you?)

For best results, you need to email your list weekly. Any less and it takes a much longer time to build a relationship with your list because they don't hear from you as often. If you're frustrated with not getting the results you want from your list, touch base with them more often.

Email marketing works well when you have a well-established relationship with your contact list. Follow these 5 strategies to strengthen the responsiveness of your list today.

WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR EZINE OR WEB SITE? You can, as long as you include this blurb with it:  Online Business Coach Donna Gunter helps baby boomers create profitable online retirement businesses by demystifying the steps needed to successfully market a  baby boomer business online. Would you like to learn the specific Internet marketing strategies that get results? Discover how to increase your visibility and get found online by claiming your FREE gift, TurboCharge Your Online Marketing Toolkit, at == > http://www.OnlineBizU.com

Should I buy an email list?

Q:  Can you obtain clean/opt-in email addresses for a targeted zip code from reputable provider, if any?
Ashok

A:  Hi Ashok!  Never, ever, ever buy email addresses from anyone for anything.  There's no such thing as clean or opt-in email addresses.  If the person who owns the email address did not specifically give his/her permission to be on your list, then it's spam. Period.  And trust me, if someone is annoyed enough at you for "spamming" him, he can make you life an utter hell by telling your domain host, your web host, and your ISP that you're a spammer.  If the only "proof" that you have that this person requested to be on your list is from a list that you purchased, that will not serve as proof at all, and  your registrar, ISP, and web host can shut you down and make you go out of business.

The best way to build a list is to have an opt-in form on your own site and use an email marketing program (I like www.GetMoreClientsAutoresponder.com) to help you capture these opt-ins.  Here's an article from my blog that will also help build your list:  15 Proven Strategies to Grow Your List. 

Got an Internet Marketing question?  Ask it here: AskDonnaGunter.com.

Do I really need an email marketing program?

Q:  Why use an e-mail marketing system instead of just sending out e-mails to your clients?

Daisy Curtis

A:  Great question, Daisy!  There are numerous reasons:

1.  Excessive amounts of email sent in one day from your personal email account may result in you being labeled a spammer and blocked from sending any emails at all and/or loss of your ISP account.  Most ISPs won't disclose what is "excessive."  However, when you breach those limits, they typically don't give you a second chance and you have to find another ISP.  With an email marketing program,  the only limits you face are based on the nature of the package your purchase.

2.  List management.  When you send emails from your email program (Outlook, Thunderbird, etc.) the people on your list don't have the option of automatically opting-out of receiving emails or changing their email address.  Instead, they have to email you to do that manually.  This is a PITA for both you and your recipient because it takes extra time on both ends to make that happen.  With an email marketing program, typically an "unsubscribe" or "update" link is automatically appended to the bottom of each broadcast so that a recipient can opt-out/update account details through the email marketing service interface.

3.  Blocked emails.  Most email marketing services work diligently with major ISPs and spam-blocking services to ensure that their email is always considered spam-free and gets through to the recipients without a problem.  However, unless you want another full-time job <g>, you probably don't have the resources or the time to do that yourself.  Buy the services of a reputable email marketing program to make sure that your recipients always get your email.

4.  Determining your open rate. When you send out emails through your email program, you have no idea who or how many people actually got and opened the email or clicked on any of the links inside.  As you start tracking the success of email promotions and broadcasts, these figures become more and more important as you test new subject lines and content.  A reputable email marketing program lets you track stats like these, and more.

5.  Legal protection.  It's so easy now for a disgruntled recipient to label you a spammer and report you to your ISP, your web host, and your domain registrar, which may result in the loss of your domain, your hosting account, and your ISP.  A former client had this happen to him and experienced a 3-month loss of business while he tried to rectify this situation and regain use of his domain name so that he could republish his web site.  When you use a reputable email marketing system and set your list to double opt-in, you have a greater degree of protection against these kinds of losses because most email marketing programs track the time. date, and IP address of anyone confirming an opt-in to your email list.  Therefore, if someone claims "I didn't subscribe to your list," you can tell him/her all the details of when they did opt into your list.

The email marketing service I use and can highly recommend is GetMoreClientsAutoresponder.com for all of my email marketing.  There are others that are less expensive, but I know how hard aWeber works to help its clients maintain list integrity and email deliverability.

Got an Internet Marketing question?  Ask it here: AskDonnaGunter.com.

8 Secrets to Fill Your Business in 60 Days

Recently I was asked in an interview to imagine that I was starting all over again, and as a newbie, how I would fill my business in 60 days. Things have changed tremendously since I began my online business in 1999, mostly for the better. Most of the steps, however remain the same. Best of all, the strategies I recommend to fill your business are the same ones that can be applied to any business, and then applied again and again to other online ventures. Here are 8 secrets to filling the prospect funnel in your business in 60 days:

1. Success mindset. Don't gloss over this strategy -- it may be the most important of all. If you truly want to succeed in your business and are passionate about what you do, nothing will hold you back. This often means that you have to step out in faith that you'll succeed, and most importantly, believe in yourself as a success. Sure, you may stumble, or even fall, but you must be willing to pick yourself back up and persevere -- even without a safety net hanging under you.

2. Target market. The biggest mistake that business owners make is wanting to sell to everyone. If you've tried this, you have no doubt discovered that casting your net around everyone is a very difficult task. Narrowing that group to a more manageable number will actually serve you much better, believe it or not. If you can identify a smaller group of hungry prospects who are willing to pay for the solutions to the problems that keep them awake at night (or those who are willing to pay for more information about a hobby or interest that occupies much of their free time) AND who are reachable in groups (associations, membership sites, magazines, newsletters, discussion forums or lists, social networking groups, etc.), then you have made a key discovery that will catapult your business forward.

3. Client Attraction Device. You've heard it said time and time again that "the money is in the list." This still holds true today, as well. Without a list of interested prospects to whom you can market, you don't have a business. The quickest way to begin to develop a list is to give something away. Yes, you heard me correctly. If you have content you have already created, dig through that to see if you have something appropriate for your chosen target market.

If not, identify a problem of your target market, and create some content that answers one of those problems. Perhaps it's a checklist, a Top 10 list, an ebook or special report, an audio interview, a podcast, a video -- do whatever is easiest for you. Just ensure that it is in a plug and play format , i.e. don't make your prospect download some weird software that's not commonplace to read and view this material.

Make sure that your Client Attraction Device has some valuable content in it. Nothing is more frustrating to me than to read a free giveaway that only serves to remind me that I have a problem and offers no solution unless I pay for it. Don't be afraid to demonstrate your expertise by giving "how to" information away. Trust me, if you are truly good at what you do, there's no way that you can share everything you know on a topic in one short information product. Your Client Attraction Device starts your prospects on the like, know, and trust road that is imperative for them to travel before they will decide to buy something from you.

4. Email marketing system. You must have some way to collect your prospect's information and a system by which you can stay in contact with them. The best way to do this is by purchasing email marketing services. I use GetMoreClientsAutoresponder.com.  Do not use a free service for this, nor try to send emails out of your Outlook program. If you want to be a serous online business owner, invest in the most important asset in your business -- your email marketing system.

5. Blogsite. A blogsite, which is a website/blog hybrid, is the quickest way to build an online presence. The two most popular blogging platforms, the fee-based  Typepad and open source software,  Wordpress, can be used to create a blogsite very quickly. If you want either of them customized with a particular look or feel, that may take a bit longer and require a greater investment. However, either will work well to get you started, and both will permit you to enter your email marketing system's signup code onto a page so that you can immediately begin to collect contact information from prospects who have requested your Client Attraction Device.

6. Stay in touch. Whether you do this by submitting regular blog posts or publishing an email newsletter (or both), you need to reach out and touch your prospects at least weekly (or several times a week if you are blogging). Give them some insights about what's happening with you personally as well as sharing some aspect of your expertise with them by creating a content-rich article or answering their questions. And, don't forget to sell -- offer some product or service in each email newsletter, or submit regular blog posts that remind your readers about what you are selling.

7. Social networking. Never before have we had the opportunity to connect with others online easily and inexpensively as we do now with social networking. Create profiles on the social network(s) used by your target market, do research to add friends/followers in your target market, and use the status updates to be useful to your followers, i.e. by sharing resources, asking questions, and updating them about how you help clients/customers.

8. Drive traffic to your site. There are a number of ways to accomplish this, but my favorite starts with writing an article. Once it's written, I publish it in my ezine, my blog, and to my website and syndicate it on article directories all over the Web through GetMoreClientsArticles.com. Then I have the option of making a podcast with the content; creating a screencast video or "talking head" video from it; writing and submitting a press release; creating a teleclass; create a Q&A radio show interview opportunity; breaking up the points as separate Twitter posts, or Tweets, and tweeting them to my followers; or sharing it on my Squidoo lens or other information-sharing portals. The point here is to work once and profit, profit, profit. Repurpose one article as many ways as you can to drive traffic back to your blogsite and thus get more and more prospects to sign up on your list and ultimately convert them to customers.

The advent of the Internet makes it easier than every to create and promote a business online with very little startup capital. And, if done correctly, the strategies will results in you filling your business in 60 days with eager and willing prospects ready to buy what you are offering.

WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR EZINE OR WEB SITE? You can, as long as you include this blurb with it:  Online Business Coach Donna Gunter helps baby boomers create profitable online retirement businesses by demystifying the steps needed to successfully market a baby boomer business online. Would you like to learn the specific Internet marketing strategies that get results? Discover how to increase your visibility and get found online by claiming your FREE gift, TurboCharge Your Online Marketing Toolkit, at == > http://www.OnlineBizU.com

Free email marketing service

Q:  I am looking for a free e-zine site that contains automatic subscription sign ups,counts click throughs and can be set up to look like a website. I subscribed to Yahoo Groups but thet don't have the ability to build out to look like a web site or to add features that would collect newsletter subscribers. Do I have to pay a contact site?

Rev.Dr.B.Goldstien

A:  Hi Rev Goldstien--

I'm not aware of a service that has all the features that you mention that is free of charge.

Here are a couple of options for you:

1.  Email Marketing Service:  Subscribe to an email marketing service like GetMoreClientsCart.com or GetMoreClientsAutoresponder.com.  The first of these is a full-fledged shopping cart, which includes the ability to send out newsletters and has the ability to create a subscription form, which you can add into your site.

The second of these is an email marketing service only and also offers the ability to create a subscription form, which you can add to your site.

2.  Create a blogsite.  You can create a blogsite (blog/website hybrid) by using either the open-source version of Wordpress.org, or by purchasing a subscription to Typepad.  While neither of these programs offer the option of automatic subscription signups, counting of clickthroughs, etc., you can get some of that functionality by integrating free services like Feedburner or Feedblitz to handle your blog feed subscriptions.  In this way you can "publish" an email newsletter as a blog post and anyone subscribed to your feed will receive the issue.

Wordpress.org is free of charge because it's open source software, but you need some technical know-how to install it and customize it, and as with all open source software, there's no tech support for it, except what you must find yourself by searching through user forums.  You'll also need to buy a website hosting account to host it.

You can set up a Typepad blog for as little as $4.95/month. Hosting and tech support are both included with your account.

If you'd like more info about how to set up a blog or email marketing service to help you get the word out about your business, consider a membership to OnlineBizU.com.

Got an Internet Marketing question?  Ask it here: AskDonnaGunter.com.

Ezine for Wedding Planners

Q: I'm starting a new business and I'm not exactly sure if I can use an ezine.  It is a wedding planning business.

Cathy

A:  Hi Cathy--

An ezine is a great marketing tool. regardless of your business.  It helps you create a list, which the the goldmine for your business, and gives you an interested list of prospects to whom you can market.

Here are a couple of tips you'll need to know to successfully start an ezine:

1.  Make sure your email marketing software requires a double opt-in.  You'll want your prospects to confirm that they want to be added to your list.  Running a list with a single opt-in is a disaster waiting to happen -- all is takes is one perturbed list member to report you to your webhost, domain registrar, ISP, or email marketing service as a spammer, and you might see your entire web presence disappear overnight.

2.  Reach out weekly.  The best results from using an ezine as a marketing tool are obtained when you broadcast weekly.  You need to reach out and touch your prospects regularly so that they don't forget about you and you are top of mind when they need to solve the problem for which your business offers a solution.

3.  Be authentic.  The best thing someone can say about your ezine is that reading it is just like talking to you in person.  Be real as you write your ezine, and don't forget to share some personal tidbits about yourself.  New list members are traveling the like, know, and trust funnel before they become ready to buy what you're selling.

4.  Don't forget to sell.  You're not publishing an ezine because you have nothing better to do..:).  You're trying to convert prospects into paying customers. Make an offer in each ezine, whether it's for an info product you have for sale or for a complimentary consultation about your service.  Be sure your list members know that you're in business.

Here's an article on my blog that also might find helpful: Ezine Marketing: 3 Essential Components Required to Make More Sales From Your Email Newsletter.

As a member of OnlineBizU.com, you can access email newsletter templates as well as other ezine-related checklists and articles.  Find out what you're missing here.

Got an Internet Marketing question?  Ask it here: AskDonnaGunter.com.

Blog or newsletter?

Q:  A blog versus a newsletter? Which should I start?
Bob Deneen

A:  Hi Bob--

I actually still prefer both, although many people have given up on email newsletters.  Print newsletters, however, have risen in popularity. especially subscription-based ones.

The answer to your question depends on your target market.  Which do they prefer?  Personally, I know that I read newsletters before blogs, even though I've got 150+ blogs marked to follow in my blog reader.  Realistically, unless it shows up in front of my face via email, I usually don't read it.  So, I guess that makes me old school..LOL  However, asking your list of contacts is probably the only way to get real direction here.

The downsides to an ezine are that your open rate is probably going to hover around 30% (only 30 percent of your list will open any given email) and you must use an email marketing company with a proven high rate of deliverability.  I use www.GetMoreClientsAutoresponder.com.  The upside is that if the email gets through, there's a greater likelihood of it being read, especially if it has a compelling subject line that's personalized.

The downside to a blog is that if subscribers don't check their RSS readers, they may never see your posts.  The upside to a blog is that the search engines love them and will index posts much more rapidly than tradtional web pages.  So, if you optimize your post properly for keywords, there's a greater chance of finding new subscribers.

Whichever one you decide to start with, remember that you can repurpose one to the other.  Shorter blog posts can become more in-depth newsletter articles,   And, sections of your newsletter can be posted on your blog.

For more in-depth info on how to create both an email newsletter and a blog as well as access the 60-minute teleclass I held on repurposing your content, try a membership to OnlineBizU.com.

Got an Internet Marketing question?  Ask it here: AskDonnaGunter.com.