Agreeably, email is still in its infancy and there's still a lot of ground to cover. We have barely scratched the surface in terms of harnessing the power of email marketing let alone the Internet, and the need to start using this yet greatly untapped resource is overwhelming. It is powerful in that a newsletter doesn't outright promote one's company or product, but one's expertise and value in the marketplace. A newsletter is often more effective than an advertisement or brochure because the publisher is demonstrating its expertise in its particular field rather than stating it outright. And therein lies the key.
People are constantly bombarded with commercial messages everywhere they go.
But a constant supply of solid information that attempts to educate rather than promote will place a higher degree of credibility in the prospect's mind on the company from which the information originates. Don't be a consultant, be an expert who consults. Don't be a writer, be an expert who writes. The newsletter therefore, especially if it's free, can inform prospective clients of what a company is all about before people actually make the buying decision. But the idea is nonetheless to target a specific audience, and to have the people who read the ezine want more and come forward to get it.