Like email messaging, ezines are a very effective marketing tool for business. As with all other information sent to clients, make sure your ezine is packed with useful tips, hints and news that enhances your reputation as an expert in your field.

In contrast to traditional newsletters, an ezine can be published very inexpensively because there are no printing and mailing costs to contend with. Subscribers receive the ezine automatically in their email box. The ezine looks just like a regular newsletter with supporting graphics, text and links. The only difference is that it’s electronic instead of printed.

Recipients can subscribe to your ezine on your website and unsubscribe whenever they wish, either through an unsubscribe function on your website or at the bottom of your ezine.

If you want to send an ezine for free, there are plenty of websites that will let you do this. The tradeoff is they will place ads in your messages. It’s up to you whether this is worth sending an ezine for free.

Free list hosts include:

Yahoo! Groups – http://groups.yahoo.com/

Topica – http://www.topica.com/

Smart Groups – http://www.smartgroups.com/

Resources on Ezine Marketing:

1.  Ezine Tips – If the thought of sending unsolicited ads to your subscribers turns your stomach, there are some great companies out there that offer robust and full-featured ezine services for a very affordable fee.

2.  Writing Great Ezines – Even if you start out including every email address you’ve ever acquired, let recipients have an easy way out.

3.  Mailing Your Ezine – An ezine with lots of subscribers can put a real load on a server.

4.  Promoting Your Ezine – Of course, an ezine is only as good as the promotion it receives.

5.  Avoiding Being a Spammer – If you concentrate on delivering good content to clients, you shouldn’t run afoul of spam filters, particularly if you use a fee-based service.

6.  Making Money With Your Ezine – While ezines are great for sharing information and positioning yourself as an expert, don’t think for a moment that there aren’t opportunities to create some additional revenue streams through your ezine.