Are you publishing an online newsletter (ezine)? It's an easy and effective way to stay in touch with your customers and leads. Your ezine can provide your readers with helpful tips and advice to help them succeed. You can also showcase your latest projects and include testimonials from happy customers.

Here are 5 great reasons to implement this as part of your marketing strategy:

1. An ezine regularly reinforces your expertise. Over time, a newsletter establishes trust with your readers. You begin to form a relationship, even if you've never met face to face. And because you are showcasing your expertise on a regular basis, your ezine builds your credibility.

2. It's a great marketing tool to keep in touch. When you regularly keep in touch with your prospects and customers, they remember you. And since people don't typically buy something the first time they are exposed to it, an ezine is a helpful way to stay on their radar screen until they are ready.

3. Your ezine adds a human touch. If you include personal updates and company news, an ezine is a great way to add a personality to your business. You can write as much as you want about your personal life and what is going on with your company and staff. Your readers will begin to look forward to your updates and stories.

4. You can promote your services and products. An ezine offers a venue to offer specials, highlight new services/products, and provide coupons and discounts. As long as the majority of your ezine is focused on helpful content, your readers will be delighted to find out more about your promotions.

5. An ezine is an inexpensive way to build your list of leads. Since there are no printing and mailing costs associated with an ezine, it is a very cheap way to reach lots of people. And you can easily grow your list be encouraging your subscribers to forward your ezine. Simply add a line at the top or bottom of each issue asking readers to pass it along to anyone who might find the information valuable.

To get started, pick out a system to manage your subscribers. There are many services that do this - a few popular ones include Constant Contact, MyEmma, and Mail Chimp. Use an opt-in list in which a person has to agree to become a subscriber and can unsubscribe if they no longer want to receive your ezine.

Maven Action Item: Start to think about how an ezine can help your business. Write down some ideas about how often your will publish it. What will it be called? What can you write about. Good luck on your first issue!