Whether you’ve just started an email newsletter (a.k.a. ezine), have published dozens of issues, or are just thinking about starting your own ezine, one thing’s for sure: the ultimate goal of your email newsletter is to attract clients for your service business.
Because let’s face it: you’re not spending hours each week/month sweating through yet another article for your health, right? 
And in honor of my 100th newsletter issue, I wanted to take a moment to share with you my top 5 ways to use your email newsletter to attract clients and earn revenues for your business. Let’s check ‘em out:
Monetize Your Ezine Tip #1: Feature one of your products/service packages.
One of the easiest ways to monetize your ezine is to take advantage of the existing real estate of your ezine. Which might mean adding a “Featured product/service” section to your ezine, either above the article section or within a sidebar, as you see in this ezine issue. This is especially useful if the featured product/service is somehow related to the content within your ezine article. So, if I wrote an article about 5 Tips for Writing Compelling Web Copy, for instance, my featured product would most likely be my Instant Web Copy program. Or I might feature my done-for-you web copywriting services. Just depends on my marketing goals for the month, and which product/service will best help me meet those goals.
Monetize Your Ezine Tip #2: Feature an affiliate product/service.
Are you finding yourself thinking, But, Tammi, I don’t HAVE a product to feature? No worries, this next step’s got you covered. This technique works particularly well for those who are new in business and haven’t yet created compelling service packages and/or information products for passive income. What you would do here is to become an affiliate of someone within or related to your industry that sells something your community would find useful. If you’re a virtual assistant serving small business owners, for example, you might try looking for business coaches or copywriters who offer products/service packages that are helpful to your readers, without overshadowing their need for your services. Once you get an idea of non-competing businesses who might serve as perfect affiliate partners, check their website to see if they have an affiliate program you can sign up for. It might look something like this.
Monetize Your Ezine Tip #3: Offer a free consultation.
Yes, I said a FREE consultation. So no, the consultation itself isn’t how you monetize your ezine, but getting folks on the phone with you for a chat about what they need and how you can help them is a great way to open the door to a long-term working relationship. And even if you don’t sign all of them on as new clients, you can still use the opportunity to get to know your readers and further foster that one-on-one relationship with them (‘cuz let’s face it, your readers are much less likely to jump ship – a.k.a. unsubscribe – when you’re no longer just some stranger they came across online but an actual living, breathing human being that cares about them and their goals). Even if they don’t buy from you right away, that one conversation can go a long way toward easing them into a business relationship with you down the road. (Remember: email marketing is a long-term marathon, not a short-term sprint!)
Monetize Your Ezine Tip #4: Showcase testimonials from successful clients.
If you have any testimonials from happy clients, you can (and should) include them in your ezine. This technique works because your readers are far more likely to believe a third-party talking about how great you are than if you tried to sign your own praises (and just came off as braggy and insincere in the process). Plus, if you can get your clients to be specific in their testimonials, and share the actual results they achieved (ie. lost 10 pounds, earned 6 figures, landed their dream job, etc.), folks reading it will be inclined to think that if such results were possible for your client, it might be possible for them to reach similar goals. And you just might find folks contacting you based on those testimonials alone and asking to work with you. So if you’ve got ‘em, flaunt ‘em!
Monetize Your Ezine Tip #5: Always tell readers how to get more.
Say you’ve just penned an amazing article about the impact of underwater basket weaving on a person’s overall happiness. Or something to that affect. Your readers are all excited about the subject matter, and they’re picking up these great tips and then…nothing. You sign off with a wave and a “see ya next week!” So your readers go on their merry way, not getting the help they need. What a letdown! Instead, always end your newsletter articles with an action step. Ask yourself, What can they do next to increase their success rate? Your next step might be to attend a free webinar that dives deeper into the subject matter, to request a free consultation if they’re ready to hire a professional, to purchase a training product or even to connect with you via Facebook/Twitter/LinkedIn for more great tips and even some interaction with you (if you’re active on those platforms).
The bottom line is that you’ve worked hard to fill your newsletter list with potential clients who are interested in what you have to offer, and your email newsletter should be working to build trust, credibility, and, ultimately, buying relationships with those readers.
If it’s not working, or if you just want to learn more about using email newsletters to attract clients and grow your business, I invite you to join me next week in a no-cost training webinar called Secrets of a Client-Attracting Ezine: How to Use Simple Yet Powerful Email Newsletters to Establish Trust, Credibility, and Buying Relationships with Potential Clients! On top of giving you lots of yummy tips on attracting clients and making money with your email newsletter, I’m also celebrating my 100th newsletter issue by giving away a $947 “Turn Your Ezine into Profits” prize to one live listener. Register for both the training and the grand prize giveaway by visiting http://writeassociate.com/client-attracting-ezine/. Best of luck!