It doesn't matter what technological advances and marketing tools are the new fad du jour. Ezines are here to stay. You may decide to start a blog (in fact, this is a very good idea!) but you would be wise to send out an ezine as well.

You may have a website, and you should be sending out your ezine every week, two weeks, or month.

You may engage in business-building through teleseminars, free e-books, podcasts and even video clips. You should still send out your ezine!

Why Send Out an Ezine?

Why? Because ezines work. Here's why: there is power in the written word. When you consistently send out quality content, you:

1. Show how much you know
2. Show how much you care about your clients and your field
3. Show you are a credible expert in your field
4. Expose how you work with clients through case studies and sample stories
5. Send a message that your readers could have the same success working with you as a client you are writing about.
6. Stay in touch with people who aren't ready yet to hire you, who need to know more
7. Give away valuable information clients can use; when you are generous and a credible expert, you'll be top of mind when it's time to seek help
8. Establish a body of written work which, when posted on the web, becomes indexed by search engines; people can easily find you when they type in keywords into Google, or Yahoo or other search directories.

You can be the best at what you do, but if nobody can find you, or they don't have enough information to tell if you're the right professional for them, you will not succeed in business. A website is probably a must-have for your business (I say "probably" because you could put up a blog instead.) However, that will not work for driving people to pick up the phone or send you an email; it's just not enough.

People need to hear from you consistently in order to develop a sense of trust in you. Most marketing experts say it takes 7 to 10 contacts before they will take action. But action doesn't come without trust.

You may get many clients from networking or referrals. Word of mouth is a great way to generate leads. But can you depend on it? How long do you have to be in business before you can rely on your reputation and other clients and colleagues to send people your way?

Who knows? Do you really want to sit around waiting for people to call you?

Writing and publishing an e-newsletter is essential for letting people know who you are and what you have to offer. If you're not publishing an ezine yet, what are you waiting for? There are systems and programs that make this easier than ever before. You can do it yourself, or hire someone to do it for you. And if you are frustrated with an ezine that isn't getting results, maybe it is time to review it and renew it.

For more leading edge ezine tips go to http://www.coachezines.com. You can also subscribe to Newsletter Nuggets at http://www.newsletternuggets.com. To learn more about using ezines and other tools like blogs, go to www.blogsquad.biz. Patsi Krakoff, Psy. D. is writer and Internet Marketing expert with over 7 years experience marketing online.