Fundamentally Business

What is an Ezine?

An Ezine is a newsletter that is distributed via email or online. It is also known as an Email Magazine, Online Publication or Electronic Newsletter.
Companies use ezines to keep in touch with their customers, inform them of new products, special offers, and are usually published free of charge. When your mailing list reaches a certain number, say around 4000 you can consider selling advertising space in your Ezine.
The usual way to subscribe to an Ezine is by signing-up on a web site and sending a blank email to a subscribe email address. Anther method is through Web Directories.
Why should I publish an Ezine?
Staying in touch with your customers and potential customers is a key reason to publish an Ezine.. It can overcome one of the challenges to business on the Internet, and that is the trust factor. Ezines enable you to build relationships and create an online identity.
For example, someone is interested in buying a product you offer, but is hesitate because they don't know you, or have any history with you. Plus.. There is no face to face interaction and they can't talk to you directly. If, however, your messages have been clear, concise and straight forward and are willing to help me, this reinforces your competency and potential customers are more likely to buy from you. Ezines provide the perfect vehicle with which to accomplish this.
An important side benefit to publishing an Ezine (newsletter) is it allows you to notice trends in your business, so that you can improve your customer service and ultimately improve your bottom line.
Consider this?
What is one of the first tasks you undertake when you arrive at the office? Chances are you read your email. Email use is rising fast. According to Forrester Research, over 35 percent of Internet user time is spent with email. What is most interesting is that we even check our work email while on vacation and during the weekend. It has become a part of our every day lives.
With people spending so much time on email, there is an enormous opportunity to market to them and build solid customer relationships. Email has emerged to become one of the most profitable and economical ways to manage customer relationships, presenting marketers with many opportunities and benefits.
Opportunities
Low Cost - Email advertising is the most cost-effective way to reach customers. When you consider how much money you spend on traditional marketing vehicles, the value of email marketing is evident. For instance, you do not have to worry about production, the use of materials or postage - as you do for direct mail. What is most attractive is that you market to an audience that will receive your message and likely respond to it because they have provided permission to accept it
Targeted and Qualified Audience
When you create your own email list (as opposed to buying it) it means you follow a process whereby you contact your intended audience and gain permission to use their email address for future communications from your company. No list is more targeted or qualified. Because these individuals have agreed to accept a message from you, it is likely that they will read the message and take part in a particular action, whether it is to simply visit your site or make a purchase. This type of marketing is very effective – particularly when you consider direct marketing or other forms of traditional advertising where you spend large amounts to reach an audience that may never receive your message.
Fast, Efficient and Effective
Developing an email campaign is not as resource hungry as other marketing activities. You simply develop the message, identify your audience and send the message. There is also the flexibility to alter the message for different audience groups. For example, you may send a message informing recent buyers about a sale you are having. Then, you may add a coupon to this message for customers who have visited your store but have not yet made a purchase. This flexibility is not available with other marketing vehicles, which require various resources to implement. Email marketing also generates immediate responses since the call to action is within the message and provides an easy response mechanism for customers. For example, all they have to do is click on a link.
Personalized Communication
Email marketing is a proactive medium to maintain contact with customers and build relationships with them. Leveraging information from past interactions, you can identify where your customers are in the buying process and engage them with regular communication that is tailored to their needs with personalized messages and timely information. You can deliver information that provides the most satisfaction to them and is most profitable to you.
For instance, you may remind customers about a sale you are having, invite them to a customer appreciation night or alert them with new product notifications. By personalizing the customer experience you can maximize existing relationships and turn prospects into long-term, loyal and profitable customers.
Easy to Track and Evaluate
Traditional marketing campaigns can take months to plan, implement and evaluate. For instance, to roll-out a direct mail campaign it would take weeks to develop the content, organize production and mail the promotion. Then, there is a period of time when you wait and see if your campaign brought any results. Have people visited your web site? Have they visited your store? Have they made a purchase? What exactly is the return on investment? Measurement of the effectiveness of the campaign is limited. Email marketing campaigns can be executed within days and results tracked immediately. Using various software packages, you can determine how many customers received the email, how many opened it and how many bought a product because of your message.
The low cost, efficiency, and personalized nature of email marketing provides substantial opportunity to reach all your marketing objectives, whether it be to increase sales, improve brand awareness, or drive site traffic.
Increase Sales
In addition to providing an easy means to send out coupons, discounts and other promotions, email marketing enables you to provide a solid call-to-action to a specific offer, which is easy to take advantage of. If you want to increase sales, a strong offer is central to the success of your email campaign. It’s also effective to include e-commerce functionality within the email to shorten the sales process.
Improve Brand Awareness
Email provides an easy medium through which to gain the attention of a large audience, particularly if your message is entertaining, compelling, or unique. The trick is to improve the association of your message with the branding of your company. For instance, if your audience is primarily young and have a carefree attitude, you may provide a promotion to win an outdoor adventure vacation.
Drive Site Traffic
If you want to increase your site traffic, email marketing provides an easy and effective avenue through which to entice people to your site. Attract attention to your site with a sample of the benefits your business provides. Provide content that will attract the audience’s attention and encourage customers to check your site for more information. Entice them with free offers, humor, or entertaining tools.