I am a big fan of the Internet and use it a lot to grow and promote my business - in case you hadn't noticed. One of my favorite tools to use besides my own web sites and blogs is Constant Contact. This service provides great templates, images and tools to make sending newsletters and promotions a snap for a very cost effective rate.

One of the things that makes this type of service nice - there are others - is that your emails are less likely to be counted as spam. People not only get your emails but can also forward the emails, click on links and even purchase products you recommend from Amazon.com or your web site (if you have a shopping cart set up).

All of these activities are tracked so you can see who does what and who doesn't. You can also make it easy for people to unsubscribe without hurting your feelings!

The key to a successful newsletter (and business) is to have things that engage the clients and keep their interest. A few ideas:

1) Make stories and paragraphs shorter and snappier than you would in a magazine article.

2) Offer tips on how they can help themselves, save money or benefit from your services and products.

3) Include pictures and hyperlinks to your web site, blog and other points of interest.

4) Try to send it out on some type of a regular basis - once or twice a month - unless people subscribe to some type of tip for the day or week.

5) Include a call to action - "Call today for a free estimate." "Schedule now and receive 10% off" etc.

Whatever marketing you do, make sure it fits with your business and personality style so that it fits your clients too. And as I keep telling myself, don't be afraid to delegate this job to someone else if it is not your bag or you don't have time for one more thing .

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