If you put "write newsletter article" on your to-do list, yet never seem to have the time to do it, you may need a good partner. Partnering is one of the most effective ways to create information products. Here’s an audio recording about what’s needed to find the right partner:

http://www.1executivecoachingclub.com/wakemankrakoff

I know a thing or two about partnering, as I had two failed attempts before finding the right associate who is the right fit. Since associating with Denise Wakeman, I have created more products, classes, audio files and expanded my database of contacts exponentially. (translation: ker-ching!)

For example, she helped revise the Secrets of Successful Ezines ebook, we co-authored the Build a Better Blog System ebook, did the Non-techie Guide to Setting up a Business Blog, numerous audio podcasts, The Blog Revolution teleclass series, and now, ongoing weekly Conversations with Experts.

If you want to hear about how Denise and I found each other and developed a productive partnership, listen to the interview. We were featured on the Executive Coaching Club series, sponsored by Mike Jay. You don’t have to be a member to hear our recording. If you are interested in hearing other experts on a regular basis, it would be a good idea to join Mike’s Club. There is a minimal monthly fee, but it’s worth it.

Patsi

Customized Newsletter Services can save you time and money…and your precious energy! Which, quite frankly, is the major issue for us all today.

I don’t believe that busy, productive consultants or coaches should spend their valuable time with marketing, newsletter, ezine or blog tasks. If you are any kind of independent professional, you need to conserve your energy for doing what you do best- spending time with your clients and earning the kind of money you deserve.

So, people have been asking me lately: What is a newsletter service? What can you do for my business? And.. of course, What’s it cost?

I’m not going to answer the cost question- you can get that on my website. But here is what my Customized Newsletter Service can do for you:

You Use Our Content…
As a subscriber to our services you never
need struggle to find ideas or research
information. You can use our articles as
you own, rewrite them, add your own
thoughts and stories. We save you time,
money and energy.

As an annual subscriber, or a la carte
You can buy bundles of articles & get
lower prices for 3, 6, or 12.
You can buy them in three lengths:
500-700 word Nuggets
1000 word articles
2000 word articles

You Use Our PDF Customized Files…
We will design your PDF file using your
photo, logo and marketing message. We
supply the articles, or we use yours. We
deliver to you and you distribute and
post on your web site.

As an annual subscriber, or a la carte
You can order a 1, 2 or 4 page PDF file,
and we will format it for you with:
500-700 word Nuggets
1000 word articles
2000 word articles

You Use Our HTML Designed Files
We will design your HTML file using your
photo, logo and marketing message. We
supply the articles, or we use yours.
Use our All-in-One Ezine System, and
we will distribute and manage it also.

As an annual subscriber, or a la carte
You can order any length; we will
format it for you with:
500-700 word Nuggets
1000 word articles

I don’t believe anybody should spend much time doing newsletters
or blogs! I say, get back to coaching and doing what
you love. Save yourself time, money & energy- oursource!

If you want to learn to do it yourself, then shorten the
learning curve with my two books:

Secrets of Successful Ezines & Build a Better Blog.

These two ebooks were co-authored with Denise Wakeman,
of NextLevelPartnerships. Denise is an Internet Marketing
Expert, and she can help set you up with automated systems
for your business. We also give interested small business owners
and professionals free access to Conversations with Experts
every Wednesday evening at 8:30 p.m. ET. Sign up here.

Don’t want to do it yourself? Let me help. If I can’t help,
then I know somebody who can, so email me:

Patsi
www.customizednewsletters.com
858-523-9833

P.S. We do BLOGS too!
Come Blog with me!
www.coachezines.com
www.bizbooknuggets.com
www.buildabetterblog.com

If you’d like to sign up for some free reports, like the ROI of Coaching,
the Top Ten Reasons to Do a Blog AND an Ezine, be sure to visit this
page here and sign up.

Should You Do a Blog instead of An Ezine?

Debbie Weil makes a good point over at her blog BlogWrite for CEOs. In an article entitled: Dirty secret of publishing a blog vs. an HTML e-newsletter, she weighs the pros & cons of HTML ezines vs blogs and says that you probably can’t write, format, test, and verify links for an HTML newsletter in under two hours. But a blog can be posted in about 15 minutes.

That has been our experience, only worse. HTML ezines can take forever to get right, and there is usually one or two subscribers that have problems with receiving them. 

A blog is quick and easy. Now that I think about it, I started writing this blog because I had a lot to say on the subject of ezines, and didn’t want to have to start building up a new list of subscribers.

Of course, the challenge now is driving readers over here to read it. But I don’t feel like I’m intruding into their inboxes. And there are ways to drive traffic to a blog. Blogs are very social, have you noticed?

As T.L. Pakii Pierce is fond of saying, "Blogs are a social tool." When we interviewed him for our Build a Better Blog System ebook, he explained how other bloggers will pick up stories and spread them around. You can read his interesting interview when you order the preview edition of the book.

So Debbie Weil is getting readers to respond to her survey question about blogs vs HTML newsletters, this will get passed around, and there is an echo being heard right now as you read this…hear it?

I say do both a blog and an ezine! Especially if you have already worked hard to build up a list of loyal subscribers. Don’t abandon that, but invite them to read your blog as well. A blog can be more informal and interactive, it is a different animal. As I am fond of saying, the more fishing poles in the Internet pond, the more fish you will catch.

Want to read Top Ten Reason to Do an Ezine AND a Blog? Go here!

Okay, so I didn’t write this book, wish I had. Thought about it, never got around to it. So, why re-invent the wheel.

Ali Brown has just published her “101 Simple, FREE and Low-Cost Ways to Quickly Build a MASSIVE EMAIL LIST". Go buy it. Then go follow her steps. You’ll be glad you did.

Growing your ezine mailing list is often one of the biggest challenges for professionals.  Alexandria Brown, aka The Ezine Queen, has just published a special report with 101 ways to build an email list.  If you’ve been hanging around the internet for the last few years, you’ve probably heard of The Ezine Queen.  She’s a prolific writer, author and speaks at many Internet Marketing conferences.  I own a number of her products and have taken her teleclasses and can vouch for the fact she knows her stuff. 

You can have the best products or services in the world. And you can send out the best ezine or emails in the world. But if you have NO LIST, you have NO ONE to market to and buy your stuff.

The Ezine Queen’s brand new SPECIAL REPORT:

“101 Simple, FREE and Low-Cost Ways to Quickly Build a MASSIVE EMAIL LIST" is now available.

I’ve reached a new high…

When I first learned how to use Outlook and manage my email, I was taught never to let my inbox messages exceed a certain number. Emails messages, once read and acted upon would be moved over to an appropriate folder where they could be filed if needed later.

I set that number at 100, but I’ve always tried to get to under 50. There are always a few emails that stay there in my inbox because I want to think about them, I’m not sure what to do with them, or I don’t know where to file them. They aren’t quite worthy of deleting, and I don’t know where to save them.

This month has been unbelievably busy. I reached a new high of 600 email messages in my inbox (100 unread!). Now we’re not talking spam here, that gets deleted all day long and accounts for another 80 percent of my email.

Why bother with sorting into file folders off to the side? It takes too long to find a message otherwise. And I don’t get a feeling of overwhelm when I look at my inbox. I can handle looking at 100 messages, more or less, because I know that the first few need handling, and the rest are waiting for replies. I can handle that.

I know this is boring to you, but bear with me. I discovered during my morning walk around the Del Mar beach why this was happening.

Mega Insight into Brain!

How could I slip into such slovenly email habits? Because this was a very creative and productive month. I was able to shut out the demands of messages and tasks to be done, in favor of creating new articles and products.

I am usually an organized person, and like to have that feeling of being in control of my chores. In fact, I usually do chores before sitting down to write and create.

This month was different, I wrote and created. "To hell with email," my creative self said. "So what!" if a client wants something from me. "Too bad my husband is hungry," said I.

My Battling Inner Selves…

You may have noticed my previous postings from my evil marketing twin.  So now I discover I have more than just an Inner Schmoozer. I have my Creative Self (also known as big inner slob) and my Organized Self and the two are at odds as to which task gets attention.

Which leads me to ask, is it possible to be creative AND organized? And, would that be any fun?

I’d love to hear from you about how you manage your email (somebody help me), your battling inner selves (no crazies here, I’m not doing psychology any more), and…how you balance competing drives.

Patsi and her committee

P.S.

If you’re a coach and want to get and stay organized, try out Sylva Leduc’s Client Compass software. It’s a really good tool. Sylva also has a number of products and informational tools to help you stay up to date. I’ve even been featured on her marketing series and you can learn more here (prices go up March 1, so hurry!).