Function #6: USE YOUR NEWSLETTER TO BUILD RAPPORT AND ESTABLISH NEW RELATIONSHIPS.

When a client receives your newsletter, your information creates rapport and builds a relationship — two components that make clients hire you. Each issue of your newsletter should increase awareness of your expertise and keep your name and phone number fresh in mind of client.

You can build rapport and establish a relationship by:

a) writing in first person form; b) providing insightful, expert-oriented information; c) understanding needs of prospect or client; d) subtly revealing your willingness and eagerness to help solve their problems.

Function #7: USE YOUR NEWSLETTER TO PRESERVE EXISTING RELATIONSHIPS.

Communication is an essential link to maintain prosperous, long-term relationships with existing clients. Your business newsletter can serve as a communications mouthpiece, buzzing your name and phone number in front of eyes and into minds of existing clients, as well as updating them on new events about your business and how you're helping other clients.

Function #8: USE YOUR NEWSLETTER TO INITIATE A SELL OR PROVIDE REFERRALS.

Your newsletter has potential to initiate a sell or funnel referrals your way. As stated before, when you help a prospect solve a problem or achieve better results by means of your business newsletter, he'll want to call you to produce similar results — or he may refer you to an associate who also could benefit from your skills and expertise.

Function #9: USE YOUR NEWSLETTER TO GENERATE EXTRA RESPONSES.

Your newsletter may be first step in a multi-step marketing blitz to secure clients. You can include incentives to pull in responses. For example, you can offer a Free Consultation, in which you ask client to call you for free advice and solutions on his current project. You also can offer a Free Material Review incentive, in which you critique a piece of client’s promotional material and then discuss weaknesses and strengths. Or you can use your newsletter to advertise free information-dense articles or back issues of your newsletter (that have your byline and phone number on them).

Function #10: USE YOUR NEWSLETTER TO INCREASE THE VALUE OF YOUR SERVICES.

Because each newsletter focuses on your skills and expertise as a freelancer, each issue builds on last one and emphasizes and re-emphasizes your skills and expertise. Your first issue may not have an impact, but by second, third, or fourth issue, client begins to appreciate your insightfulness and problem-solving skills and may rely on your skills for his next project.

Function #11: USE YOUR NEWSLETTER TO POSITION YOURSELF AS A TOP EXPERT IN YOUR FIELD.

The information in your newsletter can position yourself as an expert in your field, so use this toward your advantage. Begin to think of yourself as an expert — best one around, and subtly convey this image in your copy.

To position yourself as an expert, subtly provide:

a) specific results you've gotten for other clients; b) quotes from popular authors or keynote speakers to supplement and support your statements; c) brief, interesting footnotes about what you've learned from books and magazines, or at workshops and seminars.

When a client realizes how knowledgeable and active you are in your field, he will begin to see you as an expert — and you will get work, not another freelancer.

Function #12: USE YOUR NEWSLETTER TO CREATE AND PRESERVE A POSITIVE IMAGE OF YOURSELF AND YOUR BUSINESS.

You are responsible as to how other clients and prospects perceive you — and you can change, alter and manipulate your image with a business newsletter. For example, you can create a newsletter that pegs you as a freelancer with a special skill or talent.

But regardless. I lost battle. For THREE FULL DAYS I tried to remove virus, but without any luck..

The Spyware Doctor narrowed it down to one trouble file, which was a type of Trojan that existed in my System32 directory. The Trojan was renaming itself every few seconds by randomly selected names.

Norton Antivirus said that this type of Trojan gave no visual indication that my computer had been infected. It was dropping a copy of itself with a randomly named executable file.

Every time Spyware Doctor would find Trojan, it was unable to locate it and it couldn’t remove it. That’s because Trojan already had a different name.

Also, what I found out was that I was never looking at my Internet Explorer browser. I thought I was, but I wasn’t. I found a Java Script that was taking source code from any website that I would go to, reformat it by adding links to selected key words and then display new code in another window that was being generated by a remote server.

My original browser window was getting killed and I was looking at a cloned window with inserted links. That was happening with such speed that I didn’t even notice it because of my fast Internet connection (cable modem).

After I unplugged Internet connection, my computer was no longer functioning properly. I couldn’t access my “windows explorer” window any more, I couldn’t open my Internet Explorer window and I lost control over many other functions.

But each time I would turn Internet modem back on, my computer would start to work fine. Only, Spyware Doctor would give me a notification that over 40 dangerous files were immediately being downloaded into my hard drive.

The Trojan virus that I couldn’t remove because of its re-naming capability was probably staying in touch with hacker’s server. So I switched Internet connection off for last time and I shut down computer.

Right now as I’m writing this, I don’t have a computer at home because I gave it to a technician to reformat hard drive and try to save as many files as possible. I’m writing this from another computer and I'm really worried that none of my files will be saved... that will mean months of work down drain!

I have since learned that my antivirus and anti-spyware software would not protect me against Trojan threat. I needed a firewall to protect me, and make sure my computer was invisible online.

Please, don't let this happen to you! Install a firewall on your computer so you can make your IP address invisible to hackers.

As I'm finishing this article two weeks after virus attack, my Norton Firewall is working at full force. Every time a hacker tries to send Trojan files to my hard drive behind my back, a window in bottom right corner pops us notifying me of dangerous executable files being blocked from entering my hard drive.

I lost over 90% of my files but I've learned my lesson hard way.

© Steve Dimeck

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