Managing a newsletter or ezine does not have to be expensive or very time consuming. There are several free services that will host your publication and provide an automated subscription process. I just switched one newsletter over to YahooGroups system for new subscriptions and it seems to work fine. It has eliminated all hand subscription process and automated it for me, all at no cost.

AUTOMATED E-MAIL FOLLOW-UP:

The use of autoresponders to supply immediate and comprehensive information to your prospects is a very powerful use of e-mail technology and, I believe, a good one.

But, what do you do after initial lead response? How do you continue to follow-up at regular intervals? If you deal with very few leads of high quality, it's not a problem to follow-up with custom one-on-one messages and it is imperative that you do so if you expect to convert these leads to sales.

If your lead flow runs to big numbers, however, you have a problem. You simply must automate follow-up process to insure that every prospect inquiry gets properly timed, on-going, information and reasons to buy--a minimum of 5 times. To do less is to waste your lead generation investment. You must maximize this return-on-investment if you are to succeed and only practical way to do this is with automation.

A number of e-mail services provide an autoresponder system that will send a series of pre-written, timed, follow-up messages to your leads. This is a powerful use of technology. The real power comes, however, when messages you send are professionally crafted works of benefit laden sales copy. These timed responses can be profit-enhancing selling tools, or downright intrusions. The difference will be skill with which you use tool.

The reward for building an automated follow-up system is always worth effort. The time you spend nurturing your follow-up program will result in increased sales and profits, an improved image, more sales leads, lower sales costs, shortened selling cycles, and improved cash flow.

ARTICLE ANNOUNCEMENT LISTS...

Here are a number of important Article Announcement Lists that will give you a simple and fast mechanism for distribution of your articles...

http://topica.com/lists/articlereview/
http://topica.com/lists/freeezinecontent/
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/article_announce/
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/article_announce_list/
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Free-Reprint-Articles/
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Free-Content/
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Free_eContent/
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/freezinecontent/
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/internet_marketing_articleblaster/
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/netwrite-publish-announce/
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/publisher_network/
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/QC_Reprint_Articles
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ReprintArticles-Paradise/
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/reprintedarticles/
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/TheWriteArticles/

YOUR INTERNAL, IN-HOUSE, DISTRIBUTION LIST...

You might want to consider doing a "mail merge" to this list and personalize your submission to specific editor by name.

Remember, this list could be worth thousand of dollars to you over coming months and years. Do not treat it lightly. This list is truly a center-of-influence list that you will want to spend time and effort nuturing. Remembering them at holidays and on special occasions, goes a long way to building a profitable relationship.

Pick up a phone and call them. Let them know that you appreciate your relationship... and let them know you are available for special writing assignments. (Here is an example of how strong and beneficial this simple act can be... About two years ago I sent a small holiday gift [a screen-saver of tropical Hawaiian images] to a magazine editor who had used a number of my articles in past. I waited until package had time to arrive and then I picked up a phone and called her. She was delighted with thoughtfulness of gift and then stunned me with news that one of her regular columnists had been forced to resign... and "would I be interested in replacing him?". So... that simple telephone call resulted in a regular column in a print magazine that serves one of my niche marketplaces. A marvelous result that may not have happened if I had not "nurtured relationship".

Ask them "What Articles Do You Need?"... and listen closely to their answers.

By doing so... you will develop a sense of what materials are needed and wanted in your marketplace. Write specifically to those needs and you will develop a strong editorial following that will pay off in huge traffic flow, increased sales and profits, and an enhanced image and reputation. These are pretty hefty benefits for some time spent researching and writing articles!