Should you have your own ezine? It depends on whether it would be worth time and effort to you. A look at following list of ezine publishing pros and cons should help you decide whether creating, building and maintaining an ezine of your own is right for you.

THE PROS

Marketing: Ezines provide you with an excellent way to find and target market(s) you are trying to reach with your products and services. Suppose, for example, that you write or sell cookbooks; a recipe or cooking tip ezine would surely attract a dedicated readership which, over time, begins to know, trust and like your information. These subscribers would also be most open to buying your books as well, or visiting Web site where your books are sold.

This applies to pretty much any type of product or service you sell. Whether you are a Web site designer looking for freelance work, own an auction or shopping mall site, or sell your own handmade crafts, creating a newsletter that caters to your targeted readership will also provide you with a promotional outlet for your other works.

Relationships: Another way you can benefit from a dedicated ezine readership is online relationships you build through it over time.

Among your readers you may end up finding people with whom you can set up reciprocal Web site links or potential clients for your services. Someone who regularly reads your newsletter may contact you out of blue with a joint venture idea that could turn out to be a real money-maker. Or perhaps you'll get ideas for new projects from a "Letter to Editor" (that's you!).

Your subscribers get to "know" you through your ezine--your reliability, your talent, and whatever aspects of your personality that you choose to reveal. And you never know what nice little surprises will arrive in your email box from loyal readers.

If you're destined to fail at ezine publishing, take note of following 7 points. How many of these mistakes are you making right now?

1. Don't collect names from your website(s)

Are you familiar with pop-ups? Some hate them, some love them, some feel that they are intrusive and annoying. Bottom line, they bring in subscribers. So why wouldn't you use them?

There are a number of resources for pop-up scripts online. Go to Google.com and type in "pop-up scripts". If you're a non-techie, here's a good affordable pop-up system that can be auto-configured for you in less than 8 minutes:

http://www.ezineannouncer.com/oia.html AOL Click Here

2. Don't personally connect with your audience

There's nothing worse than a dull, boring, "plain jane" ezine. Readers want to know *real* you. If you have any hobbies or interests, tell your readers. If you're a big Chicago Cubs fan, let your readers know. But use your head and keep it in context.

3. Don't publish *fresh* content

Keep your content fresh. Don't use same old articles that have been kicking around online for 8 months. It's disappointing to your readers and they'll quickly lose interest (or worse, unsubscribe!).

4. Don't tell your readers what to do

If you don't tell your readers what to do, they'll do exactly that -- nothing!

Send your readers to a webpage. Recommend that they buy a product that you personally endorse. Suggest that they sign up for a free report. Ask them to pass along your ezine to their friends, associates, etc.

If you provide quality content and personally connect with your readers, they already trust you. When this happens, many of them will immediately act on your recommendations.