(You can find that article here: http://www.smallbusinesshowto.com/newsletter_03032003.html)

The reason why is because you are going to need content for your newsletter. There are some excellent sites out there that offer great free content for your newsletter, but if you want your newsletter to stand out, you will need to write some of your own content.

Now you've probably heard it said a 1000 times by top online marketers: single most important thing that you can do is build your list.

I challenge you because there is a second part to this: build a relationship with your customers and readers. Provide them with content that they can use and products that they want. You'll have loyal subscribers who will buy your products.

Ok, so how do you build a list?

First, there's two types of lists that I recommend you offer. You can use either one or both.

You can build a newsletter and/or offer free tips or a free course.

1. Newsletter Before you do anything else, you need to decide what your newsletter is going to be about.

Be specific. You can't write about everything.

If you've created a target market for your business, then you'll know what you are going to write about.

For example, my newsletter, Small Business Success is for small business owners, but I am looking for specific small business owners, people who have 10 or less employees or no employees at all, but they do most of work themselves. They may work at home, but they may have an office.

My goal is to provide them time saving tips and tools to help them run their businesses faster and easier. I want to help them make most valuable use of their time so that they can make more money.

1. Types of Articles

a. Lists

List articles are easy to write because all you have to do is write down several related items, which becomes your basic outline, and then write several sentences to explain each short topic more fully.

An example of this would be an upcoming article I will be writing called "4 Secrets of Super Affiliates". In this article I will tell you four things that affiliates do to make more money from their affiliate programs. Under each topic, I will explain how you can use this item to make more sales from your affiliate business.

b. How To/Directions In a how to article, you would show your reader how to do something. This is especially good if you have a physical rather than a digital product.

A friend of mine, Mac, sells all types of metal polishes. An excellent way for him to write an article about one of his products would be to explain best way to use product.

For example, using a soft lint free cloth will give this result, while a towel will do this.

2. Article Writing Tips

These tips will work regardless of which type of article you plan to write.

First, make your list of items. If you are writing how to/directions article, write it in steps and make sure you include all of steps. Test your steps if you have to, to make sure they work.

Create a title. It could be "4 Ways to...", "How to make..." etc. Eliminate any items that don't belong.

Type your title and list leaving space for you to flush out your article. Write several sentences explaining each item. A good length for any article is about 500 to 750 words. You don't want to make it too short, but if it is too long, your reader won't take time to read it.

If your article includes items you will need, make sure you include a list at top of your article, including measurements, etc.