Have you heard the saying, “The money is in the list?” They are referring to a mailing list. If you are an online marketer it is important to have an email list. AND if you are a serious blogger you are an online marketer. Even if you are just trying to get more traffic and views you are marketing yourself, your writing, and your site.

What exactly is an email list?

An email list is different than your RSS feed email. Bloggers often give readers the option to “subscribe through email.” When the reader enters their email address they get each new post delivered straight to their inbox. A mailing list is different; it is often used for newsletters and special updates. The content of the mailing list should not repeat any of the content on the blog. You can point out that you have some great new posts up, but don’t just copy your posts into the newsletter. The people that join your mailing list are giving you permission to contact them personally through email. It is a valuable connection that should be nurtured and protected. It’s not hard to hit “unsubscribe” so make sure you give them good content.

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by Cindy Bidar. If you missed it you can read part 1 here.

Capture Ideas for Future Use

Yes, writing becomes easier with practice; but there will still be times when you sit in front of a blank monitor and wonder just what you’re going to talk about today. Fresh out of brilliant ideas? Open up your idea list and find your inspiration.

Your idea list might live in a text file on your laptop, in your email account, or even in a software application like Evernote. Use it as a place to store those snippets of conversation you overhear about your topic, questions people ask you about it, and those fantastic titles that always seem to occur just as you’re drifting off to sleep. You can even store links to other blogs or articles you want to expand upon, or that you think you can cover better. The point is to have something written down to help you get started writing even if your muse is on her coffee break.

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by Cindy Bidar

Wouldn’t it be nice if there were a content production line running on your computer? Just like in a factory, your blog posts would travel along an assembly line where a machine would insert an attention-grabbing title, opening paragraph, a few sub-headings and bullet points, and finish it off with a compelling call to action. Simply push a button to create a quality article, upload to your blog, and you’re done in time to enjoy dinner with the kids.

Unfortunately, unless you’re running an auto-blog, content creation takes a bit more work than simply pushing a button. But you can learn how to blog better. You can become more prolific, more efficient, and even faster at building articles and blog posts. You might even make it in to dinner.

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