I disagree.

Email newsletters establish you as an authority in your field, and you don't even have to write a book! Although you will be able to if you write consistently for an email newsletter.

In a few short years, my email newsletter has grown to over 16,000 subscribers. My coaching business has not only grown at warp speed, but I have connected with an incredibly FASCINATING group of people from all over the country -- my clients.

I credit this phenomenal growth of my coaching business to my email newsletter. It is clearly a marketing engine.

There has been a bit of learning curve, and sometimes I've had to hold my breath and click the "send" button. But the journey has been well worth it.

Here are some tips from what I have learned along the way:

1. Show up as YOU. You really don't need a lot of book knowledge to write an email newsletter. Your genuineness and sincerity in wanting to help people is your biggest asset.

2. Write about yourself and tell the hard truth. In my clinical training as a psychologist, I was taught not to use self-disclosure very much. As a coach, I am not as limited by that guideline. Stories about yourself and your own life are very compelling.

3. Make it about them. Stories about you help people identify with and trust you, but your readers are even more interested in what you can do for them. I try to write 1/3 about me and 2/3 about them.

4. Make it personal. Write as if you are writing to one person. Try to imagine a typical reader with a typical problem and help them solve it -- you will have an instant fan club.

5. Take a strong stand. Your readers need you to have a strong opinion and speak from authority. You are not writing simply for self-expression.

6. Know your audience. You cannot spend enough time learning about your audience, so put your time in here. Your readers need to know that you can identify with their issues. Where are they getting stuck? What are the missing pieces that they are overlooking? What are the misconceptions? How do they think?

7. Keep it short. People don't have time to read long newsletters. It is better to keep it brief if you want it to be read.

8. Use a bullet point list or make one main point. Give people a specific focus to think about for the week. Numbered lists and bullet points have never been more useful.

Email newsletters are a great combination when partnered with blogs and websites. Start your fan club today!