One of the rules of thumb in marketing is to stay on the radar screen of your reader. A good way to do this is by starting an email newsletter or ezine. At Author Marketing Experts (http://www.authormarketingexperts.com) we've had our newsletter for nearly six years and it's been very successful for us. Certainly it's a lot of work but it's worth it, both to keep us top of mind with our target audience and also to share helpful marketing information with our readers.

If you've been a subscriber to our ezine for a while you know that while we use it as a promotional tool, it's 90% helpful advice. But what if you're in between book releases, and you've got nothing current to sell? This time, probably more than any other, is when it's important for you to keep your message out there. When you're promoting a new release it's a no- brainer that the word of your book will be getting out there but when you're knee-deep in writing the new one it's more crucial than ever for you not to lose the momentum you gathered through your last campaign.

Many of you probably already get these from a variety of sources. These days, Ezines have almost replaced magazines with topics ranging from how to publish your book, to building an effective Web site or decorating your home. There are Ezines for everything and just about every topic. So, if the pond is so full, why would you start one? Well, in today's busy business climate, people are inundated with messages and advertisements all the time. On average we're exposed to over 100,000 ads each day. With ads becoming diluted, an e-mail newsletter is a good alternative to this noise.

An e-mail newsletter, sent once or twice a month with information, tips, and helpful advice keeps you on your reader's radar screen and keeps your message in front of them, week after week, month after month.

So, let's say you decided to start an e-mail newsletter, what on earth would you write about? Well, if your book is nonfiction the topic should be fairly simple. Write about your area of expertise. You can pull chapters from your book to use as articles in the newsletter and offer current, relevant hints to your readers. A newsletter doesn't have to be long, in fact, given the amount of reading most of us already do online I suggest keeping it short and simple. Five to seven pages should be your target; you can even go less if you want. It's entirely up to you, you're the boss and you decide what works and what doesn't for your readership. If your book is fiction, then your newsletter might excerpt chapters for your upcoming not-yet-released blockbuster novel, an updated listing of where your readers can find you doing a signing or a talk and possibly, even some writing tips for those readers who aspire to finish their own novel someday. You can also use your newsletter to involve your readers with contests and surveys, or ask them to share their own writing, publishing, or marketing stories.

There are a number of ways you can get subscribers. If you're doing an event, talk, or book signing, bring a sign-up sheet with you so people can subscribe to your Ezine. Friends and family are always great supporters and might even pass an issue or two along to someone they know might be interested in your product, topic, or service. And finally, if you have a Web site make sure you have a place for people to sign up if they want to subscribe to your Ezine.

If you're e-mail list is small, you can send your Ezine by hand through your own e-mail program but as your list expands, consider getting a service like Constant Contact (www.constantcontact.com), Graphic Mail (www.graphicmail.com), or Kickstart Cart (www.kickstartcart.com). For a nominal monthly fee, these services will help you manage your ever increasing list of newsletter subscribers and send out your newsletter on the date and time you specify.

Once you've established your newsletter and run through a few issues, you might want to think about expanding your audience reach by posting your newsletter at various Ezine directory sites. You can submit your Ezine to the directories listed below. Read the submission instructions at each site first before you start the submission process.

Directories: E-ZineZ - a searchable Ezine Directory (www.e- zinez.com) EzineSeek - categorized and searchable directory of Ezines (www.ezineseek.com)  eZINESearch - (www.ezinesearch.com)  Tile Net - a project of Lyris Technologies, Inc. (http://tile.net/lists/) Get Published - (www.published.com/add/)  New List - a series of mailing lists that provides more than 6,000 subscribers updates on new Ezines. You can even add your own newsletter to the list. (www.new-list.com/instructions/)

E-mail newsletters are a great to keep your message active and stay in contact with your audience, customers, or future readers. Done correctly, word about an Ezine will spread like wildfire. Offer an incentive to your readers if they pass one of your newsletters on to a friend or offer them the opportunity to run an ad in your newsletter announcing the release of their book.

Enroll and engage your readers in your message, get them actively involved in your newsletter by allowing others to contribute articles or other forms of content. Build a loyal reader base and you'll find not only valued customers, but messengers willing to spread the word about you and your book!