it's free! What an amazing tool.   But e-mail can also control emotions, make people happy, sad, or even mad through the power of words. Because of this you can use e-mail to significantly build your business by persuading prospects to become your customers and by convincing your customers to increase their purchase amount and do business with you more frequently.   E-mail allows you to do this by creating an electronic newsletter, commonly referred to as an ezine, which is short for "electronic magazine." Electronic newsletters are very similar to offline newsletters in that they can inform, motivate, and educate - - but at a sliver of the cost you'd normally pay to send out an offline newsletter.   Benefits of Having an Online Newsletter   I've already stated that the biggest benefit to sponsoring an online newsletter is the cost - - or lack of cost. The only costs incurred when sending an ezine is what you pay to use the software to send your message.   Other benefits are:   1. Great customer service.   People equate good customer service with timely communication. You can instantly send out an e-mail to help your customers that will arrive in minutes, if not seconds.   2. Build customer loyalty.   Contrary to conventional wisdom, loyalty is built as a result of what you do when things go wrong, rather that the quality of your product or service. E-mail allows you to communicate quickly and directly to solve your customer's problems.   3. Create a sense of community.   Frequent communication makes people feel as though they are a "part" of something. This addresses people's inner desire is to "belong" and "feel important." Consistent communication can create a sense of community among the list members.   4. Provide you with a ready market.   The list you create becomes a ready market that is willing to do business with you because they know, like, and trust you. In fact, your list of subscribers may be the most important asset in your business.   Your electronic newsletter may very well be your most important and powerful marketing tool in your business. The return on investment for creating and maintaining a newsletter is tremendous.   Nine Steps to Creating Your Online Newsletter