The web is SO FULL of creativity and innovative ideas that it's often hard to remember where you saw the last amazing tidbit unless you bookmarked the site you visited. Sometimes I don't even do that because my bookmarks already fill up the screen and scroll even more! When I am taken by a great new website, I'll often go right to sign up for their newsletter so that I'm reminded of their web address often and remember to return when I receive their mail.

Internet based businesses are wising up to the need to stay in contact with their potential customers by offering these regularly sent news- letters. Some of the best examples of the technique are the search engine related e-zines sent to the entire database of their listed web sites! Some even require your subscription to list your site. Those zines attract a huge advertiser interest because of the giant captive audience it delivers (remember the subscription requirement.)

Other zines are opt-in for subscribers, like LinkExchange Digest, sent only to customers of their Banner Exchange who have asked for a sub- scription. Every other day, LED shows up in my e-mailbox with incredible posts from leading industry gurus that contribute to the moderated list. It's invaluable for webmasters interested in the latest internet development or the newest web trends.

This leads to my point, head on over to one of the many available list hosts like ListBot.com (my list host) or OneList which both offer opt-in list distribution and archiving of your own newsletter. This is becoming the ONLY way to market and establish customer loyalty on the internet and leads to referrals and forwarding of your news and information to others. While it does require dedication on your part in sitting down to compose and edit a regular newsletter, you can choose your lists' frequency by how often you're willing to DO that task.

I have set up newsletters for clients to send out to their own list of subscribers and find that they often tire of the additional responsibility of creating a regular news- letter and soon stop (or never begin) writing and miss building a community with their existing customers. Be sure you are willing to do the work before building subscribers so that you don't disappoint loyal followers looking for regular contact from your organization. IT WORKS WONDERS AT ESTABLISHING AND KEEPING CLIENTS! I didn't mean to shout at you there but I do want to emphasize the effectiveness.

Those of you who are unwilling to create and manage a regular newsletter or e-zine might consider another option. Autoresponder generated reports, books or lessons in your own particular specialty available from your web site. We have just established one of these in the form of a "Short Course" on small business e-commerce delivered automatically to those who request it from our home page. When visitors enter their e-mail address and name, our autoresponder immediately sends a greeting note and then follows up with "Lessons" from WebSite101 sent every other day for a week!

This method means that we have created what we consider to be valuable advice to the small business. Info is created ONLY ONCE and sent automatically to anyone who requests it! You have the opportunity to emphasize parts of your business that you want to highlight to new visitors by going to them via e-mail instead of waiting for them to come back to your site (which they may forget to do otherwise!) We have added a great incentive to those who waver; a chance to win a free custom designed website by "Registering for Class" It's the only way to enter the contest! (Contests build traffic too!)

This approach provides value to the visitor of free advice and important information, value for WebSite101 in the ability to highlight specific portions of our services to potential clients, and finally, opportunity to win a free website design for businesses ready to expand their company to the web. The advertising benefit to us is the increased traffic generated by the benefit to the VISITORS of solid information and the chance at a free website! Everyone wins! give it a try and tell us what you think! It's easy to get unsubscribed if ya wanna stop! website101@SmartBotPRO.net or visit http://www.website101.com and enter via the form.

Mike Banks Valentine operates several web businesses including http://www.website101.com a small business internet tutorial teaching the basic techniques of growing your company online. A free "Short Course" is available by autoresponder by sending a request to website101@smartbotpro.net. He writes for several online publications and can be contacted directly at: Learn@WebSite101.com