1. A great name that defines the topic
2. A defined audience and clear purpose
3. A compelling headline or subject line
4. Valuable information readers can use
5. A call to action
6. A customized template or plain text formatting
7. A bonus incentive for subscribing
8. CAN-SPAM Compliance and a privacy statement

You will notice the first five ingredients refer to the actual content of the ezine; the last three elements refer to how it is delivered. Each element contributes to the overall effectiveness of a newsletter for growing your business.

With an ezine, the content is most crucial, and when you send valuable information your readers can use, you can't go wrong, or if you do, it is easily forgiven by your subscribers.

Send too many messages, or messages that don't benefit your readers, and they will at best delete, unsubscribe, or worse, report you for spamming them - even when they have opted in to your list! Even if you have a reader's permission, if you annoy them they will forget they signed up and declare you a spammer. It's not fair and it happens all the time. If you have opt-in proof you will extricate yourself, but you will still have to go through unnecessary hassles.

The only way you can ensure fewer email marketing woes is to segment your list and be sure you only send messages to those people who have indicated an interest in a certain group of products or information.

With an efficient database management system such as KickStartCart, you can keep your lists separated and pay attention to reader's interests. That is why it is so important to use a powerful database marketing system. For more information, to learn how a good database management system can keep your email marketing safe and within the law visit KickStartCart.com.

There is no doubt that email marketing is here to stay, and it is evolving with delivery systems that segment readers' interests, allowing messages that are specific and personal. Smart professionals who use these tools will have more success with their email marketing. Others who indiscriminately broadcast their messages to everyone in their lists will discover the problems of spam complaints and unsubscribe requests.

Like everything in life, too much of a good thing is not good. Email marketing is powerful cost effective tool for spreading your messages, but not when abused or over used.

Smart online marketers use “permission” marketing: you invite potential customers to join your email list, and offer a newsletter, a special report, or a sequential series of messages to form an e-course. The recipient “opts-in” to the list by replying to an invitation and subscribing. When your database system requires a confirmation of the subscription that is called a “double opt-in” confirmation. By "opting in", your subscriber is telling you it's OK to send email. They've given you permission and your email messages are not considered spam.

But most people don't really understand what constitutes spam. If you're in business for any length of time on the Internet, you may encounter false accusations of spam simply because people forget they opted in receive your message. To some people spam is simply any unwanted message.

This can cause problems for you with your email service provider. You should be able to prove that you haven't been sending unsolicited email. Your proof lies with the list management system you use that tracks invitations and opt in responses.

Here's what you need to know about the law is so you can rest assured that you aren't breaking it.

CAN-SPAM Act of 2003 (Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography and Marketing Act) establishes requirements for those who send commercial email, spells out penalties for spammers and companies whose products are advertised in spam if they violate the law, and gives consumers the right to ask emailers to stop spamming them.

Simply put, here's a rundown of the law's main provisions:

• It bans false or misleading header information. Your email's "From," "To," and routing information must be accurate and identify the person who initiated the email.

• It prohibits deceptive subject lines. The subject line cannot mislead the recipient about the contents or subject matter of the message. Subject and content must match.

• It requires that your email give recipients an opt-out method. You must provide a return email address or an automated way for your subscriber to opt out. You must honor the requests. When you receive an opt-out request, the law gives you 10 business days to stop sending email to the requestor's email address.

• It requires that commercial email be identified as an advertisement and include the sender's valid physical postal address. Your message must contain clear and conspicuous notice that the message is an advertisement or solicitation and that the recipient can opt out of receiving more commercial email from you. It also must include your valid physical postal address.

One of the most efficient systems with a minimum of complaints is the ecommerce system, KickStartCart . They automatically include CAN-SPAM compliant features when they send out email broadcasts. Furthermore, if you import a list of email addresses into the system each recipient will be required to confirm they want to be on your list. All potential recipients must respond to a confirmation email in order to be included in an email list. This is called "closed loop" or "double opt-in" and is further assurance against people using the system to spam or send unsolicited messages.

While the respectable business community strives to be compliant, the spammers find new ways of circumventing the laws and jamming up email inboxes with junk. Unfortunately, spam filters never do a reliable job of keeping the spam out and are more likely than not to keep legitimate email from being delivered.

The best assurance against spam complaints is to use a reliable system such as KickStartCart, and to send out valuable relevant content to your subscribers. The ratio of information to promotional messages should be in the neighborhood of 80-20 or 75-25.

As a serious businessperson using the Internet and email, it's important you comply with the laws so you can avoid getting in hot water with your service provider and keep your subscribers happy.

Getting people to sign up for your ezine is a problem because of overcrowded inboxes and information overload. Savvy professionals offer a reward (called an ethical bribe) to readers in exchange for their permission to email to them.

Here are several incentives that work for increasing sign ups:

1. A report, article, or white paper with valuable information readers can't get elsewhere
2. Insider secrets or tips to professional resources
3. Exclusive results from a survey or poll
4. Participation in a drawing with valuable prizes, such as an iPod pre-loaded with your exclusive content
5. Entry in a contest, with free tuition or registration to a seminar or teleconference to the winners
6. Entry in a contest or drawing, with the opportunity to refer the most number of other friends or colleagues for additional prizes
7. If you are speaking at a conference and offer a raffle prize, when people give you their business cards for the drawing, tell them you will also give them a free subscription to your ezine, unless they specifically write on the back of the card “no email.”

You must reassure subscribers you will keep their email addresses private and not share, rent or sell your list. Be sure to include this privacy statement next to your sign up form and on your ezine subscription page.

Your subscription form should go at the top of every web page. Have a separate page for newsletter subscriptions and include a description of the ezine next to the form, clearly outlining the benefits to readers for signing up.

Your email subject line, which is most likely the same as or similar to your article title, should be clear, clever and compelling.

Creating a good ezine article title or email subject line is may be more important than the actual content, given that so few readers (11%) actually read the entire content of emailed newsletters. Most readers scan, making the headline and subheadings very important. In the context of an ezine, the headline can be both the email subject line and the title of your articles. In both cases, you want to compel the reader to first open your email and second, read your article.

The best headlines are those that start a story, make a shocking statement, tease a bit, offer a benefit or prepare the reader for what's to come.

Experienced copywriters are extremely good at writing headlines and titles that pull in readers. One such expert is Michel Fortin, who uses his “3 X 3 Rule:”

That is, your headline should cater to:

The three greatest human goals to make or save:

1. time
2. effort
3. money

The three greatest human desires:

1. lust
2. greed
3. comfort

The three greatest human teasers:

1. curiosity
2. scarcity
3. controversy

If you think writing a compelling headline is easy, then you haven't done it enough. Good headlines actually lead the reader down a path towards a call to action, which can be to make a purchase, register for a program, or click through for more information. However, if it is too obvious, you will alienate your readers and they will not only stop reading, they will delete the email or unsubscribe.

Don't despair; there are many good copywriting handbooks that include headlines you can model. You can create your own original headlines based on ones already proven to work. In particular, we recommend David Garfield's "Advertising Headlines that Make You Rich" and Dan Kennedy's "The Ultimate Sales Letter."

Before you name your ezine, you must get clear about its purpose, the purpose of your business, and why you care. In our Quick-Start Ezine Guide, we suggest writing down two purpose statements:

1. What is your business purpose? (Sell more products, get clients, for example)
2. What is your “higher” purpose? (To provide the best products or services, to help others to achieve something, to make lives easier, etc.)

These two layers of purpose will connect your passion to the realism of making your business successful. By articulating your true values and your business goals you will discover more energy when it comes to writing your ezine.

This will help you find an appropriate name for your ezine. Ideally, like naming anything, your title should be clear, clever and compelling. However, never sacrifice clarity in order to be clever. You want readers to know what your ezine is about just by its name, if possible.

You also want your ezine's name to tie in with the name of your business, your website or your blog in some way. Of course, it can also depend on finding an available domain name. You will want to register a domain name for your ezine to protect it and so it does not get confused with another business.

One technique is to use the name of your business followed by Insights, or Updates, or even Ezine, News or Tips. Examples are Newsletter Nuggets, the ezine for Customized Newsletter Services, and Savvy eBiz Tips for The Blog Squad. Other useful words for naming an ezine are Perspectives, Opinions, and Notes.

Once you have a name and have registered the domain name, you may wish to have a newsletter banner or masthead created. Be sure to keep the colors and fonts you use for your website and blog for branding consistency. You only need this if you are going to publish an HTML or PDF newsletter (designed with images). Plain text newsletters do not have graphic images.

You also have the option of including a tag line after the title of your newsletter, a few words that clarifies the subject matter. Savvy eBiz Tips is “… smart ideas for using the Internet to get more clients and grow your biz.” Newsletter Nuggets is “…tips and tricks for writing great ezines and blogs.”