This is a guest post by Melissa K. Norris. If you would like to submit a guest article, please check out our guest post guidelines.

If you’re an author your e-mail list is the most important thing you own. Because it’s the one list of contacts of potential customers you do own. If Facebook, Twitter, and Blogger crash, you’ve just lost all your contacts.

To invite people to subscribe to your author e-newsletter, you need to offer a sign up form on your website. Best placement is at the top so it’s the first thing visitors see without having to scroll down. Make sure they know what they are signing up for.

Also consider the following 6 tips:

1.  How often will you be sending them an e-newsletter?

Mine is bi-monthly, but you could choose monthly or quarterly. Whichever you choose, make sure you can be consistent.

2.  Tell your readers what value they’ll gain by signing up for your newsletter.

Will you have articles, book reviews, author interviews, and how to articles besides just your book news? Readers can choose points of interest when they sign up for mine, allowing me to cater to their wants and needs.

3.  Make sure you follow spam laws.

Do not sign up anyone who hasn’t requested to receive your e-newsletter. You must include the option to unsubscribe in the body of your newsletter. I use MailChimp, a free on-line marketing company that includes it for me. They also allow me to customize my newsletter and track the opens and click throughs for up to 2000 subscribers with no coding skills necessary.

4.  Provide something of value.

The number one rule for marketing includes e-newsletters. You can run a contest exclusively to your subscribers, allowing them to be part of your e-newsletter. Think of something fun that relates to your book/product. To see my current contest visit my website at www.melissaknorris.com

5.  Post links on your blog posts, Facebook page, and Twitter pointing readers to your e-newsletter.

Remember to point out they must sign up through your website.

6.  Ask other people in your industry to provide articles for your newsletter.

This is a great way to cross-market. You don’t have to come up with every single article, the other person gains exposure, plus people help promote something they’re featured in.

I’d love to hear any tips you might have for e-newsletters or email marketing.

Melissa K. Norris is an inspirational romance author. She loves to chat with folks on Twitter and her Facebook page.

**Note from Laura: To learn the specifics of the CAN-SPAM laws governing e-newsletters, please read the following issues of my e-newsletter, Bright Ideas Blogzine:

• September 2010 – Top Tips for Publishing Your E-Newsletter
• December 2009 – Is Your E-Newsletter Breaking the Law?

You’ll find back issues of every Bright Ideas Blogzine on the E-Newsletter Archive page of BloggingBistro.com.

How is it relevant to you?

Hint: It’s an important tool to help you plan a website that’s certain to grab — and hold — a visitor’s attention.

Read all about it.. and get 5 tips for planning your website in the July/August issue of Bright Ideas Blogzine. It’s free. It’s published Thursday, July 14.

Why not subscribe right now?

Just fill out the form in the righthand sidebar of BloggingBistro.com or the form on our Facebook page or send a blank email to bloggingbistro@aweber.com.

You’ll instantly receive an e-mail asking you to confirm your subscription request. Click the link in that e-mail and you’re all set.

In the August issue of Bright Ideas Blogzine, you’ll learn why.

I’m trying something new with this issue because this is an important topic and, well… I got carried away writing content.

Part of the content will be delivered to your Inbox, as usual, on Tuesday, August 3.  As you read through your blogzine, watch for a link that will take you to a private page on the Blogging Bistro website, where you’ll find even more content, exclusively for Bright Ideas subscribers.

I’ll address the following questions:

1. Is blogging overdone?
2. What publishing platform should I use?
3. Is Blogspot.com truly the slum of the Internet?
4. What’s the difference between WordPress.com and WordPress.org?
5. How can I create an all-in-one website/blog combo?

And that’s not all! We’re offering two fantastic discounts on services during August, so be sure to read about our Special of the Month.

Subscriptions to Bright Ideas are free. To sign up, enter your name and e-mail address into the big yellow form in the righthand sidebar, OR send a blank e-mail to bloggingbistro@aweber.com.  You’ll instantly receive an e-mail asking you to confirm your subscription. Click the link in that e-mail and you’re good to go. You will receive your August issue within 7 days of the day you activate your subscription (do it now and you’ll receive your issue August 3).

You can read all the past issues of Bright Ideas Blogzine from our Archives page. Lots of great info there to help you enhance your social media presence.

This issue features five fab Facebook tutorials. You’ll learn how to create business pages (pages that are and aren’t connected to a personal FB profile); vanity usernames; add cool forms and widgets; stream your blog posts into your Facebook account, and more.

Subscribe now to receive this issue. You can either use the bright yellow form in the righthand sidebar, or send a blank e-mail to bloggingbistro@aweber.com.

You’ll receive a confirmation message in your Inbox within seconds. Click the link in the confirmation message, and you’re all set.

You can read all the back issues of Bright Ideas from the E-Newsletter Archives page.

It’s not Glamour or Vogue, but it is a magazine cover!

Here’s a sneak peak at the cover for the May issue of the Snohomish County Business Journal.

For those of you who don’t have the slightest idea of where Snohomish County is, or even how to pronounce it, it’s pronounced snow-HOME-ish. Located 25 miles north of Seattle, Snohomish County has 16,000 businesses.

The county seat is Everett, Washington. In Everett, Boeing builds its 747, 767, 777 and the new 787 Dreamliner; it’s also home for Naval Station Everett, home port of the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier.

So… how did I become a cover girl? Cast your vote:

You guessed it – it was because of my business blog. The one you’re reading right now, in fact. (If you voted for “stunning beauty” or “celeb status,” I owe you a latte!)

I’ll share the whole intriguing story – and reveal the secret for how you can achieve social media stardom – in the May issue of Bright Ideas Blogzine, my free monthly e-newsletter.

To read my “tell all,” simply add your name and e-mail to the bright yellow form in the righthand sidebar (or send a blank e-mail to bloggingbistro@aweber.com). Within seconds, you’ll receive a confirmation e-mail. Click the link and you’re officially subscribed.

Bright Ideas Blogzine will arrive in your Inbox Tuesday, May 4.

Before and After shots of our front yard

I’m excited about this month’s issue of Bright Ideas Blogzine, which will be arriving in your Inbox Monday, April 12.

We’ll be discussing Curb Appeal, an important issue many of us overlook when we create our Web site, blog, and social media accounts.

“Curb Appeal” refers to how your home (or business) looks from the street as people are driving by. The Curb Appeal Factor has become significant to me lately, as we’ve just completed a remodel of our front yard. Now, instead of zipping past, our neighbors slow down and stare (hopefully in a good way) at our beautiful new landscaping.

In the same manner, your Web site and blog must have Curb Appeal if you hope to capture the attention of impatient Web surfers. The April issue includes 10 things you can begin doing — today — to clean up the clutter and enhance your site’s Curb Appeal.

Spring Cleaning Challenge for brave souls: Send me BEFORE and AFTER screen shots of the Web site, blog, or social media account you’re adding Curb Appeal to, and I’ll feature them right here on my blog.

Subscribe now to receive the April issue (it’s free).  Fill in the bright yellow form in the site’s sidebar or send a blank e-mail to bloggingbistro@aweber.com. You’ll receive a confirmation message in your Inbox within seconds. Click the link in the confirmation message, and you’re all set. (You can subscribe anytime during the month and you’ll receive your first blogzine within a week).

P.S. Access all the back issues of Bright Ideas Blogzine from my Archives page.

Learn how Google ranks a Web page’s value and what that means for you, in terms of how you should be planning your social media marketing strategy. You’ll find it in the February 2010 issue of Bright Ideas Blogzine, my free monthly e-newsletter.

There are two ways to subscribe:

1. Enter your name and e-mail address in the form located in the upper righthand corner of this page
2. Send a blank e-mail to bloggingbistro@aweber.com

You’ll receive an e-mail asking you to confirm your subscription. Click the link in that e-mail and you’re good to go. You will receive your February issue in six days or less.

As soon as you confirm your subscription, you’ll be routed to a page where you can download guidelines for how to create your own social media plan.

If you’d like to read past issues of Bright Ideas Blogzine, you’ll find them all on my Archives page.

“I really like getting your Social Media Tip of the Day in my Inbox,” she said. They’re helpful, and they seem to come at the exact time I need to hear that particular bit of advice.”

Social Media Tip of the Day is a one-sentence tip intended to inform or inspire you regarding some aspect of blogging, Twitter, Facebook, or social media marketing in general. I don’t try to sell you anything. It’s just a tip. Period.

Here are two ways to access the tips:

1.  Become a fan of Blogging Bistro on Facebook.

We post a fresh tip daily on our Wall — we’re on Day 33 today! You can scroll through all the previous tips there, too.

2.  Subscribe to Bright Ideas Blogzine, our free, monthly e-newsletter.

When you confirm your subscription, you’ll receive two items:

Your Social Media Plan: How to create a coordinated attack that integrates your blog, Web site, Facebook, and Twitter content. This 9-page report contains lots of practical action steps to help you develop your own social media strategy.

About five days after your subscription kicks in, you’ll begin receiving social media tips in your Inbox. You’ll get one each day for two weeks, and then weekly after that.

To subscribe to Bright Ideas, just enter your name and e-mail address in the form in the righthand sidebar of my Web site, or send a blank e-mail to bloggingbistro@aweber.com. You’ll instantly receive a confirmation e-mail asking you to verify your subscription request. Just click the link and you’re all set.

• When you look back at the past decade, what do you say about yourself?
• As you look forward to the coming decade, will you do “business as usual?”

Start your subscription today so you can receive this brief, inspirational article (I invite you to share it with others who need encouragement).

There are two ways to subscribe:

1. Enter your name and e-mail address in the form located in the upper righthand corner of this page
2. Send a blank e-mail to bloggingbistro@aweber.com

You’ll receive an e-mail asking you to confirm your subscription. Click the link in that e-mail and you’re good to go. You will receive your January issue in six days or less.

As soon as you confirm your subscription, you’ll be routed to a page where you can download guidelines for how to create your own social media plan.

If you’d like to read past issues of Bright Ideas Blogzine, you’ll find them on my Archives page.

But what about the e-mails and e-newsletters you send? Could they be considered spam? Could you be unknowingly breaking the law?

Perhaps. That’s why it’s critically important understand the CAN-SPAM Act of 2003. In the December issue of Bright Ideas Blogzine, I briefly explain the CAN-SPAM law and give you a few simple guidelines you must follow to ensure that the e-mails you send are on the up-and-up.

Start your free subscription to Bright Ideas Blogzine today; just fill out the form in the upper right corner of this page or send a blank e-mail to bloggingbistro@aweber.com.

As soon as you confirm your subscription (yes, I’m abiding by the CAN-SPAM law!), you’ll receive a link to download Your Social Media Plan, a 9-page checklist to help you create an integrated strategy for your blog, Twitter, and Facebook content.