As a marketing consultant, your website and ezine are the most effective ways to get new customers.

Nothing else comes close.

Here’s how to get the most out of your e-zine…

An electronic magazine should be a personalized conversation with a unique person. Tell them what you saw on TV that week or tell them you were in Vegas (if you were in Vegas at all), or wherever you were.

Add just a couple of lines: “I saw this show, I saw Love at the Mirage with the Beatles, Cirque de Soleil – it was really cool – go there when you’re in town.”

If I ate at a really great restaurant, I’ll say “I ate at Emeril’s, man, you have to go there, that was really good.”

If I were to take my son somewhere else, I’d say, “We went to Treasure Island and saw the mermaids. You should bring your kids there if you have them in town.” That kind of things.

People get to know you. They get to know your weaknesses, which is really important.

They get to know that you are a real person and that you are not Superman, and that you communicate as a person who has challenges in life: that also backfires on you. “The IRS audited us, yuck, I hated that!” or whatever.

Then go in and talk to people, give them valuable information; items. Give them really cool stuff that they couldn’t get anywhere else if they tried.

By doing this, you set yourself apart.

You’re always welcome to put a little commercial in your e-zine, usually towards the end it’s good. Let people get over it.

Build the relationship, don’t try to get rich quick. Getting rich slowly is the same.

The biggest concern that you and I have when someone comes to our door or we buy something; and by the way, this is probably one of the most researched areas right now.

Dr. Erik Knowles of the University of Arkansas has done a lot of research in this specific area.

It’s called the Omega Strategy. It is a strategy that has nothing to do with creating more value with your product or your proposal.

Just let your prospect know that you are human. This will improve your chances of gaining trust and getting the person to like you.

Literally telling people your weaknesses or letting them know you don’t have a perfect track record of success: all nuclear defense missiles go down.

The person realizes that he is talking to someone honest; someone who is not cheating on them. It’s like hey, the guy just told me that he’s not perfect. I don’t have to go try to find the imperfection of him.

This goes a long way in not only building rapport but also making sales. And yes, it is documented; you will probably make two to three times more money per person if you use that kind of concept.

People do business with people they know and trust. Let your e-zine help develop relationships that will expand your business.