Reach Readers NOW With a Free Course-by-Email
by Karon Goodman

Whether you're an established author or a writer struggling to get published, you can reach the readers you want right now with a free course-by-email. Think of this tool as a blank computer screen with unlimited postage!

You can write an e-course on any topic, offer it to readers through your site or others, and include plenty of links back to the pages of your choice. You can promote a book, or if you don't have one yet, you can begin to build a following when you deliver what your readers want to read. If it sounds like a perfect cyber-world, it's close, and you can do it all for free.

The well-done course-by-email benefits you and your readers. They essentially have one-on-one contact with you, the author and creator of the e-course, and you have the chance to touch a vast number of readers and build that all-important loyalty from your target market.

You may be familiar with e-courses delivered by autoresponders. When a reader signs up for a course, the autoresponder automatically delivers the lessons to the subscriber's in-box, over the span of time and in the increments that the creator has chosen, such as four lessons over four days. Once you do the writing and creating and posting upfront, the e-course delivers itself, cost and hassle free.

Here are a few items to keep in mind as you create your e-course.

• Your Content is Crucial

While the free course-by-email is a great marketing tool, you must think of  it first as an informational service. You can't send your readers one long commercial. If you don't deliver what you promise -- something they can use -- you'll alienate your readers (buyers) before you have a chance to win them over.

• Make Your Lessons Easy to Read

While you're being careful with your content, be careful with your format as well. Try to break up your copy and keep a conversational tone, as if you're talking with the reader over a cup of coffee.

• Tell Your Reader What to Expect

Everyone gets a lot of email, so make it easy for your reader to recognize yours quickly. Include your title in the subject line of each lesson. Tell the reader what the focus of each lesson is at the beginning, and make a note of what the following lesson will be at the end.

• Give Your Content First

Get right to the point of each lesson, and save your ads and links for the end. You might also want to include a reader comment or endorsement as well, but again, put these last.

• Include Your Email Address

• With Each Lesson, Invite and Encourage Comments

• Always, Always, Always Answer Your Reader's Email

• Thank Readers for Subscribing

• Thank Readers Again, Again and Again!

You'll find that the e-course is great fun to write. If you're not using it to promote a book you've already written, you may want to use it to gauge potential interest in a project you have in mind. You can offer content slanted to your topic and see how readers respond. There are some other advantages to this type of writing, too. Here are a few.

• Your e-course is targeted to the readers who would be interested in your work.

• If someone subscribes to your e-course, you have a reader who is most likely among that targeted audience. If you've prepared something worth her time, you've gone a long way in creating a buying customer.

• You have a record of everyone who subscribes to your e-course.

• That list of email addresses is a valuable marketing tool -- just don't wear out your welcome! Rarely will a reader buy something the first time he sees it advertised. With your e-course, you have multiple contacts with the same person, and each time, you can present your book or other work to him again.

• If you deliver a valuable resource to your readers, you establish yourself as an expert in your field.

• You become someone that the reader trusts and is therefore more likely to do business with. Your e-course becomes a bright reflection of you -- make sure it's a reflection you want.

I wrote what could probably be called a "devotional" course-by-email that includes links to information about my book. I've been very pleased with the results and comments from readers. I created a page on my site to describe the e-course and posted the email address for subscribing, as well as the request box. I also included a description of the lessons and the very important note: "you can cancel at any time." You can see my page here:  http://karongoodman.com/3r.html .

There are several autoresponders available. I recommend Sendfree.com (http://www.sendfree.com/ ) or GetResponse.com ( http://www.getresponse.com/ ). You can upgrade from the free version of either one if you'd like some of the advanced features.

You can offer your free e-course by posting on sites where freebies are offered, through your email signature, in your tagline of articles, or by approaching webmasters whose audiences would probably be interested in your work and asking for a link.

Remember: everybody loves something that's free, but they want it to be worth their time. Write a good e-course and the rest will take care of itself. Good luck!

Copyright 2002 by Karon Goodman

Karon Goodman is the author of "You're Late Again, Lord! The Impatient Woman's Guide to God's Timing" (Barbour Publishing, 2002) and "Everyday Angels" (Barbour Publishing, 2000). Karon has written for Writer's Digest, Woman's Day, Whispers From Heaven and many other publications and websites. Contact Karon at: karon@karongoodman.com