The answer to this question is not as simple as it seems. I’m happy to address it because this is a very important, often misused tool. So, let’s start with the basics.

For typical businesses, Constant Contact and Emma are our favorites. If you are a musician, then Reverbnation.com is among the best we’ve found for e-letters. They charge around $10 per month until you exceed a certain number of subscribers and then it goes up slightly. They offer a free trial period, so you can check it out first and get comfortable with it. They will smoothly integrate with your Facebook, LinkedIn, MySpace and Twitter accounts, responsibly giving those friends/followers an option to subscribe without your having to type in all of those e-mail addresses individually or upload them via a cvs file. The demographics they gather are terrific for targeting specific people in your e-letters and they make status updates seamless between all your social networking sites. Additionally, with Reverbnation, you can easily add your songs, tour dates, widgets, etc., to your e-letter. They have multiple templates to choose from and many other great capabilities, including tracking your results and building street teams.

But, here’s the “meat” of this answer that I feel compelled to share with you. Remember that when you are sending out a mass newsletter to your fans or customers, keep in the forefront of your mind that they are people! They are living, breathing, thinking, feeling people and not just some e-mail on a page or a means to a financial end.

So often, especially now that I am on the lookout for it, I see musicians and companies abusing this. It appears that their e-list is solely used to get something from their subscribers or brag about their activities. I also see this on the social networking sites—constant posts that rarely offer anything personal or useful to the reader.

E-letters should always be an exchange. Offer some insight on something you believe in, or offer something of interest that is only available to your subscribers, such as a free download or a more in-depth blog. Ask them for feedback and for their opinions on certain subjects. You want to use wisdom and good judgment, but don’t be afraid to open yourself up a little. In this day and time, people are inundated with ads and call-to-action announcements. When people subscribe to your e-letter, it’s for a variety of reasons. Yes, they want to know where you’re playing next and when you have new music for sale, but more than anything, they want to know you. Often, they sign up after a show, after visiting your site or after hearing your presentation because they had an experience with you that was personal to them. People’s inboxes are cluttered with e-mails every day, but you want yours to be something they look forward to opening because there might be something interesting, encouraging or personal inside. Offer something. This will be different for everyone, but get creative and give back to your subscribers.

Another very important thing to keep in mind is to go sparingly with your e-mails. Don’t send them out too often and bombard people. Only send them when you really have something to share. It’s okay to send a reminder after you’ve sent the initial e-mail, but it’s not necessary to send a reminder every day leading up to the event. This is overkill and will likely annoy people and could result in unsubscribes. If they are genuinely interested in what you are doing, they will remember with one or two e-mails. Also, be respectful of their time and keep your e-mails short. Use pictures often! When you are too wordy, people might click out of the e-mail due to a lack of time and they may miss something important you wanted to say. Bottom line is this—talk to folks in an e-mail like you would if you were face to face with a friend. After all, for those few moments, you are!