Ever notice there’s a lot of metaphors for eggs and chickens? Are all your eggs in the same basket? Don’t count your chickens before they hatch. Why did the chicken cross the road?!

But we’re not here to talk about the mysteries of chickens, or their eggs (btw: scientists concluded that the chicken came first, not the egg, because the protein which makes egg shells is only produced by hens. Source: Chicken Facts)

Now that we have concluded that, let’s continue.

By asking about your basket of eggs, what I mean is, are you using Facebook as your only source of reaching your readers? How about Twitter? Instagram, maybe? On hindsight, it would make sense. Build each platform one at a time, remain true to the followers there, focus all your energy in a single place. It certainly makes life easier.

But here’s the problem with putting all your focus in one place, if your account gets hacked, if your account gets suspended, or — heaven forbid — blocked/deleted, what’s your game plan then? How will you contact your followers to let them know what’s happening and where to reach you next? It takes serious time and dedication to build a following the first time, but to watch all that hard work disappear, forcing you to start over is brutal.

But here’s the thing about social media — it doesn’t last. Something bigger and better will always come around (anyone remember MySpace?) So, how do you go about finding something that won’t fade? Something that is solely your own?

Your newsletter!

I love My Newsletter. It’s my little corner of the world where I can communicate with my readers. It’s as important to me as my Fan Page (shameless come on! Join me!). But it’s also an invaluable tool. It can do so much for you, if you use it properly. The only question remaining is, which newsletter provider to use?

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No, one size does not fit all.

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90% of the time, when asked, most people will send you to Mailchimp. It’s fast, affordable, has great features, and nearly everyone’s using it, making it popular. This is the newsletter provider I use, and love, but if I could change one thing, it would be their customer service. They don’t have one if you’re not a paying member, nor is there a source of contact if you need help. It’s unfortunate, but you get 2,000 free followers before it’s only $20 to upgrade, which is far cheaper than most.

With that said, I have not tried the other companies so I can’t give any personal opinions outside of what I’ve heard or read while researching.

OTHER SITES YOU CAN USE . . .

Mad Mimi
ActiveCampaign
Freshmail
SimplyCast
AWeber
Emma
GetResponse
iContact

There are loads more, ranging from small businesses to multi billion dollar corporations. As I said, no one size fits all, so do your research. Talk to each provider if you have to, get a lay of the land, see how you feel about placing your business in their hands.

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Don’t ever settle.
This is your business and it’s your job to succeed by putting your foot down and doing it the way you feel is right for you and your growing brand.

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That’s all for this week. Was the post helpful? Did I forget to mention something? Or do you need more information? Let me know in the comments below.

See you next week! <3

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