Most of the “rules” about writing for ezines and newsletters apply to writing posts for your blog, but there are some important differences. Keep these 10 tips in mind and you’ll be publishing great blog content that attracts prospects and clients in your niche market. “Keep in mind the journalist’s rule of 5 W’s in the first paragraph: who, what, why, when and where…. and … Did you remember to ask your readers a question at the end, or something to stimulate readers to comment?”

“If you create great content and no one knows about it to link to it, you’re spinning your wheels. A combination of content as well as social networking, link networking, public relations and gaining editorial visibility as well as viral and individual link solicitations will all work together synergistically. Building a community of consumers of your content as well as relationships with the media in your industry is the distribution network necessary to gain the most link value out of creating great content.”

MarketingSherpa is offering a free download, Dirty Dozen: Email Newsletter Mistakes Nearly Everyone Makes. Find it under Email Marketing Resources on this page, along with other free downloads.

“Virtual assistants” can be hired on an hourly basis or at a minimum number hours a week/month — whichever suits your need. We found official VA services at $50-$60 an hour in the United States and less if you commit to a certain number of hours or if you farm it out to India.

According to research published last week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences by Antonio Rangel of the California Institute of Technology, appreciation for a product's intrinsic qualities is subject to a type of information we receive -- pricing.