If you aren't creating a monthly newsletter you are missing out on an opportunity to market to your list.

Newsletters help establish your credibility, keep you top of mind for your prospects and allow you to make special offers to your list.

Please note a paid newsletter needs to be informative and doesn't always offer the same sales opportunities. However a freebie newsletter can have ads, special offers and promotions and more.

If you are running a monthly newsletter, it is important to make sure you are getting the most out of it.

Here are some things you should keep in mind month after month as you work on your newsletter.

1. Determine what your readers want' If you aren't covering topics they are interested in, no one is going to want to read it. And although your newsletter should promote your business, it's also meant to establish your credibility and build your relationship with your prospects and customers. Be sure to discuss topics of interest and value for your customers and prospects.

2. Personalize your newsletter- there are hundreds of newsletters circulating on the Internet and in the mail. You need to make your newsletter stand out from the crowd. Making your newsletter uniquely you will make a difference. So be real. Feel free to include personality and emotion in your newsletter. Create a template with a look and feel that your prospects will associate with you and get to know.

3. Make it look good' people will first judge your newsletter by appearance and if it doesn't look professional and compelling they won't bother reading it. Also, remember to keep it brief. Use bullets and appealing headlines. And include graphics.

4. Ask for feedback and opinions from readers' include your readers in the process. Invite them to provide feedback and then actually implement some of their suggestions.

5. Include your contact information- the ultimate purpose of the newsletter is to get more customers (through name recognition, relationship building, and promoting your products). However, if you don't make it easy for them to reach you or get to your site, you won't get the benefits. Be sure to include a bio with full contact details at the end of every newsletter.

6. Create a teaser for your next newsletter - let people know what they can look forward to in the next issue. This builds anticipation and makes them more likely to actually open and read the next issue.

7. Consider deliverability issues - think about the best way to deliver your newsletter. You can deliver it as an HTML email, or a plain text email, or send a short email with a link to a webpage that holds your newsletter, or a short email with a link to a PDF. If you load the newsletter content onto your site as an HTML page or a PDF it will also serve double duty and act as content addition for your site. You are also more likely to get through SPAM filters if there is less content and HTML in the body of the actual email.

8. Make sure you track your email stats - whatever program you use to deliver your newsletter should provide you stats, so you can see how many people open your emails and click on links in your newsletter. Knowing how many people you are reaching is important so you can monitor your results and can tweak and try different things until you get the results you desire.

It doesn't have to take a ton of time to consider all these details and create a great newsletter. However it may take a little more time than you are spending now.

Try to factor the time into your schedule, it is really important to properly and effectively use your newsletter as a marketing tool. You worked hard to drive traffic to your site and build your mailing list so you may as well get as much as possible out of it!

Jennifer Horowitz is the Director of Marketing for EcomBuffet.com. Since 1998 Jennifer's expertise in marketing and Search Engine Optimization (SEO) has helped clients increase revenue. Jennifer has written a downloadable book on SEO and has been published in many SEO and marketing publications. Jennifer is the editor of the popular Spotlight on Success: SEO and Marketing newsletter. Follow Jennifer and stay current on SEO, marketing, social media and more. http://twitter.com/EcomBuffet