Have you balked at the idea of starting a newsletter because you just don’t see how you could stick to a regular schedule? Does the idea of committing to having something to say every Wednesday at 8 a.m. just sound flat out uninspiring?

If you’ve put off launching a newsletter because you simply don’t like the idea of being expected to show up in a certain way at a certain time, you’re not alone. And you just might find an educational autoresponder to be the approach your rebellious streak can put to work.

Early Friday morning, a delightful pod of dolphins was overlooked by about a dozen people who walked by–studying the shells at their feet instead of watching the horizon. (I was sitting on the deck with my camera handy–it’s surprisingly hard to snap a photo of a dolphin when it’s at a distance.)

Publishing a newsletter is hard work. Whether you publish weekly or monthly or quarterly, there’s research and writing, inspiration-finding, editing and layout to do.

And though the rewards are great, sometimes, that’s just not enough. You know I think newsletters are amazing–and you know I enjoy spending this time with you each week. I love the emails you send me. Your vote of confidence when you forward your issue, or recommend someone read NIF, that means a great deal to me. And, of course, the predictable Monday-morning *sales* boost isn’t exactly annoying.

But, sometimes I find myself wondering if I could put the time I spend on NIF to better use. I worry that I’ll run out of ideas, burn myself out on writing altogether, and start to be dreadfully dull.

Publish a newsletter!” the experts shout. “Start an ezine!” they proclaim.

In fact, even with the on-going debates about email and whether or not “email is dead,” marketing experts continue to recommend publishing a newsletter as one of the foundational tools for attracting clients.

Of course, I’m not going to argue. But, where I think they fall short is in explaining precisely how a newsletter can help you fill your client list. And in this case, it’s the how that matters.

Earlier today, I was talking with a new client about which distribution service to use. She worried that she’d make the wrong choice, and I advised her to just pick one–that we’d reassess in six months to see if there might be a better choice.

When you’re first starting a newsletter, just selecting a distribution service is such a huge decision–there’s a lot of competition and, quite frankly, not a lot of difference in features and pricing. So, it makes sense to just choose the service that you’re leaning towards so you can get your newsletter up and running.