When you think of publicity, you may think of paid ads, press releases, and the like. When you think of email, you probably think of it as a communication tool; They may seem very different, but you can blend the two and use email as a publicity tool.

Most email programs have a signature line option. You can create a unique signature that includes your name, phone number, slogan, website address – or anything else that comes to mind. When you choose to have the signature line option on, your email program will automatically include your signature line into outgoing messages.

If your message is going to someone who doesn’t know about your business, your signature line will give them a brief overview. And if anyone forwards your emails to other people, your signature line will be included as well.

Creating a mailing list and using an autoresponder to stay in touch with them is a great way to use email as a publicity tool. An example of this would be to create an e-course on a subject that goes along with something you are promoting. For instance, if your target market is new mothers that are interested in health topics, you can create an e-course on the health benefits of making your own organic baby food.

There are many autoresponder services to choose from, so do a little research and find one that fits your needs and budget. When you sign up with one, you will be able to create forms to gain subscribers. When you create a form, you will be given a small amount of HTML that you can install on your website or blog. An opt-in box will appear on your page, and when people fill out their name and email, they will be added to your list of subscribers.

You can write emails ahead of time and load them into your autoresponder, and as you gain subscribers your emails will automatically be sent to them. You can specify how many days apart you want the emails to be sent. Sending one email or “lesson” per day is very common with e-courses. On day 1 you can send your subscribers a welcome email, on day 2 they will receive lesson 1 of the e-course, on day 3 they will receive lesson 2 and so forth.

In each email you send, include a call to action. Using the example above, if you are creating an e-course about organic baby food, include links to other products you are promoting or selling. An example would be your affiliate link to an e-book.

People turn to the internet to gain information. Email is a great way to deliver information to them and promote your products and services at the same time.