Then I went to Google and this is what I found:

8 Reasons to Add a Newsletter to Your Blog by ProBlogger.net

After reading through these 8 reasons, I thought, “boy, I really never looked at it that way, at all!”.  I would like to thank Darren for posting such readable, valuable information on his blog.  And now, let’s get back to the newsletter.

What do I have to offer for a newsletter? 

Well, I could write longer, pointed articles, like tutorials, for the readers willing to sign up.  I would figure that most of my readers are curious due to the name of my blog, but I am not sure what % are actually looking for affiliate information they can get other places.  I try to keep this blog unique, by posting information about my experiments, where I am making the money online and which places I went bust, but occasionally I throw in the typical post you see just about everywhere.  All with my own spin on it of course.

I really like the idea of people coming back to this blog, if they like it or whatever the reason is, but right now that number sits at about 80-90 per month.  I would think that with a newsletter, I would see more return and according to Darren, more loyalty.

On the search for a nice, easy-to-use newsletter packed with tools and tracking, I found 2 that I am happy with.

• Aweber – obviously the most popular choice on the web today
• ConstantContact – another system I found to be as useful and in the price range

I haven’t decided which one to go with, because I am also checking into some open source options that I can run on my server.  I really like the tools and tracking that Aweber offers, so I am leaning towards their service at this point.  We’ll see, I hope by the start of 2009 I will have thought of some valuable content to pass around via newsletter.

Being able to interact with your readers is a huge part of operating a blog.  If you can create some sort of community through a newsletter, you will see traffic go up, as well as, affiliate sales of products you offer, etc.  The overall return is huge compared to the actual commitment.  So, do you need a blog newsletter?  I would say NO, but if you would like to create a nice loyal community of readers, you might want to at least check it out.

Most newsletter services will offer a trial period (try Aweber below) so that you can test how it will go over with your readers, it’s at least worth that.  Good luck and if you already have a newsletter going, leave a comment and let me know how it’s helped (if it has).