I know a lot of sites - even startups - will have a place to subscribe to an email newsletter. Have you tried this as a marketing tool? Is it effective?

I haven't tried this personally yet. I'm still building up my email list. But I know this works because this is what my mentors have been doing.

Anything you do to keep in touch with your customer is a good Idea. newsletter is a good idea.

I run weekly newsletters - just one more way to stay in touch with our clients.

A newsletter is your means for getting your audience hooked to your site. That's where you mention exciting developments in your products or your promos. Such a medium can only be good.

But you've got to be consistent. When you say weekly, then do so weekly. Otherwise, your audience would think you're just playing around.

Newsletters should be considered a vital tool of ANY business. You've already done all the hard work of getting the visitor to your site! There have been multiple studies done over the years about the value of repeat business and how much cheaper it is to get a current customer (or previous customer) to repurchase merchandise.

Upselling your products to existing customers should be something done on a somewhat regular basis. We send out our notices each month of things that have happened, things to watch out for, and any specials that we have going on.

If you're not already marketing to your existing client base, you need to!

If you are running a business like web hosting which involves having constant touch and interaction with your clients, why not adding a cool newsletter system to your site and sending out fresh updates to them on a weekly or monthly basis. The big companies are already doing this and outcomes are always great, even helping the older customers renewing their hosting accounts.

I agree with many people above. Newsletters are a must if you want to reap the benefits of your current client base. Don't make a mistake and avoid this step.

I have not tried it myself but you can see a lot of people trying this technique on their sites, must be quite effective for them to consider it. Depends which type of site you have and what type of affiliate program you have, if any.

Its a great way to let your customers know any special offers you are running or new products you launch. Mailchimp is a good way to start as they have templates and a good free package to get started

a newsletter is one of the best things you could do to have a long-term income, once you have you email list you'll have more chances to sell your products directly than having to sweet talk people into it

I haven't try it personally but i think it is a good option to promote your site on Google.

Email marketing is the best thing spacialy For new Business Owners

I haven't try at as you can have problems with the hosting company and the email can be caught in the spam filters.
Still I think growing an account on social sites and placing there some news will do better then sending emails.

It is a good tool, if you are selling a product or service.