There’s a lot to love about newsletters; they’re a wonderful, rewarding, rich way to build relationships, connect with readers, and make sales. And I’ve been spending more time than usual thinking up all my favorite things to love .

Here’s my list of the top five things I most love about newsletters. I’d love to hear your own list, too!

A few days ago, I attended a workshop at The Home Depot on embellishing basic furniture pieces. (…)

I spent the weekend celebrating my birthday (thank you for the birthday wishes!) and out in the garden planting zinnias and planting my baby tomato plants in the garden. I mentioned before that this year I’ve grown a bunch of heirloom tomatoes from seed and it’s been really intriguing to watch them grow. They’re finally looking like real tomato plants so out into the garden they went.

What was interesting to me was the way their roots wound around the outside of the pot–checking that boundary and feeling their way against the plastic. Now that their roots have much more room to explore, I know they’ll once again test their new boundaries.

And, of course, while I was planting the tomatoes into the garden, I was thinking about your business and wondering if it’s time for you to “repot” yourself, too. I know for me, it’s been awhile since I explored those boundaries, and it’s also been awhile since I considered whether or not I needed a bigger pot.

With just 13 days until I turn one year older, and the sudden death of a next-door neighbor last week, I’ve been feeling really introspective lately. And what I keep realizing is how deeply, profoundly grateful I am for so much in my life. So, while today’s article is all about keeping your website and business protected from hackers, hard drive failures, and other icks, I thought I’d start today’s issue by sharing just some of what I’m really grateful for. I’d love to hear what’s so right in your life today, too!

• I’m grateful for lovely clients like Steve and Tim (hey guys) who on a conference call on Friday said, “That’s why we love talking to you–we always learn something!” Totally awesome. And I have some new thoughts about that giveaway you’re planning; expect to get those from me later today.
• I’m thrilled by the three client websites (all brand new domains) that were listed in Google within 24 hours last month. I remember way back in the day when it took *six months* for Google to find a site. Granted, I have a few tricks up my sleeve these days that get a site listed in the blink of an eye, but a lot of the new speed is due to the fact that Google’s been hard at work on improving search for both web users and website owners.

I’ve been knee-deep in hacked sites all week (last week, too, actually), so it seems like a good time to remind you of these five crucial things you should be doing regularly, but probably aren’t. (…)

If you’re not getting much feedback from your newsletter or blog readers, chances are you’re overlooking this playground behavior (that would have gotten you into trouble with the teacher) that makes it much easier for your readers to interact with you. Read on to find out what it is and how to leverage it in your next article.

We had a fabulous vacation. You can see the view I woke up to (yadzooks the sun is rising early these days!) over on Twitter, and I’ll have more photos as I go through all the ones I took. I love my Olympus but sometimes I think digital makes taking photos way too easy.

Just like in the garden, weeds in your newsletter take up valuable space that could be replaced with something a lot prettier. The five most common weeds I see in clients’ newsletters are:

• Jargon. Especially when you’re telling readers just what it is your company does and how you can help them, make sure you use your words wisely.

One of the things I really love about writing a weekly newsletter is that it reminds me to stop and reflect on the previous week each Friday. Whether I write about one of my accomplishments (or mishaps) in the feature article or in the Editor’s Note or not, this weekly ritual has made me much more aware of how I’ve spent my time.

Most of the time, at least some portion of my reflection does make its way into this newsletter, and even when it doesn’t, the time is never wasted. Read on for the five questions that lead to top quality weekly content…