Hosting Your Ezine
| Category: Newsletters/Newsgroups | Date: 2003-01-08 |
So you want to start an ezine and you don't know what to do next. You've got a great web site, perhaps a product to sell or just some information to disseminate. Now what do you do?
One of the tasks that you need to perform is to find someplace which will distribute the newsletter to your subscribers. Well, actually, there is a lot more to it than just distribution. There is a whole plethora of tasks associated with a newsletter (besides writing and formatting the copy itself).
Handling subscriptions - People must be allowed to subscribe and unsubscribe from your ezine. The hosting service should send an acknowledgement for all transactions.
Reporting - You will want to know how well your ezine is doing. This should include statistics like how many people subscribed and unsubscribed, how long they lasted and so on.
Double Opt-In - Don't even think about creating any kind of email publication that is not double opt-in. This means a person has to sign up for your publication. He then receives an email which he must acknowledge. This is vital because it eliminates the possibility of someone getting subscribed accidentally or by someone else.
Sending the newsletter itself - Of course, you should be able to send out your newsletter.
I tried several different services and methods as my ezine publication evolved.
Free hosting - I started with Bravenet, which is an excellent service for beginners and small users. If your list is fairly small (less than 500 members) their services are free. Larger lists, or lists without advertisements, can be purchased if needed. If memory serves, these services generally do not archive older newsletters for you - that's up to you.
There used to be a large number of companies which did this kind of thing, but lately I've noticed many of them seem to have disappeared (including the bCentral offering). I suspect this has to do with the current status of internet advertising.
Groups - Another way to handle a newsletter is to use a service such as Yahoo Egroups, Topica or Smartgroups. These services are all free and they do an adequate job of automating signups and deletions. The reporting is weak to nonexistent, but if that's not something you need than you won't miss it.
The main disadvantage of these groups, in my opinion, is the amount of advertising that your readers get exposed to. If you don't mind the advertisements and don't need the reporting, then they will probably be fine.
A significant advantage of groups over free hosting services such as Bravenet is the groups can get as large as you want and still remain free. The groups also support archives of your newsletters and have quite a few other nice features.
Self-submitting - I outgrew Bravenet and tried hosting my newsletter on my own website. This worked for a while, until my host had trouble with their sendmail routines. At that point I had to find a new way to send out my list.
There are several problems with hosting your newsletter yourself. I sent out my newsletter through my web host (using a set of CGI routines), and they really were not set up to do that kind of thing. Thus, the service was sporadic and spotty at best.
In addition, sending your own list through your ISP or web host has a number of other associated dangers. First, they may decide you are sending too many emails, especially if they do not provide that service as part of their offering. This could result in cancellation. Some user could also report you for spamming (even if you are not) and this could also result in account cancellation.
Professionally hosted - I finally decided it was time to look for a professional service. I settled on a service called Talklist, and I must say I am now very happy with their offering. It is a little expensive (about $30 a month), but the service is perfect, the newsletter goes out quickly and I have no worries.
With a professional service, everything is done automatically. The only thing I have to worry about is (a) promoting my newsletter, and (b) writing the copy. Additions and subtractions are handled for me, and the reporting is excellent.
However you decide to host your newsletter, try and find a method which allows you to concentrate on your newsletter. You don't need to add the complications of managing subscriptions and sending emails to your life - it's just wasting time.
Personally, now that I've tried professional newsletter hosting, I would never even consider going back to any other option. It works and it works well.
About the Author
Richard Lowe Jr. is the webmaster of Internet Tips And Secrets. This website includes over 1,000 free articles to improve your internet profits, enjoyment and knowledge.
Web Site Address: internet-tips.net
Weekly newsletter: http://www.internet-tips.net/joinlist.htm
Daily Tips: internet-tips@GetResponse.com
Claudia Arevalo-Lowe is the webmistress of Internet Tips And Secrets and Surviving Asthma. Visit her site at http://survivingasthma.com
List of articles available for reprint: article-list@internet-tips.net
articles@internet-tips.net
http://www.internet-tips.net
One of the tasks that you need to perform is to find someplace which will distribute the newsletter to your subscribers. Well, actually, there is a lot more to it than just distribution. There is a whole plethora of tasks associated with a newsletter (besides writing and formatting the copy itself).
Handling subscriptions - People must be allowed to subscribe and unsubscribe from your ezine. The hosting service should send an acknowledgement for all transactions.
Reporting - You will want to know how well your ezine is doing. This should include statistics like how many people subscribed and unsubscribed, how long they lasted and so on.
Double Opt-In - Don't even think about creating any kind of email publication that is not double opt-in. This means a person has to sign up for your publication. He then receives an email which he must acknowledge. This is vital because it eliminates the possibility of someone getting subscribed accidentally or by someone else.
Sending the newsletter itself - Of course, you should be able to send out your newsletter.
I tried several different services and methods as my ezine publication evolved.
Free hosting - I started with Bravenet, which is an excellent service for beginners and small users. If your list is fairly small (less than 500 members) their services are free. Larger lists, or lists without advertisements, can be purchased if needed. If memory serves, these services generally do not archive older newsletters for you - that's up to you.
There used to be a large number of companies which did this kind of thing, but lately I've noticed many of them seem to have disappeared (including the bCentral offering). I suspect this has to do with the current status of internet advertising.
Groups - Another way to handle a newsletter is to use a service such as Yahoo Egroups, Topica or Smartgroups. These services are all free and they do an adequate job of automating signups and deletions. The reporting is weak to nonexistent, but if that's not something you need than you won't miss it.
The main disadvantage of these groups, in my opinion, is the amount of advertising that your readers get exposed to. If you don't mind the advertisements and don't need the reporting, then they will probably be fine.
A significant advantage of groups over free hosting services such as Bravenet is the groups can get as large as you want and still remain free. The groups also support archives of your newsletters and have quite a few other nice features.
Self-submitting - I outgrew Bravenet and tried hosting my newsletter on my own website. This worked for a while, until my host had trouble with their sendmail routines. At that point I had to find a new way to send out my list.
There are several problems with hosting your newsletter yourself. I sent out my newsletter through my web host (using a set of CGI routines), and they really were not set up to do that kind of thing. Thus, the service was sporadic and spotty at best.
In addition, sending your own list through your ISP or web host has a number of other associated dangers. First, they may decide you are sending too many emails, especially if they do not provide that service as part of their offering. This could result in cancellation. Some user could also report you for spamming (even if you are not) and this could also result in account cancellation.
Professionally hosted - I finally decided it was time to look for a professional service. I settled on a service called Talklist, and I must say I am now very happy with their offering. It is a little expensive (about $30 a month), but the service is perfect, the newsletter goes out quickly and I have no worries.
With a professional service, everything is done automatically. The only thing I have to worry about is (a) promoting my newsletter, and (b) writing the copy. Additions and subtractions are handled for me, and the reporting is excellent.
However you decide to host your newsletter, try and find a method which allows you to concentrate on your newsletter. You don't need to add the complications of managing subscriptions and sending emails to your life - it's just wasting time.
Personally, now that I've tried professional newsletter hosting, I would never even consider going back to any other option. It works and it works well.
About the Author
Richard Lowe Jr. is the webmaster of Internet Tips And Secrets. This website includes over 1,000 free articles to improve your internet profits, enjoyment and knowledge.
Web Site Address: internet-tips.net
Weekly newsletter: http://www.internet-tips.net/joinlist.htm
Daily Tips: internet-tips@GetResponse.com
Claudia Arevalo-Lowe is the webmistress of Internet Tips And Secrets and Surviving Asthma. Visit her site at http://survivingasthma.com
List of articles available for reprint: article-list@internet-tips.net
articles@internet-tips.net
http://www.internet-tips.net
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