How does a newsletter mailing-list work?
In the good old days it was easy to send out a ton of emails to people on a list. Back then you could send email to anyone if you had their email address.
Today mass-emailing is not that simple. The reason: Unsolicited Bulk E-mails also known as SPAM-mails. We all get tons of them all the time and nobody likes them.
Because of the growing SPAM-mail problem more and more people are using anti-spam software, and respectable web hosting companies (the ones who handle your website as well as your emails) are setting up sending limits for outgoing emails.
The web servers that do not help fight against SPAM will be blacklisted by other web servers and none of the emails they send out will reach their destination – SPAM or no SPAM.
The idea of a newletter mailing-list is to only send to people who agree to receive your emails. A newsletter mailing-list function has 3 parts:
- The front-end interface, where user will sign up and unsubscribe,
- A secure database where all the email addresses are stored,
- The back-end interface where you manage the addresses on the list and send out mails
With a good mailing-list interface you are able to send out emails with images and text-formatting. You will also have the option to schedule the sending of your emails, so that you can write the email on Wednesday afternoon (when you have time) and have it automatically sent out on Monday morning when your phone is ringing off the hook.
Unsubscribe option
Giving your receivers the option to unsubscribe is essential when sending out a serious newsletter. If someone doesn’t want to receive your newsletter it should be as easy as 1-2-3 to stop them coming. Remember, just because someone doesn’t want your newsletter doesn’t mean that they wont buy your product. So it is important to stay professional and service-minded, even in your automated internet marketing efforts. Your business will benefit in the long run.
If the receiver can not unsubscribe they will simply delete it. Anti-spam software will then pick it up and put your email address in their anti-spam list, and before you know it your website domain name is blacklisted by central anti-spam databases. And that, of course, is very bad. Besides, what is the point of having 500 subscribers in your list when you have no idea how many of those send your email straight to the trash-bin?
An effective means of delivering your message
When your newsletter receivers have chosen to be on the list, the chance that they will actually read what you send out is far greater. You will be writing to readers already interested in reading what you have to say, and that means that you will have a much better chance at successfully getting your message across.
Contact us to find out how to add a newsletter to your online marketing toolbox.
Find related articles in Creating really good websites, Frequently Asked Questions.
