[Andrew Ashling]

Up until now I used a WordPress plugin to collect email-addresses, but I think i have to get serious about my mailing-list and that a dedicated email marketing service would be more appropriate.

* Which service do you use, and why?

* What are the potential pitfalls?

 

[Jill James]

I use MailChimp. It is simple, easy, and free up to 2,000 emails a month.

 

[Justawriter]

I've heard really good things about www.aweber.com  It is more robust if you plan to email often. If you just want to send an occasional email, then mailchimp may be better and is free for up to 2000 contacts.

 

[DRMarvello]

I use MailChimp, and I've been happy with it. My lists are small though, so I haven't had to worry about going over the 2,000 free limit. I've also used AWeber in the past, and it's a good service too, although a little expensive. I think it is a little easier to set up email campaigns in MailChimp, but I'm sure others would say the opposite. If you plan to create a lot of lists, I would say that AWeber does a somewhat better job of list management, particularly when it comes to sending the same message to multiple lists. But if all you want is a newsletter list or a "new releases" list, MailChimp will work fine.

For me, a major benefit of MailChimp is that it has a powerful API (Application Programming Interface) that I can use to automate list management tasks from a web application. For example, my Magic Appreciation Tour site lets members subscribe/unsubscribe from the Blog Tours list right from their profile page. If you aren't a programmer though, the API has no value to you.

One other thing to consider is how you migrate lists. There is no way to import a list into AWeber without making all of your subscribers reconfirm by clicking through an opt-in confirmation email. That's fine if you have an old list or dirty list and want to clean it up anyway, but you are guaranteed to lose subscribers even if the list started out clean. With MailChimp, you can usually import a list as long as that list was double-opt-in from the start.

 

[LilianaHart]

I use Vertical Response. I have enough people on my mailing list that I'd have to pay no matter what provider I use, but I prefer Vertical Response over mail chimp be cause I like the look of it better and I don't run into any problems with people trying to open it from different email accounts and seeing something different, or the images not coming through. I also like that I can check the stats--percentage of people who open and click through.

 

[Lisa J. Yarde]

Another vote for MailChimp, very easy to use.

 

[Andrew Ashling]

Thanks, all of you…

I'm just planning on sending mails when I have a new release, which for me would amount to two, maybe four mails a year. Maybe the occasional freebie as well.

Since I'm writing in a niche, I don't expect readers to flock to my list in their thousands.

Going to take a look at MailChimp (to begin with).

Thanks again.

 

[James Bruno]

Does anyone use a mailing list for anything other than announcing a new book release?

 

[sweetcrabhoney18]

Aweber is made for professionals that plan on ringing there list like crazy. It's easy to build a completely autoresponder course with and it's fast to learn.  Ask any money maker and they will recommend Aweber completely.

Mail chimp has a free option. It's easy to learn. Provides great templates for images and is just nice. You can build a course with it but it will take a lot more time .. 

I use both because they each provide different things for my businesses. It's a personal choice really.

 

[DRMarvello]

Does anyone use a mailing list for anything other than announcing a new book release?

I currently have the following email lists:

* New book releases (MailChimp)
* Blog posts for two blogs (based on RSS--subscribes are managed by either FeedBurner or WordPress)
* Blog tour notices (MailChimp--subscribes managed through a membership site)

I've managed lists for newsletters and auto-responder courses as well, but my wife is doing most of that right now. Like @sweetcrabhoney18, we use both MailChimp and AWeber. Our newsletter and auto-responder lists are in AWeber, and our lower-volume lists are in MailChimp.

 

[Low Kay Hwa]

No one is using Google Feedburner? So far, it has worked well for me.

Before that, I was using Listbox (www.listbox.com). Good support from the staff.

 

[Amanda Brice]

I use Mailchimp because I have less than 2000 subscribers, and only plan to send newsletters when I have a new release or a big super-sale, which means maybe 6 newsletters per year at most. So Mailchimp is free for me.

I do hope to get to the point where I have more than 2000 subscribers, and at that point I'll look into my options a little more. I know Gemma Halliday said she bought some software for a one-time fee that allows her to have unlimited subscribers and send unlimited emails. (She has more than 10,000 subscribers on her mailing list.) But for now, the free Mailchimp version works for me.

 

[Andrew Ashling]

Meanwhile I took a look at MailChimp… and registered.

I use Mailchimp because I have less than 2000 subscribers, and only plan to send newsletters when I have a new release or a big super-sale, which means maybe 6 newsletters per year at most. So Mailchimp is free for me.

I do hope to get to the point where I have more than 2000 subscribers, and at that point I'll look into my options a little more. I know Gemma Halliday said she bought some software for a one-time fee that allows her to have unlimited subscribers and send unlimited emails. (She has more than 10,000 subscribers on her mailing list.) But for now, the free Mailchimp version works for me.

Exactly why I decided on MailChimp.

The problem with mailinglists you manage yourself from your own site is the number of mails your host allows you to send in one go/per day/per month. You can work around the limitations by setting up cronjobs, but I'd rather not. Also, a lot of mails tend to end up in the spam folder of the recipient (is what I've read).

 

[DRMarvello]

The problem with mailinglists you manage yourself from your own site is the number of mails your host allows you to send in one go/per day/per month. You can work around the limitations by setting up cronjobs, but I'd rather not. Also, a lot of mails tend to end up in the spam folder of the recipient (is what I've read).

That's true, in my experience. As soon as you start sending a large number of emails, you run the risk of being blacklisted by one of the anti-spam sites. Getting off those lists can be very difficult, and you will have to do it over and over again. Keep in mind that the spammers can't send through the services like MailChimp and AWeber: they use the same self-hosted software Amanda mentioned, and the blacklist sites know it. That is why MailChimp and AWeber are so hard-core about double-opt-in and shutting down accounts that get complaints; they are protecting their reputation, which affects their deliverability.

I used to manage a two-million subscriber email list for a retailer, and the company I worked for hired a third-party company called Return Path (for big $$$) that specialized in keeping them off black lists and measuring/maintaining deliverability. It isn't a small problem.

Save yourself a headache and go with a company that specializes in sending legitimate mass email campaigns. They will protect your deliverability for you.