I use MailChimp. It is simple, easy, and free up to 2,000 emails a month.
I currently have the following email lists:James Bruno said:Does anyone use a mailing list for anything other than announcing a new book release?
Exactly why I decided on MailChimp.Amanda Brice said: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.
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.Andrew Ashling said: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).