(How to Get Your Message to the American Sheeple)
Part 9: Managing Email Lists
by Shonda Ponder
© 2002, Shonda Ponder
Email is one of the most productive ways to get your message out. There is nothing like clicking a button and having a message delivered to hundreds of people at once. But, in today's atmosphere of contempt against spammers, it is vitally important that you follow certain protocols and netiquette in order to not offend those you send your messages to.
One way to help you ward off any accusations against you as a spammer is to make a list of ONLY those people who are interested in the same subjects you are interested in. Then, rather than decide you are going to email them every time you have a message to send, ask them if they are interested in receiving your messages. For first time efforts, it won't hurt to send out a one time promotional email, with a note at the beginning of the email telling the recipient why you are sending them the message, and asking him or her to reply with "subscribe" if they wish to continue to receive your messages.
Once you get an idea of who all is interested in your messages, you will want to change the format in which you send the messages. For instance, you need to find a way so that you are not having to go through your address book every time you send a message. Most people do this by creating a third party email list with a company such as Yahoo! or Topica. At both of these companies, all it takes is signing up, following a few simple instructions, and you are on your way. Also, both companies will provide you with promotional sign up boxes so that your readers can sign themselves up to your lists (which you can place on your web site) without you having to do it for them. Likewise, they can also unsubscribe if they wish without you having to do that for them as well.
Click Here http://list-etiquette.com/ for some great tips on how to best manage your lists using proper netiquette!
Starting your own email list with a 3rd party company will save you many headaches when it comes to managing your lists. You will hardly ever have to worry about getting the email addresses wrong. If someone wants to unsubscribe, they can do so for themselves (most of the time). And, you can set it up so that they can even subscribe themselves, if you want. All you have to really be concerned with is letting others know that your list is there, and how they can sign up.
Never sign someone up or send them email if you do not have permission to do so. This can cause confusion, headache, and a lot of angry would-have-been recruits.
Do NOT go through your address book and put everyone on the "TO" line of the email message. If you do not have an email list from a 3rd party company, use the BCC field or send them one at a time. Potential recruits do not like to have their email blasted out for the world to see. (Trust me, learn from one who found out the hard way...)
Do not start a discussion list until and unless you have ample time to spend managing it. It will be your responsibility to keep up the quality of the emails, prevent spammers from attacking your lists, and insure that cross-posting is in line with your own messages. It is strongly suggested that you have a good-sized announcement only list before you venture into the world of discussion.
Once you have set up your 3rd party list, make sure that with every email you send, you send instructions for how to opt in and opt out for the reader. This way, they can do so without having to email you and request that you take them off. And, they can do it themselves.
This is Part 9 of "Promotional Skills for the Chronically Amateur"
============================
No comments:
Post a Comment