Email Subscriptions and Newsletter providers

[Guard Dog]

I have about 1500 emails from a subscription on CasinoBonusFarm.com (note side bar which allows folks to request a newsletter). Now, with that said.. I have never sent out a single email Stupid, I know.

What I want now is the ability to put those emails in a list (currently in my database) and generate a mailing. I know if I use Aweber that they have to all go through another opt-in process (which sucks). I did that once with another site and lost the ability to email a TON of those simply due to a non-response. I don't want that to happen again.

Any ideas on how I properly mail these folks, allow for an opt-out, but not force them through another opt-in process?

Thanks!

 

[Leo]

Why not send them yourself instead of using a 3rd party service?

I know the services advertise higher deliverability rates so more mails get past spam filters, but if your own server is setup correctly (eg. SPF records) then you can still have good deliverability by sending the emails yourself.

I use the following Wordpress plugin, it handles everything like automatic opt-out links, and can send a configurable number of emails per hour (so your host doesn't get upset).

WordPress › Newsletter « WordPress Plugins

Even if that particular site isn't using Wordpress, you could still use the plugin to send emails from another of your sites.

 

[Guard Dog]

Thanks Leo. I did, however, decide to use a 3rd Party service. I looked all over the dang place and finally ended up with one with a very odd name Mad Mimi. It's a pretty easy to use service and creating a template took me no time at all compared to all the others I have used (well, only 2: Constant Contact, AWeber). I had an email ready and perfected in about 10 minutes. I like that. For my small list of only about 1500, it is only $16 / month. Not too shabby providing I use it wisely.

 

[Guard Dog]

Back to the drawing board The company I chose, while having an AWESOME interface - easy to use... does *NOT* allow gaming newsletters. I guess my time was wasted.

 

[Leo]

Sorry to hear that, I also found the same with quite of few of the bigger reliable services which is another reason why I chose to do it myself.

If using a 3rd party service and the TOS doesn't specifically mention acceptable content then it's definitely worthwhile to contact the company to see if your content is going to be OK. Because even if the TOS doesn't mention it, it's quite likely to have a problem later when they start getting spam complaints (inevitable to get a few) and unless you've specifically confirmed that your content type is OK then they're likely to cut off the service.

 

[Guard Dog]

I'm doing exactly that right now with a couple of them. I do prefer the online, don't want to have to set up a WP blog just to do it and I prefer the bounce rate of the online guys better than what my own bounce rate would likely be