The best-laid plans…
So I sent out my first issue of the newsletter yesterday. Much to Mr. Mosey’s derision, I decided to use Topica to manage the list. I thought it would be easier than managing it myself with a bulk e-mail program, or by writing something custom in Cold Fusion.
So I send out the first issue, only to find that they place ads not just at the bottom of the e-mail, but at the top as well. And for things like online dating services. Ugh. I should have known something was amiss when no ads appeared on my test e-mails.
Then, the Topica site went down yesterday afternoon, and was only back up this morning. So those few souls who actually wanted to subscribe were turned away.
I’m seriously thinking of just downloading the list from Topica and putting it into the bulk e-mail program I was planning on purchasing. I’ll have to manage the list by hand, but people won’t have to register to subscribe, and there won’t be any ads.
Damn technology.
Aren’t there some mailing list toosl from your webhost, or some you can install?
I registered because I really wanted to be I was a little put off by the information they wanted to know from me. I really didn’t feel like it was any of their business or that the information was relevent in any way.
I’m tellin you, man, use Group Mail (http://www.infacta.com/gm.asp). It works off your desktop, has great tools for managing lists, and doesn’t put ads in anything.
You read my mind, Jon-Jon. I’m going to switch over to Group Mail before the next issue Thursday. The damn ads and the imposing signup were too much.
I dropped Topica on the two lists I run about three or four months ago, when ads became mandatory. TANSTAAFL and all that, but since my host (ahem, Hosting Matters, ahem) provides mailing list functionality, and users can sub and unsub on their own, I figgered, why not use that?
Huh, yeah, you doubted the Mosey, yeah what did that get ya? Just headache and heartbreaks. But noooooo don’t spend 10 minutes to write the program yourself (or you caa have mine), got and *buy* something. All your a ranting and a ravin about pressure to purchase things to be part of the pop culture and you are going to buy a mailer.
When do we see you in Ambercrombie & Fitch?