As you would expect, there are many ways to deliver your e-zine. In this section you can find several solutions to e-zine delivery. If you work for a company with your own in-house server, you will want to talk to your system administrator about mailing list software.

"With so many options for me to choose, how do I know which is the best method for managing MY E-Zine?

If you have asked this question, don't feel alone. Selecting your E-Zine list management tool is an important step in the success of your E-Zine.

There are three basic methods to manage your list and mail your E-Zine.

1. Do It Yourself (Read our New Tutorial)
2. Use a Free ListServer Service
3. Hire a Professional List Host

Before deciding which type of service to use, you need to take a look at the individual tasks involved in managing a mailing list and distributing an E-Zine.

Let's step through each individual event involved:

A New Subscriber Request Is Received

1. You add the e-mail address to your mailing list database.
2. You send a welcome message to your new subscriber.

A Request to be Removed from your Mailing List is Received
1. You remove the e-mail address from your database (immediately).

2. You send an exit note to the person requesting to be removed, acknowledging the removal request and saying thank you and good bye.

Mail Your E-zine
1. Send a copy to each subscriber

Well that sounds pretty easy, right? It is...until your list starts to grow, and these simple tasks become difficult to manage. Adding a couple of e-mail addresses is easy, but try a few hundred per day and pretty soon you start thinking about how you can automate this process. The automation of the tasks we just identified is exactly what a list server can do for you.

In Part I of this series, we will review the option of using a Professional Mailing List Account or List Server.

What should I look for in a Professional Mailing Service or List Server? Your Professional Service must excel in two categories: Customer Service and Technology.

Customer Service

Listed below are some questions you want answered before you sign up with a Professional Service.

-> Is there a customer service process in place?

-> How long does it take to respond to your messages?

-> Will they tell you if there is a problem?

-> Does the service offer testimonials from other
customers?

-> Do you know others who use their service? Get
references.

-> Who has access to their servers? (Have you heard the one about mailing list theft?)

Your e-mail addresses are a valuable company asset. You want to be careful when selecting the company to whom you will entrust this list.

Technology

EASY TO USE

Most of the new Mailing List Managers have replaced the cryptic command line driven interfaces with an intuitive, graphical user interface allowing management of a list by a nontechnical person. The web interface should include options for the following:

=> Retrieve your subscriber list. You should download your subscriber list every week and keep a backup at your
site. Yes, even if your list host keeps a backup. As a smart and savvy business person, you know this simple and easy-to-do task is simply another precaution - like those daily backups you perform on your computer!

=> Provide Basic Management Reports: Once your list starts to grow, you will want to be able to request reports to tell you the number of new subscribers, unsubscribe requests and total number of subscribers.

=> Access to your list anytime.

=> Simple subscribe and unsubscribe instructions.

=> Provide you with the HTML code for forms that you can
put on your web site to allow subscribers to join from any page on your site.

=> A Security System that ensures that nobody else can send a message to your list or get your list.

=> Bounce management. Guess what happens when you send out your E-Zine to hundreds or thousands of subscribers? You will get e-mail bounced back as undeliverable. Why? People change e-mail addresses, servers are temporarily unavailable, internet connections are blocked, AOL blocked addresses, etc. How will your ListServer deal with undeliverable email addresses?

=> Last, but not least, a secure e-mail address for you to send your E-Zine to the List Server for distribution to your subscribers.

Top Recommendations for Professional Mailing List Services

OAKNET PUBLISHING - Phil Tanny

I send out the E-ZineZ newsletter from an Oaknet Publishing Professional Mailing List Account. Because I use this service, I can recommend Oaknet Publishing with absolutely no reservations. Recently I asked Phil Tanney, for his thoughts on what distinguished Oaknet from many of the other services available. His response:

"Actually you have pretty much put your finger on the button when you refer to customer service. I think that's the main reason people choose us and stick with us. Although our system is designed so that you should be able to operate your account week in - week out without any assistance, there is no replacement for a prompt and helpful response from a friendly non-digital life form, if a question or problem should come up.

"I've given our customers a special support address so that my email client will give mail from our customers a higher priority than mail from the general public.

"Most of these mails receive a response within a few hours, 95% of them within a day. I'll admit responses are a bit slower on weekends but I'm almost always available to deal with an urgent request.

"So if someone needs a good newsletter management system that comes with a real person attached, I think we'd be a one of the options they would like to consider."

Customer Service + Technology = Winner for Oaknet Publishing
http://www.oaknetpublishing.com

LISTHOST.NET - Sharon Tucci

Another list management company I can recommend is ListHost.net. Recently I had the opportunity to ask Sharon
what she considered to be a distinguishing factor for Listhost.net. Her response:

"Unlike other list server companies, the folks behind the company come from a publishing background rather than a technical one. We really understand the issues that E-Zine publishers face and will work hard in helping you reach your own goals."

"Another thing that makes ListHost.net different is that they offer a number of value-added services such as promotion, consulting, technical management and so on. This can allow you to concentrate on the areas you're best
at."

Sharon Tucci, the owner of Listhost.net is an active participant in many discussion lists and has an excellent reputation for helping others by her participation in many discussion forums. Listhost.net is definitely another winner for both customer service and technology.
http://www.listhost.net