Put Your List to Good Use
Adding ads to an announcement list is easy - just type
in the text. For a discussion list, the mailing list
software can be set up to include a blurb at the end of
every message, and this can contain an ad (as mentioned
above, it should also contain unsubscribe instructions
and the email address of the list admin). Since a discussion
list may generate lots of messages every day, it can be
an even better deal for an advertiser than an announcement
list. However, it's hard to convince advertisers of this
fact, since there's no way to predict exactly how many
times the message will be seen.
Advertisers think in terms of "CPM" (Cost per Thousand Ad
Views [or "impressions"]). Ads on lists are usually sold
for a fixed, round price per mailing or per month, but
potential advertisers will divide that figure by the
number of list members to see how good a deal it is.
The price you can command depends on the subject matter
of the list, and ranges from nothing to CPMs of 100
dollars or even more.
Aside from selling advertising on the list itself, the
goal of many mailing lists is to generate traffic to a
Web site, and they are quite effective for this purpose.
The question of whether your list exists for its own sake
or as a come-on for your Web site influences what kind
of content you put on the list (of course a list can also
have both goals).
If you want people to enjoy the list for its own sake,
pack it with useful content. Dispense wisdom that folks
can't get elsewhere, and that will make them want to stay
subscribed. For an announcement list, it's better to send
out fatter messages less often. Resist the temptation to
include too much advertising, and never put an ad at the
beginning of a message - people will assume it's spam. As
our friends at the search engines will tell you, a resource
that has links to lots of other resources will attract more
visitors than will straight content. Many mailing lists
consist of nothing but links. If the list itself is the
point of the exercise, then there's no reason not to
include links to whatever appropriate resources you can
find. If you simply keep an eye out for new links of
interest to your audience, you can make up quite a useful
little weekly or monthly list with comparatively little
effort.
Using Mailing Lists to Build Web Site Traffic
If the point of your list is to generate traffic to your
site, you should approach things a little differently.
The name of the game is to feature scads of links to your
own site, and few or none to other sites. Instead of
including self-sufficient content, include only
"teasers," or blurbs that whet the reader's appetite for
more info. For example, instead of a couple of paragraphs
announcing that your new widget can handle twice as much
widgetry as the previous model, include just a short blurb
that says something like "Would you like to be able to
process twice as many widget-units in the same amount of
time? Now you can! Click on over to the site to find out
how."
As with a banner ad, the name of the game is enticing
people to click, and marketing types study psychology to
figure out ways to push peoples' buttons (or vice versa).
People are suckers for questions, and of course for "special
deals." Also, people are more likely to click if it sounds
like they will "get" something. You and I know that all
they're going to receive is information, but make it
sound as if they're going to "get" some tangible benefit
(a free goodie, a chance to win something, a sneak peek
at something new, etc.).
A discussion list can also be a good traffic-generator.
When someone asks a question on one of our Web Developer's
Journal discussion lists, I don't have time to write out an
answer for them, but I do have time to give them a link to
an article on our Web site where the answer might be found.
Monitoring a discussion list is also an excellent way to get
ideas for new content. If you see lots of people asking
about a certain topic (especially if they aren't getting
many good answers), then that topic is a good candidate
for a new article. In fact, sometimes list members post
answers that are so well-written that they can serve as
articles themselves. Of course, you must get the writer's
permission to do this.
As mentioned above, your mailing list software can be set
up to include a blurb of text at the end of each list
message, and this blurb can be used to tout your site.
Change the blurbs often, keep them short, and keep them
relevant. If the blurb includes paid advertising, keep it
very short. Advertisers will try to talk you into making
them as long as they can get away with. Gently remind them
that yours is not an "opt-in" spam list, but a valuable
resource which is read by wealthy scuba divers (or whatever),
and that if it begins to resemble spam, the readers will
all disappear in a cloud of bubbles.
Mailing lists are an incredibly valuable resource, as
evidenced by the fact that there are thousands and
thousands of them out there. In this article, we've
only scratched the surface of what can be done with
mailing lists. So go ye forth and add your voices to
the multitude, but remember: like any other business
proposition, a mailing list is a game of give and take.
If you give valuable information, and run your list(s)
in a responsible manner, you'll be rewarded with more
Web site traffic, possibly some ad dollars, and most
important, lots more valuable information in return.
If you try to squeeze benefits out of a list that offers
little useful info, or if you cross the line into spam
territory, your list may become a useless waste of
bandwidth. Furthermore, in the afterlife you just may
be condemned to read each and every one of those messages
about MLM scams, diet pills, water filters, and so on
and so forth.
Further Reading
Exemplary Mailing Lists
Web Developer's Journal Mailing Lists
A bunch of discussion lists about various Web development topics.
Internet.com Newsletters
Lots more lists.
Tutorials, Tips and Tricks
Discussion Group & Mailing List Software
Comparative review of some of the major packages.
E-mail List-Tips By Sparky
Don't miss these articles by the master of the list, Sparky!
List-Tips.com, Tips and Tricks to Build and Maintain Your List
This is the premier site about lists, with resources, links, articles and more!
Software Packages
Sendmail
The most popular Unix mail server software (NT version also available).
Listserv
Majordomo
Lyris
Lists of Public Mailing Lists:
Liszt, the mailing list directory
Publicly Accessible Mailing Lists
Yahoo! Computers and Internet:Internet:Mailing Lists:Web Directories
A List of Lists About Lists:
Publicly Accessible Mailing Lists
