Re: [epub] Requesting advice about discussion lists based on your e-pubs

[Brian Alt <brian.alt@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

From: Brian Alt <brian.alt@list-universe.com>

Hi Mani,

> From: "S.Sivasubramanian" <sivaraj@giasmd01.vsnl.net.in>
>
> I'm looking for some advice about an idea I had recently.
> As a complement to my ezines, I'm planning to start up a
> few e-mail discussion lists on specific topics. Do
> you use such a technique, and if so, can you help by
> sharing some of your experiences with regard to the
> following issues, please ?

You know I do it, right? Or none of us would be here ;-)

I've written a couple of articles on the positive experiences
of having a related discussion list and newsletter. I guess
the most notable of these is:

http://ezine-tips.com/articles/content/06211999.html

> 1. I've been looking at a service called GLOBELIST.com
> Have you used this service ? Any comments about
> it, or any other alternative suggestions ?

globelists.com is only a few weeks old. There's an article
about its launch at http://list-news.com/articles/081699.html

My personal opinion: I hate the service, for one simple
reason.  I can't even register!  Hyphens aren't allowed in
an email address, and of course I have one in the domain
name of mine. An oversight on their part, I'm sure, but one
that will limit your audience somewhat until it's fixed. (I
tried telling them, but they've hidden the contact email
address so well on their site that I finally gave up.)

As far as the freebies are concerned, ONElist still gets my
vote, although Topica seems decent as well. ONElist's new
site design and interface is even better than the old one
(more moderation options, etc.).

> 2. I have around 15 different lists in mind. Should I start
> them all at once, or in smaller batches ? Why ?

I'd create all the lists at once, just to make sure you can
use a consistent naming convention.

15 lists is a lot to manage all at once. Maybe launch a few,
get used to that, then add to your workload?

> 3. To begin with, I plan to leave the lists unmoderated.
> Is this a wise move ? In your experience, how much of the
> list posts are likely to be irrelevant or off-topic, given that
> most members will be subscribers to my E-pub, or web
> site visitors ? Is a list better moderated at its INITIAL
> stage, or after a certain size is reached ? Maybe Brian
> could answer this issue.

For *this* list, I only approve about half the messages sent to
the list. If I were to remove the moderation, the chaos of spam,
blatant self-promotion, and off-topic noise would drive all you
folks away :)

For medical topics, you may well have success leaving your lists
unmoderated. I've always started business-related lists, so I've
chosen to moderate them from the get-go.

> 4. Very roughly, how much time should I expect to spend
> on list administration ? Could you give me an estimate
> based on number of posts per day, or number of list
> members, or some such demographic ?

10 posts per day = 1 hour of moderation, approximately.

That's just the time reading, editing, and approving messages.
If you also take the time to "educate" newbies, expect to
spend a lot longer.

Actually, by having a moderated list, you may actually *reduce*
the time it takes to manage the list. I see a lot of list owners
spending a lot of time apologizing to their unmoderated lists :)

> 5. The globelist.com service offers use of headers and
> footers. What text should I use in these areas of each
> list message ? Are there any pointers, similar to those for
> the signature files we use with our email ?

Footers: subscribe, unsubscribe, digest info, location of
archives, and advertisement are all options.

I'd avoid using headers, unless it's just "So and so wrote:" or
something like that.

What do the rest of you think?

Brian
http://List-Universe.com/


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