[epub] merging lists

["Life in Africa" <lists@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Hi All -

I've had to stay unsubscribed from this list for a while because of terrible
internet access problems here in Uganda. But I need some advice and can't
think of a better place to turn...

I had three lists in the past that all had different publication schedules.
All hosted at Topica for over a year. All 100% opt-in. Fairly stable growth.
When the information highway decided to get overly congested in Uganda,
maintaining the three lists became simply impossible. So they've been
floundering for a while, but the biggest one (1200+) was certainly still
alive and pretty loyal.

So our new strategy is to merge the lists into one single monthly pub that
combines all the content... same content, different format, and I can
salvage the value of the lists.

Stupidly, I wrote to subscribers telling them they wouldn't have to do
anything in response to Topica's message adding them to the list. This,
after reading the fine print of Topica's list upload policy and
communicating with them well in advance of the merger.

Well, apparently they understood their policy differently than I did: Topica
*invited* my 1600 subscribers to join the new list - response required. So
now the subscribers have got mixed messages.

I insisted on an explanation, and Topica did change their mind... decided I
indeed could have those subscribers added directly. So they started adding
them - and stopped at 500. Now (3 days later) I've got 650 confirmed
subscribers out of a list of 1600. No word from Topica about whether they
will upload the rest or not.

My question: Should I contact the subscribers yet again? The new publication
launches on the 15th. They have already been contacted about this at least
twice this week, so I really hate to bombard them. On the other hand, they
are the primary support for this organization I run, and that list cost
literally thousands of dollars to build from here.

What would you do?

Christina
http://LifeInAfrica.com/
...can you hear the echoes?

////<<>>\\\\\<<>> ECHOES OF AFRICA <<>>////<<>>\\\\
Subscribe today for a magical journey through Africa
each month. Email to echoes-subscribe@topica.com  or
visit http://www.LifeInAfrica.com/echoes/


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