[epub] Re: Spam filters

[Dawn Rivers Baker <editor@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

At 04:24 PM 4/7/04, you wrote:
> When I send out my ezines, I'm getting more responses from the spam 
> filters - "You emailed [name]. Click here to be added to his whitelist" 
> type of thing. As both my lists are quite small, it's not a real problem 
> yet. But do you reply to these mails? If not, presumably the ezine that 
> they've signed up for (I use Topica, double opt-in) won't reach them. But 
> I can't imagine that ezine writers with huge lists are going to the effort 
> of clicking those links.
>
> What do the rest of you do?

Hi Dianne.

My list is small, too, but I don't respond to those emails (unless it's one 
of my paying subscribers). I think it's setting a bad precedent. People who 
subscribe to email newsletters have to be trained by us to do whatever they 
need to do at *their* end to receive the information they've signed up for. 
In my welcome letter, I let them know that and I also tell them that (a) I 
don't answer emails sent by challenge response systems and (b) repeated 
bounces will result in removal of a subscriber.

No doubt some will tell me all this is *why* my list is so small but I 
don't just want email addresses, I want readers. If they sign up and don't 
get the newsletter, they will wonder why and email me to find out (don't 
laugh, it has happened). If they sign up, don't get the newsletter and 
don't notice, they must not have wanted it that badly. Either way, after 
going to the trouble of doing the research and writing and formatting, 
there's a limit to how far I'm going to go to hammer my way through 
somebody's spam barricade -- especially if they are getting the publication 
for free.

Cheers!
Dawn


Dawn Rivers Baker
2003 Small Business Journalist of the Year
Syracuse (NY) District, U.S. Small Business Administration

Editor-in-Chief
The MicroEnterprise Journal
http://www.microenterprisejournal.com
Where the nation's business meets microbusiness. 


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