Email newsletters – how do I do this?

While not at the volume level it was a few years ago – due to the influx of other similar mediums such as Twitter, Facebook, and texting – email communication is still an effective and low-cost way to get your message out.

Sending a mass email through your email client (such as MS Outlook), is an awkward and dangerous way to handle this on your own.  Awkward, as there are no built-in tools to manage bad emails, reporting on opens, etc.; dangerous, because if those you send to ever report your email a SPAM, you are likely to be blacklisted as a sender. It is for hit reason, that email vendors have become the preferred way to manage mass email lists and sends.

Mailchimp (www.mailchimp.com) is an established, reputable, easy-to-use, and free means to begin building, and sending out attractive emails to, your list.

The offer free account, as long as your list remains below 2,000 addresses, along with countless templates, guidelines (linked below), and reporting tools. If you upgrade to a monthly paid service, they offer a non-profit discount, as well.

After you sign up, and create your list(s), you then can create “campaigns” (emails) to send out using a variety of pre-made templates, or your own HTML-coded one. They allow for simple image insertion, as well as integration with Twitter (tweet once an email is sent out), and a basic text editor. You can schedule your email to go out on a specific time/date or send right away.

You are then provided reporting on those who opened, bounced back with bad emails, unsubscribed, or even forwarded to a friend.

Download:
36 Free Email Templates

Some of the Downloadable Guidebooks:
Email Marketing Field Guide
Spam Lawsuits
Email Security
Common Rookie Mistakes
How to Avoid Spam Filters