Ezine and Email List
Etiquette
The
information super highway, countless intertwining roads of information all
merging into one massive freeway. That's the Internet. Just about any form
of information you could ever want, right at your fingertips.
The Internet is far more than just websites. Information is delivered via
email, downloads, newsgroups and forums just to name a few. In addition,
there are literally thousands of ezines, discussion groups and announcement
lists.
These groups are composed of individuals who either receive information in
the form of a publication or share information with a group. Although these
lists can provide you with a wealth of information, they can be very time
consuming for the owners. With that in mind, this article will provide you
with some basic list etiquette guidelines.
Ezines
/ Email Lists / Newsletters
Ezines,
also known as email lists or opt-in publications are simply newsletters available
via email and/or online.
Subscribers sign up to receive a publication and may unsubscribe at any time.
This publication may be delivered to your email daily, weekly, biweekly or
monthly.
Discussion
Groups
Discussion
groups are groups of individuals who have signed up to participate in group
discussions. This type of group delivers messages to your email each time
a member posts. When you reply to a message, it will be delivered to the
entire group.
Announcement
Lists
Announcement
lists enable members to sign up to receive and post announcements in regard
to a specific subject. This type of group may deliver messages as they are
posted or you may receive a certain number of the messages at one time.
Forums/Message
Boards
Forums
or message boards are online threaded discussion groups in which messages
are displayed on web pages.
Some forums require you to register in order to become a member, while others
require no registration.
Moderators
Most
types of discussion groups, announcement lists and forums will have one or
more moderators. Moderators make sure that posts are appropriate and try
to prevent spammers from posting.
Posting
Guidelines
No matter
what type of list or group you join, each will have its own set of posting
guidelines. Make sure you always review the guidelines and double-check your
post prior to submission. Not only will your message get posted more quickly,
but it will also save the moderator a great deal of time.
When
posting or replying to posts, make sure that you stay on topic. If you're
posting to a group that focuses on "Ezines," you wouldn't want to post a
question or information about "Gardening." In addition, always be very tactful.
Everyone is there to learn and share information. There is absolutely no
reason to hurt someone's feeling by publicly humiliating them or being rude.
Keep in mind, there is a human being with feelings behind each post.
When posting to an announcement group, make sure you follow the posting
guidelines. Not only will this save the list owner a great deal of time,
but it will also prevent you from having to repost your message when it gets
rejected.
In addition to following the guidelines, make sure that you don't post your
message more than once. Announcement lists receive many submissions and only
send out a certain number of posts each day. It may take up to a week or
longer before your message is approved. Reposting only serves to delay the
process even longer.
Unsubscribing
In order
to remove yourself or unsubscribe from an ezine, discussion group or announcement
list, you must follow the instructions for each individual publication. Some
lists will provide a link that will instantly remove your email address.
Others will require you to send an email message to remove yourself. However,
you MUST send the unsubscribe email message from the same address you used
to subscribe.
Many times, subscribers may use an email address that redirects to their
main email account. When they try to remove themselves from a list, they
can't remember which address they used to subscribe. This causes them to
become frustrated and take their anger out on the list owner.
There is no way for a list owner to determine what email address a subscriber
used to subscribe to the list. However, there is a way you can locate the
address yourself and save yourself and the list owner a great deal of
frustration.
If you're using Outlook:
Under the "View" menu, select "Message header" or "Source."
If you're using Eudora:
Click on the "Bla bla" button.
By viewing the message headers, you can determine what email address the
message was sent to. This is the email address you used to subscribe to the
group. Your unsubscribe message MUST come from this address in order to locate
it within the database.
SPAM
Professional
list owners will NEVER add your email address to their database without your
knowledge. Most of the time, if you're receiving their publication, you
subscribed and may have forgotten. Keep in mind, the keyword is "Professional"
list owners. There are many list owners that use unethical means of obtaining
email addresses.
Before making a "SPAM" complaint, it is VERY important that you understand
the consequences. NEVER make a SPAM complaint unless you are absolutely positive
that it is, in fact, SPAM. It is much better to delete one hundred potential
SPAM messages than to wrongly accuse one innocent publisher of SPAM.
What you probably don't realize is that when you make a SPAM complaint about
a publication, your complaint also affects advertisers and article writers
that have no affiliation with the publication. One SPAM complaint can cost
an innocent publisher, advertiser and writer their entire business. It's
just not worth it.
Advertising
Although
many ezines will allow you to purchase advertising, discussion groups,
announcement lists and forums DO NOT allow blatant advertising. This is
considered SPAM and will probably get you immediately removed. Most groups
will allow you to include your signature. Make sure you review the guidelines
prior to posting.
If we all work together and follow a few simple guidelines, we can make the
Internet a better place for us
all.
Copyright © Shelley
Lowery
About the Author:
Shelley Lowery is the author of the acclaimed web design course, Web Design
Mastery.
http://www.webdesignmastery.com
And, Ebook Starter - Give Your Ebooks the look and feel of a REAL book.
http://www.ebookstarter.com
Visit Web-Source.net to sign up for a complimentary subscription to Etips
and receive a copy of the acclaimed ebook, "Killer Internet Marketing
Strategies."
http://www.web-source.net
You have permission to publish this article electronically, in print,
in your ebook or on your web site, free of charge, as long as the author
bylines are included.
More Articles
|
|
