Forum Moderators: phranque
I want to start a newsletter for my site, but I am not sure where to begin.
What I am looking for is an explanation of the process.
Do you have to have a special program for this?
How do you collect the names for the mailing list - how do you create the "sign up for newsletter" box (where does the email addy go?), how do you send out newsletters fast without having to hit the send button for each individual on the list, etc?
My cPanel has a mail list section, but no explanation on how to use it. OsCommerce has a newsletter function but if I have a signup box on my .html pages, how would I connect this to the cart's newsletter feature?
Thanks for any help or suggestions you may have.
There is also companies out there that will handle the bulk emailing for you, just search for them.
Newsletter functionality can become really detailed, so I will only provide a few notes below.
1) Do you have to have a special program for this?
Like most web projects that require coding, some webmasters write their own newsletter services using PHP, ASP, CGI, etc., and a back-end database. The back-end database is used to store the email addresses of those who are signing up for the newsletter.
2) How do you collect the names for the mailing list?
That's a difficult question. Basically, how do you attract visitors to your website? When you have a steady stream of visitors, you can simply direct them to sign up for your newsletter. Of course, you could also advertise it; word-of-mouth; marketing, etc.
Anyway you can get the word out about signing up for your newsletter is fair game.
3) How do you create the "sign up for newsletter" box (where does the email addy go?)
Well, this is somewhat basic HTML programming, but too much to explain here. Your form would look something like this:
<form method=post action=signup.php>
<input type=text name=email>
<input type=submit value=Submit>
</form>
This creates the box where users can type in their email address. However, the "signup.php" page is where you accept those email addresses and process them.
4) How do you send out newsletters fast without having to hit the send button for each individual on the list, etc?
This is where the ingenuity of databases come in! Most sites that use newsletters have databases (MySQL, Access, SQL, etc.) that keep track of those email addresses.
When a user types in his/her email address to signup for your newsletter, the "signup.php" page that I mentioned above has code that talks to the database. The code takes the email address and inserts it into the database.
In a later process (whenever you decide to send out your newsletter in mass), you contact that database through code and each email address is sent a copy of your newsletter.
Unfortunately, the process does involve a bit of coding and getting things in the right place.
If you have no coding experience, or don't know how to tie in the newsletter feature via CPanel -- you may have to search through web resources to find others who are doing it through the same webhost.
Good Luck!
Thank you so much! I understand why you didnt' go into details - what you gave was just what I needed to understand the process. I mean, I know HOW to collect email address, I just didn't know how to store them and how to email en masse ... I need a database. *nods*
I only have one now with my hosting package and that is being used by Oscommerce shopping cart. I would need to upgrade to have a second one for the email list.
It was mentioned to use a 3rd party for newsletters. I have looked and while an average of $8/month for a several hundred isn't too bad, it's not an option right at the moment. I just opened this site and am still low on customers and potential newletter recepients. I would need something free since I have no clue if my store will take off. If it does, then I could always move to a 3rd party system.
Thank you both for your help!
Like I mentioned before, there really is not magic formula for getting newsletter subscribers. Once you have the newsletter system setup, make sure the form is available for those who wish to signup.
I remember starting my own newsletter service and the only email addresses in the database were mine! :) I had two email addresses that I used to test it.
After a couple of years, I now have a few thousand subscribers.
The key is to have a site with great content. When your visitors are happy with your site, they'll start coming back. When they come back, they'll want to make sure they stay in touch. In order to do that, many will sign up for your newsletter.
In 2+ years, I've only had 2 people out of thousands, unsubscribe.
May I message you sometime in the coming weeks for further information and advice?
I'm going to mull things over and see what my best option is. If I do upgrade my hosting account, I'll have a 2nd database. Then I should be able to do my own newsletter and not have to rely on a 3rd party service.
Thank you for your help thus far. After all my google searching and such, you have provided the most infomation yet! I appreciate that.
Hopefully that second database is the start of a new newsletter option for you.
