ListBot Alternatives

ListBot Alternatives

============================= In This Issue: 1) Intro (with free eBook) 2) ListBot Alternatives - DIY CGI 3) ListBot Alternatives - Top Tech 4) ListBot Alternatives - Why Pay for ASP? ============================= 1) Intro ============================= This issue is dedicated largely to ListBot users - I know there are many of you who are also PDCB readers. Even if you don't use ListBot, you probably have (or are planning) some kind of mailing list, newsletter, or ezine on your site - so there is stuff in this issue that is relevant to everyone with an interest in this form of "publishing" ... ... like this free e-book: http://www.practicalselling.com/dl/listsuccess.zip Why dedicate an issue to ListBot users? Well, a few weeks ago I (and a few thousand others) received an email with this heading: >Subject: Important News--ListBot Service to Shut Down Yep - on 20 August, one of the best-known names on the internet will be closing down. With almost 100,000 list managers, you can imagine the fuss there's been over this. I haven't wasted too much time debating the background causes, the rights and wrongs, or drawing any grand conclusions from it ... ...I've been too busy deciding what to do! That's both for me (I have several active ListBot lists and I recommend it in PDCB) and the PDCB readers who are also ListBot Refugees. This issue of the PDCB update looks at 3 alternatives. I know there is also an option to move to a paid service with the ListBot people, but I have to say that my trust there is broken, so I've been looking elsewhere. Let me say firstly that I have NOT come up with a ListBot free equivalent. If the first and biggest supplier (with the backing of Microsoft) can't make it work, what chance is there for any of the much smaller and poorly resourced "me too" outfits? I don't want to be going through the same thing again in a few months. Do you? If you will only consider another free service, try: http://www.Topica.com http://Groups.Yahoo.com/ Personally, I've decide that managing and publishing to my subscriber base is too important a part of my business to take chances with. So here are the alternatives I have identified - low tech and high tech in house solutions, and a value-for-money outsourced service ... ============================= 2) ListBot Alternatives - DIY CGI ============================= If you are worried about handing management of your list over to someone else again, you might want to consider installing and running your own CGI script and "Do It Yourself". You'll need some technical knowledge (or a tame techie) and a hosting service that lets you install and run CGI scripts (most commonly written in Perl, but other languages are growing in support) - but it gives you total ownership and lets you customize the process completely to suit your site and purposes. That's what I did with the PDCB readers list (yes - the one you're reading now). I *heavily* modified a basic script so that I could manage the additional information (such as version numbers) that I needed. The script I used is called "Mail Machine". Unfortunately, the site it came from no longer exists - but it is distributed as freeware, so I have no problem with giving you access to the ZIP file (it's only 5k and unzips to a single CGI file). As Perl scripts go, it's relatively straightforward, and it's widely used. Download here: http://www.practicalselling.com/dl/mailmachine.zip ============================= 3) ListBot Alternatives - Top Tech ============================= If you want to manage your own solution, but need a more powerful system than scripts like "Mail Machine", I suggest you take a look at OptIn Lightning: http://www.practicalselling.com/pdcb/0000/to.cgi?optin Remember - you heard it here first. Even if you don't/can't implement this system, you WILL be seeing it popping up on sites everywhere from now on. And you'll know it when you see it =:> An awful lot of the "big names" are starting to use this. "OIL" is a very powerful system, with several innovative features that have a significant impact on both the NUMBER and QUALITY of sign-ups for your list. Add to that some great management tools, fast performance and "flame-proof" features and you have a fantastic in-house mailing list solution. The downside is: It's relatively complex to install - PHP and mySQL based, runs cron events, and so on. But if you're not confident about setting it up yourself, there are installation services that will remove that problem too. Financially, you buy a lifetime licence - so nothing else to pay. Which brings us neatly to the alternative - outsourcing to an Application Service Provider. Like ListBot, but this time on a commercial footing ... ============================= 4) ListBot Alternatives - Why Pay for ASP? ============================= There are lots of good reasons for outsourcing complex tasks - and that is the basis of many excellent internet services. But many people are moving to the view that if an activity is mission critical, you need some kind of a commercial (not to say contractual) relationship between you and the service provider. While researching solutions to "the ListBot problem" I found a few companies who are offering list subscription, hosting and management services. The one I have chosen to go with is ListChannel: http://www.practicalselling.com/pdcb/0000/to.cgi?listchannel Although there are sound technical/commercial reasons for choosing ListChannel (see below), the clincher is the way they really seem tuned in to the needs of their customers - and have been actively satisfying them for the last 3 years. Examples: Economical choice of Pricing Plans Support for you - and your subscribers Newsletter directory - with ratings Help with your list promotion Publisher "community" Free Autoresponder Security and reliability NOTE: If you are interested in ListChannel, DON'T order from the main site - here's a link to a hidden special offer for ListBot refugees: http://www.practicalselling.com/pdcb/0000/to.cgi?list_offer ============================= That's all folks - keep the feedback coming as always. mailto:feedback@practicalselling.com Stewart =============================