"Things Ezine Publishers Wished Their Subscribers Knew"

By June Campbel
Posted Sunday, January 16, 2005

Want to make the most of the ezines that you receive? Understanding the following will go a long way towards making your ezine subscribing a pleasant experience.

1. Advertisements Make It Possible.

You're outraged because the free ezine contains advertisements? Consider that you PAY to receive newspapers, magazines and television shows, and they all contain ads. The publisher of that free ezine isn't doing hours and hours of work just to make you happy. He is trying to make a living and that means he has to bring in a source of income. Ads make it possible for you to receive free ezines.

2. Your Ezine Isn't Being Delivered You've subscribed to an ezine, but it never arrives. Consider the following: Every time a publisher sends out a mailing, dozens of newsletters are returned marked undeliverable. These are some of the reasons:

a. Typo in the email address that the subscriber provided. One wrong digit and the email won't go through.

b. Mailbox full. If you're using one of the free email accounts, your storage allotment is limited. If you don't collect your email regularly, the incoming emails will bounce back to sender.

c. Account deactivated. If you drop an email account, ezines sent to that address are returned to sender.

d. Your email provider is using filtering software that rejects content in the ezine. Some email providers try to block spam emails by filtering out terms commonly found in spam messages. While filtering terms like "home", "make money", "good income" will block certain spams, it will also block legitimate ezines covering business, finances, real estate, etc.

3. You Want To Unsubscribe
There's a right way and a wrong way. The wrong way will cause stress for both you and the publisher. Here's what you need to know:

a. Use the unsubscribe instructions included in the ezine. Typically, you will be asked to send email to an address such as unsubscribe@myzine.com. The publisher's software is set up to process unsubscribe requests that are sent to the address supplied for that purpose. Unsubscribes sent to other addresses may well be missed. Clicking "Reply" and sending your unsubscribe message to the ezine's address is unlikely to work.

b. When sending an unsubscribe request, you MUST use the same email address that you used when you subscribed. If you subscribe to an ezine with your me@hotmail.com address, then send an unsubscribe while your email software is set to your me@home.com address, the publisher will not find that address in the list and will not be able to unsubscribe you.

c. If you are subscribed using 2 or more addresses, you will receive 2 or more copies of the ezine. The publisher and his technology do not understand that both addresses belong to you. If you want to unsubscribe totally, you will need to unsubscribe using both addresses. If you remove only one, the ezine will continue to be sent to the other.

4. They Asked for my Name when I Subscribed. The subscribe form asks for your name and your email address. You suspect they are planning to use your name for some nefarious purpose.

Wrong. The publisher is personalizing the email that she sends. Most subscribers like receiving personalized messages instead of generic ones. If you fill in the form with a bogus name such as AABBCC, when your ezine arrives, it will say "Dear AABBCC", instead of "Dear Mary.'

5. I Didn't Subscribe. I've Been Spammed! Are you sure? It's not uncommon for people to forget they have subscribed to an ezine and decide it is spam. Of perhaps your kid had a good time subscribing to every ezine she found on the web. Many publishers use various means to verify and confirm subscribers. A false accusation of spam can prove embarrassing if the publisher can produce mail logs or IP addresses demonstrating that someone did indeed subscribe from your computer. It also happens occasionally that a friend or enemy subscribes people without letting them know. That's not your fault, but it's not the publisher's fault either.

Now you understand how things work, get ready to enjoy the newsletters that you want!

About the Author
June Campbell
Writing Services by Nightcats Multimedia Productions ---- FREE eBook, "Beginner's Guide to Ecommerce" ---- Newsletter, business articles, email marketing course ---- How-to guides for business proposals, business plans, JV contracts (http://www.nightcats.com)