Phil Hassey - game dev blog
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Mailing list software or services

Right now I send out my newsletter via a hand-rolled PHP script.  I just sent out a letter this morning and it took 80 minutes to process.  Not only does it take forever, but I am a bit concerned I might not be doing it “right”.

All that said, I’m in the market for getting some decent mailing list software, or subscribing to a decent service.

So, “dear lazy web” .. Can anyone give me a rec?  What’s good in the software or service markets?

My one “requirement” is the ability to import a CSV file of e-mail addresses every month.  And if someone unsubscribes, I want it to be smart enough not to re-add them if I re-import them.

Thanks!
-Phil

This entry was posted on Monday, November 10th, 2008 at 1:03 pm and is filed under biz, python. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

6 Responses to “Mailing list software or services”

  1. Walt Says:
    November 10th, 2008 at 2:47 pm

    I think that Aweber.com is amazing. They’re certainly a leader in the field (it’s a subscription model). You can import CSV files, but they’re going to send a confirmation email to every one you import, and they’ll have to opt in. That might kill it for you, but any “real” company will do that to be spam compliant. I also think it’s a good idea for you.

    I got your email today about Smiles, and I didn’t mind because I know your name and I LOVE Galcon, but sending out a list-type email that I never subscribed to (and especially without including an unsubscribe link) is pretty blatant spam. I think it’d be better if you ask people if they would like to receive emails from you, and that can all be managed automatically with a service like Aweber has.

  2. philhassey Says:
    November 10th, 2008 at 2:54 pm

    Hmn .. yeah, actually you sign up for the newsletter when you create a galcon account (there is a opt-out radio button.) But maybe I should revise that to be a bit more obvious?

  3. Walt Says:
    November 10th, 2008 at 3:24 pm

    Oh, sorry…didn’t realize that’s where it was from. I looked at that form again and I’m quite sure that Aweber can integrate with that and double opt-in would not be required, so you wouldn’t need to mess with a CSV file at all.

  4. David Goodger Says:
    November 10th, 2008 at 6:12 pm

    Use Mailman? If it doesn’t do exactly what you want, hack it!

  5. Jason Maas Says:
    November 12th, 2008 at 10:38 pm

    Hi Phil,

    It’s not free, but I’ve heard good things about Constant Contact:

    http://www.constantcontact.com

    HTH,
    Jason

  6. Doug Hogg Says:
    February 5th, 2009 at 2:19 am

    MaxBulk Mailer can handle what you want. The Pro version includes a function to remove and remember email addresses so as not to add them in future.