Is there a free option that will just take all of a week’s blog content and make it into an email newsletter?

RSS is great, but I’m convinced that alot of my potential readers are more comfortable with email. However, since I post every day, daily feedblitz or whatever could quickly become annoying. (Once upon a time, I almost signed up for Zookoda, but I couldn’t figure out a way around having to put my address on it.)

Anyway, perhaps your answers to Kathryn and Vince will answer my question. Thank you for any help you are able to offer. (And thanks for having subscribe to comments.)

Is there a free option that will just take all of a week’s blog content and make it into an email newsletter?

RSS is great, but I’m convinced that alot of my potential readers are more comfortable with email. However, since I post every day, daily feedblitz or whatever could quickly become annoying. (Once upon a time, I almost signed up for Zookoda, but I couldn’t figure out a way around having to put my address on it.)

Anyway, perhaps your answers to Kathryn and Vince will answer my question. Thank you for any help you are able to offer. (And thanks for having subscribe to comments.)

1) I decided to put creative energy into my new blog, and
2) use email to update routinely former e-newsletter subscribers about blog postings.

3) I’d like to AUTOMATE the email process as much as possible by sending summary feeds to the email list.

Feedburner works fine for daily updates.

I also offer subscribers a weekly update option, figuring daily updates would be too frequent for a substantial portion of my audience. So far I have tried Feedblitz http://www.feedblitz.com premium services ($15 per month)and ZOOKODA http://www.zookoda.com (free). Both have the right concepts and there are plusses and minuses to each. Both services also are buggy and tech support is very weak.

Are there other services/options out there to consider?

4)Long term, I believe RSS will win out as it is far more flexible and customer friendly; short-term, email wins as many people can’t even spell RSS. Meanwhile, hedging is a way to get the best of both worlds.

Vince

1) I decided to put creative energy into my new blog, and
2) use email to update routinely former e-newsletter subscribers about blog postings.

3) I’d like to AUTOMATE the email process as much as possible by sending summary feeds to the email list.

Feedburner works fine for daily updates.

I also offer subscribers a weekly update option, figuring daily updates would be too frequent for a substantial portion of my audience. So far I have tried Feedblitz http://www.feedblitz.com premium services ($15 per month)and ZOOKODA http://www.zookoda.com (free). Both have the right concepts and there are plusses and minuses to each. Both services also are buggy and tech support is very weak.

Are there other services/options out there to consider?

4)Long term, I believe RSS will win out as it is far more flexible and customer friendly; short-term, email wins as many people can’t even spell RSS. Meanwhile, hedging is a way to get the best of both worlds.

Vince

I run a very popular fashion/shopping blog called The Budget Fashionista and we’re grappling with this very same issue (it is like the blog gods told you to write this post just for us).

We’ve had a double opt in newsletter that has around 18,000 subscribers that we’ve been producing unique content for the past 3-4 years with a loyal following. However the newsletter is not as nearly financially viable as the blog and takes quite a bit of effort to produce. We’re struggling with whether we should
a- discontinue the newsletters and have everyone go over b- continue them but on a monthly basis,
c- continue the newsletter as usual, but charge a yearly subscription fee

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

I run a very popular fashion/shopping blog called The Budget Fashionista and we’re grappling with this very same issue (it is like the blog gods told you to write this post just for us).

We’ve had a double opt in newsletter that has around 18,000 subscribers that we’ve been producing unique content for the past 3-4 years with a loyal following. However the newsletter is not as nearly financially viable as the blog and takes quite a bit of effort to produce. We’re struggling with whether we should
a- discontinue the newsletters and have everyone go over b- continue them but on a monthly basis,
c- continue the newsletter as usual, but charge a yearly subscription fee

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

@Mark – exactly, I wrote before about how little flexibility we have with RSS, segmentation is one of the features we have yet to see outside bespoke solutions

@Chris –
1. You could send a message explaining and give them an incentive to take up the other subscription?
2. I have written some wacking great long posts and tiny ones, in my experience people read until they are no longer interested
3. You can offer a PDF but really people just want the info and for it to be legible. I have courier plain text email prints laying around here myself
4. Have a category/list page listing the email archive? If the content is a summary/overview it should not be liable to get caught in a dupe content trap?

@Betsy – you have a great setup there! So organised!

@George – my wife commented only the other day about how much my random purchases had amounted to, believe me I understand how well emails can sell

@Douglas – I have noticed just this last year RSS seems to have “tipped” somewhat and is growing. Still, Email makes up 30-40% or so of my subscribers on this blog, and this is a blog about blogging and new media!

@Mark – exactly, I wrote before about how little flexibility we have with RSS, segmentation is one of the features we have yet to see outside bespoke solutions

@Chris –
1. You could send a message explaining and give them an incentive to take up the other subscription?
2. I have written some wacking great long posts and tiny ones, in my experience people read until they are no longer interested
3. You can offer a PDF but really people just want the info and for it to be legible. I have courier plain text email prints laying around here myself
4. Have a category/list page listing the email archive? If the content is a summary/overview it should not be liable to get caught in a dupe content trap?

@Betsy – you have a great setup there! So organised!

@George – my wife commented only the other day about how much my random purchases had amounted to, believe me I understand how well emails can sell

@Douglas – I have noticed just this last year RSS seems to have “tipped” somewhat and is growing. Still, Email makes up 30-40% or so of my subscribers on this blog, and this is a blog about blogging and new media!

Regards,
Doug

Regards,
Doug

I have to agree with you – “both” is the correct answer (for now).

I have to agree with you – “both” is the correct answer (for now).

Some of my blog posts are referenced as well as blogs/books that I think will be interesting to my audience, and I always promote my blog. Again, my blog is what I spend the most time on, but the newsletter is what gets forwarded to potential clients by my existing clients. It also contains client-specific information, which I steer clear of on the blog in order to not sound too “sales-y.”

I have set up the newsletter template so I can easily pop information into it throughout the month as I think of it or find it and then just spend an hour or so cleaning it up at the end of the month before sending, so it has not been a big burden so far. Plus the reporting metrics are great for improving the content each month.

Thanks for recognizing that both have a place for many of us.

Some of my blog posts are referenced as well as blogs/books that I think will be interesting to my audience, and I always promote my blog. Again, my blog is what I spend the most time on, but the newsletter is what gets forwarded to potential clients by my existing clients. It also contains client-specific information, which I steer clear of on the blog in order to not sound too “sales-y.”

I have set up the newsletter template so I can easily pop information into it throughout the month as I think of it or find it and then just spend an hour or so cleaning it up at the end of the month before sending, so it has not been a big burden so far. Plus the reporting metrics are great for improving the content each month.

Thanks for recognizing that both have a place for many of us.

Add me to the dilemma list. Have monthly email newsletter and weekly blog.

Thinking about moving monthly newsletter subscribers (via Constant Contact) over to weekly email from blog via FeedBlitz. And then would discontinue the monthly newsletter.

For my benefit, this change would be less time consuming. Have one – not two writing commitments, plus drop the monthly email prep work. But it also means changes to current subscribers.

Here are some of my issues:

1) Want to reach subscribers more frequently than monthly, but they originally subscribed for monthly. Don’t know how many may unsubscribe on the increased frequency. Would send notice email via Constant Contact list regarding change to FeedBlitz. Thoughts?

2) Length of newsletter runs about 1,000 words. Blog around 500 words per weekly post. If sending weekly email from blog, will send full copy so user can unplug and read later. I think more subscribers read shorter content, rather than longer. Your experience?

3) Subscribers have told me they print hard copies of monthly newsletter and distribute within their company-yeah. But I’m not sure if they’ve printed the email, or the pdf on my site. If moving to weekly email via FeedBlitz, is there a way to provide a better formatted printed version? From email, blog or web?

4) Currently archive monthly newsletters (articles) on web in full HTML versions and pdfs. If moving to weekly email of blog, what suggestions do you have for making “great blog” content archivable & more prominent on web site?

Appreciate input.

Add me to the dilemma list. Have monthly email newsletter and weekly blog.

Thinking about moving monthly newsletter subscribers (via Constant Contact) over to weekly email from blog via FeedBlitz. And then would discontinue the monthly newsletter.

For my benefit, this change would be less time consuming. Have one – not two writing commitments, plus drop the monthly email prep work. But it also means changes to current subscribers.

Here are some of my issues:

1) Want to reach subscribers more frequently than monthly, but they originally subscribed for monthly. Don’t know how many may unsubscribe on the increased frequency. Would send notice email via Constant Contact list regarding change to FeedBlitz. Thoughts?

2) Length of newsletter runs about 1,000 words. Blog around 500 words per weekly post. If sending weekly email from blog, will send full copy so user can unplug and read later. I think more subscribers read shorter content, rather than longer. Your experience?

3) Subscribers have told me they print hard copies of monthly newsletter and distribute within their company-yeah. But I’m not sure if they’ve printed the email, or the pdf on my site. If moving to weekly email via FeedBlitz, is there a way to provide a better formatted printed version? From email, blog or web?

4) Currently archive monthly newsletters (articles) on web in full HTML versions and pdfs. If moving to weekly email of blog, what suggestions do you have for making “great blog” content archivable & more prominent on web site?

Appreciate input.

I’m glad you said “both.” And I really like that you didn’t say “pros/cons.”

I’ve heard emailers poo-poo blogging (I used to be one of them). And I’ve heard bloggers declare: “Email is dead, long live RSS!”

Both are somewhat short-sighted. There are things that an email list can do (like segmenting lists) that RSS just can’t do. But, a newsletter just can’t connect the way a blog can to an entire network of folks.

I’m thinking of making my email newsletter unique and different from the blog content… but it is an added effort- I appreciate your thinking on it, and will be musing about how to step forward.

I’m glad you said “both.” And I really like that you didn’t say “pros/cons.”

I’ve heard emailers poo-poo blogging (I used to be one of them). And I’ve heard bloggers declare: “Email is dead, long live RSS!”

Both are somewhat short-sighted. There are things that an email list can do (like segmenting lists) that RSS just can’t do. But, a newsletter just can’t connect the way a blog can to an entire network of folks.

I’m thinking of making my email newsletter unique and different from the blog content… but it is an added effort- I appreciate your thinking on it, and will be musing about how to step forward.