You can bet that if there are at least two people online that have the same interest, there will be an email discussion list devoted to that topic so why not create your own? Free email lists are easy to set up and they are a great way to unify people with common interests and maintain an ongoing dialogue with your target audience. You can use your list to inspire discussion that relates to your site''s content, but more importantly, you can use it to advertise your web store. Notify your listmembers of company promotions, events, sales and site updates. You can also customize a footer for each message that will inform everyone that your site has sponsored this online community.
It''s simple to create a new list: set it up through any of the free service providers and put a sign-up button on your site (the provider will even give you the HTML code). Visitors to your site can voluntarily subscribe -- never subscribe someone without their permission. Provide a FAQ in the welcome message and assure the members that their personal information is kept confidential.
One email address will be created for the list and when a subscriber sends email to that address, it goes to everyone in the group. You can moderate the group - approving all the postings to eliminate unwanted messages - or leave it unmoderated and each post will automatically get forwarded to the subscribers.
Members can often choose to receive individual emails or a daily digest comprised of a number of messages. Some email list services offer the group several other features such as file sharing, message archives, chat and surveys.
It''s a good idea to stay involved with your list by posting questions and inspiring thought-provoking discussions. Don''t forget to make it fun too - run contests and games and get everyone involved.
Here are some great sites that provide full-service email discussion lists:
eGroups.com
Topica.com
If you''d like to be part of an email discussion list, try this one: Ecommerce Guide''s ECTalk Discussion List
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