Every author needs an email list. If you do not have a service to manage your emails, you need to get one. These points will help you chose one.
If you are tech-savvy and have a good internet server, I would use phplist for your email list management. For the rest of you, you will want to use an email newsletter service. Before you jump the gun and sign up for the most visible service, do some homework and make a logical choice. It can be hard to change your newsletter marketing company later.
Many of the services out there have free options, but once you cross a threshold, you need to start paying for the service. If you cross the free levels, you should be making enough money to start paying. That is all to say, consider the long-game, not the best free options.
Questions to Consider
- How many current subscribers do you have? Many of the free tiers have a limit to the number of subscribers. If you already have a large list, you can look for one that does not have a free limit, but if you are just getting started, look into how quickly your list will grow to determine how long you will be on the free level, and how long before you need to start paying.
- How many emails will you send per month? The number of subscribers times the number of emails you send to them is the total emails per month. Most of the services have a limit around 15,000 emails per month, but that is up to the company. Consider the number of emails you will be sending, and remember, constantly sending emails will likely frustrate your users.
- What features do you want? Different newsletter services have different features. Some of them just do emails and stats, while others are full CRM solutions. Look at the features, and which features are free vs paid before making your choice. The question here is what all am I looking for in my email list manager.