6.19.2021

how i resolved the feedburner (subscribe by email) issue: mailchimp

A while back, Blogger announced that it will no longer support the subscribe-by-email widget. This means readers who receive blog updates by email will no longer receive them.

I posted about this, looking for input from other bloggers about how they are handling this. I must have been unclear, because I heard mostly from readers, telling me they don't subscribe by email, and so will not have a problem. That's very good! But didn't help my dilemma.

The only email service I was familiar with was Mailchimp, which is used by many grassroots and nonprofit groups to manage mailing lists and communicate with their subscribers. I've used Mailchimp with a few different groups. It's very easy to use, and has a lot of great functions even on the free level. But I thought Mailchimp would be overkill for my needs.

I also don't want to pay for a service. I have many paid subscriptions; I don't expect to get everything for free. But since I do not (and never will) have ads on this blog, it doesn't generate income. I write for free and you read for free. All good. But I'm not going to pay for people to read a free blog!

I researched all different subscription services, and when all was said and done, I chose Mailchimp. I found nothing better -- not even close.

Bringing the list of wmtc subscribers to Mailchimp also has the hidden advantage of giving subscribers an opportunity to unsubscribe, and cleaning the mailing list of defunct email addresses. I expect my mailing list to shrink a lot, but at least I'll know that everyone who subscribes actually wants to -- as opposed to people who stopped reading 10 or 15 years ago.

I plan to keep this very simple. Current subscribers will get the option to sign up for the new list or to unsubscribe. Subscribers will receive an email whenever a new post is up. The end. I hope!

14 comments:

Amy said...

I will let you know if posts do or do not come through.

laura k said...

Thank you, Amy! That would be very helpful.

I also input my own email address as a test. But more information will be great.

Canada's Magic said...

Thanks for sharing your solution!

laura k said...

You're most welcome! I just followed your profile and discovered your name refers to actual magic, as in, magicians. Not a metaphor. How cool!

Stephanie said...

I want to remain subscribed but not sure I did it right.

laura k said...

Stephanie, did you get a message that you were already subscribed? If so, you're good.

Stephanie said...

Yes I did.
Hopefully it is good, as you say.

laura k said...

Well, I've posted several new posts but received no emails. Clearly I did something wrong. I'll try again!

Amy said...

I got an email notification of about five posts together this afternoon so something is working.

laura k said...

Thanks, Amy! Did the email contain links to the posts?

laura k said...

Funny, I set the column posts to post every Thursday, then forgot I did that and posted something new.
Which defeated the whole point, and everything went at the same time. Short term memory...

Amy said...

I get those sometimes from your blog---links to several posts at a time. I assumed it was deliberate?

laura k said...

Not sure what you mean I'm asking if the recent email you received contained clickable links to the new posts, or if it was just "there's a new post" without a link.

laura k said...

I think anyone who has gotten email updates recently are still getting them from the old Blogger/Feedburner service, not through the new service. That does not appear to be working -- yet.