Adding a newsletter to your website is a great way to build a mailing list and stay in touch with your websites visitors. You can let them know about any site updates you have made, as well as upcoming events you might be having.
When sending your newsletter, you can choose between plain text or HTML. Plain text is often preferred for sending basic messages, as it appears the same on all computers and is easy to download.
However, if you are going to send a newsletter filled with colors, various font sizes and graphics, you will want to create it in HTML.
You can sign up for a service such as Constant Contact. There is a monthly fee based on the number of subscribers you have. The service is extremely easy to use and has many templates to choose from. It is an easy way to create a professional looking newsletter.
If you do not want to pay a separate fee on top of the fee you are already paying for your autoresponder service, you can simply create the newsletter in your favorite HTML editing program, such as FrontPage, and then cut and paste the code into your autoresponder.
To make sure everything looks right, view a preview first or send a sample to yourself before you send it out to your entire mailing list. You will want to use the broadcast message of your auto responder when you send it out. This will allow everyone on the list to receive the message at the same time.
Depending on the type of autoresponder you use, you will most likely be able to pick the day you want to send it out. If you choose, you can create several newsletters in advance and load them into your autoresponder service. However, you may not want to create them too far in advance, as you may wish to include something informative at the last minute.