'elf Expressions Ezine

Featuring Donna Sweat, weekly columnist, and publisher of Dee's Helpful Info. and A Real Home Business Newsletter.

I, like other publishers, have had my share of bouncing email addresses. Hotmail and Zwallet accounts are not the only culprits as many claim. Email addresses are of all makes and sizes.

I have had subscribers that have been on my list for eons it seems, and suddenly their email bounces two or three times. What is the cause of this scenario? Perhaps their ISP is not working, or they are away and forgot to put the mail on hold—or even forgot to pay their bill. Even forgetting to check the inbox may cause a email to bounce.

Patience is a virtue for those loyal friends. Keeping a log of bouncing emails may solve the problem. Just recording the dates and times and what email they coincide with, may just keep you from deleting a loyal subscriber with a slight problem. It probably is just that!

Solo ads have a way of driving subscribers away, as do classified editions. But the subscriber fails to see that these emails are a part of publishing, and they had their ad listed in those classifieds once, too. Solo ads are "paid" advertising and deserve their place in the limelight as well.

But on the flip side there are those fake email addresses that really get under your skin, and trying to track them literally wears you out. This is a sneaky attempt to subscribe with a free ad, over and over again, until they happen to get caught . . . maybe!

I immediately reply to my new subscribers either personally or through my host, Topica. Topica does a great job handling bouncing emails—either they are a soft bounce (temporary) or a hard bounce (cannot be delivered at all). I always re-enable a soft bounce, keeping track, of course, and immediately delete the hard bounces. I don't need the harassment, yet I give those soft bounces another try.

If I send a personal reply and it bounces, forget it, deleted, ad and all. No shame! Get a "real" email address or do not subscribe. Case closed!

I publish my newsletter three times a week and send several solo ads—and I offer free ads to my subscribers through an adcode. I include a classified edition of subscriber ads, but I also provide an article ezine to balance it out. I am generous and care about my list. I do my best to remove anyone who wishes to unsubscribe, even though each email has an unsubscribe link enclosed.

My list is 100% opt-in, and double opt-in for most. The latter may be a hassle, but it sorts out the serious subscriber from the greedy one. I do not care to have someone come along and try to get more than what is offered. Take it or leave it alone.

I receive hundreds of emails a day; probably 2/3 of them are junk—I did not ask for them—but I look all my email over. That means 1/3 is either subscribers or ezines I'm subscribed to, or business.

I spend a lot of time reading and sorting email. I find many good ideas and resources, and many emails that go nowhere but into the trash . . . why? Because of a bounce and possibly a sale if they had only provided a reachable email address.

'Nuf said!