Update 4/30/2016: I’ve moved my newsletter list to Mail Chimp and have updated the forms. So please…sign up!

A Grumbly Post

For no reason that I can parse, my newsletter signup forms have started getting several spam signups a day, far exceeding the legitimate signups. This is perplexing for a couple of reasons. First, the form is double opt-in. You receive an email which then requires you to click a link. Have spammers now automated this process? Second…what is the point? Why are spammers asking ME to email THEM with my newsletter? I don’t understand.

Newsletters are considered the best promotion, because those who sign up tend to be the most enthusiastic about a writer’s work, and most likely to be interested in new work. So I am discouraged.

That said, I’m not planning to send many newsletters in 2016. I’ve never sent more than a few a year, but this year I don’t have any plans (so far) for new publications. So instead of dealing with my spam problem, I’m going to put the newsletter on hiatus. I’ll probably send one more newsletter to announce this, and then I’ll wait until I have a new publication or some other worthy news.

Until then — or until I find the time and motivation to try a new email-list provider — I’ve removed the signup forms from my blog, which is the source of the problem. I’ll leave the forms up at my website, at least until the spammers discover those.

So if you’d like to sign up to receive my newsletter, go here. (top left of the page)

If you’d like to view my past newsletters, go here.)

Posted on: Wednesday, March 23rd, 2016 at 8:19 pm
Categories: Promotion.
Tags: Newsletter