Publicizing Your Mailing List

Get your list included in Web directories and other sources of mailing list information

To get subscribers for your list, you can publicize it on the Web and by e-mail. Don't use spam to promote your list -- sending unsolicited e-mail about a new mailing list is spam, and can get you kicked off your ISP, so don't risk it.

Tip: Be sure that your list is up and running, with a welcome message and FAQ, before you start promoting it.

Making a Web Site for the List

Creating a home page for your list is a good idea. The home page can include the FAQ for the list, as well as other information of interest to your subscribers. If your list is archived, be sure to include information about to search the archives. For an example, take a look at the UUS-L mailing list's home page at http://www.iecc.com/uus-l/. The page includes the list's FAQ and searchable list archives.

Getting Included on Mailing List Sites

Go to the mailing list Web sites listed on our "Finding a List" page, and click links to submit your new list. It may take a few days for lists to show up on the sites. Be sure to go back and search for your list to see if it appears!

Getting Announced on NEW-LIST and NET-HAPPENINGS

The NEW-LIST mailing list was started in 1989 to promote mailing lists (it's now part of the the Internet Scout Project). NEW-LIST@SCOUT.CS.WISC.EDU distributes announcements of new and changed mailing lists to over 9,500 subscribers every day. Before you announce your list on NEW-LIST, make sure that your list is well-tested and ready for new subscriptions. Make your announcement as correct and comprehensive as possible, as news on the Internet spreads quickly and a mistake in a NEW-LIST announcement may cause problems for both you and other users months later. Information on the NEW-LIST project, including how to post announcements, is at http://scout.cs.wisc.edu/scout/new-list/.

Net-Happenings is another venerable mailing list, with announcements of new or updated Internet resources. You can send e-mail to Gleason Sackman, the list manager, with information about your new mailing list. To subscribe to Net-Happenings, send a message to majordomo@is.internic.net with the command "subscribe net-happenings".

Other Ways of Promoting Your List

Send a message to the managers of related lists and Usenet newsgroups and ask them to post an announcement about your new list. Ask the webmasters of related Web sites to link to your list's home page. Include the URL of your home page in your e-mail signature. Submit your mailing list's home page to Yahoo, AltaVista, Excite, Googol, and other Web directories and search engines.

You might also want to post announcements on the following sites:

The List Exchange, at http://www.listex.com/, includes a list of lists.
If you publize an ezine (magaine distributed via e-mail), notify the EzoneCenter about it, at http://ezinecenter.com/ and the Newsleter Access page at http://www.newsletteraccess.com/.

Copyright 1999-2000 Margaret Levine Young, one of the Internet Gurus.
To test your e-mail, write to test@gurus.com. For questions or comments about this site, write to listgurus@gurus.com.
http://lists.gurus.com/publicizing.html page last changed on January 13, 2000.