I've been looking into changes to the way Computers in Classrooms is delivered, and how it's formatted. Having signed up for a 25-user trial of Your Mailing List Provider, and invited a further 30 or so people to give me feedback, here are my conclusions.
First, what was the problem to which YMLP could be a solution? Quite simply, my webserver has a limit of 1000 outgoing emails per 24 hour period, which isn't enough. Tim McShane, the Managing Director of ICTeachers, who host this website, recommended YMLP.
Setting up the newsletter was pretty easy, using one of the templates provided. Also, importing a list of names took no time at all. I experimented by including a linked photo, ie the photo is hosted on my Flickr page but looks like it's in the newsletter, and an embedded slideshare show.
Here's the results of the feedback so far:
Was the newsletter delivered without problems? 95% said "Yes"
Was the newsletter readable? 95% said "Yes"
Could you open the graphics? 70% said "Yes". Other answers included: "No, because the graphics were blocked as spam" and "Yes,the phone showed up, but the embedded slider show did not - only its link".
The strangest results were in the "anything you'd like to add?" box. Bear in mind that I formatted the text aligned left, and used only two fonts, one for headings and one for body text. These are some of the responses I received:
"I like the format Terry, you have moved the News Letter on yet again well done. Remember the original format, what a difference."
"The newsletter was centered (format), difficult to read."
"Use of serif/sans-serif fonts - not always consistent."
"Fonts changed a few times on the page."
I can only conclude that the browser or email client you use interprets the appearance of the fonts despite their having been coded n. Perhaps I need to stick with Arial and Times New Roman instead of Verdana and Georgia.
And what did people think of the content? That was quite encouraging, not least because unasked for:
"Very informative, Terry."
"I love your newsletter."
"Some fantastic resources on internet safety."
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