>> if hes annoyed you can blame it on me :-)

Do I really come across as that inhospitable? If the answer is yes, then don't tell me, I can take a hint ;)

Mailing Services:

1) Constant Contact: I have 10+ clients who get good results with CC. Tracking open rates is nice, plus they flag spammy wording. Learning curve is low to medium depending on level of HTML integration

2) Vertical Response: The only clients I have who use them are more "lead" oriented, but similar offerings to CC

3) Lyris, Majordomo and other list servs: basic management, HTML emails are possible but you are entirely responsible for whether your template is likely to work across platforms.

4) DIY 1: Use mailer software (Arial or Massmail SW) with white hat techniques, and rent a mail server; you may even be able to use your current mail provider, as the mailer software can be rate limited, and make a unique email for each user on the list (aka to crack a list). Yes, you can use blast software and not be a spammer. It's all about how you got the name and what you do when someone wants to be removed, right?

5) DIY 2: PHP/ASP/.NET Web Applications: Store your list in the database and loop through it and send out individual emails, can also be rate limited. Uses the same code you use for turning web forms into emails. Upside: personalization becomes a lot easier!!! Plenty of freeware and low cost code is available.

(DIY2 is what I use for clients where the list isn't huge (>10K users) and I wrote the blast system myself so I could hook it into Content Management Systems and Web Catalogs)

Recommendations I give to all clients embarking on an email campaign:

- Make unsubscribing easy and obvious in the template, if you don't, users will mark you as spam a lot more; and then you won't get mail through in the future to all people on that server/isp

- Make sure that you or your list service have feedback loops setup with the major email providers, such that when their users mark you as spam, you can proactively remove those users from your list, and stay in the good graces of the providers. It makes a big difference in deliverability rates.

- Seriously consider plain text email, you'll get through to a lot more people, and if your copy is well written, it doesn't matter how pretty (or ugly) it looks. Good headlines are worth way more than aesthetics.