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Creating a New List: Example

This tutorial gives detailed information on how to create a new list for your Christian eMail Service ListOwner's account. If this example doesn't provide the information you need, please contact us by email for further assistance.

Topics Covered

Introduction

Choosing a List Type

Choosing a List Name

Choosing a List Alias

Writing a List Description

Writing a Welcome Message

Writing a Goodbye Message

Web-Only Subscriptions

Subscribing to Your Own List

Finishing

Introduction

Once you have created a ListOwner account, the first thing you will need to do is create a mail list. Once you have created this list, others can begin subscribing to it, and you may start creating and sending messages to them. To create a new list, click the link on your ListOwner Account Controls page. You will go to the first page in the list creation process, which contains a form requesting the following information.

Choosing a List Type

You need to select the type of list you would like to create. Think about the purpose of your list. Would you like your subscribers to send messages to the whole list and participate in discussions on particular topics? Or would you rather only send announcements to your subscribers?

For example, perhaps you are creating a mail list for a Bible study group which meets weekly. You want to be able to send messages informing list members which Bible verse to read for each week, and whether or not there are any changes in the schedule. However, you would also like list members to be able to post comments to the list on the verses through email, or requests for information from other list members. In this scenario, it's best to choose a discussion list.

Perhaps you are the owner of a small Christian bookstore, and you would like to send information on weekly specials to your regular customers. The members of your list would not need to interact with each other or send information to the list. You would most likely want an announcement list in this case.

Choosing a List Name

The List Name is a descriptive title that gives a brief amount of information about the list. Examples of a list name might be: "Joe's Weekly Bible Study List" or "Mary's Bookstore Newsletter." More detailed information about the list can be given in the list's description.

Choosing a List Alias

The list's alias is a unique identifier to be used for sending and receiving email to and from the list. The list alias functions like the first part of your own email address (the part before the @ symbol). Aliases cannot contain any other characters besides a-z, 0-9, and underscores (_). If you entered "my*list%" as your alias, it will be changed to "my_list_". Try to choose a list alias that will be unlike anyone else's alias. Entering "list" as an alias is probably not a good idea, as it is a very general word that someone else is bound to have chosen. If the alias you select already exists, then you will be asked to choose a different alias. 

Writing a List Description

The list description is an opportunity to provide a clear, concise explanation of the topic and type of your mail list to potential subscribers. Subscribers will view this description as they are subscribing, so keep this in mind as you write it. The description should probably not be more than 4 or 5 sentences long.

Once you have entered a list type, name, alias, and description, you will need to click the Next Page button to finish entering information for your list.

Writing a Welcome Message

Subscribers receive this message automatically once they have confirmed their subscription. You may want to include any information that new subscribers would like to know here.

Writing a Goodbye Message

Subscribers receive this message automatically when they are unsubscribed from the list, whether they unsubscribe themselves, or are removed from the list by the ListOwner. You may want to make your goodbye message as general as you can.

Web-Only Subscriptions

By choosing this option, you require that all users subscribing to your list must do so through the web, either by a join box or an invitation. Users cannot subscribe to your list by writing to the admin account with the word "subscribe" in the subject line. You may want to choose this option if you are interested in demographic information on your subscribers. If they subscribe through a join box, they must create a Christian eMail Service account as they do so, and are given the opportunity to fill in their personal information.

Subscribing to Your Own List

Check this box if you would like to receive messages from your list. There are two reasons you may wish to do this: if you are creating a discussion list, you must subscribe yourself to the list in order to receive any messages sent to that list. Also, you may wish to keep a record of the messages sent to your list apart from Christian eMail Service. The service will save your messages for you, but you must have web access to view them. If you subscribe to your own list, all messages sent to that list will also be sent to your email account, and you will have a copy of all messages in your email inbox.

Once you have a subscription, a Subscriber account is now available to you. For information on how to manage or change your subscription, read our Subscriber Account help page.

Finishing

Once you have completed filling in the form information, you need only click the Finish button to create your list. If you have further questions or problems with creating a list, please send us an email for assistance.