Newsreaders The ATMs of Email

In a recent polls I asked my subscribers if they
thought the old method of emailing ezines was dying.
Surprisinly, 60% didn't think so.

However, one subscriber who is also a fellow
publisher did think that ezine mailings would soon
be a thing of the past and stated that she was
looking at newsreaders.

Now Jane pointed out that there were 2 problems
with newsreaders:

1. The publishers' cost - these things aren't free and can get quite expensive. The cost alone will keep many legitimate publishers from using them.
2. Getting subscribers to use them - people are used to reading their email and opening a new program to read a newsletter places another burden on the subscriber.

Now I am not going to go into the pros and cons of
using a newsreader. Instead I am going to make an
analogy between newsreaders and ATMs (something
most of us are very familiar with). And while the
analogy may seem a little far fetched to you - it
makes perfect sense to me.

Newsreaders The ATMs of Email

I can't remember exactly when I first encountered
ATMs but do remember that I was using my companies
credit union for all my banking needs when they
first appeared.

Now being a person who is drawn to most types
of modern technology, especially when it provides
a way to do things easier, you may think I would have
jumped onto the ATM bandwagon and started using
them to their fullest capability when they came out.
But no, I didn't.

You see, with my computer and business background
I found many flaws in the advantages they promised.

They promised:

• 24 hour access to my money - OK, I did buy that one.
• 24 hour capability to deposit my money - I could already do that.
• No lines to stand in - If everyone uses them, there would be lines.
• Easy to use - With all the different types around you have to read the directions to know which buttons to push.
• Safe and Secure - Even I can think of ways to rob ATMs and I don't have a criminal mind.
• Less Expensive so Banking Costs would go down - Another way to downsize and replace a person with a machine.

Now what has happened with the use of ATMs in the
last 10+ years?

• You can access your money 24 hours a day for a fee unless you use the right ATMs.
• You can deposit your money if you can find the right ATMs - usually at the bank.
• There may or may not be a line.
• Some are easy to use while I 've found some where I've just given up because the buttons don't line up with the commands and I've gotten too frustrated to continue trying.
• We've all heard the news stories about the hidden cameras capturing information and the fake ATMs. ATMs have proven to be anything but safe and secure.
• For the banks, ATMs may be less expensive but I have not seen any of those savings passed on to the customers. Instead I've seen raising bank charges and new types of ATM fees.

So how do I now compare ATMs to Newsreaders?

Well, newsreaders are one of the newest ways to get
a newsletter out to your subscribers and they
promise that:

• You can send out your ezine anytime.
• Your ezine will always get through because they will not be blocked by spam filters.
• Your subscribers will see when you've sent a new issue/article/whatever.
• Your subscribers can add other ezines to the newsreader so they won't have to have more than one
• There is no cost to the subscriber.
• For the subscriber the newsreader is easy to use.

Now these promises are slightly different than
those of the ATMs but let's look into the future
and see what may really happen. I'll use the
history of ATMs to make these predictions.

• You can send out your ezine anytime may still be true but it's going to cost - probably more than it costs now.
• Your ezine will never be caught by the now conventional email spam filter. But spammers are clever people and I bet they'll figure out some way to get into the newsreader system. Not being a clever person myself, I don't know how this will happen - just that I can see that it has a 50% or better chance of happening. (Remember, no one counted on hidden ATM cameras or fake ATMs either.)
• Your subscribers will get notified when you send out something new assuming that your subscribers still have the newsreader loaded and are still using it.
• Your subscribers don't have to use more than one newsreader. Would someone please point me in the direction of the newsreaders that will allow a publisher who is not paying them to get added into the subscriber's newsreader. (Remember when using ATMs was free - now if you use another banks ATM they charge a fee to get your own money.)
• Since those providing newreader services are out to make a buck I am predicting that as soon as they think they've captured the ezines that have a loyal following and have convinced them to not use traditional email, it will cost subscribers something to use the newsreaders. The fee may be small but even $1 a month from millions of readers will make them a fortune.
• As a subscriber using a newsreader I must now remember to keep the newsreader loaded whenever I change computers or reload my OS. I must also remember to add all my ezines into the reader - Opps, forgot about that ezine - and I really liked it too. The newsreader is a great place to store all my favorite ezines and I'll start reading them again as soon as I finish keeping my inbox clean while I'm waiting for Aunt May's vacation pictures. I've been waiting for 3 weeks and sure hope she sends them soon.

I won't try to predict whether or not newsreaders
are here to stay but I will say they're aren't as
new as many would have you believe. I actually
joined a "free" one more than 2 years ago. I never
used it because it required me to load my subscriber
list into someone else's database for it to send
the updates out. Sorry everyone, no newsreader here
because I don't share my subscribers' information
with anyone!

During the Christmas giveaways I did download a
newsreader because it was a requirement to get the
free gifts. The publishers giving the gifts had
to pay to use the newsreader to be part of the
giveaway. Now the "smart" publishers also added me
to their email mailing lists and sent their stuff
using both methods. I don't think they were trying
to overwhelm me. They understood that most people
aren't used to using newsreaders and therefore
don't pay attention to them. So even though I
never really opened my newsreader and then lost
it when I reloaded my machine last week they
didn't lose me.

Am I part of the norm with my use of newsreaders?
I don't know but guess that there are enough people
like me that those who do know don't rely on
newsreaders very much just yet.

Are newsreaders the wave of the future for ezine
publishers? I don't know that either but will tell
you that I will be kicking and screaming the whole
way if they are.

Newsreaders and ATMs provide different types of
services but capture the market of those looking
for an easier and safer way of doing something.
ATMs are now on almost every street corner even
though they have failed at being secure and safe.
I fear that newsreaders may follow the same path
and we may all reap the same benefits.

Susan
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