Convert from Email Subscribe to Web Subscribe

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Synopsis

Because Email subscribe and cancel methods attract abuse by spammers, WebValence recommends no longer using Email subscribe and cancel methods for customer newsletters. Web subscribe and cancel methods are preferred because they are less attractive to spammers.

Backscatter Spam Problem

Spammers are not able to send to customer Ezine subscribers. But they can bounce messages off our servers, delivering unwanted Email to people who did not request it. This type of abuse is called Backscatter Spam because it emanates from a bounced message rather than from a direct message.

Here's one way it happens. A spammer sends a message to <ezine_name-on@lists.webvalence.com> with a bogus return address. The reply message, requesting a subscribe confirmation, goes to someone who did not initiate a subscribe. Seems silly because it doesn't even deliver the spammer's original message. Nevertheless, it happens frequently.

Because this spam passes through our servers, WebValence is seen as part of the problem and we occasionally get temporarily blacklisted. We use spam filtering on the Email subscribe and cancel, and we trap hundreds of such spams a day. But we are unable to stop all of them.

Failure to Confirm Problem

Email subscribe and cancel also requires an additional confirmation step. In the past, confirmation has usually been setup to occur via Email. A percentage of potential subscribers do not confirm their subscription.

How Ezine Owners can Help

Ezine owners should replace all "mailto" subscribe and cancel links with Web Form subscribe and cancel links. This may include one or more of the following possible locations:

1. Convert mail-to links in your newsletter edition
2. Convert mail-to links in the subscribe and cancel response messages for your newsletter
3. Convert mail-to links on the pages of your web site
4. Convert mail-to links on the pages of all other web sites
5. Convert mail-to links in your standard Email footers
6. Disable the Email subscribe and cancel option from the Setup > Subscribers page of Ezine management

Converting mail-to Links

Replace a link means change links of the form:

<a href=mail-to:ezine_name-on@host.webvalence.com>Subscribe</a>
<a href=mail-to:ezine_name-off@host.webvalence.com>Cancel</a>

to links of the WebValence utility form:

<a href=http://host.webvalence.com/listmgr/subscribe?lists=ezine_name>Subscribe</a>
<a href=http://host.webvalence.com/listmgr/cancel?lists=ezine_name>Cancel</a>

or to links to a Subscribe / Cancel form on your web site:

<a href=http://your_website.com/subscribe.html>Subscribe</a>
<a href=http://your_website.com/subscribe.html>Cancel</a>

The phrase "of the form" means you cannot take the above instructions literally. You must adapt them to fit the case of your particular ezine and your particular web site.

Subscription Management form for your Web Site

Customers are encouraged to add web subscribe and cancel forms to their web sites. At present, we provide both double and single opt-in forms. We recommend the single opt-in for all newsletter owners whose web site is hosted with WebValence.

For easier implementation, we also provide a utility web form on the Ezine management server. Simply link to this form including the newsletter ID. Add a URL to your logo on the Setup > General page and this utility web form will be branded with your logo.

For help with deciding on how to subscribe, see the instructions on Web Site Subscription Management.

Setup Web Site Subscription Management

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