I see people asking around on forums all the time  -- Isn’t there something in between somewhere?  Shouldn't there be?

you already answered that question... nevermind.

A simple newsletter module would definatly be a good choice.

I've searched for it, but no module offers a simple easy interface whereby the user/surfer is able to subscribe for one or more newsletters.

How I see it:

-User has option to subscribe, with name and email. Confirmation email will be sended.

-User has option to chose between one or more newsletters. For instance with optionboxes. E.g.

>Financial info
>Commercial info

-User has option to unsubscribe.

*Admin has option to add/edit/delete the newsletters (like here: fin. info and comm.info)

*Admin has option to write simple html/text newsletter to the subscribers of the particular newsletter.

*Admin has option to manage subscribers (add/edit/delete/sort)

I think such a module would score!

grtz

Hydro

Actually Hydro, what you describe sounds very much like Advance Email Manager: http://www.dotnetnuke-modules.com/Default.aspx?tabid=56  It does those things and more.  It's actually very good at what it does, and would be great if I wanted to be the one to manage lists and send the newsletters.

My problem is that I find that it's a little bit TOO full featured for my average site owner.  There are so many options and features built in that they are overwhelmed and don't want to mess with it.  They send their newsletters to me and I then send them out the people on their list.  To me, that means that my implementation of the system backfired on me.  No matter how good a product is, if they can't or won't use it -- it's of no use.  This is why I, and many like me have been holding our breath in hopes that someone with more DNN devolpment experience would create a very scaled-down version of this type of functionality.

I've finally begun digging into the development aspects of DNN, but I've realized that even a developer with 10 years under his belt really has to take the time to fully understand big picture of DNN before he can effectively make his little masterpieces   

rhuber,
I agree with your last statement. I have been dragging my feet towards the purchase of Advanced Email Manager. I currently have been presented with the opprortunity to add 5000 newsletter subscribers to my site and the only reason that I am thinking of Advanced Email Manager is the sign-up, opt in/opt out, and because I believe it will have a better ability to handle a greater quantity of sent emails compared to the core newsletter module.  Has anybody tested the core module to see how many emails it is capable of sending before a time out?

Also, has anybody had experience with hosts such as WebHost4Life as to how many emails they will allow you to send before they will force you to be on a dedicated server or ask you to move off their mail server?

Advanced email manager is good as long as your'e not sticking the task to someone who gets nosebleeds from from a complex interface.  It's not hard to use at all, and really walks you through the process very well... but even still, when you have a user who hired you because he doesn't want to deal with technology, then you have to explain to him that to send a newsletter, just do this:

• Log in
• Got to NewsLetter Management.
• Click Create New (Under Email Campaigns)
• Provide a History Description for the EMail (& expalin what that is)
• Add your address in the From field
• Type a Friendly name for the From field
• Type in an email subject
• Decide if you want Read notification or Click-Through reports
• Select your custom footer (or not)
• Highlight a List Provider
• Select the Portal that the List Provider represents
• Select the specific list from that provider
• Click Add to List
• Click "Email Content"
• Type your content
• Choose a schedule Provider (Immediately or Time Delayed)
• Click Queue Emails

Now you and I know that these option really aren't that difficult to understand, but to a person who just wants to send an email... they don't understand why you would put them through such and awful experience.  They don't even want to try.  I don't want to give up the features really, but like I said, if they won't use it, then it's just not useful.

The complexity of modules and DNN is certainly an issue. Most forget that content management systems are first of all made for every-day users, who don't know anything about the tech behind websites.

If it gets too complex it will indeed turn back on you.

I'm working on a corporate site now and I'm already sweating if I imagine what I need to explain to the employees over there . Most young people will play with it, but older unexperienced computer users will crash on it for sure. And there is no reason to blame them.

Keep it simple. Simplicity means power. Just like a car. The more fancy things, the more troubles.

I checked the advanced email manager and I say no thank you. 

I thinks sometimes simplicity for the user comes from complexity and tremendous insight on the part of the module programmers.

Modules that require a round trip to the server every time the admin adds a field, or require the admin to drill down through a maze of options are the most common problems I run into.

There are some core members, Scott and Nik come to mind that are quite ahead on the evolutionary scale.  Their stuff are powerful, useable, and intuitive.

This module absolutely drives me nuts! Probably moreso than most any others. Why? Because it is great. It's a quality DNN program built by a quality DNN developer with advanced quality features. And it is unusuable. And the only choice. Seems like a waste. Interface is a pain, code is too complex, has an extra reuability layer, provider allows you to customize but is extremely limiting. I cringed when I got the new improved inteface in latest version -- I wish he would have demoed a professional newsletter service designed for users and just copied their interface.

I also emailed about some simple API calls where I can call a function to queue some data based on a schedule and he considered it but stuck with provider interface. This is the OPPOSITE of Simple Gallery. I would LOVE for there to be a Simple Newsletter\Email module.

Jason

Scott,

For the LOVE OF GOD, man... if you would do a SimpleNewsletter module, I'll sign up for a lifetime subscription RIGHT NOW.

Here's my wishlist:

- simple opt-in box ("enter your email address here" PERIOD. No registration needed)

- allow registered users to opt-in as well

- Newsletter Authoring & Archive (keep the previously sent newsletters and allow a role to view/copy/edit/resend)

- Option to nest the content in the portal skin

Anything else I don't care about

Cheers!

I think one of the key issues with newsletter\email is that it is high risk. I worry about what may happen if it accidentally sent a bunch of emails out, spammed people, lost emails, etc....

I don't feel comfortable buying just any DNN email program and would prefer to get a quality one from a quality developer. Buying a real complex one also gets you worried as the more complex it is the more worry there is for something to go wrong. And when something goes wrong with this module.....

Anyways, that's one reason I see there is a demand for this.

Jason

I think someone smelled this thread:

http://www.datasprings.com/Products/DNNModules/OptInEmail/tabid/371/Default.aspx

It has all the necessary features and not too many either.
Seems to be a good one.

However, I'm not gonna buy this yet, coz I'm going on vacation very soon.

So, Scott, you still have some time to make an even better one maybe . I'm back the first of august

grtz

H

I'll chime in with my opinion on this again if this ever becomes a Scott module.

What I would like to see is a simple interface for a user and simple out of the box setup and features. Straight to the point standard use that fits the most common functionality -- plug it in and it is ready to go.

But, where I would like to see the work done is in the admin\install\usage side such as email queing, integration with DNN roles, handling of emails, etc.... that can get complicated. As emailing can be a high risk item, I want to know exactly what is going on and what emails are sent with confidance.

Also, a nice single api call like the dnn sendnotification would be nice too so we can automatically queue up emails & content to be sent. How do you handle emails & roles? How do you know when emails have been sent? How often the email schedule task checks for emails to be sent? These are the design complexities I see in the module and where thought\work would be needed I hope.

Now, wouldn't this be cool? I create a new 3rd party module & make a call on

ScheduleEmailNotification(fromEmail, ToEmailList,Subject,Body,DateTimeToSend,ProcessName) and then I can go to my module admin interface (not scheduler as that would get too crowded) and see a list of all email tasks scheduled to be sent.

Anyways, this seems like an ideal module for here. It's a core type functionality module that most ppl probably would want and fits nicely in the subscription package here I think.

Jason

While you're at it, make sure to allow for tokenized input in the body and subject to personalize things.

Great! It's settled then.  You're a good man, Scott.

I'll be away for a week, but I'll be happy to help beta test when I get back.