The email system on the PowerKeys Publishing website is being updated.

In the coming week, many subscribers will be asked to 'reconfirm' their subscription.  If you get such an email, you'll have a few days to click the link inside to verify that you want to continue receiving emails from me.

Everyone who reconfirms their subscription will get a free gift, and as a subscriber, will continue to receive free gifts from time to time, as I normally make available.

All other subscribers, who will not be asked to reconfirm, will simply get a link to download the free gift.

There are 3 primary reasons I'm updating the email system.  First, a better system is available.  ListMailPro, which has served well for nearly 6 years, is no longer "cutting edge", as the developer stopped working on it years ago.  Also, the Simplenews system in Drupal, which has been used these past 12 months, has several serious deficiencies which I'm no longer willing to accept as the developers figure out how to improve it.

This past summer, I took some time to research available options, and found that OemPro, produced by Octeth, is one of the best options for self-hosted list management software.  While not "top of the line", it has several features missing from the "top of the line" software, and at a lower cost, makes it the best choice for us.

At $299, it's not cheap software, although with the current $29 offer, it's a no-brainer.

Another major reason why I'm updating the email system is because it has come to my attention that some email addresses are on the PowerKeys Pointers mailing list which should not be there.  To fix this, I need to run a "reconfirmation campaign" to verify which email addresses are valid and which ones are not.

The third main reason for updating the email system is because it will help me provide better service to my subscribers.  Instead of having to sign up to a new list to participate in a special event, such as one of the "Choose To Believe" workshops, all you'll need to do is click a link.  The new system can respond to that just as easily, and release the required information and followup emails.

Also, I'll be able to 'target' my messages to those most likely to be interested in them.  Rather than mailing out to the whole list for everything, I can limit the number of emails that any one subscriber gets.  To do this, I'll need to collect more information from each subscriber, such as basic demographics and areas of interest.  This will be completely optional, but will help everyone who participates.

One of the features still in development is the option to get notifications by text message on your cell phone.  Considering that more people use text messaging than use email, this is exciting!  The challenge for me will be to learn how to condense each message into the shorthand normally used for text messages.

Right now, I'm working to set up the new system, and will make the switch sometime next week, after I verify that everything works as expected.