Who would have thought that in 2024, creating a newsletter would be complicated?
I have a circle of readers to whom I want to send a newsletter. But I can't! I also want new readers to pay for the newsletter. So, it's a mixed newsletter: free for existing readers, paid for new ones.
First problem: finding a free (in the sense of free software) or open source mailing tool to install on my server. After some research, I was directed to PHPList.
Documentation almost non-existent. After several evenings, I managed to create an aesthetically coherent template. After all, this newsletter has categories! A graphic charter. An agenda. In short, textual content that doesn't just consist of silly emoticons.
Once I'd sanded down the documentation and code to make the template, I thought the hardest part was over. BUT NO! I had to create the newsletter registration and payment page, with the tunnel that goes with it.
And then … no documentation. Nothing at all. I spent ages on YouTube looking for tutorials. I found nothing, especially as neither the levels nor the documentation have been updated for many years.
Why not use Ghost, which can be self-hosted, you may ask? Because Ghost has the same kind of documentation as PHPList and doesn't allow you to create a template with ready-to-use sections.
Why not use Patreon/Substack/Medium or something similar? Because GRDP. And yes! My current readers have NOT given their consent for their data to be transferred to these platforms. And that I risk losing them as customers if I'm not careful about this. Incidentally, the commissions taken by these platforms are indecent, for a poor and shabby aesthetic. I did a test on Substack, and it's crap.
In short, “they” tell us not to bet everything on social networks to get readers, but we still don't have any valid solution for being truly autonomous when it comes to newsletters.
I have a circle of readers to whom I want to send a newsletter. But I can't! I also want new readers to pay for the newsletter. So, it's a mixed newsletter: free for existing readers, paid for new ones.
First problem: finding a free (in the sense of free software) or open source mailing tool to install on my server. After some research, I was directed to PHPList.
Documentation almost non-existent. After several evenings, I managed to create an aesthetically coherent template. After all, this newsletter has categories! A graphic charter. An agenda. In short, textual content that doesn't just consist of silly emoticons.
Once I'd sanded down the documentation and code to make the template, I thought the hardest part was over. BUT NO! I had to create the newsletter registration and payment page, with the tunnel that goes with it.
And then … no documentation. Nothing at all. I spent ages on YouTube looking for tutorials. I found nothing, especially as neither the levels nor the documentation have been updated for many years.
Why not use Ghost, which can be self-hosted, you may ask? Because Ghost has the same kind of documentation as PHPList and doesn't allow you to create a template with ready-to-use sections.
Why not use Patreon/Substack/Medium or something similar? Because GRDP. And yes! My current readers have NOT given their consent for their data to be transferred to these platforms. And that I risk losing them as customers if I'm not careful about this. Incidentally, the commissions taken by these platforms are indecent, for a poor and shabby aesthetic. I did a test on Substack, and it's crap.
In short, “they” tell us not to bet everything on social networks to get readers, but we still don't have any valid solution for being truly autonomous when it comes to newsletters.