Not everybody uses RSS. Some of your readers may prefer to receive your WordPress content in their email inbox. And you can give them that option!
There are multiple ways by which you can send WordPress posts as a newsletter to subscriber:
Here’s a brief description of each methods–choose the one that works for you:
FeedBurner: RSS by Email
The most common way for sending content update notifications is by using the popular FeedBurner service. If you already have your WordPress RSS feed rerouted through FeedBurner, then you’re ready to take advantage of FeedBurner’s email service.
Just put the subscription form in your sidebar. It would look something like this:
You can create this sidebar form by using a WordPress plugin that is made specifically for this, or you could get the code directly from FeedBurner.com when you activate the email subscription feature. You can do so by going logging into:
- FeedBurner.com »» click your feed »» Publicize »» Email Subscriptions
The benefit of using FeedBurner is that it is free and reliable. The downside is that it’s inflexible. You can’t specify the frequency of email digests or send individual announcements to your subscribers or provide unconfirmed opt-in experience. Luckily, FeedBurner does allow you to export your email subscribers so that you can migrate to another platform if you did find the service restrictive.
WordPress Plugins to Send Content Update Notifications
If you want more control over your list of subscribers, the frequency of emails to send, and the ability to send announcements and other stuff, then you need a WordPress newsletter plugin. The most powerful newsletter plugin for WordPress is by far Tribulant Newsletter ($55).
But if all you want is to send content notifications and an occasional message to your subscribers, then there is a simpler solution: Subscribe2. Subscribe2 is mostly great. It allows you to specify the frequency of email notifications: per post, hourly, daily, twice daily, or weekly. But there are some downsides to it, too.
First, it will only send plain text emails to most subscribers. If you want HTML, you have to buy Subscribe2 HTML ($40). Second, it forces double opt-in. Third, –and as with all other self-hosted newsletter plugins–its deliverability isn’t as good as newsletter services. That is, your email notifications are more likely to end up in spam than if you used an email service for delivering the newsletter.
Email Services for Sending RSS Updates to Mailing Lists
So, the best way to handle email notifications is by using MailChimp’s RSS-to-Email feature. This method is just as flexible as using a plugin, with the exception of email sending frequencies. You only have three setting options: daily, weekly, and monthly. Other than that, it’s as flexible and even more powerful than any single newsletter plugin for WordPress.
You have complete control over your subscribers and you don’t have to worry about whether your email is being delivered correctly. On top of that, you will have access to plenty of WordPress plugins that integrate with MailChimp.
