What can I do about the ezine?

It seems like even paying out for a subscription email hosting service isn't enough to keep the spam from getting through and two more messages actually got sent out this week, to my horror. I'm paying as much as I can afford to, considering the ezine is free, but I'm not happy. If I can't find a solution, I'll end up closing the ezine down, unfortunately. I'd rather do that than take a chance that the next breach sees someone else actually get hold of your email addresses.

It's a bit like trying to figure out how to watch tv without seeing any ads, really. Not easy! (You can't even pay to see a movie at the cinema without getting them, these days, which I think is just rude, but that's another story.) I can only see about 4 options that have any hope of creating a spam-free list. I've put a quick poll up on the left for an instant response, but the details, pros and cons are:

1. I an abandon the ezine, and let you subscribe to "receive updates via email" (or RSS if you use a feedreader instead) when I post to this blog. On the plus side, it would still let you control your subscription and the spam (if any) would go into comments, which I can then delete. The down side is that it means I can't send you out private notices or negotiate any subscriber only specials & deals anymore, it would just be generic information which anyone could access.

2. I can ramp up the ezine and turn it into a membership site that can also give you access to downloads, forums, instant chat etc. The down side is that I've noticed a lot of the free membership sites are still subject to spam posting, including some pretty shocking videos on topics you wouldn't want your kids seeing, so I'd want to make sure I locked them out, and the only way to guarantee that right now is to have the site locked for subscription access - ie charge an access fee. To start off with, I'd only be looking at something like $7 a month, which would just about cover the cost of the software and the payment processing. As I add more bells and whistles and start getting more valuable stuff in there for you, the entry cost would have to go up, although that would be for new subscribers, not existing ones. You could post a comment below with what kind of things you'd want to get with this, as well, and I could work off that.

3. Download the list and send your ezine out manually. This would be slow, would take away the 'instant' ability to subscribe or unsubscribe because I'd have to find time to add, confirm, edit and remove email addresses, and I'd also have to keep up with changes in can-spam law etc. I really don't want to go down this road, since it would basically mean I'd only be posting every month or two, but it might be tolerable as an interim measure while I set up something else.

4. Upgrade to a subscription management service like aweber. Unfortunately again that's paid, and beyond what I've been forking out already to keep this ezine going. I'd need to turn the ezine into a paid subscription, although as with the membership option, this would mean I'd be putting a lot more time & effort into delivering you as much value as I could.

5. Anything else? Maybe you have a suggestion I haven't thought of yet - if you have then please just add your comment below and click the 'other' button on the poll. Comments do need you to put your email address, but that, ironically, is to prevent spam, and so if I have a reply I can send it to you.

Thanks heaps for your help, guys. I hope that this represents a growth opportunity for you as well as the ezine, because I've really enjoyed sharing with you. I wouldn't have been paying out of my own pocket to do so otherwise...