Emailing Lists

WordPress Or MailChimp?

For historical reasons, there’re two, separate emailing lists associated with our allotments. One, supported by WordPress, is associated with this website’s Notice Board, and subscribers are notified of every new article on that page – typically one, or two per month. These articles include all PPAA Committee minutes, as well as other news and feature items. To subscribe, all that need be done is to enter one’s email address into the box on this page and to click on “subscribe”. The subscriber can be certain that they’re receiving exactly the same message as every other one, and that it relates to the same public post on the website. When alerts for new articles are received, the facility to reply by email may be offered. Please remember that this will publish a post on the blog, but not directly message the PPAA Committee! The linked page just shown should be used for that purpose if you’re a WordPress and not a MailChimp subscriber.

So, there’s also the PPAA Committee MailChimp list, and its controller selects what is distributed – and, if applicable – to which subgroup from that list. That’s a separate job from posting on the website – usually done by a different person – and it may not happen at the same time. However, in general, that list now doesn’t carry anything, which doesn’t also appear on the WordPress one. It usually omits blog general interest and short notice items though, and it’s possible that some subscribers would prefer this. Previously, new plot holders were only expressly invited to join this list, and in principle it might occasionally carry items which PPAA Committee judged inappropriate for the open-to-all WordPress list. That said, it’s not easy to envisage what might be shared with over a hundred followers – who just happened to be PPA plot holders – but not with a wider group of followers, especially when that sub-group of plot holders doesn’t account for all of them!

There’s also apparently less surveillance – effectively none, even – with the WordPress list. It doesn’t push the use of Read Receipts for instance, and its members also have the facility to be notified of replies to their comments, if they tick that box when posting.

In view of these facts, some MailChimp subscribers may wish to change to the WordPress list, or vice-versa. It’s simplicity itself to unsubscribe from one, and to subscribe to the other, and it’s completely open to all plot holders to do this – should they wish. See the table below to subscribe to MailChimp.

PPAA Committee are presently discussing the rationalisation of such communication channels, but no decision has as yet been taken on this point.

Comparison Table

Matter	WordPress Email List	MailChimp Subscriber List (And Subgroups)
How to subscribe	Enter email address in box on this page – open to all. Invitations may also be sent out but require agreement to subscribe.**	Follow this link – open to PPA plot holders.
Content carried	Every article on PPA website Notice Board page. Generally includes all MailChimp messages. Will always now carry PPAA minutes.	PPAA Committee formal announcements. Usually omits general interest items from the website Notice Board. In principle may carry some items judged unsuitable for the website – hasn’t intentionally been done to date.*
Effect of reply	Publishes a blog comment for the article notified. Subscribers may also opt to be notified of other commenters’ replies.	Replies to PPAA Committee email account.
Surveillance	Doesn’t gather marketing etc. information nor use read receipts.	Gathers subscriber information, e.g. uses read receipts to compile effectiveness data etc.
Transparency/scope for misuse/problems	There’s only one list. Every subscriber receives the same publicly-viewable content from the website.	*Subscribers may be divided into subgroups with each receiving different content. No subscriber can be certain that they’re receiving everything, nor the same as others.
How to unsubscribe	Follow “unsubscribe” in the email.	Follow “unsubscribe” in the email.