If you join a mailing list, expect mail!

Another brief interruption of my AdSense case study (don't worry, another posting about it is coming later today) to talk about mailing lists. As readers of this blog know, I maintain a low-volume mailing list that I use for announcements related to the book and this site. As an incentive to join the list, I offer my subscribers the chance to win a signed copy of Make Easy Money with Google: Using the AdSense Advertising Program, which I think is a pretty cool prize.

I've drawn names twice from my subscriber list twice now, once at the end of September and once at the end of October. In both cases I sent mail to the winners, asking for contact information so I could mail them a copy of the book.

Neither person has responded to my emails. It's very odd. I'm not a spammer, and I know people often register with fake email addresses for these things, but you'd think that if they're joining my mailing list solely for the chance to win a prize that they'd check their mail to see if they've won! Very odd indeed. Let's see: if I join a mailing list, will I get mail? Hmm…

I may have to switch away from using Google Groups to something that requires more active involvement in the enrollment. In any case, the books have gone back to the giveaway pile. I may draw another name earlier this month to make up for the lack of responses. Maybe the third time's the charm.