AWS has built a simple list server that allows small businesses to send out newsletters to those who have chosen to recieve updates (strictly opt-in). This system has been specifically targeted towards missionaries as a way for them to easily send their e-newsletters without having to hassel with managing a large subscriber base in their email client (i.e. Outlook, or Outlook Express). This system also solves many problems that missionaries have with their ISPs blocking their newsletters due to them sending to too many recipients at the same time. This often leads to the missionary having to maintain 4, or 5 lists of 75 users each. As you can imagine, adding, removing or updating a specific address from a setup like this can be a frustrating task. The Newsletter System by AWS resolves these issues.

As you can see from the screen shots below, you have a number of options available to you, as well as the ability to allow your subscribers to manage their own subscriptions without requiring your intervention. The newsletter system is built using C#, ASP.NET, and XML. One important implementation feature is that the tool utilizes XML as the storage information for both subscriber information and configuration information, allowing people to deploy the tool without requiring a sophisticated database. Another key feature is the ability for administrators of the newsletter to backup these files (configuration and subscriber information) directly from the web site. A simple click of the button makes a copy of the files, zips them up, and then allows the user to download them to his local machine.

One of the most significant features of the newsletter system is the editor available to those sending the mail. The first feature you will notice is the Microsoft Word-like editing window. This allows users to type and format mail in an interface similar to what they are used to, without needing to know a single thing about HTML tags. The second feature displayed in the image below is the mail merge feature. At any place within the email you can substitute various tags that, when the mails are sent, will be replaced with the appropriate values. This allows you to generate custom emails personalized for each of your subscribers.

Another feature supplied by the newsletter system is the ability to blend into the customer's existing web site. The core technology is implmented in such a way as to allow easy "skinning" of the site allowing it to assume the "look and feel" of the host web site.