Free sounds great, right?
But there’s truth in the adage that you get what you pay for. While a free listserv may sound tempting, it can have strings attached. That’s why I’m going to give you some reasons why I think you shouldn’t use a free listserv service.
First though, what free listserv services am I talking about? Well, there are several, but one major one is Google Groups. And remember Yahoo Groups? They were pretty awful and shut down permanently in December 2020. Google Groups isn’t quite as bad, but it definitely has a downside.
And without further ado…..why you should avoid a free listserv service:
With a Free Listserv Service…
You’re a User, Not a Customer
Because Google Groups are free, they have no loyalty to you. You’re not a customer; you’re just a user. That means Google has to find some other way to make money off you. That can mean advertisements or selling your data or who knows what else. It also means they have no reason to maintain or improve the system. Or even make it easy to use.
It’s Often Difficult to Add New Members
Sometimes, you might want to add new members en masse or add someone you met offline in the real world. A free listserv service doesn’t always make adding a single person easy. This can make it difficult if you’re transferring from one listserv host to another.
They Force Your Members to Make New Addresses or Accounts to Use the Full Service
Because Google Groups (and previously Yahoo) is owned by a company offering other services (like email), they want you to have an account with them to use Groups.
Google Groups will let someone with another email receive emails from the list, but it won’t let them into the web manager unless they have or make a Google account. This means if members want to do more than just get emails, they’ll need to make a new account which is just a hassle.
Can’t Create an Archive
Google Groups do NOT allow you to create an archive of posts to save for later.
Poor Support
Most importantly, if you want support for Google Groups, you’ll have to go through their impersonalized, uncaring system. With a paid listserv, you’ll get better, more personal support, because they have a reason to care about your continued patronage. Google doesn’t even really give “support.” You can sift through their Help files, go to their Help forum and hope someone answers, or “send feedback.” Whatever that means. With a dedicated, paid-for listserv service, you can talk to REAL people who actually work on the system, who can actually fix something, and who actually care.
There are tons of other ways a paid listserv is better than a free listserv! So don’t be beguiled by the word free.
Questions? Comments? Leave them below.
