Reaching Members by Direct Message Without Losing Them
An announcement in a channel reaches whoever happens to look. A DM reaches everyone. Why the Newsletter module insists on consent and how to get the tone right.
You have something important to announce. You post it in the announcements channel. The people who see it are those who happen to look in over the next few days, which is a fraction of your members.
A direct message, by contrast, lands with everybody. That is both the strength and the danger, because one DM too many is the fastest way to lose somebody who liked you a minute earlier.
Why it does not work without consent
The Newsletter module only sends to members who have explicitly allowed it. They do that through a panel on your server, actively, with a click.
That is not caution on our part, it is the only design that works. Discord bans bots that send unsolicited direct messages, and not on one server but everywhere. A mass send to every member would therefore not be a risk to your server, it would be a risk to the bot as a whole.
On top of that the obvious point: a DM from a server you never allowed to write to you is spam from the recipient's point of view, however good the content is.
Every message carries an unsubscribe button
Under every DM sent there is a button to unsubscribe. No questions, no form, one click.
While setting it up this feels like putting obstacles in your own way. It is not. That button is the reason the people who stay actually read. Without it, the only available way out would be leaving the server or blocking the bot, and both cost you considerably more.
The wait between two sends
On the free tier there are 24 hours between two sends. Premium removes that limit and additionally unlocks the full send history.
The limit is meant as protection, primarily protection from your own impulse. The most common newsletter mistake is not bad copy, it is sending too often.
When a DM is appropriate
A workable test: would a member who has not been online for three days be annoyed to have missed it?
Yes, so DM: The server event this weekend. A rule change that affects everyone. Moving to a new server. Maintenance that affects access.
No, so channel: The new channel for cat pictures. Your bot's update. Somebody's birthday. Anything recurring.
The blunt version of this rule: if you are unsure about a message, the answer is channel.
What to settle first
The sign-up has to be visible. The panel members use to consent belongs somewhere newcomers actually see, so near the rules or in the welcome area. Buried in a channel far down the list, almost nobody consents and the module does nothing.
Say what it is for. "Allow us to send you messages" is bad copy. "Get a DM about server events and important announcements, roughly once a month" is good copy, because it sets an expectation you can then keep.
The first send sets the standard. Somebody who signs up and first receives something trivial unsubscribes again. The first message should be the best one you have.
All settings are in the Newsletter documentation.
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