It may be a bit off-topic, but I would like to share with you some experiences of how I work, based on the technical background of this newsletter.
Precondition
First you need of course a domain for a website and a webhoster, which I presuppose. Something else I presuppose is, I almost only rely on software that
- is open source and thus in the public domain or free of charge, whose source code is open and can be further developed by the user or is developed by a community as usual and which can be hosted by the user himself, i.e. you can download the software and install it on your own webserver (or in your webspace at your webhoster)
Like everything else, it has advantages and disadvantages, but I love this independence and the idea behind, open source is lived idealism.
Working basis
I have installed a current Ubuntu operating system in a virtual machine (e.g. Virtualbox, not Open Source but free of charge), and a web server (LAMP) and some additional software, f.e. Geany, in it, so that I can develop the pages locally and then move them to the web server. Virtual machines have the advantage that it is portable and easy to backup. If I have a new computer, I simply copy my virtual machine and continue working, but state of the art is today containers, e.g. dockers.
Website
I am a Drupalist, so I use the Web-CMS Drupal as a basis for my web pages. Drupal is one of the most used CMS with the largest community. Even if the beginner has a hard time at first, it is worth it, because the modular system offers everything your heart desires. I work with Drupal 9, it is advisable to work with Composer and Drush, which must be installed in the virtual machine to work with it.
Analysis
I use Matomo, an analysis software that collects anonymous data, e.g. how many people visit the site etc. This software is also installed on my web server and can be used for many pages. You integrate a code from Matomo into your website and everything is measured. For privacy reasons it is very good to get along without Google. But for this you need some technical understanding, but for all this there are also many instructions on the net.
Mailings
Here I use Mautic in the same way as the Analytics system. It is a complete direct marketing suite. You can send e-mails, even use marketing automation, your own templates, with user management, there are statistics about the read rate, everything you need for a newsletter. I have a campaign that allows double opt-in and even tricks the spambots.
And isn't it wonderful what is possible today without costs (except domain, webhoster and internet connection) with a little technical understanding (although I have to admit here that I studied computer science in media) and some ambition (and time of course :)?
I hope this little overview helps some of you. If you have questions, use the comment function.