Having a webform is very important to avoid "leaving cash on the table". If you read Kyle's Customer Purchase Lifecycle you will be aware of how important it is to keep in touch with your customers. Especially if they are not buying on their first visit.

Here are some extra tips to help you get by with Madmimi.

1. On the free version, there might be a delay between the user signing up and receiving their first e-mail, it is up to you to decide whether or not to mention this.

2. If you later decide to transfer your list to Aweber (because Aweber has more features), they will send out a new list requiring people to re-subscribe. This could result in lost subscribers if an explanation isn't given. You could get round this by letting them know why it has happened, or simply stick with madmimi. It depends how many features you really need. I will just stick with madmimi I think.

3. There may be a way of including the "free gift" within the actual e-mail itself if you prefer, but I like to do it this way so that users are forced to activate their account.

4. You can't do a "drip campaign" on the free version. This is a campaign where somebody receives a pre-written e-mail every day after they signup, such as a 7-day course or likewise.

5. Sometimes during peak periods it might take half a day or so for your "compose" mails to arrive. If you are just doing a monthly newsletter, that is fine (or even daily/weekly) but I just wanted you to be aware of that so if the mail doesn't arrive instantly don't be worried. This is simply because paid customers get priority over free ones.

6. You can set up e-mail alerts for when someone joins your list. Either an immediate notification for every person who joins, or a daily summary.

If anyone else has any more tips, feel free to let me know.

Special thanks to @Rich for letting me know about Madmimi and Hani for testing my ability to talk someone through the set-up process.