List servers are useful for discussions and particularly ezines. Some web hosting companies offer list servers as part of their hosting packages while other sites provide the necessary scripts to configure your own list server. For starters, there are several elements that you must take into account when asking for your visitor's email address, especially on your web site. Mailing lists are not limited to email addresses that you've personally captured. They can certainly be leased or bought from a reputable, responsible, and ethical list broker.
Unsolicited email uses a lot more resources and can be construed as an invasion of one's privacy.
Furthermore, the cost of spam is conferred onto the recipient, which may cause more damage to the business in the end and especially to the trust-building process. While unsolicited bulk emailing may produce good results, they will be short-lived and cause more harm than good. However, there is no better way to bulk email safely and ethically than to do so to your own list of subscribers who have joined your list of their own volition. So start building one now if you haven't already. Even if your list is simply used to make special announcements or to inform your visitors of site updates, having an Internet presence is not as important as maintaining one in front of your prospects and prospect referral-sources.