I've always wanted a module like this. The need has always been there for a news/articles/announcements module that would go out automatically every week with specified content included. Then there would need to be the option of adding some preset or ad-hoc content to it manually some time prior to it going out.
The problem with conventional newsletters is that one has to copy new stuff from the site into it. And if you've just spent the week making posts to the Announcements module, it seems silly to have to copy it all manually into a summary/aggregated post for distribution by email at the end of the week. This should surely happen automatically.
The problem with RSS is that non-Internet-savvy people don't/can't use it and it also doesn't go out in a single post, but piece-meal. It also doesn't arrive by email.. and email is a significant channel for many content providers. It remains the only major push-channel on the internet, so anything that ties site content to email channels is great.
So if this module does something like what I'm describing then hurrah!
I would typically want to send out the last week's worth of RSS feeds from whatever news module I'm using.. usually Ventrian's News Articles, but also the core Announcements. I would want to be able to add a selection of recent/popular posts from Active Forums. I'd also like to integrate the core survey.. is that what you've got happening there already on that survey tab?
And of course I'd want to be able to store the sent newsletters in an accessible archive. There should be a template, probably with tokens for the name of the recipient and the author and anything else relevant. The module needs to be able to be fully used by non-admin roles and I use all modules in a multi-portal environment so they need to function properly in that regard. When non-admins are using it, the Administrator role should drop off the list of available recipients. There should also be a way to paste in or upload an external address list.. or perhaps your Outlook Contacts module can be used for this in some way?
May as well continue with the handy features whilst I'm at it...
A simple opt-in out system so that people can subscribe and remove themselves without having a DNN account. If they decide they do then want an account, they should be able to do so seamlessly. Some other modules that do newsletters have a method of staggering the sending process so that the server doesn't block them.
Orizonti''s free newsletter module is a good example of all the basics.
I'd love to be able to add a summary of site stats for the week. This module could then become an automatic site stats emailer. I could use it pre-configured on each portal to send stats to the site owners.
In another scenario, I would be using this as host of lots of sub-portals (Portal Toolkit) to send out news to all the site owners (my site owners are not admins), so perhaps there could be a way for just the host to send to a global role that exists across all portals?
Hope there are some workable ideas there. I'll look forward to giving it a workout soon as it's out.
Rob