We've always built our subscriber lists by hand. Now we would like to use the automated version so folks can signup themselves from our website.

I dont want them to have to enter a password and get taken to a page that is off of our site. We dont need a password from them since there is nothing to login to, they are just signing up to recieve an email. Is there a way to avoid all those extra steps and pages and just have them enter their email address, hit submit - and whalah they are added?

Or if they MUST enter a password - is there a way for me to keep the look and feel of my own website?

The reason for the password (and the fact that the subscribe page is branded by Infopop) is to provide a means for the subscriber to manage all of their subscriptions in one place. The way buzzcast works is that once someone signs up for one buzzcast-powered email, he/she has a "buzzcast" account, and can sign up for other emails, turn on or off any subscriptions, or unsubscribe easily. It's a layer of security for the end-user in the era of rampant spam.

It does make it a bit tougher the first time someone signs up, but that makes them less likely to report you as a spammer (which happens all the time, even when people have proactively subscribed to things).

Hope this explains the way the system works a bit better...