The easiest way to take in user submissions is of course comments. With software such as WordPress the comments can't even go unnoticed and it's easy to delete them after you've aknowledged them. There's always a bigger treshold to send e-mail then to post comments. If you're looking for a more permanent solution, forms may be the best way to go. What I did for this site was use a form and have mailmyform mail the stuff to me.
If you want to use the same method:
1) create a form, or if you don't know how just copy mine and edit the fields
2) create a thanks for posting -page
3) register at mailmyform (very easy) and follow their instructions
I'm glad to help you if you encounter any problems. Since outsourcing is the name of the day, anyone with good suggestions for an improved system will get linked.