How to start an email list with ConvertKit and Squarespace
Step-by-step guide: How to get use a freebie to grow your email list
When I started my online business a few years ago, the number 1 piece of advice I heard from pretty much everyone was “grow your email list NOW”. Don’t wait. Do this even if you don’t have a website. Do this when you don’t have anything to sell.
You can absolutely start this for free with nearly any email service provider. I’ve tried several of them (including Squarespace Campaigns), and my favorite is ConvertKit. The strategies I outline will cover any platform, but the specific instructions will apply to ConvertKit and Squarespace.
Email lists are crucial for building trust and long-lasting relationships with your audience.
Through regular communication, you can provide value, share updates, and establish a direct line of connection… this is huge for the ‘know like and trust factor’— and when done right, it’s not too shabby for your wallet either.
^^That’s an affiliate link and if you sign up with that, you can try out a paid plan for free. The biggest difference between the paid plan and the free plan is the free plan doesn’t allow you to automate multiple emails, like in a sequence. Which is not really necessary when you’re first starting!
$42 ROI?! Yes, please!
According to a study by the Data & Marketing Association (DMA), email marketing has an average return on investment (ROI) of $42 for every dollar spent. Is the effort worth it? YES it is!
Now, let’s go turn your visitors into loyal subscribers!
I’m not into fluff. So let’s start at the beginning. What are the actual technical steps to starting an email list and getting your freebie into the right hands?
1. Have something to offer in exchange for an email address
No one is going to join a list if you don’t give them a reason to. If you have an online store, offer free shipping or a discount. If you sell digital products or service, a freebie would be great
I’m not going to dive too far into the actual incentive here (I’ve got my own freebie that covers that —> click HERE for a list of 25 opt-in ideas and how to get eyeballs on it). Just know that you need to have SOMETHING to start with.
Now… let’s begin.
2. Signup for ConvertKit (or whichever email service provider you choose) and setup your account.
First things first – head over to ConvertKit and sign up for an account. It's quick, easy, and your gateway to email marketing awesomeness. Click HERE if you don’t already have a free account.
Once you're in, let's kick things off by setting up your account. Click on your name (top right) and go to settings. You absolutely need to confirm your email address and domain to keep your emails out of the junk box.
Don’t forget to add in your brand colors under the GENERAL tab to make life a bit easier down the road!
*if you haven’t heard yet about the 2024 changes that Google and Yahoo are implementing, click HERE to read about it. It’s muy important that we all follow these guidelines from the get go.
3. Have something to give away
Discount code? That works. Digital download? eBook? Now you’re speaking my language. Your freebies can be anything— Notion templates, a workbook in the form of a Google Doc, or a Canva slideshow… just to name a few techy places you can look.
If you need more help with this, click HERE to grab my list of 25 opt-in ideas and how to get eyeballs on them.
4. Create a form in ConvertKit & embed that form to your website.
CREATE YOUR FORM:
In ConvertKit > click Grow > Landing Pages & Forms > Create New > Choose Form > Inline > Make your selection. *Tip— you don’t have to be fancy here. I personally like Clare because it blends in and I can style my web page around it. I don’t need a clunky form that slows my site down.
Click on any element to change the styling of it (font, colors, etc)
WRITE YOUR DELIVERY EMAIL AND ATTACH YOUR FREEBIE
Click on Settings > Incentives
Decide if you want to auto-confirm your subscribers or not. (this is a personal choice and you can read more about it here).
Add your incentive URL or download. Even if you do want the double opt-in, you can change out the URL that’s already there so your subscribers won’t get a second email.
Click Edit Email Content to… edit the email content.
Write your delivery email in here. Since you already added your download, you don’t need to worry about including the link in this area. You CAN however, change your button color (please do!) and the wording on it.
You must include a physical address— if you don’t want to use yours, ConvertKit allows you to use theirs, but you need to do it in your account settings.
Save your email and save your settings when done.
GET THE SHARE LINK OR CODE
When you're ready to share, click the publish button. Copy the embed code and let’s get it on your website.
5. Add the form to your website
Go back to Squarespace and to the page you want to add this form to.
Add a code block and paste the code you just copied. Easy peasy!
What’s next? A few hot tips…
If you want to include a welcome sequence, you’ll need to be on a paid plan (or on a free trial for the paid plan, which you can get HERE). To do that, you’ll click on SEND > SEQUENCES to write the string of emails and decide when each one gets sent. Then you’ll connect the sequence with this email you just wrote in the Visual Automations section.
If you DON’T set up an automated welcome sequence, that’s totally fine! But you DO need to nurture this list by sending out regular newsletters packed full of value. Start paying attention to the emails you receive in your own inbox to give you an idea of what subject lines you click on and what kind of content you enjoy reading.
This might seem premature, but I promise you’ll be glad you did it— create a spreadsheet or database in whatever platform you enjoy (google sheets, notion, asana, notebook paper, etc), and start tracking your emails. At the very least, you want to clock open rates and click-through rates. You can get way more in depth, but this is a good start.
Congratulations, you've officially set up your first freebie on your Squarespace website using ConvertKit!! Your visitors are in for a treat, and your email list is off to a great start.
Keep creating, keep sharing, and watch your community flourish. Until next time, happy freebie-ing! 🎉📧
>>> Grab this list of 25 freebie ideas and how to get eyeballs on it by clicking here
>>> Want to get another set of eyeballs on your site? Sign up for a web audit right here
[free] Website Content Workbook
Branding help, how to find images, set page goals, and prompts for your home page, about page and service page.
Included: what to do before you write and after your done.
[free] 25 FREEBIE IDEAS + how to get eyeballs on it
If you’re ready to take the leap, but not sure what to make or how to get it in front of others… I made this for you.
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