Move the sign-up to where interest peaks, say exactly what arrives and how often, ask only for an email address, and link to a past issue. A box saying Subscribe at the bottom promises nothing.

A box at the bottom of every page

Scroll to the bottom of most small business websites and there it is: Subscribe to our newsletter, an email field, and a button saying Subscribe.

It was added when the site was built, because sites have one. It sits below the address, the hours and the social icons, on every page, and almost nobody uses it.

Yet the business has things customers would gladly hear about: new stock, events, the season's dates, a sale. Nothing connects those to a box marked Subscribe.

The owner concludes that customers do not want email. Usually they were never really asked.

Why the footer box fails

The second is the one that matters most. Nobody wants a newsletter in the abstract; people sign up for something specific they would otherwise miss.

Promise something specific

Write one sentence saying exactly what people will get. Not news and updates, but the thing your customers actually want to hear about.

A bookshop's author events before they are announced elsewhere. A furniture store's floor-model sale, a day early. A swim school's registration dates, the week before they open.

If the honest description is occasional offers, say that. People sign up for honest promises and leave when they are broken.

Say how often

Frequency is the question every visitor has and almost no form answers. Without it, people picture a daily email and decide against.

Monthly, every second Thursday, four times a year: any answer reassures, as long as it is true.

Then keep to it. A newsletter promised monthly that arrives twice a year, then three times in one week, teaches subscribers to ignore it.

Where the sign-up belongs

Put it where interest peaks, which is rarely the footer.

At the end of a useful article, when the reader has just seen what you write. On the page about whatever the newsletter covers: events, new stock, the season's dates.

On the confirmation page after an order or a booking, when the customer has just chosen you. And on a page of its own, with a short address you can print on receipts and mention at the counter.

The footer can keep a link to that page. It just should not be the only place.

One field

The form needs an email address and nothing else.

Every extra field, whether a name, a postal code or a birthday, is one more reason to stop, and most of that information is never used.

If preferences matter later, such as which store or which kind of event, ask in the welcome email, once the person has already said yes.

The button should say what happens, too. Send me the report or Get the event list tells people what they are agreeing to; Subscribe only tells them that they are.

A worked example

A fly fishing shop on a river town's main street had a footer box reading Subscribe for news and offers. In a good month, a handful of people used it.

Meanwhile, the staff wrote a short fishing report every second Thursday from April to October, posted on the blog and shared on Facebook. It was the most read page on the site.

Nobody had connected the two. The newsletter had not been sent since the spring, because nobody could think what to put in it.

The report became the newsletter. The sign-up now reads: the river report, every second Thursday from April to October, with water levels, what is working and new stock in the shop.

One field, and a button saying Send me the report.

It sits at the end of every report and on the guided trips page, with a link to the latest issue. The footer keeps a link to the sign-up page.

Show a past issue

The most convincing promise is the thing itself. A link to the last issue, or an archive of them, lets a visitor see exactly what they are agreeing to.

Keep the archive on the website, as ordinary pages, rather than only in the mailing service, so the issues stay yours and can be found in search.

It also keeps the newsletter honest. An archive with six-month gaps tells the business, before it tells anyone else, that the promise is not being kept.

The wording CASL expects

Canada's anti-spam law expects a request for consent to say who is asking, what they will send, and that people can unsubscribe at any time.

The business name and contact details on the page cover the first. The promise sentence covers the second. A short line under the button covers the third.

Where the sign-up sits inside another form, such as a booking or an order, it needs its own box, unticked, and the booking has to go through whether it is ticked or not.

Then send a welcome email straight away, with the latest issue or a link to it, while the person still remembers signing up.

The counter-case

A business that cannot send regularly should not promise to. An occasional note to customers who agreed at the till or the checkout may suit it better than a sign-up box anywhere.

A sign-up on every page, in pop-ups and slide-ins, starts to work against the pages it interrupts. Three good places beat ten.

And if there is no newsletter yet, write three issues before adding the form. It is easier to promise something that already exists.

For everyone else: one specific promise, an honest frequency, one field, placed where interest peaks.

This week

  1. Write the promise in one sentence.
  2. State how often you will send.
  3. Cut the form to one email field.
  4. Place it where interest peaks, not only the footer.
  5. Link to a past issue.
  6. Add the consent and unsubscribe line.
  7. Send a welcome email straight away.

Step four is where most of the difference lies. A box at the end of an article meets readers who have just seen what you write; a box below the opening hours meets people looking for the address.

Why a list built this way is worth more than one bought from a broker is covered in the email list somebody offered to sell you.

Frequently asked questions

Why does a footer sign-up box get so few subscribers?

Few visitors reach the footer, and those who do are looking for an address. The box promises nothing specific, gives no frequency and sits far from anything interesting.

What should a newsletter sign-up promise?

One specific thing your customers want, in a sentence, such as a fishing report every second Thursday, rather than news and updates. Then keep the promise.

Where should the sign-up form go?

Where interest peaks: at the end of useful articles, on pages about what the newsletter covers, on order and booking confirmations, and on a page of its own.

How many fields should the form have?

One, for the email address. Every extra field is another reason to stop, and preferences can be asked in the welcome email once the person has signed up.

What does CASL expect on a sign-up form?

The request should say who is asking, what will be sent, and that people can unsubscribe at any time. Inside another form, use a separate unticked box.

Should I link to past newsletters?

Yes. A past issue shows a visitor exactly what they are agreeing to, and an archive with long gaps tells the business when it is not keeping its promise.

West Coast Media Solutions Inc. provides web design, web development, hosting, digital marketing, and business consulting to organisations across Canada, drawing on more than twenty-five years in the field.

Sign-up box sitting in the footer?

Send us the address. We will rewrite the promise and place the form where your readers actually are.

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