How to create an email list sign-up form

A man in an office uses his laptop to create an email sign-up list.
Want to generate more leads from your website? Learn how to create an email sign-up form and boost your subscriber list with these simple steps.

Nowadays, almost every business and organization sends a newsletter to their subscribers so that they can update them on the latest products, services, and news. However, the email sign-up form needs to be accessible for customers and website visitors to subscribe to a newsletter or a mailing list.

A good email sign-up form should:

Be simple. Your website users should be able to easily and intuitively access the form and subscribe to your newsletter.
Create a great first impression of your brand. An over-complicated form might make users think twice about signing up for your newsletter.
Provide you with audience insights. You can add a few questions to your email sign-up form to learn about your subscribers and their interests. However, you should be careful not to overdo it and remember that simplicity is key.

The first step to creating an email list form is to understand what information you want to include. Think about your specific goals, what information you want to collect, and how users would benefit from signing up for your emails.

A mailing list sign-up form should include at least the following elements:

A big, catchy headline
A description explaining why users should sign up
Fillable forms for essential information
A call-to-action button
A welcome email
A double opt-in email

The best way to create your own form from the ground up is with a fillable PDF form using software like Adobe Acrobat. Just follow these steps:

Open Acrobat and select Prepare Form from the Tools menu. Choose Create New, then click Start.
Add text, images, logos.
Create fillable fields by using the toolbar or by right-clicking anywhere in the form and choosing the Form Field tool.
Set fillable field properties.
Add hyperlinks for easy navigation (if necessary).
Click Save.

Step 3: Choose a contact list.

In this step, you will choose to add new subscribers to one or more lists. You also have the option to create a new list to ensure the right people will receive your messages.

Step 4: Set up a confirmation email.

This step allows you to manage how new subscribers will confirm their registrations. You can use an on-page confirmation and send a customized confirmation email.

To make sure you have the right email addresses, you can add a double opt-in confirmation email. This way, you will have the option to send the default confirmation template or use one you created.

You should think of adding the sign-up form to your website’s homepage. You will need to make sure you give users the opportunity to subscribe before they leave your site; therefore, you will have to place the sign-up form somewhere visible, like the sidebar, header, footer, or pop-up form.

Once saved, you can upload the form to your website. Users can either download and fill out the form, or you can export the form as an HTML and embed it directly into your website to start collecting leads right away.

To create an email sign-up form for your website, one of the easiest ways to get started is by using a template. A template can provide you with the general information and fields to include in your form, as well as allow room for creativity or personalization according to your business’s needs. Here is an example to help you get started.

An email sign-up page serves a variety of purposes when it comes to trying to grow a business or working to improve your overall customer experience. Some other uses are:

Welcoming new website visitors to your website
Getting more opens and clicks
Grow the list of subscribers for your website

If your business is using Microsoft Outlook as the main email service provider, you can easily export an email list following these simple steps:

First, you will want to download your list from Outlook by logging in to your Outlook account and clicking File > Import and Export.
A dialog box will appear. Click Export to File > Next.
Then, select the file type you want to save your downloaded email list as. After you do this, click Next.
Select the folder you want to collect your email addresses from, and click Next > Browse to choose a location to save your email list.
After this step, you will have to select the fields you require by choosing Map Custom Fields.
All the available fields in your file will be displayed, but since you only need email addresses and names, click Clear Map and select From and To address fields, and drag them to the list on the right.
Click OK > Finish to download your email list to the location you specified.

Tips for quick email sign-ups.

There are a few tips you can use to increase the number of email subscriptions you get to your newsletter:

Keep your email sign-up form visible, accessible, and intuitive so it’s easy for website visitors to subscribe to your content.
Leverage pop-up forms to attract other subscribers.
Offer unique incentives only for subscribers, such as access to exclusive guides, discounts, or products.
Give subscribers a sneak peek of what they can expect when signing up for your newsletter or mailing list.