A subscription form has one job: turn a website visitor into a newsletter subscriber who genuinely wants to hear from you. For a UK audience it has a second job too: capture consent that satisfies PECR, so every email you send later is on solid ground. This guide covers both.
1. Log in and start a new form
In your Mailpro account, create a new form and choose a subscription template. You can also start with the dedicated sign-up form tool. Link the form to the list new subscribers should join.
2. Keep the fields to a minimum
Email address is the only essential field. A first name lets you personalise greetings. Ask for anything else only if you will use it straight away: a region field if you send different content to Scotland and England, or an interest checkbox if you run several newsletters. Every extra field lowers completion rates, and UK GDPR’s data minimisation principle points the same way.
3. Write consent wording people understand
Say what they will get, from whom and how often, next to an unticked box or a clearly labelled button. For example: “Get our monthly newsletter with new arrivals and members’ offers. Unsubscribe any time.” Link to your privacy notice right under the button. If you also want to send texts, add a separate, optional SMS box.
4. Turn on double opt-in
With double opt-in, new subscribers receive an email asking them to confirm. It isn’t a legal requirement in the UK, but it proves the address belongs to the person who signed up, keeps typos and fake sign-ups off your list and gives you a timestamped record. The FAQ on configuring double opt-in shows the settings.
5. Prepare the welcome email
Set up a welcome email to send as soon as someone confirms. Deliver anything you promised, such as a discount code or a guide, and tell them when to expect the first issue.
6. Publish it where people are
- In your website footer and on your blog.
- On a dedicated landing page you can link from social media.
- On a tablet at the shop counter or at events, with a QR code on printed materials.
- At checkout, as an optional unticked box, alongside the soft opt-in notice for existing customers.
Mistakes to avoid
- Pre-ticked boxes: they don’t give valid consent under UK law.
- Bundling newsletter consent with a competition entry without making it clear and optional.
- Promising “occasional updates” and then emailing daily.
- Importing contacts from another source into the same list without their own record of consent.
Your subscribers’ data is stored on Mailpro’s private Swiss infrastructure, outside US jurisdiction. For more form types, see online forms, and for the legal background read whether email campaigns are legal in the UK.