A subscription form does two jobs: it adds people to your list, and it records the consent you need to email them. Under New Zealand’s Unsolicited Electronic Messages Act 2007, every commercial email needs the recipient’s consent, and express consent collected through a clear form is the strongest kind. This guide shows how to build a sign-up form in Mailpro that does both jobs well.
1. Decide what you are offering
People subscribe when they know what they will get. Be specific: “A monthly email with new arrivals and members-only offers” or “Weekly surf and weather notes from the shop, every Thursday”. That sentence becomes the heading of your form.
2. Ask for as little as possible
An email address is enough to start. Add a first name if you will use it in greetings, and a region field if you plan to send regional content, for instance splitting North and South Island customers. Each extra field reduces sign-ups, and the Privacy Act 2020 (IPP 1) expects you to collect only what you need.
3. Write clear consent wording
Use a separate, unticked checkbox with plain wording, such as:
“Yes, I’d like to receive emails from Tūī Outdoor Supplies with news, offers and event invitations. I can unsubscribe at any time.”
If you plan to send texts too, ask for that separately, with a mobile field in +64 format. Our FAQ on collecting SMS opt-ins has more tips.
4. Add a privacy notice
Below the button, explain in one or two lines what you will do with the details and link to your privacy policy. This meets the Privacy Act’s expectation that people know why their information is collected and how to access or correct it (IPP 3).
5. Turn on double opt-in
With double opt-in, Mailpro sends a confirmation email and only adds the subscriber after they click. It keeps typos and fake addresses off your list and gives you a dated record of consent. Read opt-in vs double opt-in if you are deciding.
6. Build it in Mailpro
- Log in and create a new form from a sign-up template, such as the newsletter sign-up templates.
- Add or remove fields, then edit the heading, consent text and privacy notice.
- Match the design to your brand colours and logo.
- Choose the list that new subscribers join and switch on double opt-in.
- Set a thank-you message that tells people to check their inbox.
7. Put it where people will see it
- On your website’s home page, footer and blog posts. See embedding a form on your website.
- At checkout, as an optional tick-box, never a condition of purchase.
- On a tablet at the counter, a market stall, an A&P show or a trade fair. DIA accepts verbal consent but recommends keeping a record, and a form does that for you.
- In your email signature and on social media profiles.
8. Welcome new subscribers
Send a welcome email as soon as someone confirms, so they recognise you when the next newsletter arrives. Set it up with automated emails. Every email you send afterwards must include a working unsubscribe link, and opt-outs take effect within 5 working days. For the full legal background, read permission to send email campaigns.