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37 Comments

How do you collect emails on your landing page?

How do you collect emails in your current apps, landing pages, etc? I'm interested in hearing different options and also does your current tech stack affect the option you choose?

If you use some service like MailChimp to collect the emails, how do you use them later on?

  1. 1

    I have it pipe to slack using Jogly.io - nice and simple for adding a <form> or using a JSON post.

    Plans for Jogly in future is that it posts to your Google Sheets so that'll be useful in future!

    1. 1

      Thanks for the answer. Jogly seems very simple, which is what I consider when looking for apps to use!

  2. 1

    Well. I think that the "where" you collect them isn't so important, since most platforms these days, allow you to export data as Excel files. But basically, what I do is setup a frontend, then a very tiny backend with NodeJS (but it could be anything else I guess, if you feel more confortable with Ruby, for instance), then plug Airtable to the backend, so I can save emails there. All of that is free, except the domain name. Also, I usually plug Slack notifications, because it's so exciting to get new subscribers notifications 😛

    1. 1

      I totally agree. To me, the two most important parts are:

      • Free tier for service
      • Fast setup

      The approach you described seems to match those perfectly. I haven't used Airtable, but it appears to be really widely used.

      Haha it's true that Slack notifications for signups are great for generating hype! :D

  3. 1

    We‘ve recently introduced form data tracking for Splitbee!

    it allows you to set a single attribute to a form and it tracks it automatically to the analytics.

    You will see the event data in the user details view and can run automation such as:
    notify yourself on telegram
    send a webhook
    send a mail to you/or the user

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      Nice, do you have docs on how to implement this and details on how it works with Splitbee? I'd like to check it out for sure

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        1. Create a Splitbee project & embed the script to your website (analytics setup is ready now)

        2. Add the data-splitbee-event attribute to your form you want to track. https://splitbee.io/docs/track-events -> "Track form submissions"

        3. Create an automation on Splitbee:
          Telegram: https://splitbee.io/docs/telegram-automations
          Webhook: https://splitbee.io/docs/webhook-automations

        Mail's are not documented yet but should be straight forward as well!

        I will maybe create a loom later on if you want me to

        1. 2

          The docs you linked describe the necessary stuff well enough IMO. Thanks for the links!

  4. 1

    On landing pages, you can soon use early.so using the integrated registration. If you're interested, you can already sign up for a waitlist! Cheers

    1. 1

      I like the design on early.so. Hope you get it kicking asap and find a way to get users. I might look into using it myself. Thanks!

      1. 1

        Thanks! Making good progress at the moment so definitely gonna launch asap

        1. 2

          Nice and good luck with the launch in advance!

  5. 1

    I use Carrd for my website and integrated with EmailOctopus. Here's the outcome - I found it easy and minimal enough that I can manage list building, list management, campaign and analytics.

    1. 1

      Thanks for the insights. I've never heard about EmailOctopus before, I'll have to take a look.

      Nice page btw. Very clean and nicely spread whitespace. Really liked it!

  6. 1

    nothing fancy. Landingpage is build on wordpress and I use Everest Forms (free) to build form (name / email) and embed on the landingpage. All data are available on admin panel, where you can extract to csv.

    1. 1

      Does the admin panel have limited space available, or is it tied to your hosting?

  7. 1

    For a very simple side project, just a form and saving to our database where we can view it or export to CSV via an admin dashboard: https://twelvemonth.vercel.app/

    1. 1

      How do you post the form to the database? Do you have something like a REST API for that, or something else?

      1. 1

        Yep, I have a node server running on heroku.

        1. 1

          Roger, thanks for the insight mate!

  8. 1

    Tjäna jonas!
    On unicornsfeed.com Emailoctopus this is a newsletter.
    On Wickedtemplates.com Netlify. this is my side project.

    1. 1

      Terve terve Michael!

      I saw a Subscribe input on wickedtemplates.com. Does Netlify provide a way to store the emails from subscribers, or how does it work technically?

      1. 1

        Hey!

        Yeah, exactly, you can store the email address, but there's a limit though. You can read more here and see if it suits you.

        I am using it for wicked templates because I am building the [new one[(https://new-wicked.netlify.app/) and I am going to let them know, otherwise I would have taken something different.

        For example, if you are going to use it for a blog, I would have the blog on Hashnode.com and use the email service they have, you can even use your own domain. ( This is what I am going to do for Wicked Templates ).

        Otherwise, Emailoctopus works like cream.

        Hope it helps

        1. 1

          I looked at netlify forms and hashnode up. Both seem to do a great job making things simple for devs. I'll have to consider using hashnode my self once I get to that point.

          This was really helpful, thanks Michael!

          1. 1

            Super!

            Happy to help Joonas!

  9. 1

    I use Mailchimp + Gatsby. I connect them thanks to that pluguin: https://www.gatsbyjs.com/plugins/gatsby-plugin-mailchimp/

    For me is the easiest and most customizable stack. You can check my last landing: https://www.wappraiser.com/

    1. 1

      I've heard a lot of good things about Gatsby, especially the performance.

      Let's say you put up a new landing, how long would you estimate it takes you to set up the integration between Gatsby and Mailchimp?

      1. 1

        I would say no more than half an hour if you know React js

        1. 1

          That is fast enough I'd say :)

  10. 1

    In the past, I've used Mailchimp's embedded web form, and it's APIs to send data back and forth between the app and Mailchimp. I'm not a fan of Mailchimp though, and I'm looking for alternatives.

    My current project is built on Firebase and I'm currently considering using a custom form with JavaScript to submit emails to Firebase Cloud Functions, and from these send the collected email via ESP APIs. This way, I can send email signups to multiple ESPs as I try them out. I can also keep the email in my app's database and make that the single source of truth and have ESP data sync up to that via APIs.

    1. 1

      I'm not a fan of Mailchimp though, and I'm looking for alternatives.

      Curious about this. I frequently see people say they don't really like MailChimp but still use it.

      What's the problem with it? Asking because I've been considering it.

      1. 2

        To be fair, I think it's still a decent service and a good fit for many people especially businesses just starting out.

        I've been a Mailchimp user for almost 10 years. Over that time, I think the UI has gotten very cluttered as they've massively expanded the product. It's hard to navigate, hard to find things, hard to get things done. The email editor was probably cutting edge 5-10 years ago, but by today's standards, it's slow and clunky.

        Mailchimp gets you hooked on the free tier but gets very expensive over time. In my last business, we had a mailing list of 30k, and it was about $300/month compared to our cloud server costs of $100/month. Besides salaries, it was by far the largest business expense which is kinda weird if you think about it.

        Mailchimp has been consistently hiking their pricing tiers almost every year which over the years has left a bad taste in my mouth. They assume they have pricing power because it truly is a pain to migrate ESPs. But the last price increase was just the last straw that broke the camel's back for me.

        I'm considering SendInBlue, SendGrid and EmailOctopus as alternatives, but I haven't decided whether I'll switch yet.

    2. 1

      Thanks for the exhaustive answer. I've never used Mailchimp or any other service. I've done it pretty similar to what you are considering to do next. I can easily recommend approach like that.

      For me it is:
      Azure Logic App which saves to excel sheet. Simple to make (under 5 minutes) and effective.

      1. 1

        Most ESPs have some sort of embedded form you can use.
        https://mailchimp.com/help/add-a-signup-form-to-your-website/
        https://help.sendinblue.com/hc/en-us/articles/208771869-Create-a-subscription-form-

        This is probably the easiest route for most people, but obviously, the form works only with one ESP.

        1. 1

          I can see that people would benefit from using something like Mailchimp as they come with many features.

          Then again it might be overkill for others.

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    Not sure I understand the question really - do you mean which service? We use ActiveCampaign but they all work the same. Collecting emails for the demo is productive for us (they have to opt-in though and always have the option to ignore, which is fine).

    1. 1

      First, thanks for your answer.

      Maybe the question is not clear. What I meant, for example, is that most landing pages have something like "signup for a newsletter" or "join the waiting list" etc that require users to input emails. There are services to achieve this, but I was curious if people always use fully-fledged services for this. For example, one could collect emails another way, and send marketing messages with whole another platform.

      I'm trying to map how people approach this.

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