Using Squarespace to announce your Startup and gather Email Leads

Squarespace has become an impressive All-In-One platform for small businesses.

Anyone wanting to announce their next startup, can simply setup a website template and start gathering email leads – all within a couple of hours.

In this tutorial I guide you step-by-step from a fresh sign up to capturing quality leads in your startup mailing list integrated with Squarespace Email Marketing Tools.

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Yay! Squarespace has been kind enough to give One Page Love readers the exclusive coupon OPL10 for 10% Off* your first website or domain purchase. (There is a free 14-day trial with no credit card needed, so you can try risk-free.)

Step One: Start with any Squarespace template

Sign up at Squarespace (starting at only $16/month), then pick the template design similar to your needs. The template editing functionality is super powerful so don’t spend too much time trying to find a perfect match. If you need a kickstart, last month I curated my Top 5 Landing Page templates.

Squarespace Template Collection

Step Two: Add your branding and content

There are many tutorials on how to get going but my advice is to simply start at the top of the page. Replace the placeholder content with your own and work your down. The Squarespace platform handles all your speed, security and mobile optimization – so all you need to worry about is adding great content.

Here is an article on how to create a converting Landing Page using Squarespace if you need a guideline on making your content more effective.

Step Three: Create your new Mailing List

Once you are happy with the aesthetic and content flow, head over to Mailing Lists section. Squarespace Menu > Marketing > Email Campaigns > Mailing Lists. Then click the Create a new Mailing List link. You will be prompted with a pop-up like this, name your list anything you want and hit save. I called mine "Startup Name":

Create a Mailing List options:

You now have the option of manually add any customers who asked via email communication to be notified when you officially launch.

There is also a very convenient option to import a "CSV file" of customer emails. CSV files are created when exporting your mailing lists from any popular email providers.

Step Four: Add a Promotional Pop-Up

Head over to Squarespace Menu > Marketing > Promotional Pop-Up to enable a mailing list sign up form that appears when visits arrive at your Squarespace website:

Promotional Pop-Up settings

Go through the various settings, tweaking the pop-up design accordingly. To help increase sign ups, I’d recommend giving the visitor an exciting reason why they should subscribe eg. receive monthly flower arrangement tips if you are a florist.

Once you are happy, head to the Action section, set the Goal to "Sign up for a newsletter" and select the new list with created in Step Three:

Promotional Pop-Up - Action settings

Hit save and now your Promotional Pop-Up will start adding subscribers to your mailing list. Neat!

Step Five: Connect your domain to your Squarespace website

I’d recommended transferring your domain to Squarespace instead of connecting it via a third party domain provider. Main reasons are billing all in one place and trust me you’d rather have Squarespace support on the end of a domain query than any domain provider out there. Here is a comprehensive guide on how to transfer or comment your domain to Squarespace.

Step Six: Announce your new startup!.

As soon as your domain is connected, you have officially launched! It’s time to share your website address and start collecting marketing leads through your engaging promotional pop-up.

FAQ: What are Squarespace Email Marketing Tools?

Squarespace Email Marketing Tools allow anyone to gather email addresses within their website and then send marketing emails using the same Squarespace platform. Right now existing Squarespace customers can use Email Campaigns at no cost for a limited time during an invite-only early access period. General availability at a low monthly rate is coming soon but noteworthy highlights include:

• Comprehensive click tracking and reporting
• A range of customizable templates (preview below) to start designing emails
• Responsive layouts so emails look great on desktop or mobile
• Import content from your website or blog straight into emails
• Compose and edit emails from your mobile if needed
• Import email addresses using CSV files

My favorite feature is how the click tracking is part of a bigger analytics platform. We can track a click from an email button all the way to the purchase page, meaning we can see how much our Email Marketing Campaigns are converting into sales.

Squarespace Email Marketing Campaign Layouts

FAQ: What are the benefits of using Squarespace?

Squarespace is a leading online website builder. What sets them apart is their superior level of design and award-winning customer support team available 24/7. Other main benefits are:

• No Website Hosting Needed - their platform is fast and secure.
• Online Content Management - all edits are done within your browser, no software needed.
• Easily Drag and Drop Images - unlimited galleries with unlimited bandwidth.
• Free Domain Name - when registering for your first website, if you pay annually (renews at standard rate).
• Beautifully Responsive - all templates work for all devices, so you only have to design your website once. Test and preview how your website will appear on a range of screen sizes.
• Blog Sections - can easily be added for content marketing and to share your journey.
• Commerce Solutions - are an upgrade away if you want to start selling products.
• Email Marketing - gather email addresses, send marketing emails and analyze the reader email activity.
• Member Areas - create private website sections only accessible to signed-up or paying members.
• Scheduling - add an online scheduler to your site to diversify your revenue with professional services or classes.

That’s a wrap! Don’t forget your 10% Off coupon*: OPL10

That’s a wrap! Don’t forget your 10% Off coupon: OPL10

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial on collecting leads for your startup using a Squarespace template. Props to Squarespace for creating a platform where we can create beautiful Landing Pages, easily. If you missed it I curated 5 Squarespace Landing Page templates to launch your next idea.

* The OPL10 coupon offer only applies to first payment of subscription on Squarespace, does not apply to future recurring payments or monthly plans, and may not be combined with any other offer codes or discounts.

Much love,
Rob

Twitter: @robhope
Email: [email protected]