What should a newsletter subscribe page look like?

Stupidly basic. The page my Meta ads send people to is a box for your email, the word free, and a button. It almost looks too simple, and that's the point. You don't want to distract people.

Beehiiv's standard subscribe page used to carry a small link underneath the form: "let me read it first." It sent people to the articles. When we finally removed it, which was trickier than it should have been, our cost per subscriber dropped in half. When I spot that button on someone else's page now, I tell them removing it alone might save around 20 cents a subscriber.

"If you give people an opportunity to read something without giving their email, a lot of people are just going to do that."

What belongs on the page?

• The brand name
• The word free, prominently. I put a small "free forever" line right above the title.
• A one-sentence description of what they'll get
• One email field
• A button that says Subscribe

That's it. Stop the page right after the form. When I reviewed one publisher's page, my fix was to delete everything below the signup box.

My test for simplicity: if a 12-year-old can't figure it out, assume it's too complicated. Even I struggle with this sometimes.

Why no header, footer or links?

Because people click them. A traditional site header with a row of buttons lets people land, wander around the menu, and forget to subscribe, whether they like your brand or not. I learned this because I did it wrong first.

"So make sure there are no links. This is very important. No links on the website. None."

When I coach operators, I tell them their landing page should look like mine, not a single button more. Otherwise you're going to lose money. A designer can build one in five or ten minutes.

Why say "free" so many times?

Because people assume things cost money. I've had someone email me worried she'd signed up for something that costs money, on a page that says free everywhere. Say it as often as you can and you take away the fear that you'll find a way to charge them later. I can't tell you exactly how much it helps, but we do it everywhere.

Use "Subscribe," not "Sign up." "Sign up" makes me think of signing up for Netflix: an account, a payment. "Subscribe" reads as free more easily. When I reviewed one news publisher's ad and page, I flagged that the word free didn't appear anywhere.

Should the form ask for a name, or anything else?

No. We don't even ask for a first name. How much value do you really get out of knowing it? Nobody expects a local newsletter to personalize things to them, and it's one more source of friction.

Some signup flows I've looked at ask for first and last name, add a captcha, or make you click a confirmation email before they count you as a subscriber. All of that is friction. Don't do it. A lot of creator pages I've tested ask for eight required pieces of information before you can hit submit. People click off.

Get the email first, then push them into a survey for everything else. Maybe 30% to 40% won't finish the survey, but you'll get far more emails, and on aggregate you end up with more data, because the first step is so low friction.

Should people pick which newsletters they want?

Not on the ad landing page. Even with one box already checked, a picker is a decision, and when people face options, doing nothing is the easiest thing. Give them one action: put your email in.

More on that in how to add subscribers to a second newsletter.

How do I write the one-sentence pitch?

I use AI. I paste in what the page already says (logo, "100% free") and ask for 10 one-sentence pitches in the styles of different well-known marketing writers. I pick the style I like best, ask for five more versions about 25% shorter, and push it toward a sales pitch instead of a plain description when the results come back too generic.

For my B2B newsletter, I told it to cover every type of reader in one sentence: jobs and careers for employees, new businesses and founder stories for owners. Then I trim the weak parts by hand.

B2B pages can carry a little more. I'd add social proof, a plain explanation of what the newsletter is, and an image of it. I built mine by dropping a page I liked into Claude and saying I want this for my brand. It took a few tries to get right. Still no links.

What else do weak signup pages get wrong?

• They never test it. Subscribe yourself. I once entered my email and a "next" line popped up but the page just sat there instead of moving to the survey.
• No clear link to the newsletter anywhere on the creator's site
• A pop-up instead of a real page
• A single confirmation email with no next step

Don't over-invest, either. A plain signup page on your email platform works. I've pointed new founders to an operator whose basic platform page is perfect because it's so simple. Point your own domain at it and move on.

I'm also building an inline version of greetform, so the whole signup and survey can run inside a card on your own homepage, like a "this month's giveaway" box, without sending anyone to another page. The page should be plain. Save the personality for what happens after they subscribe.