Newsletter Signup with Shopify Starter

[quarfie_op]

What options are available to allow users to signup to my email newsletter?

I see that using Shopify Inbox there is a signup option, but only if the user starts a conversation. And they can signup during checkout, but what if the user isn't ready to buy or ask a question?

Instructions I have found require modifying the theme, which is not possible with Shopify Starter.

Also had a lot of trouble posting this - kept telling me I had autosaved content from 1 minute ago. I clicked disregard and it happened again, then it told me "post flooding detected".😩

[Sophia]

Hey, @quarfie_op!

I'm sorry to hear that you had a tough time creating this post. If this happens again, I recommend clearing your browser's cache, checking for browser updates, or testing another browser or device if you can.

The Starter Plan comes with Shopify's free Spotlight theme, and you can add a newsletter signup to it in the theme editor by following these steps:

1. Go to Online Store > Themes > Customize
2. From the section settings, click Add section and select Email signup

Here's what it looks like in the theme editor:

Let me know if this works for you! Have you already picked out which email marketing service you'll be using?

[quarfie_op]

I do not see "Section settings".

I tried on Safari and Chrome on Mac.

This is what the top of the page looks like:

[Sophia]

Thank you for sharing that screenshot! I realize now that the version of Spotlight I viewed in my test store is the version that stores on the Basic Plan or higher would see. My apologies for the confusion.

To clarify, these are the customizations available for Spotlight on the Starter Plan:

• add a logo, a brand introduction, and social media links
• customize the colors of your theme

I'm happy to submit a feature request to our developers about this, in case they are able to add the newsletter signup section to the Starter Plan in the future.

If you know which email marketing service you'd like to work with, we can take a look to see if they have any suggestions for collecting emails without a website signup. You can collect emails manually with a form, but there might be an automated method to save time.

[quarfie_op]

I was hoping to use Shopify's email service. It looks like it works fine with my plan in the sense that users can sign up during checkout or I can manually add people, and I can create and send campaign email... There's just no way to invite users to sign up without purchasing. Thanks for submitting it as a feature request.

[shenoyasha53]

I hope Email sign-up is introduced early, especially considering the year-end sales periods running now! An "About" page will greatly help in sales on the Starter Plan.

[Sophia]

Thanks for your feedback! I'm making sure to notify our developers about each Starter plan feature request mentioned here.

While there isn't a separate "About" page, you can still add a brand introduction that will show up on your home page. Check out the Spotlight theme demo for an example of what that can look like. Are you wanting to share more detail than you can fit in that section?

[shenoyasha53]

Thanks for the suggestion Sophia, I have added something About my Store under the Brand introduction.

It would be very nice if the Theme had a contact button for the Starter Plan sellers, as of now only contact information is available in the footer. 

A column on top of the storefront for announcing periodical Sales is also very essential.

A Starter seller will shift to Higher plans if he/she is able to sell well and small little help in the Starter Plan will be wonderful to get sales.

Thanks

[Sophia]

It's great to hear that you added something to the brand introduction! I hope that helps your customers feel more connected with your brand.

I appreciate the additional feedback regarding the contact options and the announcement bar.

Since the Starter plan is intended for merchants primarily selling through social media platforms or messaging apps, the idea is that customers would be seeing promotional information on social media and then navigating to purchase after that. Are you currently sharing promotional information on your social page(s)?

I'm also curious to know how you prefer for customers to contact your store. Are you hoping for a contact button that links to a phone number, or to an email form?

[shenoyasha53]

Hi,

Thanks for your email reply. I would be happy if it's a contact button
leading to my email address.

I am trying my level best sharing on Instagram, Pinterest and Twitter, but
I have no enquiries so far. It's a bit of a put off, but then selling
original art is not easy, like fashion garments for instance.
Regards,
Asha

[Sophia]

Thanks, Asha! I'll submit a feature request to our developers for a contact button on the Starter plan. As a workaround, you could potentially use a tool like Google Forms or Typeform to create a contact form and link that to your social media pages using Shopify's free Linkpop tool.

It can certainly take time to build an audience and see your first sales. Sharing your work along with any promotions on social channels is a great way to find customers. Pinterest in particular can be effective for sharing original art. If you're looking for any guidance on getting your first sales, I recommend checking out this guide: How To Make Your First Ecommerce Sale—Fast.

[shenoyasha53]

Thank you will try it out and inform you.