Do I Need an Email List or a Contact Page on My Website?

The answer, my friend, is both.

An email list and a contact form (or page) serve completely different purposes—and if you’re missing one, you’re probably leaving money (and opportunities) on the table.

Let’s break it down.

The Contact Form: Let Clients Reach You

A contact page with a simple form—or at the very least, a phone or email address—is non-negotiable. This is how people get in touch when they’re ready to hire you, ask you a question, or start a conversation. Period.

If you don’t have a contact page? That’s frustrating. People shouldn’t have to go on a scavenger hunt to figure out how to reach you. (Truly, my pet peeve!)

Ideally, your contact page should be:

• Easy to find (link it in your main navigation)

• Clear how to contact you. If it’s a form, it should be easy to use (name, email, message… ask for what is important for you to know— without making them write an essay)

• That’s it? Kinda easy, I don’t know why you’d skip this! (Please don’t!)

Bottom line: A contact form is how your audience contacts you.

If you need help adding a contact page to your website, I’ve got you!

The Email List: So You Can Reach Them

Your email list is how you stay in touch with people who are interested in what you do—even if they’re not ready to reach out or hire you just yet. For example, I love to look at branding photographers websites. I’m often asked for photographers referrals from my clients, so when I come across a site of photographer that peaks my interest, I may not be ready to contact them but I want to remember who they are and have them contact me. I’lll put my email on their list and boom — my work is done. By offering an newsletter or email list on your small business website, you can gather contact info to stay in touch with people who may want to ask you a question today, or hire you tomorrow! Once you start sending out emails, it’s a great way to just remind those folks… "hey, don’t forget I exist."

This is especially important for service-based business websites - folks that rely on referrals or are always on the hunt for clients. People might not hire you today, but if they hear from you next month with something useful, you’re back on their radar. Michael Scott may send a gift basket… but I think an email works just fine.

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But, how do I start an email list?

The bad news: You can’t just collect emails and blast them from Gmail. I mean you can but, it’s not legal (thanks, spam laws) and there’s no way for folks to unsubscribe. Instead, you’ll need to sign up with an email marketing platform. There are a ton out there—and I’ll give you a quick and dirty breakdown below.

Meanwhile: the Good News! You don’t have to choose a platform right now! Add a Newsletter block to your Squarespace page (or have me do it for you!) and Squarespace will start compiling those emails for you! Once you’re ready to start your email list… you’ll have a list of people ready to hear from you.

Email Marketing Platforms include…

• Squarespace Email Campaigns
  Great if you want something simple and easy that integrates automatically into your Squarespace site. You can set it up right inside your website, and I can help you do it. Perfect for folks who don’t need anything fancy—just a way to collect emails and send the occasional update. They also have some cool automations (like automatically sending a welcome email, or a product update etc.) Pretty sweet for pretty cheap.

  • Note: If you sign up for any new Squarespace subscription through me — you can get my 20% discount!

• Mailchimp
  Ideal if you want to go deeper—like tagging, grouping, or segmenting your audience (say, by location, interests, or services). You can send different messages to different people in different (for example - folks that live in certain locations), and track detailed stats. More powerful, a little more setup, but worth it if your email game is going to be strong.

• Constant Contact, Flodesk, and others…
  Each has their pros and cons depending on your needs and budget. Flodesk, for example, is known for its templates. Constant Contact has strong support and works well for nonprofits and events. Do some googling and once you decide, I can integrate it into your site for ya!

So yes—building an email list takes a bit of setup, but once it’s rolling, it’s an incredibly useful tool for growing and staying connected to your audience. Do it!

TL;DR: You Need Both!

• Your contact form helps people reach you.

• Your email list helps you stay in touch with them.

• And you probably need both.

They do different jobs. You shouldn’t have to pick just one.

If you’re overwhelmed or not sure where to start, that’s literally what I’m here for. Get in touch and let’s make your website (and your email setup) do the work for you.

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