How to Collect Emails With a Form (Consent, Embeds, Verification)

To collect emails, make a form with an Email field, a short line saying what people will receive, and a consent checkbox. Put it on your site as an embed or popup, or share the link. Export the list to your email tool as a CSV, or connect it automatically. Qwenvo does all of that free.

Ask for the least you can

Every extra field lowers signups. For a newsletter, ask for the email address and nothing else. If you need a first name for greetings, make it optional. Test what your audience tolerates before adding more.

• Email (required). The Email block checks the format as people type.
• First name (optional), for greetings.
• Interest (optional Multiple choice), if you send different content to different groups.
• Consent checkbox (required), see below.

Build the signup form

1. Click New form and give it a title that promises something: 'Get the weekly tip'.
2. Type / and add an Email block. Write the label as 'Your email address'.
3. Add a Checkboxes block with one option: 'Yes, send me the weekly email. I can unsubscribe at any time.' Make it required.
4. Add a Text block under the title saying what you send, how often and who you are.
5. Add a Thank-you page: 'Check your inbox. If it is not there in a few minutes, look in spam.' Or use redirect on completion to send people to a download or a welcome page.
6. Preview, publish and share.

The newsletter signup, ebook download and content download gate templates are already set up for this.

Where to put it

• On a page: use a Standard embed from the Share tab and paste the snippet into your site's HTML block. See embed your form.
• As a popup: choose Popup and set a trigger such as a delay, scroll depth or exit intent. See popup forms. Show it once per visitor so it does not annoy people.
• As a link: in your social bio, email signature or video description.
• On your own subdomain: attach a custom domain such as join.yoursite.com for a link people recognise. See custom domains.

Stop fake and mistyped addresses

• Respondent email verification. In Settings, turn it on and Qwenvo sends a one-time code to the address so only people with a working inbox can sign up. It adds a step, so test it on your audience; for a casual newsletter, many people skip it.
• Captcha block. Add one if bots find the form.
• Prevent duplicate submissions so the same person does not fill in the form again and again.
• A confirmation email. Switch on respondent email notifications and pick the Email question. Write a short welcome. A message that bounces tells you the address is wrong.

Get the list to your email tool

1. Manual: open Submissions, export CSV, and import the file into your email tool.
2. Live: connect Google Sheets, or use Zapier or Make to pass each signup to the tool you use. Qwenvo also has webhooks and a REST API. Check your email tool's own documentation for what it accepts.
3. Alerts: switch on Self email notifications or the Slack integration if you want to see signups arrive.

Use hidden fields to record where each signup came from, for example ?source=podcast. See hidden fields and UTM tracking.

Mistakes to avoid

• Pre-ticked consent. People should opt in on purpose.
• Vague promises. 'Join our newsletter' is weaker than 'One practical tip each Friday'.
• Adding people from the form to other lists. Use the list for what you said it was for.
• Keeping data forever. In Settings you can set data retention so submissions are deleted after a number of days.
• Ignoring the law. Rules on consent differ by country. Qwenvo is hosted in the United States, so check what applies to your list.

Honest limit: Qwenvo collects and stores the addresses. It is not an email-sending platform, so it does not send your newsletters or manage unsubscribes. Pair it with a tool that does.

Questions people ask

How do I collect emails without an app?

Share a form link, or embed the form on your site. Respondents only need a browser.

Can I collect emails on my own domain?

Yes. Add a subdomain on the Domains page, set a CNAME at your DNS, click Verify and pick it on the Share tab.

Is it free to collect unlimited emails?

Forms and submissions are unlimited within fair use. Tally's free plan also has unlimited submissions, but puts custom domains and branding removal on Pro; see Qwenvo vs Tally.