Collecting subscribers and sending a newsletter from a WordPress site

The short answer: the site collects the addresses (with a form), but it should not be the one sending a message to many people. For that you use a proper sending service, tied to the form by a plugin. That way the messages reach the inbox, the list lives outside the site, and your domain’s normal e-mail stays safe.

Who does what

Part Who handles it
The sign-up form The site, with a plugin or the sending service’s form, on a page or in the footer.
The list of addresses The sending service, not WordPress. It lives outside the site, with the opt-out included.
The sending The sending service, with its own delivery system. Not the hosting e-mail.
Consent You: say what you will send and keep proof that the person agreed: Building an e-mail list legally.
Leaving Every message carries an unsubscribe link, which works at once.

Step by step

1 Choose a newsletter sending service and create the account, with your name and the company’s address.
2 Authenticate the domain (SPF and DKIM) before the first send: SPF, DKIM and DMARC.
3 Install the plugin or the code of the form the service offers and put it on a page or in the footer.
4 Write the consent text beside the button (“I want to receive news from… I can leave whenever I want”) and use e-mail confirmation.
5 Send a test to yourself and to a second account, and see whether it reaches the inbox: How to write an e-mail that does not land in spam.
Do not send to a list you bought or copied. It brings spam, complaints and can put your domain on a blocklist, which then also affects the company’s e-mail. For the full precautions, see E-mail marketing without burning your domain.
For notices tied to the site (an order, a password reset), the site’s SMTP is enough: Making WordPress send e-mail properly. For a newsletter to a list, use the sending service.

Want help tying the form to the sending service? Open a ticket with the site’s address.

Open a support ticket

SEE ALSO

Building an e-mail list legally: consent, sign-up forms and unsubscribing

E-mail marketing: doing it properly without burning your domain

SPF, DKIM and DMARC: why your e-mail lands in spam

How to write an e-mail that does not land in spam: behaviour, recipients and limits

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