Overview
Signup forms allow people to enter their email address to receive your newsletters. The signup form link appears at the bottom of your newsletters, and you can share the form via link or by embedding it on a WordPress page.
This guide explains how to set up a newsletter signup form in Emma, customize the associated confirmation emails, and share the signup form.
Logging in to Emma
- Go to https://home.e2ma.net and log in with the following credentials:
- Username: Your @usc.edu email address
- Password: The password you created during setup, which may not be the same as your USC NetID passphrase
- You may be asked to enter a verification code, which Emma sends to your email.
- Click the Audience tab.
Creating or editing a signup form
Quick guide
- Make sure you're in the Audience tab. In the left menu, click Forms.
- You can edit an existing form or create a new form:
- To use an existing form: Click the form name. The default form that's automatically created for new subaccounts is Your Default Signup Form. You can rename the form later.
- To create a new form: Click Create new form. Keep Build a regular form selected. Fill in the form name and click Next.
- The form builder page loads. You can navigate between sections by clicking the section title at the top. Depending on the section, Back and Next buttons are also available.
Detailed guide (with screenshots)
- Make sure you're in the Audience tab. In the left menu, click Forms.
- You can edit an existing form or create a new form:
- To use an existing form: Click the form name. The default form that's automatically created for new subaccounts is Your Default Signup Form. You can rename the form later.
- To create a new form: Click Create new form. Keep Build a regular form selected. Fill in the form name and click Next.
- The form builder page loads. To navigate between sections, click the section title at the top. Depending on the section, Back and Next buttons are also available.
Building a signup form
Once you've created a new form or opened an existing form, you can proceed through the form builder sections to build your form. To navigate between sections, click the section title at the top. Depending on the section, Back and Next buttons are also available.
Settings section
Select Add new subscribers to one (or more) of my groups, and then select at least one group (mailing list). This step is necessary because newsletter recipients are chosen by group, not by individual contacts. If a contact is not added to a group, then they will not receive newsletters.
Builder section
Main content
By default, the signup form includes the First Name, Last Name, and Email Address fields. You can add more fields, customize the form message, and add an image.
To collect more information, you can add a custom field. At the top, click Add object and select Add field.
To make a field required, hover on it. Then, select the Required checkbox:
Right panels
Content options panel
-
Form message: This is selected by default and you can customize the message.
-
Form image: Select this field to add a logo or other image at the top of the form.
Security options panel
We recommend keeping the default options selected.
Messages section
Customize any of the following:
- The message that appears on the page after the person submits the form
- Confirmation email: The person signing up receives this email after submitting the form
- Updated preferences email: A contact who is already signed up receives this email after making any changes to their signup
Review section
Use the left column to review your form settings. This is also where you can click Edit to change the form name. Use the right column to preview your form in desktop or mobile mode.
When you are ready, click Publish.
Sharing a signup form
Embed the signup form on a WordPress website
Once you've published a signup form, you can embed the form on a WordPress website:
Share a signup form link
You can obtain a signup form link from Emma. This can be shared on a WordPress website or anywhere you can paste links, such as in an email or in a social media message:
Quick guide
- Make sure you're in the Audience tab. In the left menu, click Forms.
- Next to the form name, click the Expand
icon, and select Add to your site.
- Copy the URL. You can now paste this link elsewhere to share it.
Detailed guide (with screenshots)
- Make sure you're in the Audience tab. In the left menu, click Forms.
- Next to the form name, click the Expand icon, and select Add to your site.
- Copy the URL. You can now paste this link elsewhere to share it.
Verifying your newsletter form link is correct
If you have multiple signup forms, you may want to double check that you have the correct form linked in your newsletters. There are two ways to verify this:
Check the link on a test newsletter
Send yourself a test newsletter. When you open the test, click the Sign up link that appears in the footer (the bottom of the newsletter) and make sure it leads to the right form.
Check the Advanced options when preparing to send the newsletter
After clicking Review for a newsletter, you can set up the send settings. Make sure to expand the Advanced section and verify that the correct form is selected under Signup form.
Setting up subscription options (advanced)
If you followed our recommended method in the steps above, people who fill out and submit a signup form are added to a group (contact list) in Emma. Then, when you are ready to send a newsletter, you select that group to receive the newsletter. This recommended method is sufficient for most departments and units.
However, you may be interested in a more complex setup if:
- You send multiple newsletters a week
- You have multiple distinct newsletter content types
- People want the ability to choose which of your newsletters they receive
- People complain that they are receiving too many emails or irrelevant ones
- You have the time and capacity to manage subscriptions instead of groups
If this is your situation, you may be interested in the subscription feature in Emma: you can designate newsletter content types, and people can opt in or out of each type. Refer to the following guide: