# Subscription via email (and maybe option to subscribe to paid content)

**URL:** <https://discuss.write.as/t/subscription-via-email-and-maybe-option-to-subscribe-to-paid-content/440>\
**Category:** Feature requests\
**Tags:** 🛳-released\
**Created:** [March 4, 2019, 8:09pm UTC](https://discuss.write.as/t/subscription-via-email-and-maybe-option-to-subscribe-to-paid-content/440 "2019-03-04T20:09:37Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 8\
**Page:** 1

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![nickmay](https://discuss.write.as/user_avatar/discuss.write.as/nickmay/32/186_2.png) [@nickmay](https://discuss.write.as/u/nickmay)\
**Post date:** [March 4, 2019, 8:09pm UTC](https://discuss.write.as/t/subscription-via-email-and-maybe-option-to-subscribe-to-paid-content/440/1 "2019-03-04T20:09:37Z")

</div>

It would be great if write.as supported subscriptions that would automatically email my readers when I had a new post out. Export of this list would be critical in case I outgrew and needed to upgrade to something like MailChimp. At the same time, integrated statistics on open rates would be fantastic.

Another idea that I’ve seen on the feature requests page would be accepting donations and @matt has said he’s more interested in a subscription (since recurring revenue is better), so I thought I’d bundle the two here.

Edit: it looks like this might be in development: [https://trello.com/c/kqJpOdpp/6-let-readers-subscribe-to-blog-updates-by-email](https://trello.com/c/kqJpOdpp/6-let-readers-subscribe-to-blog-updates-by-email)

For me, however, it would be critical to have my user’s email addresses; that list is valuable. However, I do appreciate the idea of a “don’t share my email with the author” option, although that might confuse my readers since operate on a custom subdomain.

Thanks!  
Nick

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![matt](https://discuss.write.as/user_avatar/discuss.write.as/matt/32/2760_2.png) [@matt](https://discuss.write.as/u/matt)\
**Post date:** [March 5, 2019, 9:06pm UTC](https://discuss.write.as/t/subscription-via-email-and-maybe-option-to-subscribe-to-paid-content/440/2 "2019-03-05T21:06:13Z")

</div>

Thanks for the input! Indeed subscribe-via-email is planned – we’re aiming to release it for all Pro users this month.

I know the list of readers will be valuable to blog authors, and I definitely don’t want to lock people into our platform. I just want to make sure:

- readers get privacy by default, i.e. they can subscribe to blogs without divulging their email address
- readers retain control over their personal data, especially as it’s potentially being passed around

Once this feature is out, I’ll want to get your feedback so we can be sure everyone’s needs are met. I’ll keep everyone updated here!

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![nickmay](https://discuss.write.as/user_avatar/discuss.write.as/nickmay/32/186_2.png) [@nickmay](https://discuss.write.as/u/nickmay)\
**Post date:** [March 5, 2019, 10:24pm UTC](https://discuss.write.as/t/subscription-via-email-and-maybe-option-to-subscribe-to-paid-content/440/3 "2019-03-05T22:24:06Z")

</div>

This is fantastic, @matt. Thanks! Something to ponder: will there be a default privacy policy and GDPR-compliance mechanism for sites as part of this, or will we need to write our own? I’d love to be able to check a box that says ‘use default write.as Privacy Policy’ for emails, but that might be on marshy footing since if I can export my emails I could do all kinds of terrible things to them (not that I would, but as a platform creator you have to think about these kinds of things).

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![matt](https://discuss.write.as/user_avatar/discuss.write.as/matt/32/2760_2.png) [@matt](https://discuss.write.as/u/matt)\
**Post date:** [March 6, 2019, 2:29am UTC](https://discuss.write.as/t/subscription-via-email-and-maybe-option-to-subscribe-to-paid-content/440/4 "2019-03-06T02:29:03Z")

</div>

Great points. I think how it’ll be organized is that by default, any user email addresses will be subject to our privacy policy, since we’re the ones handling the data (and we’d be the _only_ ones handling it if a user chose not to share their email with a blog owner). Then there might be some kind of agreement that blog owners enter into with us, the platform, before getting access to user emails – something that essentially says you’ll use the data in a responsible way.

One option could be to make this agreement optional, and then show users if the blog owner didn’t agree to it, so they can make an informed decision on giving out their email or not. Or we might let the blog owner write up exactly how the data will be used. But we’re going to try to keep the decision for readers easy and low-friction.

Either way, our implementation will meet (or go above) GDPR compliance. The biggest unknown right now is how to get that perfect balance between reader consent and data portability for blog owners. But things should become much clearer as this develops.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![matt](https://discuss.write.as/user_avatar/discuss.write.as/matt/32/2760_2.png) [@matt](https://discuss.write.as/u/matt)\
**Post date:** [March 21, 2019, 12:16am UTC](https://discuss.write.as/t/subscription-via-email-and-maybe-option-to-subscribe-to-paid-content/440/5 "2019-03-21T00:16:53Z")

</div>

There’s still plenty of work to do around our policies and subscriber list exporting, but basic email subscriptions are now live on Write.as Labs:

> [@New in Labs: Email Subscriptions](https://discuss.write.as/t/new-in-labs-email-subscriptions/480):
>
> Today I’m excited to release a much-requested feature on Write.as: [email subscriptions](https://write.as/letters)! This new feature will let your readers subscribe directly to your blog updates via email and receive new posts in their inbox. It’s available to all Pro users in [Write.as Labs](https://write.as/labs). Note that this is an early beta feature. While the basic functionality is all there, we may be missing design niceties or still have bugs lurking around. That’s where you come in – we’ll be looking for everyone’s feedback on this to …

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![nickmay](https://discuss.write.as/user_avatar/discuss.write.as/nickmay/32/186_2.png) [@nickmay](https://discuss.write.as/u/nickmay)\
**Post date:** [March 21, 2019, 7:19pm UTC](https://discuss.write.as/t/subscription-via-email-and-maybe-option-to-subscribe-to-paid-content/440/6 "2019-03-21T19:19:56Z")

</div>

This is fantastic, thank you! I’ll go kick the tires!

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![writedirt](https://discuss.write.as/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/w/9fc348/32.png) [@writedirt](https://discuss.write.as/u/writedirt)\
**Post date:** [April 9, 2019, 2:17am UTC](https://discuss.write.as/t/subscription-via-email-and-maybe-option-to-subscribe-to-paid-content/440/7 "2019-04-09T02:17:54Z")

</div>

Matt, I just finally tried the email function. Thank you! Now I have a suggestion / request – Could it be possible to change the wording of the email instructions – the wording that says “Enter your email to subscribe to updates.” I’m wondering if I could personalize the instructions.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![writedirt](https://discuss.write.as/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/w/9fc348/32.png) [@writedirt](https://discuss.write.as/u/writedirt)\
**Post date:** [April 9, 2019, 2:20am UTC](https://discuss.write.as/t/subscription-via-email-and-maybe-option-to-subscribe-to-paid-content/440/8 "2019-04-09T02:20:00Z")

</div>

I think you’ve already talked about capability for adding email subscription to the bottom of each post. I just wonder when that might be coming up? Thank you!