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

Feedback Feature requests
1

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

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

2

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!

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3

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).

4

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.

3 Likes
5

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:

6

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

7

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.

8

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!

1 Like