A Contact is someone whose email address appeared in a submission on your page. A subscriber is a Contact who intentionally asked to receive future updates. Those are different things.
Start with the visitor’s intent
| What the visitor did | Contact recordThe visitor intentionally shared an email address. | Subscriber statusThe visitor explicitly asked to receive updates. |
|---|---|---|
| Used the Subscribe buttonThe action in your public page header. | Creates a ContactEmail captured | Becomes a subscriberOpted in |
| Completed an Email signupA dedicated, clearly described signup Block. | Creates a ContactEmail captured | Becomes a subscriberOpted in |
| Sent an ordinary enquiryA contact or enquiry Form that asks for an email. | Creates a ContactEmail captured | Subscribes only with an optional opt-inAn unchecked email-updates choice never blocks the enquiry.Their choice |
| Claimed a free Digital ProductAn email used to receive the requested resource. | Creates a ContactEmail captured | Subscribes only with an optional opt-inPeople can always claim the product without joining your list.Their choice |
| Opened an email-locked BlockThe Email to unlock requirement. | Creates a ContactEmail captured | Does not subscribe themNo opt-in |
| Opened a subscribers-only BlockThe Subscribers only requirement. | Creates a ContactEmail captured | Becomes a subscriberOpted in |
Collecting an email address so you can deliver a resource or answer an enquiry is not the same as receiving permission to send unrelated future marketing.
Turn on the Subscribe button
Open Settings and find Show a Subscribe button on your page in the Audience settings.
When enabled, a Subscribe action appears near the public profile header. A visitor who uses it creates a Response and a subscribed Contact for that page.
The Subscribe button is available on both Free and Creator.
Screenshot to add: Subscribe setting and matching public button
Capture the selected page's Audience settings with Show a Subscribe button on your page turned on. Show the matching Subscribe action in a fictional public-page preview or in a clearly labelled second state.
Open: /app/settings#subscribe-button-toggle
Framing: Include the Subscribe setting, its surrounding Audience section, and the corresponding public profile header
Use an intentional Email signup
Choose Email signup from Add block when the signup should be a dedicated page action rather than part of the header.
Tell visitors what they are signing up for. Get monthly workshop dates is more useful than Join now because it states the likely content and cadence.
Do not hide an ongoing marketing signup inside a generic contact Form or the delivery of a free product. The page should make the visitor’s intent clear before they submit.
Offer optional email updates
An ordinary Form or Digital Product can offer an independent email signup without making it a condition of contacting you, receiving a resource, or completing a purchase.
For a Form:
- Open the Block’s Form editor.
- Select Email updates.
- Choose Offer an optional signup to add an unchecked email-updates choice.
Choose Make this an email signup only when the Form itself is clearly a signup. Reroute labels the action Subscribe when the previous button text did not already communicate that purpose, and explains what the visitor is agreeing to. Choose Contacts only when the email is needed solely to answer the submission.
For a Digital Product, open its Checkout editor and turn on Offer email updates. The signup is always optional for both free and paid products. Paid checkout still requires separate acceptance of purchase terms.
Reroute identifies who will send the emails, explains that updates can include occasional offers, and tells visitors they can unsubscribe. When someone is offered the choice, the Response or Order also keeps a record of whether they opted in and the exact wording they saw.
Understand subscriber-only content
A Subscribers only Block lock requires someone to subscribe before opening that content.
An Email to unlock Block lock collects an email for the specific access request without automatically marking the person as subscribed.
Choose the requirement that matches the promise you made. If ongoing updates are not part of the exchange, use the narrower email-capture option.
See Lock or schedule a Block for the complete access-control setup.
Check subscription status
Open Contacts and select a person to review their current status and related activity.
Keep the distinction visible when exporting contacts or following up elsewhere. A list of all Contacts is not the same thing as a list of people who asked to hear from you again.
Screenshot to add: Subscribed and not-subscribed Contacts
Capture the Contacts view using 2 fictional people: one who signed up through Subscribe or Email signup and one who submitted an ordinary enquiry or claimed a free product. Show the contrasting subscription states and their relevant response sources.
Open: /app/contacts
Framing: Show the Contacts rows or open detail panels with both subscription states readable
Respect a changed preference
After someone subscribes through the public Subscribe button, an Email signup, an optional email-updates choice, or subscriber-only content, that browser shows a bell in the public page header. They can select the bell to unsubscribe, even if you later turn off the Subscribe button.
A person who no longer wants updates should not be treated as an active subscriber. If they later explicitly subscribe again, that new action can restore their subscribed status.
Keep your follow-up consistent with what the visitor requested. For practical audience management and exports, continue with Manage responses and contacts.