Start an email list from your link in bio
Why an address you can use outlasts a feed, how a free download earns a signup, and what to do with your list once you have one.
9 October 2026 · 6 min read
Everything in your bio points outward. Someone taps, looks around and leaves, and unless they remember to follow you again, you cannot reach them. An email address changes that. It is something a visitor can give you that does not depend on a feed deciding to show your next post.
This post is the smallest honest setup for a list on a MyBase page: what to offer, how to switch it on, what MyBase does not do, and what to say in your first email.
Why a list at all
A follower count is a number a platform keeps for you, and the platform can change who sees your posts without telling you. An email address sits in a list you can export, and it does not depend on a feed deciding to show your next post. An inbox can still filter an email, so your first one has to earn its place.
A feed finds new people. A list is how you reach the ones who already said yes. You do not need a schedule or a branded newsletter on day one, only a reason to hand over an address and one honest email that keeps the promise. We will not predict sign-ups. That depends on your audience and your offer.
What to offer in exchange
"Subscribe to my newsletter" asks for something and gives nothing back. A visitor decides quickly, so offer something specific, free to them, in their hands right away.
Good offers are small and tied to what brought the visitor to your page:
- A checklist. The carry-on packing list you use for every trip, on one page.
- A preset pack. The editing presets from your last three videos.
- A setup guide. The gear and settings behind a video people keep asking about.
Say it the way a person would:
| Vague | Specific |
|---|---|
| Join my newsletter | Get the packing list I use for every trip |
| Exclusive content | The preset pack from my last three videos |
| Stay updated | One email when I add a pick to my desk setup |
Test an offer with three questions. Could the visitor use it today? Can you finish it in an afternoon? Does it match what you post about?
Set it up: email capture and a free download
Two sections do the work, and both ship switched off, so nothing collects an address until you ask.
- Make the file. A PDF, a preset pack, a spreadsheet. You give MyBase a direct https link to it, hosted wherever you keep it. Pick a link that does not expire.
- Show the sections. In Appearance, open Arrange sections and show Email capture and Digital downloads (the eye icon).
- Add and publish the download. On your page, in the Digital downloads section, press New download. Paste your file link, name it for the result it gives, leave the price empty and press Create, then press Draft - publish. It is now a free download behind an email gate. Visitors see nothing there until a file is published.
- Test it as a visitor. Your own signed-in view of the form is a preview. Open your page in a private window, claim the file with an address of your own, then remove that address from Subscribers. The test claim stays on record, so you can unpublish that download later but not delete it.
A visitor who taps the free download enters an email address and a Download now button appears on the spot. No email is sent, whatever the button label suggests. The address goes on your list. A visitor who only wants updates uses the subscribe form, and the note under it says that subscribing means agreeing to the Privacy Policy and that they can ask you to remove them. Both routes end in Creator Studio, under Subscribers, where you can see every address, remove one, or export the list as a CSV.
Put the offer in the first screen. If the download is your main action, move its section to the top in Arrange sections. How to Build a Link in Bio That Converts (Not a Filing Cabinet) covers the order.
What MyBase does not do
- It sends nothing. No campaigns, no welcome email, no newsletter. MyBase keeps the addresses; the sending happens in an email tool you choose.
- It has no unsubscribe link of its own. A subscriber who wants out asks you, and you remove the address in Subscribers. So whatever you send from needs a working unsubscribe link in every email.
- It does not confirm addresses. MyBase does not email a new subscriber to check the address (the usual name for that is double opt-in). A mistyped address stays on your list until you clear it out, and anyone can enter an address that is not theirs. That is why your first email should be short and ask for nothing, and your unsubscribe link has to work.
- It does not lock the file. The email step happens on MyBase. Whoever claims the file receives your direct link, so offer only things you are happy to have shared.
We would rather you hear this here than after your first signup.
Your first email
Write it before the first signup, so you know what you are promising, and send it soon after the first people join. Export the list from Subscribers and import it into an email tool that adds the unsubscribe link for you. Keep it to one idea. Here is a version to copy:
- Subject: Here is what you signed up for
- Opening: Hi, it is [your name]. You signed up on my page [and picked up the file], so this is the one email to say what to expect.
- The promise: I will send [one kind of thing], about [how often]. Nothing else.
- The way out: If this is not for you, the unsubscribe link at the bottom does what it says.
If an email contains affiliate links, say so in plain words near the top. Our guide to recommending products covers how to disclose.
Consent and privacy in plain words
This is general information, not legal advice. The rules differ by country, so check the ones where you and your readers live.
- Email people about what they signed up for, and nothing else.
- Removal means everywhere. Remove them from Subscribers and from every tool you imported the list into. Removing an address in MyBase does not reach into a CSV you already downloaded, so keep that file private and delete old copies.
- Add only people who signed up. Not commenters, not people who sent a DM, never a bought list.
Nothing MyBase shows on your page makes your list compliant with a particular law by itself. That depends on what you promise and send.
Where to start
Pick one thing you already have, name it for what it does, and put it in the first screen of your page.
To build this on a page of your own, claim your handle. What each plan includes is on the pricing page.
FAQ
Do I need a download, or can I just add a subscribe form?
Either works alone. Email capture and Digital downloads are separate sections with separate switches. A free download gives a visitor a reason to sign up today, and the address lands on the same list.
Does MyBase email my subscribers for me?
No. MyBase sends no campaigns and no emails to your subscribers. You send from your own email tool.
Can a subscriber unsubscribe by themselves?
Not through MyBase. They ask you, and you remove them in Subscribers.
Can I take my list with me?
Yes. You can export your list as a CSV whenever you like. It is your list.