Channel Subscriptions give you the ability to collect subscribers for a Channel. With Channel Subscriptions, you can also send automated email notifications to your subscribers when you add new content to your Channel. This means that you can keep both new and existing audiences engaged by letting them know when you’ve released new content! Pretty sweet, right? We think so! You can manage your audience members by collecting, tracking, and connecting with them right within the Wistia platform.
Collecting Subscribers
You’ll first want to be sure that you’ve enabled the subscriber button and form on your Channel. Click "Edit/Preview Channel" and then select "Email Subscribers" from the Customize menu.
The subscribe form can be set to ask for just email, or first and last name, as well as email. You can customize the form header, as well as add a legal notice.
If you’re connected to HubSpot, Marketo, Pardot, or an email integration, you can sync your subscribers to your integration. When connected, you’ll be able to collect new contacts within your integration platform, and send them to specific lists.
You can choose to notify your subscribers about new episodes right from within Wistia, and they’ll receive an email notifications about your new content. Email notifications can also be sent from a new, personalized Wistia domain.
How does all of this work, you might ask? Read on for a step-by-step guide that walks through all you need to know in order to collect and notify subscribers for your Channel.
View Subscribers in Wistia
Once visitors have successfully completed the subscribe form, they will be collected in Wistia as Subscribers. You can see how many subscribers a Channel has by navigating to the Subscribers page in your Channel.
The subscribers page includes a list of all subscribers for a Channel (this includes Name (if enabled), Email, and Subscribe Date) as well as the total count. You will also find the option to export the subscriber list to a CSV.
Notifying Subscribers
There are a couple of steps to take in order to notify Channel subscribers about your sweet new content.
Email Settings
You’ll first need to be sure that your Account Owner has filled out the “Email Settings” section in your account, which can be accessed under “Account.”
Email Settings include the following:
Company Address (a physical mailing address is required by the CAN-SPAM act)
Email - we send subscribers emails from [email protected], but you can customize this so that your subscribers know who they’re receiving the email from.
Social Profiles - if you’d like, you can add your Facebook Page URL, Instagram URL, Twitter URL, and/or LinkedIn URL. These will display in the footer of your email.
Email Notifications
Now that you’ve filled out your Email Settings, you can set up email notifications for subscribers. Next to a Channel media, click the three dots and then select "Send Notification."
The email notifications will include the following:
A Channel logo (if present)
A subject that reads “Watch the latest from [Channel name]”
The thumbnail & title of the media being published
A Call To Action to “Watch Now”
An email footer with an unsubscribe link
Note
If the media has a video thumbnail, the email will showcase a GIF right within the notification.
You can further customize these notifications to best fit your company’s branding and content. Email notifications allow for the following customizations:
Custom Subject line & Preview Text
A button link that is a URL of your choosing
A dark or light color theme
Dark or light button text color
Once customized, choose to send your email notification when the media is published to the Channel, or on a specific date and time.
You can also send a test email before finalizing your notification settings.
When you're all set, click "Save."
Channel Subscribers and Marketing Integrations
Whether you’re connected to HubSpot, Marketo, Pardot, or an email integration, you’ll want to be sure to select a list if you’d like to have your Channel subscribers populate there. Within your Channel, select "Email Subscribers" from the Customize menu. Here, select the list you’d like to send your subscribers to.
When a viewer subscribes to your Channel, you can choose to collect just their email, or their first name, last name, and email. This information will then be sent to the list you have chosen for your marketing or email provider.
Note
If you have the Hubspot & Wistia integration connected you’ll need to have a static list ready in HubSpot for your Channel Subscribers. This can be a brand new list for your Channel Subscribers, or one that already exists!
FAQs
Can I get analytics on my notifications?
You might be wondering what your click-through rate is and how many viewers opened your email - at the moment we do not have this functionality available.
What happens if a user unsubscribes?
If a user unsubscribes, they are removed from within Wistia. If you export your list of subscribers, those who are unsubscribed will be included, but marked as unsubscribed.
Note
If you are syncing your subscribers to another platform, Wistia doesn’t know what happens to those subscribers from there. If someone unsubscribes from the marketing emails, they won’t be unsubscribed from Wistia.
I gated my Channel with the subscribe form, but the form no longer appears. Why?
Some of our Legacy plans include a subscriber limit of 250. When that limit is reached, the subscribe feature will be removed and your Channel will no longer be gated. Our current plans do not come with a subscriber limit. You can check them out on our pricing page!
You ready? Go forth and channel! Have questions? Need some help? Give us a shout!