Small Business Saturday is November 28 this year. For a lot of small shops, it brings in people who have never bought from you before. Some of them buy a gift, and many of them never come back, because they forget your name by January. An email list gives you a way to reach them again. You don't need a big plan. You need a signup box on your shop, a reason for people to use it, and a place to keep the list. ## Why start the list before Small Business Saturday? Shoppers who find you over the holidays are the easiest people to lose. They came for one gift, and you have no way to reach them once they leave. If your signup is ready before November 28, every new visitor that weekend gets a chance to join. If you wait until January, those visitors are already gone. ## Where should the signup go? Put it where people already are: - **On your shop.** The footer of your online shop is a good place for an always-on signup box. - **On your order slip or bag.** A small card in each order with your shop address and one line about what you send. - **At a market table or counter.** A sign with a QR code that opens your shop, so people can sign up on their phone. - **In your social posts.** Tell people what they'll get and where to sign up. ## What should you promise subscribers? "Join our newsletter" doesn't give anyone a reason. Tell people what they'll get and how often. For example: - "Our January restock dates, one email a month" - "First look at new scents before they go on the shop" - "Market dates and where to find us, once a season" Then keep the promise. If you say once a month, send once a month. ## How does the newsletter signup work on OneShopFront? OneShopFront gives your shop a newsletter signup and a subscriber list: - **A signup box in your shop's footer.** A visitor types their email and taps Subscribe. They see "Thank you, you're on the list." - **A subscriber list in your admin.** You can see each email, the date they signed up, and where they signed up. - **A CSV download.** You can download the list as a CSV file and import it into the email tool you use. OneShopFront doesn't send your newsletter or any email to your subscribers. You write and send your emails from your own email tool, using the list you download. ## A shop example: Bayfront Wick Candle Co. Bayfront Wick Candle Co. is a made-up candle maker in Duluth, Minnesota. She sells online and at a winter market on Saturdays. Last year, she had a busy Small Business Saturday and no way to reach those buyers again. Here's her plan for this year: First, she turns on the newsletter signup on her shop, so the box shows in the footer. Second, she decides on her promise: "One email a month with new scents and market dates." She puts that line in her social posts and on a card in every order. Third, she puts a sign with a QR code on her market table that opens her shop, with the same line on it. Fourth, after the holiday rush, she downloads her subscriber list as a CSV and imports it into her email tool. Her first email goes out in January with her winter market dates. ## What rules apply to marketing email? Email rules apply to what you send, not to the signup box. Before you send, read the official guidance for where you and your subscribers are: - **Canada.** [Canada's anti-spam legislation (CASL)](https://crtc.gc.ca/eng/com500/faq500.htm) has three main requirements: get consent, identify yourself, and give people a way to unsubscribe. - **United States.** The FTC's [CAN-SPAM Act compliance guide](https://www.ftc.gov/business-guidance/resources/can-spam-act-compliance-guide-business) covers the US rules for commercial email, including an opt-out in every message. A few habits help on both sides of the border: - Only add people who signed up. Don't add buyers' emails from past orders unless they asked to hear from you. - Say who you are in every email, and include your contact details. - Make unsubscribing easy, and remove people when they ask. Both pages give general guidance, not legal advice. If you're unsure, ask someone who knows the rules where you sell. ## What else can you do for Small Business Saturday? Our post on [Small Business Saturday ideas](https://oneshopfront.com/blog/small-business-saturday-ideas-pickup-coupon) covers a pickup offer and a coupon you can set up this week. If you're shipping gifts, our guide to [holiday order cutoff dates](https://oneshopfront.com/blog/holiday-order-cutoff-dates-pickup-delivery-shipping) covers how to set and show your last order dates. ## What comes with a OneShopFront shop? - Your own shop with your products, photos, and prices - A newsletter signup and a subscriber list you can download - Card payments with Stripe or Helcim, and Interac e-Transfer for shops in Canada - Order emails for you and your buyer See everything on the [features page](https://oneshopfront.com/features). Plans are on the [pricing page](https://oneshopfront.com/pricing). Starter is $20 CAD a month or $200 a year, and Growth is $50 CAD a month or $500 a year. A platform fee, currently 1% per sale, applies to the merchandise subtotal after discounts, plus your payment processor's fee. Signing up is free with no card. When you pick a plan, you add a card to start a 7-day free trial, and you aren't charged until it ends. ## Get your signup box ready this week Turn on the signup, write your one-line promise, and put it on a sign and in your orders. Then every new visitor on November 28 has a way to hear from you again. To set up your shop, [register at oneshopfront.com/register](https://oneshopfront.com/register). No card needed to sign up.