You need a sign-up form on your blog.

If you’re looking for an easy mailing list solution for WordPress that’s also free, you’ll love the Jetpack subscriptions module.

Jetpack is a suite of plugins that’s installed by default on a free WordPress.com site but is available on your self-hosted site as well. Read more about Jetpack here.

Being an easy mailing system it does have some downsides:

• You can’t import a list of previous subscribers
• You can’t customize the layout and design of the emails
• No stats or tracking

It does allow you to export your subscribers which means you can upgrade to a more flexible newsletter system like Mailchimp later.

How to use Jetpack subscriptions for your blogs mailing list solution

1. Visit Plugins >> Add New to Install and activate the Jetpack plugin suite. More about installing Jetpack here.

2. Navigate to Jetpack from your dashboard and make sure that the Subscriptions plugin is activated.

Clicking on Configure will take you to Settings >> Discussion.

Adds a subscribe option to your comments form as well

3. Navigate to Appearance >> Widgets and drag the Blog Subscriptions (Jetpack) widget into your sidebar, preferably at the top.

4. Visit the front-end of your site and marvel at your free newsletter sign-up form.

5. Send a really annoying status update to your Facebook friends and demand that they sign-up to your blog.

Managing Subscribers in Jetpack

To see your current subscribers go to Jetpack >> Site Stats and scroll to the bottom of the page and click on the Blog link.

This will display your subscribers emails as well as give you the option of exporting them to a CSV file.

Issues or questions? Let us know in the comments below.