124: Idaho = potatoes?

Whether or not you like potatoes, can we agree that Idaho sums up to more than that?
​
Maybe, maybe not. But why am I talking about Idaho today?
​
Well, it's because a few years ago, I got to witness Nathan Barry (founder of ConvertKit) have his Steve Jobs moment in Boise, Idaho. Imagine the scene. A room full of online entrepreneurs watching Nathan do a live demo of the email marketing platforms' newest feature - Visual Automations. As he clicked through an automated sequence of emails and trigger rules, the audience was releasing "oohs" and "aahs" like the famed Apple CEO Steve Jobs caused in his presentations.

Okay, enough nostalgia.
​
I am writing to you today to invite you to a brand new workshop I am doing where I show you how to use this email marketing platform to build your email list, send newsletters and to create automations based on actions of your readers. It's an in-depth live foundational workshop on ConvertKit which is designed for the perfect newbie as well as someone who has dabbled with it, yet wants a complete walkthrough from the beginning!
​
This is the workshop I wished I had access to back in 2016 when I became a user and then a ConvertKit Certified Expert. (Psst... That's how I got my start in online business before I pivoted to becoming a Squarespace web designer - as an email marketing expert and consultant.)
​
By the end of the workshop you will know how to add an opt-in form to your blog and website, how to send out an email to your email list and how to deliver a PDF using sequences and even how to create automation rules for creating an evergreen marketing system.
​
It's called ConvertKit Foundations Brunch Workshop and is happening online via Zoom on Saturday, Sept 3rd from 10 am to 1 pm EST (sorry, brunch is not provided!).
​
Early bird price is a mere $95 but the regular price kicks in at $295 next Wednesday, Aug 31st at 1 pm EST.
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​See all the juicy details of what the workshop consists of and enroll here.​

​
To your email marketing + business success,
Sophia

100: Turbo-Charge Your Email Marketing with Evergreen Lead Magnets

Hello my Abundant Creative,

I am celebrating. 🎉 My article just got published on Honeybook's website!!
​
The article is called 7 Evergreen Lead Magnets to Grow Your Email List (link will bring you to the Honeybook/Rising Tide website). And to celebrate, I am sharing an in-depth 45 minute video presentation in which I show you how to implement one of these lead magnets (a digital library) using ConvertKit.

It's called, Turbo-Charge Your Email Marketing with Evergreen Lead Magnets (Within An Afternoon) and I cover:

You’ll learn:
1. why you should go evergreen with email list building?
2. seven types of evergreen lead magnets you can use (many of them without creating new content)
3. 10 examples of these lead magnets in action
4. how to figure out which one is right for your business (my four steps will help)
5. a live demo of me setting up a lead magnet on my website (I show you how l set up Lead Magnet example 5)

Sign up below for instant access:

Do you have a way to build your email list currently set up on your website? In other words, an opt-in form that folks can sign up and then receive a free gift (lead magnets) in return? If not, then I've got a juicy presentation where I show you how to do just that. If creating an opt-in on your website has been on your to-do list, watch this presentation and check it off today!

To your success,

Sophia

099: How to Add Social Media Icons to Default ConvertKit Templates

Hello my Abundant Creative,

In today's video + blog, I am showing how you can customize the default email templates of ConvertKit using some code in the HTML block. Follow my step-by-step guide so you can format the template specifically to add custom branded social media icons and better serve your email marketing clients.

See code below video.

Copy but Customize the Following Code

This code will not work if you do not customize the url source of the image (see bolded text) and if you don’t change up the link of your social media

Table to be added in the HTML block inside the CK default template:

<table>

<tr>

<td><a href="https://instagram.com/sophiaojha"> <img src="put the url of the image here" alt="Instagram" width="150" ></a></td>

<td><a href="https://www.youtube.com/sophiaojha"><img src="put the url of the image here" alt="YouTube" width="150" > </a></td>

</tr>

</table>

To your success,

Sophia

095: New Squarespace Circle Webinar

Needless to say, I am super excited to be leading a live webinar for my fellow web designers and creatives at Squarespace Circle and I’ll be talking about creating a client onboarding process that wows and helps your client deliver the content you need before you start project.

You are Invited to Live Webinar:

The Complete Client Onboarding Process
Event took place on Aug 17th 11 AM ET

(Recording available when you sing up)

Click the image below to watch video:

What I’ll Cover

In this training, I will share the essential emails I send to clients and my complete onboarding workflow. I'll break down how to give a high-touch professional experience to your clients while making sure you get all the content you need before your web design project begins.

Update: You can sign up to see a recording of the webinar.

To your success,

Sophia

094: How to Connect Squarespace Shop with ConvertKit

Forget Zapier. There’s a direct integration between Squarespace Commerce and ConvertKit!

In this video, I will show you how to integrate your Squarespace E-Commerce or Shop with ConvertKit. So all your transactions and client email info are fed into your ConvertKit account.

I recently was hired by my client afrosexology.com to migrate their email marketing system into ConvertKit and part of the migration project was to also make this integration. This video is thanks to the. Check them out here if you like. So let’s jump right in.

Video: How to Connect Squarespace Shop with ConvertKit

Watch this quick video for a step-by-step guide.
Click the image below to watch video:

Integrate Squarespace Commerce with ConvertKit

Step 1: Generate an API Key from inside Squarespace

Jump into the backend of your Squarespace website and go into:

i. Settings > Advanced > Developer API Keys
This will bring you to the right spot.

ii. Next, Click the Generate Key
This will open up a box. 

iii. Next, Add in a Name for your Key
Often you will be needing several keys when connecting different apps. So name the key appropriately. In this case I am calling it ConvertKit.

iv. Alright, Next Click on Orders
Make sure you click on Read and Write.

v. Then Click Generate Key
You can now click the button that says “Copy Key”

Step 2: Now go into your ConvertKit dashboard

 i.Click on Automations which is the second tab on the top left navigation > then integrations which is on the top all the way on the right of the screen.

ii. Then look for Squarespace which is likely to be squarely in the center of your screen. Click on it.

iii.Then paste the API Key that you had just copied and click Next.

iv. Then click “Sync Squarespace Orders to ConvertKit” and click Next.

v. That’s it. You see the green check mark next to the Squarespace logo which means the connection has been made. The two should be communicating now.

Step 3: Testing

I always like to do tests when I set up things so I can be confident that what I intended is actually happening on the platform. My Web designers who are watching this, I suggest you take a screen cast of you doing the test, that way you can show your clients that things are working and help them feel confident too.

So to test the integration of the e-shop and ConvertKit. I will make a test purchase. I will simply create a temporary discount code to do this. If you want to know how to create a discount code, watch the next video and blog No.95. I will skip it here to keep the videos short but you can pause this video, watch video 095 and then come back if you like.

Next I will open up the website on incognito browser on my Chrome. And jump into the shop. I will purchase this workbook to test the integration. I’ll add in my details. The discount automatically is applied to this item which I see here. And yes, I now have the workbook here.

Next, I want to see if this transaction is correctly showing up inside ConvertKit. But don’t do what I did which is to immediately go into ConvertKit, because it takes a couple of moments for the two systems to communicate, especially the first time. So go to the window watch the sky, give your eyes a break or get some water and then come back. When I went right away I was refreshing and clicking here and there but I didn’t see the transaction show up. I just needed to give in a few seconds.

And then, in ConvertKit, under the subscribers tab, you will see in the lower right corner that all the products offered by Afrosexology have showed up correctly. So ConvertKit is pulling all the past product sale data as well which is great.

Now, I will search for the email address I used to make the test purchase. You can do this while still in the Subscriber Tab on the middle right section of the page. It looks like this.

And yes, the email shows up which is evidence that the integration worked. And to further confirm, I will drop into the Purchases tab, and yes, I see the transaction, the product, the date. And by clicking on the drop down arrow below the date, I can see more details such as the price and the discount amount.

So that’s how quickly and easily you can make the integration. In Blog 096, I will show you how to integrate your ConvertKit account to the shop on your new website. This is useful if you already have the integration on your current site but are moving to a brand new website and need to connect the new website to your existing ConvertKit account. Check out Blog 096.

Invitation to Squarespace Web Designers + Circle Members

Also, if you are a Squarespace Web Designer and part of Squarespace Circle, I am doing a webinar on the Complete Client Onboarding Process on August 17th. Sign up to my free Newsletter The Abundant Creative and I will be sharing their sign up page on the 12th.

Well, I hope you found this video helpful. Thank you for watching and I wish you a peaceful and harmonious day. Bye for now!

To your success,

Sophia

093: How to Generate An API Key in Squarespace

Squarespace is a platform that speaks with other apps and systems that you may be using to run your online business. Such integrations often need an API key that’s generated in your Squarespace dashboard. Let me show you where you can create it.

Note: This video was made thanks to my client Afrosexology.com for whom I recently completed a ConvertKit Migration project. Check them out here.

Video: How to Generate An API Key in Squarespace

Watch this quick video for a step-by-step guide on how to generate an API Key.
Click the image below to watch video:

Integrate Squarespace with Other Apps using the API Key

Follow these steps:

i. Settings > Advanced > Developer API Keys
This will bring you to the right spot.

ii. Next, Click the Generate Key
This will open up a box.

iii. Next, Add in a Name for your Key
Often you will be needing several keys when connecting different apps. So name the key appropriately. In this case I am calling it ConvertKit as I was doing an integration for my client Afrosexology’s who wanted their e-shop transactions feeding into their email marketing platform. If you want to know how to do such an integration, watch next video and blog No. 94. Also, Sign up to my free Abundant Creative Newsletter, that way you will get an email when I release a new video or blog article or have a new offer. Last year, I gave away 5 free custom designed websites to lucky newsletter subscribers and I do things like that from time to time. So do sign up at the link on the screen or in the description.

iv. Alright, Next Click on Orders
Make sure you click on Read and Write.

v. Then Click Generate Key
You can now click the button that says “Copy Key” and then go into whichever app you are working with.

That’s it.

I hope you found this video helpful. Thank you for watching and I wish you a peaceful and harmonious day. Bye for now!

To your success,

Sophia

040: How to Connect Leadbox with Your ConvertKit Form that has a Checkbox

Hello there!

So you want your Leadpages/Leadbox opt-in box set-up in such a way that when someone clicks on it, a form pops up that has a checkbox AND it feeds into a tag inside ConvertKit? Then this video + blog post show you how to do that.

Something that looks like this:

View fullsize

Watch the video to see me walk you through all the steps

Step 1: Open up the form in ConvertKit that you want connected to your Leadbox. Or Create a new form.

Note: When you integrate a third party app like Leadbox/Leadpages with ConvertKit you will most likely need to connect it with a ConvertKit Form/Tag/Sequence. In this case, we will be using a form. What this means is that when someone subscribes by clicking your Leadbox, the information is then fed into ConvertKit. (You will need to make sure that your Leadpages account is connected with ConvertKit using API - this step is not shown in the video).

Step 2: (Optional but recommended) Customize the form to fit the Leadbox pop-up style. You will go into ConvertKit Form -> Style -> Custom CSS

Copy the code below:

.ck_powered_by { display: none !important; }
.ck_form {box-shadow: none; }
.ck_form {
  border-top: none; 
  border-bottom: none; }
.ck_form { background: #fff; border: none !important; }
.ck_form_content, .ck_form_fields { padding: 1%; }
.ck_form_content h3 { text-align: center; }
.ck_form_content, .ck_form_fields { float: none; width: 100%; }

You don't have to do this styling. But it helps to add this code so that when the Leadbox is clicked it pops open a form that fits the sleek sytle of a leadbox. This (step 2) is completely optional but I highly recommend it.

Step 3: In Leadpages Account, create your leadbox or open up an existing one. Style the form the way you want it.

Step 4: While still working with the Leadbox, replace the form that's there with HTML block. Delete the Opt-in Form section that was in-built there.

Step 5: Jump into your ConvertKit Form. Click on Embed -> then Raw HTML. Copy the entire Raw HTML.  You will be pasting this code into the Leadbox but before that open up a text editor.

Step 6. In a text editor, like Pages on the Mac or Word on a PC, paste the entire Raw HTML code. This is because it is easier to work with the Raw HTML code when you can see it better in a text editor. You will copy it all in the end and bring it into Leadbox eventually.

Step 7. Look for the section that starts with <button class. Right above it, paste the code for a checkbox.

Here's that code:

<!-- Begin Checkboxes -->
      <div class="ck_control_group">
        <label style="display: block; margin-top: 10px">
          <input type="checkbox" name="tags[]" value="444444" /> Yes, send me your weekly newsletter. 
        </label>
      </div>
      <!-- End Checkboxes -->

Step 8. Make sure to update the tag value. This is very important. The way to do it is to click on the tag inside ConvertKit that you want the checkbox data to go to. Then look in the URL for the tag value. See steps 2 and 3 in Blog Video 039 that shows you how to do this visually.

Step 9. Now copy all of this Raw HTML code including the checkbox code

Step 10. Now paste it into your Leadbox. Specifically into the HTML code box. (Click the pencil icon to edit).

Step 11. Click save. Then click Publish. Click the Button Link. Stylize it. Click Get Code and then copy it.

Step 12. Jump into your Squarespace website or wherever you want the Leadbox to show up. Add a Code block. Then paste the code you grabbed from your Leadbox. Click save. Refresh the page. And test the form by adding in your info and checking your ConvertKit account to see that it is working.

That's it. You are done! Watch the video I've created as it may be easier to understand what I mean when I demonstrate the steps visually. Let me know in the comments if there's something unclear and I will help you out!

Thank you for watching. Also, I'd love to know what other questions you have so I can answer them in my next tutorials. 

Thanks, Sophia

Related Videos:

039: How to Add a Checkbox to your ConvertKit Opt-in Form?

Hello there,

ConvertKit forms collect names and emails. But you can also have checkboxes giving people a chance to choose something specific. Or you can use checkboxes to give your subscriber the option to opt-into your newsletter and/or marketing emails and offers. And then that info feeds into a tag inside your ConvertKit account

The EU regulation, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) goes into effect on Friday May 25th, 2018. I won't got into all of the regulation requirements because I am not legally qualified but I can show you technically how to do some of the things towards becoming compliant. One of the things that online entrepreneurs are putting into place is a way to get consent from new subscribers right on their opt-in forms.

If you are using ConvertKit, then this video is right for you. I will show you how to enable one or more checkboxes on your form. And then also how to tag those who select the check-box.

Note: To get GDPR compliant, make sure to get your own legal advice based on the needs of your business and the location of your business. 
 

Task:
adding checkboxes to a ConvertKit Form, feed that info into a tag

Purpose/Use Cases:
+ to give subscriber a choice for opting-in to a newsletter or marketing offers.
+ make opt-in forms GDPR compliant (EU law effective May 25, 2018).
+ to give subscriber choice of other supplementary content like additional Free PDFs.
+ to tag subscriber based on preferences (give them checkboxes to self-select tags). [Thanks Jason Troyer for your question in the comments].

Code needed:
Yes

Related Videos:
Blog 040: How to Add Checkbox to a ConvertKit form that is integrated with Lead Pages 
Blog 041: My exact email for refreshing consent from my existing subscribers for the GDPR EU law.

Scroll to the bottom of the blog to see Video Tutorial!

There's a video showing you the steps below. But here is quick summary of what you've got to do:

Note: You will need to use the Raw HTML to embed your ConvertKit form to your website or if you are using Leadpages, then into Leadpages. This is because of the customization that we need to do in order to make checkboxes happen in ConvertKit forms.

Summary of Steps

1. Decide how many checkboxes you want and what the text will be.
2. For each checkbox, create a corresponding tag. So for example, if the first checkbox says "Yes, I want your newsletter", then have a tag that says "Consent - Newsletter". 
3. Click on each tag and note down the tag id that shows up in the url. (see video)
4. Create a new form or open an existing form on which you want the check-box. Style it like you want it just like a regular form. Hit Save ALWAYS after making a change.
5. Go into Embed tab, and grab the Raw HTML.
6. Then go to your website, where you want this form to appear. In Squarespace, you will use the code block to paste this Raw HTML code.
7. Next, in the Raw HTML, look for the section that starts with <button class =
8. Right above it, paste the following code but look at step 9 and 10 for customizing:

<!-- Begin Checkboxes -->
      <div class="ck_control_group">
        <label style="display: block; margin-top: 10px">
          <input type="checkbox" name="tags[]" value="444444" /> Yes, send me your weekly newsletter. 
        </label>
      </div>
      <!-- End Checkboxes -->

9. Where it says, value= "444444", repalce the "444444" with the tag id that corresponds to the first checkbox.
10. Adjust the text, "Yes, send me your weekly email newsletter." to fit what you want the checkbox to contain.
11. Save and test.

Bonus steps if you want to add another checkbox: 

12. To add another checkbox, duplicate part of the code from above and customize it using step 9 and 10. 
<label style="display: block; margin-top: 10px">
         <input type="checkbox" name="tags[]" value="444445" /> Yes, send me emails about your online program and other marketing offers.
       </label>

13. So the entire code for having two checkboxes will look like this:

<!-- Begin Checkboxes -->
      <div class="ck_control_group">
        <label style="display: block; margin-top: 10px">
          <input type="checkbox" name="tags[]" value="444444" /> Yes, send me your weekly newsletter.
        </label>
        <label style="display: block; margin-top: 10px">
          <input type="checkbox" name="tags[]" value="444444" /> Yes, send me your emails about your online program.
        </label>
      </div>
      <!-- End Checkboxes -->

14. Save and test.

Watch Steps 1 - 11 in this Video

If you want to integrate your ConvertKit forms with Leadpages and have checkboxes, then look for my other blog post that I will be publishing on this very topic. (Until then, just follow the above steps and paste all the code into the HTML block inside Leadpages. Make sure to test it). 

So that's it. I hope this is useful. Share your comments + questions below.
 

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