How to Create a Free Resource Library in Squarespace (and abound your email listing!)

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A resource library is one of the best atomic number 82 magnets out in that location. Offering a resource library is one of the easiest means to provide value to your site visitors in the form exclusive resources, all while simultaneously growing your email list by offer access just to those who subscribe.

This content can come in many forms—show off your expertise with exclusive articles, share your favorite tools and techniques, provide templates to assist your readers get started quickly, or even offer workbooks to kickstart their creativity and productivity.

Making a resource library on your Squarespace site doesn't crave any premium software, tools, or custom code, information technology can easily be built using standard Squarespace functionality.

So what are you lot waiting for? Hither are all the steps you need to build your very own resource library today!

Brand your resources

Before you tin begin building your library, you need something to stock it with!

Digital download files are the easiest content to offering; they don't cost you anything once they are made, tin exist reused over and over, and are delivered instantly.

Well-nigh of the time if y'all review your previous weblog posts or exercise some digging within your own business, it can be pretty simple to come up up with some resource to offer. Call up about the processes, tools, or little strategies you utilise everyday, and recollect nigh how that noesis can be bundled into downloadable file.

If you are getting stuck on the process, here are a few ideas.

  1. Electronic mail copy swipe files - Check out emails that you lot find yourself using over and over once again. Tweak the words upwardly a fleck and then that they can used for different businesses. Once you have finalized the words, put the PDF together. No need to create anything too fancy, a Canva creation will do.

  2. Content agenda templates - Whether y'all are planning social media content or your next big business organisation launch, a calendar is a simple but powerful resources. Make yours unique with your make colors and varying layouts for users to choose.

  3. Graphic design templates - If your business is more pattern-based, having templates on your free resource library page is a practiced go-to. Items similar mode guides or mood boards are a not bad place to beginning.

  4. Blog post specific content upgrades - If yous have an existing library of weblog posts, wait through them to see how yous tin can expand or elaborate on your ideas. For example, our post on setting upwardly Custom Pin It Buttons in Squarespace includes actual custom pin it button graphics!

Something to keep in mind when developing your complimentary resource library is to spend some quality time in the development and design of these items. This volition likely be your website visitor's outset interaction with your piece of work (other than your blog posts), then make it a high-quality downloadable.

Providing a great feel now will brand the decision to buy from you a no brainer when they know what level of quality they can expect.

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Build your library landing folio

Once you have created all of your materials, it's time to build out the library landing page.

Start by creating a Not Linked page on your Squarespace site. This way visitors will only be able to admission information technology via a directly link that you provide them afterwards signup.

It'due south also of import to make this page password protected. That way, this content is only accessible through a password provided when someone signs upwards for your email list. A overnice side effect of having a password protected page means that it also won't exist indexed by Google or other search engines. Again, the goal is to become our website visitors signing up for our email list; if they tin only Google their way into our library, there'due south no guarantee they'll stick around for much else.

You can add a countersign to your page by select the gear icon to the right of the page name. From there, scroll towards the lesser of the folio menu to input your countersign into the Password field.

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Nosotros recommend going with a visual layout for your library. Even though your resource are intangible (i.eastward., not physical practiced), using images allows your visitor to "meet" the value they can expect to receive from each i.

Yous can develop your preview graphics in Photoshop, Canva or any software you similar. Our Lead Magnet Toolkit also offers some templates to assist y'all show off those sweet freebies!

When uploading your thumbnails, add a Button content cake beneath that will deed as your download push button. We'll set these buttons to link to the actual download file. Encounter below for a preview of our Library page layout.

After you have added the thumbnail image and download button content blocks, you can upload the files directly through Squarespace. If you are uploading a folder file containing multiple items, y'all volition need to compress the folder to create a .zip file. However, if you are uploading single files, you are good to go uploading them as is.

To add the file to your download push button, inside the edit window of the button, select Clickthrough URL. Select the Files option to upload your item. You can either add a New File or link to a previously uploaded or Existing File. Once everything has fully uploaded, select Relieve on both the Push menu and the Page Content carte du jour.

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Show it off + go the signups!

Now that your library page is built, it'southward time to show it off!

Nosotros recommend embedding a signup form that proudly displays your library onto every one of your web log posts.

You can besides add it to other areas of your site, similar your abode page or site footer—this way your site visitor will be able to signup and get instant access no matter at that place they land on your website! You've got some seriously great value in that location, why not go it to as many people as possible?

When designing your signup grade, experiment with different text and images. You lot might find that some are more effective than others at driving signups.

Now that you lot have the signup form embedded, don't forget to send the passwords and access links to new subscribers! The steps will exist different depending on with newsletter service yous use. ConvertKit calls these Incentive Emails, and Mailchimp calls these Automatic Welcome Emails, just every bit an example.

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Workbooks, templates, stock photos + more to help you look legit + offset growing!

Ready to get started?

And then If you're ready to build major brownie, share your expertise, and grow your email list, adding a gratuitous resources library is possibly 1 of the best ways to go started!

Have you lot added a resource library to your website? Let us know in the comments beneath so nosotros can check it out!

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