When your new home on the ‘net is set up, you need to be ready to welcome your visitors and get them on your list. Having subscribers that you can contact will allow you to profit from your communication with them over the coming years.
First, select an email autoresponder system that you feel comfortable with. There are many that have trials or that allow a certain number of signups with no fee in the beginning.
Take a look at MailChimp, Aweber, and GetResponse initially to see if any of those meet your needs. Once you decide on one, sign up and go through their process of creating your first list.
At this time, you will write your welcome email that new subscribers will receive when they submit their contact details. Next, go through the autoresponders process for creating a form, copy the code it gives you, and paste it into a text widget on the sidebar of your blog.
Later, when you create a lead magnet page, which is dedicated to nothing but signups, you can go back and get a different form. But first, you have to create a gift that entices people to get on your list.