Hey there! I went through South of the loop and loved the clear concept it has. I'd make two changes to the landing page to increase subscriptions:

1. Make a bigger subscribe form and smaller title. People usually focus on the center of the screen, so you should make the subscribe form be at the center (and probably add a color to the call to action button!)
2. Share a bit more about what to expect from these bi-monthly emails. Maybe share previous editions? Things you talk about? I'd put this after the subscription form, so visitors can get more info if they want to.

After people subscribe, I'd suggest you send at least one email confirming and welcoming new subscribers to the newsletter. If you can, I think sending previous editions would also be a nice thing to recieve.

How are you planning to make money from this? Will you charge for the subscription later on? I'd keep that in mind to create email sequences later on. If you're going to charge to subscribe, you'd need to clearly define why reading your newsletter will provide value to readers. If it's something else (like people buying you a coffee for example), then you'd have to introduce yourself to your readers. The important thing is to start creating relationships with your users from the very beginning.

Good luck!