An opt-in is like a web user’s consent, showing interest in a particular product or service. They also have a third party to contact and share more information with them. “Opting in” means email communication, and in e-commerce, it implies giving permission to other parties to send newsletters and other promotional material.
Opt-in forms are offered to the customer and visitors in different ways. This includes pop-up forms either on the homepage or the product pages, landing pages, and widgets in an e-commerce website.
OPT-Ins Are Accepted By Law
If you give the users to opt-in and out of the email communication, it is not just right- it is accepted by law as well. There are nearly 100 billion spam emails sent to recipients every day. In fact, such unsolicited emails are often used to dupe the receivers. As per the CAN-SPAM Act of 2003, the FTC has set requirements for commercial emails and their enforcement. Businesses have to portray their true intentions and identity in the email sent. Plus, they have to give the recipients an option to opt-out of the emails at any time.
Double opt-ins are used to add another step by asking the users to confirm the email. This practice reduces the number of people you target but improves the quality of prospects.
When You Need To AddOPT-In Forms
They are added to the website pages, blog posts, or landing pages. Some of the main pieces of information that you need to add are:
- Name
- Email Address
- Phone Number
- Geographic Location
- Company
- Company Size
- Interests
- Use Cases
In lieu of the information they give, the users will get a free resource. This could be an eBook, white paper, template, or research report.
How To Get More OPT-Ins From Your Content
An opt-in form is a superb method to build an email list. All you have to do is to offer the website visitors a discount, freebie, or a newsletter sign up in lieu of their email address. Before you add the form to the website, you will first have to create the form.
The last step of making a form is to generate a custom code snippet. You will have to copy and paste this into your website’s HTML. Then only the form will show up correctly.
Based on the type of form you made, the steps to make the form are different.
1. Squeeze Page
The squeeze page is like a landing page with a simple goal to motivate the users to subscribe to the email list. The easiest way to ensure that you get conversions from this page is to pay attention to a gift that the visitors will get once they subscribe to the same.
For example, if you are offering free reports, e-books, guides, tools, etc., you can create a separate squeeze page for each. When you promote them in social media updates, guest author bios, paid ads, etc., do link them to the squeeze page.
Some of the websites even maintain a squeeze page for the home page. However, we would not suggest the same for businesses that have larger goals like selling the products.
Like other landing pages, the squeeze page must contain content that is going to get the visitor to opt to your email list. Remove all the distractions like menu bars, sidebars, and other content that do not fulfill the purpose of obtaining an opt-in.
Apart from using the websites template or them in tandem with opt-in forms generated by the email marketing platform, some services can help you create conversion-optimized squeeze pages. Some examples are Lead Pages, Instapage and Unbounce.
2. Toolbar
You must have noticed the toolbar on top of every website, which disappears when you scroll down the page. You can use them also for opt-in forms. They are suitable for those site owners who wish to place their opt-in form right in the beginning without any pop-ups in between.
3. Header
Do you want to take a bolder approach to the opt-in? In that case, you could choose your header for the opt-in form. They are designed to take more space and are easily noticeable.
4. Footer
You can add toolbars to the bottom or top of the website. On the flip side, you may place an opt-in form in your website’s footer. This ensures that those who have reached the bottom of the site do not go without giving the email address.
5. Slide-In
Slide-ins are not pop-ups, but they are able to create the movement of one. This is why they are easy to notice, especially if you timed them correctly. They have to give the people sufficient time to figure out if they liked the website but not enough time for them to leave the website and go.
6. Pop-up
Pop-up is a familiar opt-in form of late. As per a study conducted by HubSpot, using pop-up increases your email-opt ins considerably.
There are many tools that help in creating pop-ups. You only have to figure out if these methods will work on the website platform, have all the styles you need and give you the timing options you require.
7. Exit Intent
For site owners who do not wish to disturb their visitors until they are leaving the website, you will find pop-ups based on the exit intent. The pop-ups tools find out when a person is moving away from the website and then launch the pop-up for the email opt-in.
8. Content Recommendations
You can develop intelligent content recommendations and paths for the visitors, a clear content path, the ability to preview before opting in, and the facility of seeing multiple content items on one page itself. It also allows you to add the required content hubs and paths. You may add the content with pop-ups, exit intent, and other methods to increase your content consumption and get some conversions.
9. Discount Pop-Up
E-commerce stores could use the discounts as the lead magnets to get opt-ins. Most of the tools that help you in creating a pop-up at a particular time or when they see exit content will let you use the discount chance as a better option in comparison to a free e-book or newsletter. However, you must ensure that you give the discount code, whether on screen or through email.
10. Order Checkbox
It is also common for e-commerce stores to add a little checkbox so that the customer can add his email to the mailing list once the purchase is made. You must consider adding the same to your checkout system as well.
11. Sidebar
The top right of the blog’s sidebar is prime property to place opt-in forms. Many of the visitors will be willing to subscribe to the email list if they find the opt-in there. Even if you are using other opt-in forms, ensure that this one is also there on the blog.
12. Content Upgrade
If you have a good blog that could be further enhanced by providing a free giveaway, then ensure that the content upgrade is easily accessible to the readers as and when they opt-in.
For example, if there is a post on keyword research, content upgrade that leads to the opt-in maybe a spreadsheet template that can be used to organize your research. Or you may add a lead magnet that is related to the post topic.
You may either link up to a squeeze page for this content upgrade or take up a link that leads to the opt-form popping up.
13. Post Footer
Once people are done with reading your content, they will most likely subscribe to the email list, so they do not miss out on getting more such valuable content. That is why the post footer option is a good idea.
You may use it with the lead magnet offer or just send a simple message that says people who subscribe to it will receive more content like this directly to the inboxes.
14. Comment Checkbox
If people leave a comment on the blog, there is a chance that they will be dropping their email address too with that comment.
Final Thought
As we have mentioned, there are multiple ways to motivate people to opt for your email list. Though you may want one opt-in form to overlap with another, you will want to check out multiple types of opt-in forms to connect with the people who want to subscribe to the email list once they are ready. Just by adding a few of the above ways will boost your email list considerably.
