5 Best Opt-in Form Practices to Get More Subscribers

If you’re looking for some best practices on optimizing opt-in popups, this article is for you.

Optin popup forms are the gateway that leads to increased newsletter subscriber rates.

Every website needs an opt-in popup if it wants to build a list of readers and a community to engage with.

Optin popup forms collect visitors’ names and email addresses so that you can create an email list. It’s a way to know your audience and connect with them directly.

Perhaps you’re already familiar with them but in a negative way. Optin popup forms today could remind you of popups that spammy websites forced people to see and interact with.

However, you can use opt-in popup forms in an ethical way to grow your business. And when leveraged well, they even create a positive user experience.

Let’s take a look at how you can build an email list by getting more subscribers using opt-in popup forms.

Best practices for using opt-in popup forms

Most first-time visitors to your website will leave it quickly. And many of them will do so because it just isn’t the right time for them to explore what you have to offer. Such visitors plan to remember your website URL and come back later. Or they may get distracted by some pressing matter and eventually forget to revisit your site.

If you can capture such site visitors before they exit, you have a great shot at converting them into customers later. But you do need to get their contact information.

This is why you need to follow the best practices suggested below. You’ll make your opt-in popups more attractive while helping your audience gain some value.

1. Use fewer form fields

A good opt-in popup form should have as few fields to complete as possible. You’re using such a form to quickly grab the information of website visitors who are going to leave your page soon. So, you don’t want to ask them for their first, middle, and last name, as well as their hobbies and interests.

Creating just two form fields for your subscriber’s name and email will ensure that people complete the subscribe form quickly.

2. State the benefit

One mistake that many marketers and businesses make is creating an opt-in popup form that doesn’t tell visitors just why they should subscribe.

While you should have a simple opt-in form, it shouldn’t be bereft of things like graphics and text content. Just a few lines telling users that they’ll get great newsletter content in their inboxes or some other form of value will give users a compelling reason to sign up.

For example, state that you’ll send weekly emails with tips on how to improve some area of their work or life. Or mention that they’ll get access to exclusive discounts.

Stating the benefit of signing up for your newsletter is critical to make more conversions possible.

3. Use exit-intent triggers

An exit-intent trigger makes it so that a popup asking for your user’s email appears only when they’re about to leave the website.

An example of an opt-in popup triggered by exit-intent

Once the opt-in form technology detects that a user is about to switch to another page or close it, it will create a final opportunity for you to connect with users. And the best part is that it won’t bother your users since they’ll first read your website content and will only be invited to subscribe when they’re finally leaving your site.

4. Gamify your opt-in forms

You can turn boring opt-in popups into miniature games by creating ‘Spin-to-Win’ popups. This is where a user can interact with a digital spinning wheel popup and win a prize.

A spinning wheel popup is more engaging and offers value to users

You can offer different discounts to users that they get access to by dropping their email addresses. This is a great way to build an email list while your audience gets a gift.

5. Create lead magnets

Lead magnets go to the next level when it comes to successfully getting people to join your subscriber list. It’s a type of opt-in popup where people get a free digital download when they sign up with you.

Examples of lead magnets include:

• Free ebooks
• Calendars
• Checklists and guides
• Reports and white papers
• Transcripts of podcasts
• Online tutorials and lessons

Most people are fine with giving their contact information and hearing from a company when they get value in exchange.

Creating a great lead magnet is also an opportunity for you to showcase to your audience the quality of your content and work.

And if you want to make your lead magnets even more special, you can upgrade them to make ‘content upgrades’. These are exactly like lead magnets except the free gift you offer is different from page to page. In fact, such opt-in popups offer gifts and downloads that match the page your user is on.

Example of a content upgrade

This works extremely well because you aren’t offering a generic digital gift to your readers. Instead, people get helpful additional content that builds on the blog post and articles your reader is looking at right then.

Conclusion

Optin popup forms are very effective in building an email list. And it’s better to have a basic opt-in popup on your website than none at all.

But when you apply the best practices mentioned here, you can create even better results than expected. You’ll create an email list and start connecting with real people via newsletters.

So, don’t wait. Get started and make the best use of your opt-in popup forms now!