Having an opt-in form for your website is a fantastic way to entice and encourage your visitors to subscribe to your newsletter.
But having an opt-in form in place doesn’t magically mean your visitors are just going to sign up. You have to use specific, practical methods and strategies that increase the chance they’ll sign up for your newsletter or email marketing.
So what makes an opt-in form stand out, and how can you increase your newsletter signups with an opt-form?
In this article, we’ll run through the different types of opt-in forms, some of the best examples of effective opt-in forms, and why they’re more likely to attract more signups. We’ll also look into what makes a good-opt in form and how you can help your newsletter opt-in form get more conversions.
What are the different types of opt-in forms?
There are many different types of opt-in forms you can use and various ways you can display them on your website.
Here are four of the most popular types of opt-in forms:
1. Popup forms
This type of form appears on your home page, landing page, product page, or pretty much any other page you want when a visitor arrives or takes a specific action.
Usually, pop-ups take up most of the screen to ensure the user doesn’t miss the call to action (CTA).
2. Slide-in forms
These forms are there to immediately grab your user’s attention. They’re more subtle than a pop-up and they don’t usually take up the entire page. Instead, they slide in smoothly from the bottom left or right corner.
These are a great option if you want to delay the form’s appearance on screen until after the user has stayed on your website for a certain amount of time. They can also be used when your visitor reaches a certain point on the page.
3. Exit-intent forms
An exit-intent form is exactly what it sounds like. It’s an opt-in form that appears on your website when a visitor tries to leave the site. It’s the final chance you have to capture their details and turn them into newsletter subscribers.
4. Bar forms
Bar forms are displayed at the top of your website, just below the navigation bar. They have a clear CTA at the bottom and can be incredibly useful if the primary goal of the page isn’t to gain newsletter subscribers.
What’s the best type of opt-in form?
The best type of opt-in form depends on your audience and where they’re at during the customer journey.
No matter what opt-in form you choose to use on your website, it has to be optimised in a way that appeals to your audience and entices them to convert.
So, what makes an excellent opt-in form? How can you make sure your opt-in form is seen, understood, and effective at its job?
What makes a good opt-in form effective?
Many things can make an opt-in form good, but what makes an opt-in form effective? How can you make sure your users see your opt-in form, understand it, and use it to subscribe to your newsletter?
Here are five things you should always do to make your opt-in as effective as possible
1. Good visibility
Your opt-in form should be easy to see. The easier the form is to see, the more likely your visitor will sign up for your services.
By putting your opt-in form on a part of your website where visibility is high, you’ll be able to take advantage of the high amount of traffic and gain more subscribers.
For example, if you notice that your services page has the highest bounce rate, you could put an exit-intent form on this page because more people leave your website here.
The most popular place to put an opt-in form is on your home page, as it’s generally the most visited page on your website.
2. Visually attractive
To grab the attention of your visitors, your opt-in form has to be visually appealing. No user will look at a boring form with rows of empty text fields and think ‘how exciting’, and they certainly won’t want to fill it out!
So instead, design an opt-in form that’s visually exciting for the user, well placed, and engaging for them. Having an interesting opt-in form on your website will encourage your visitor to sign up a whole lot faster than a simple, boring one.
3. Engaging copy
Not only does the design of your pop-up form have to be exciting, but the copy on your form also has to grab the attention of your reader. If it doesn’t encourage them to read more or sign up, then it’s never going to do the job it’s intended for.
Show your audience that your newsletters will be worthwhile by giving them a taste of your engaging copy and encouraging them to take the next step.
4. Uncomplicated design
People don’t want to spend time trying to figure out what they have to do to sign up for your newsletter. They want to type in their email, press send, and that’s it.
If there are multiple fields to fill in and they’re too overwhelming, your visitor isn’t going to be bothered signing up no matter how beautiful your design or copy is.
So make sure your opt-in form is easy to understand and simple to fill in.
5. Offer value
This is probably the most critical point – people won’t sign up if they don’t think they will get something of value in return.
So, does your form offer something of value? Do you provide your user with an incentive for signing up?
If not, then you should add something right away. Your incentive can be something small like a discount or even a free download. Just make sure it’s worth your visitor’s email.
Five examples of excellent newsletter opt-in forms
1. The Content Marketing Institute
The copy on this newsletter opt-in form creates FOMO – fear of missing out. It lets the reader know that over 200,000 people have already signed up and are taking advantage of the newsletter. This copy is both valuable and engaging!
The opt-in form also has an easy-to-locate button making it uncomplicated and straightforward for the reader!
2. Blue Bottle
This opt-in form by Blue Bottle is one of the first things you see when you arrive on their website, so the visibility for their opt-in form is fantastic! There’s absolutely no missing it.
Their copy is engaging and uncomplicated too as it gets right to the point and lets the user know that the newsletter offers updates from Blue Bottle along with stories, tips and unique gear that coffee lovers won’t want to miss out on.
The single form field to fill out makes it nice and straightforward, and the minimalistic design is visually attractive and on-brand for the company!
3. Bliss
Incentives are a great way to create engaging and valuable content, and this opt-in form by Bliss certainly motivates the reader by offering a 15% discount for first-time online customers.
Not only does this opt-in form offer value, but it also has a simple, uncomplicated form, and it’s straightforward and clear!
83% of consumers say discounts change their buying behaviour, so by putting a discount in your opt-in form copy, you’ll be able to get more signups!
4. Wrike
Wrike has an awesome, simple, easy to use opt-in form that’s clear and easy to understand with an attractive background.
Plus the copy is fun and engaging too. It really appeals to the user’s pain points, offers them something valuable and creates FOMO.
5. Bonobos
Another terrific way to get people to signup for your newsletter is to run a referral program. They’ll get outstanding awards by joining and recommending your brand to their family and friends and you get their email.
In the example by Bonobos, you can see that they offer a 25% off coupon for anybody who recommends their brand to their friends.
We hope you’ve learned a thing or two about opt-in forms and how they can help your company get more and more signups for your newsletter.
If you’d like some help writing, designing and implementing your newsletter opt-in form, then our team can help you get it done.
Get in touch with our talented team and start getting more signups for your newsletter!
