How to Create High Converting E-Mail Opt-Ins

When it comes to email conversions, it’s not enough to craft a sensational headline or use compelling images.

It would help if you considered various metrics to make sure that your readers are clicking your call-to-action and ultimately converting.

So, how can you increase the chances that your hard-earned traffic lands on your email list?

In this post, we’ll go over ten easy and practical tweaks you can do to create high converting email opt-ins.

Let’s dive in!

1. Know Your Audience

Knowing your audience is what makes the difference between creating a high-converting opt-in and one that gets ignored.

Why?

Because to get your reader’s attention, you first need to identify what they care about the most. 

What’s the one thing your audience pay anything to have? What would they do anything to avoid?

What are their dreams, fears, and frustrations? What keeps them up at night?

Answering these questions is key to creating an e-mail opt-in that resonates with your audience. 

If you haven’t already,  take the time to create a customer avatar. 

An avatar is a representation of your ideal customer.

It focuses on one customer and identifies everything about that person.

A typical avatar has a name and traits such as gender, race, hair color, and age. Avatars also have personality, beliefs, and values. 

Once you’ve created your avatar, craft your e-mail campaign with him or her in mind.

Now you may be wondering: why would I focus on one specific customer if all my readers are unique individuals?

The thing is, although your readers are separate individuals, they have a lot in common.They share the same goals, aspirations, and concerns surrounding your blog’s topic.

Thus, you can consider them as one audience.

By writing specifically to your avatar, you’ll be able to speak as if you’re communicating to your audience individually.

The result?

You’ll be able to forge an opt-in copy strong enough to spark their interest and earn their trust.

2. Offer a Gift (Lead Magnet)

One of my all-time favorite business books is Dr. Robert Cialdini’s “Influence.” 

 

In it, Dr. Cialdini describes the six factors that influence people to say YES. 

 

The first factor on the list? Reciprocity.

 

People are naturally inclined to reciprocate to others in the form of a behavior, gift, or service that they’ve received first.

 

Want that stranger who just landed on your website to hand you their email address? 

 

Offer them an irresistible gift. In email marketing, this is called a lead magnet.

 

A lead magnet could be anything from a free eBook, checklist, template, or a mini-course series.

 

Offering your audience a valuable gift in return for their email addresses is much more enticing than simply saying: “Here’s my list. Sign up.”

 

Here are some of my favorite tips for creating a lead magnet that converts:

 

1. Make the benefit clear 

 

Readers are easily distracted. If they have to spend even a second trying to figure out what you’re trying to say, they’ll likely move on.

 

Write your headline clearly and succinctly so that your readers can understand it without having to think.

 

2. Make it relevant.

 

Your lead magnet must solve a specific problem relevant to your reader. Don’t offer a lead magnet about cooking if your audience is primarily interested in photography.

 

3. Evergreen is ideal.

 

Evergreen lead magnets are always relevant. 

 

The word “evergreen” pertains to timelessness, like a plant that stays green regardless of the season. 

 

Evergreen lead magnet requires little maintenance and can help you capture emails for years to come. 

 

An example of an evergreen lead magnet is “Get Six Pack Faster With These 10 Exercises– No Equipment Required.”

 

No matter the lead magnet’s age or what day of the year it is, this lead magnet will stay relevant. 

 

4. Keep it short and sweet

 

Whether you’re giving away an ebook or a video tutorial, it’s essential to keep the content short and sweet. 

 

Doing so will enable you to provide your audience with fast results and gain their trust. 

 

5. Keep it honest 

 

A lead magnet should be quick, straight to the point, but also delivers as promised.

3. Use Double Opt-In Signup

A double-opt-in requires that your readers complete a two-step process before they are added to your list.

 

First, they fill out your opt-in form or opt-in page.

 

Next, they will receive an automatic email with a subscription confirmation link inside.

 

Readers that never open and click the confirmation link won’t be added to your list.

 

A double opt-in may seem like a lot of trouble to go through, but its a great way to protect the integrity of your email list.

 

Double opt-in guarantee that your subscribers want your emails in their inbox. 

 

Although your list will grow more slowly, your open rates and engagement will be much better.

 

Plus, double opt-ins meet email privacy law requirements.

 

The EU’s new GDPR laws require you to prove “a clear affirmative action” from your reader before they can be added to your list. And double opt-in is an easy way to fulfill that.

 

For these reasons, I highly recommend you use a double opt-in signup.

 

When creating a double opt-in, make sure your email’s headline establishes a sense of urgency. 

E-mail Headline Example:

Action Required: Confirm your email to get your [freebie here]

You’ll also want to keep your email message short and clear.

E-mail body Example:

 

Before I can send you the link to your [freebie name], I just need to make sure it’s really you requesting it.

 

To confirm, click the link below, and we’ll send out your [freebie name] right away:

 

Confirm Subscription

 

If you don’t want to receive additional resources from us, please ignore this email.

4. Ask for the Bare Minimum

Internet marketers proved a long time ago that the less data you ask for, the more people sign up.

Readers are busy and easily distracted.

The more information you ask from them, the more impatient they’ll get and click away.

Plus, most are wary of giving away their personal information online.

While getting your readers’ first name is great; doing so can lower your conversion rate.

For the higher conversions, only have one field in your opt-in form: email address.

Of course, there’s always a balance.

If your getting other information besides your readers’ email address is critical to your business, then so be it.

The key is to make sure that all the fields in your form are necessary. Remove anything that’s not.

5. Keep it Short and Clear

Confused readers leave.

 

So, when creating your opt-in forms, your goal should first and foremost be clarity. 

 

The best way to do this?

 

Write less. 

 

Get your point across with as few words as possible.

 

Because the longer the text in your opt-in, the higher the chance it’ll confuse your reader.

 

So, rather than writing about all the small details, start with the most significant benefit your audience will get by signing up.

 

When written well, this should be enough to compel your them to opt-in.

 

If you want to add a few bullet points to in your form, that’s fine.

 

But be very careful. Bullet points are easy to mess up. 

 

It can be very challenging to make all your points compelling, especially for beginners.

 

In most cases, they end up just muddying your message and distracting your reader.

 

For tips on what not to do when using bullet points in your opt-in, check out this article.

 

If you’re still unsure, I highly recommend sticking with one significant benefit. 

 

The leaner the text in your form, the clearer and more impactful your message will be.

6. Write a Compelling Headline

Out of all the tips in this article, your headline has the biggest influence on your e-mail conversions.

Why? Because it is your entry into your readers’ minds.

 

Write a weak one, and your readers will not pay attention to what you have to offer, no matter how good.

 

But, if you write a good one, it will be enough to draw your reader in and get them to hand you their e-mail.

 

It is that powerful.

To create a strong headline, you need to do two things:

  1. Trigger Emotions
  2. Show a Clear Specific Benefit

1. Trigger Emotions

 

Design your titles to trigger an emotional or psychological response, whether positive or negative.

 

Why?

 

Because emotions, not logic, is what motivates people to take action.

 

Create a title that plays into your reader’s dreams, fears, and obsessions.

 

The more you trigger their emotions, the more they will likely read and share your post.

 

2. Show a Clear and Specific Benefit

 

To stand out from all the noise, you must offer your audience something worthwhile.  

 

Why would they give you their information–what’s in it for them?

 

If your readers think they’ll receive a benefit from your post, they’ll click on it. If they don’t, they’ll ignore it.

 

Be clear and specific about the benefit of joining your list.

 

If your headline isn’t able to describe the benefit of opting-in to your readers, then it’s not clear enough.

 

Don’t make your readers think. 

 

Write a headline that describes what your offering clearly and succinctly.

 

The clearer and more specific the benefit, the more compelling your headline would be.

 

If you want to learn more about writing compelling headlines, read our article “11 Tips for High Converting Blog Titles.”

7. Use Relevant Images

Having an image in your opt-in is one of the best ways to capture your reader’s attention. 

 

Here’s why:

  1. Humans can process information up to 600 times faster with pictures than text.
  2. Majority of readers are visual learners
  3. 90% of all the information sent to our brains is visual.

As you can see, humans are hard-wired to consume visual content.

 

So don’t skimp on including a quality image in your form.

 

If you’re offering a lead magnet, include an image that represents that, whether that’s a picture of an e-book, pdf, or video. 

 

If not, use a photo that lets your readers visualize the benefits of joining your list.

 

Here’s a guideline for including images on your opt-in form:

1. Be Clear– Most of your readers are pressed for time and easily distracted. Ensure your image clearly conveys what your readers are getting by opting-in, or they will leave.

2. Trigger Emotion – Emotions motivate people to take action. So, use an image evokes emotions, whether that’s highlighting your reader’s pains or pleasure.

3. Use images legally– Don’t just take any picture from the internet and use them in your post. There are many quality images, both paid and free, that you could use legally.


4. Use high quality Images– We judge a form within seconds of visiting it. So the image you use needs to be amazing. If you want your audience to like and trust you, take the time to find high-quality photos.

8. Create a Submit Button With a Strong Call to Action (CTA)

Next to headlines, the submit button or call-to-action (CTA) button is the most critical element in your opt-in form.

CTA buttons exist for one purpose only: to be clicked.

That’s the final step your audience need to make to convert.

In other words, CTA buttons seal the deal.

As such, how your opt-in form performs highly depends on how well your craft your CTA button.

You could nail all the tips in this post, but if your readers don’t click on your CTA button, none of that would matter.

It is that important.

So, how can you make your CTA button that compels people to click? 

A few factors your should consider are:

  1. Text
  2. Color
  3. Font Size

1. Text

 

By far, the most critical aspect of a CTA button is the text.

 

It’s your last shot at convincing your audience to click, so make it count.

 

Don’t just use bland language such as Sign Up, Submit, or Subscribe.

 

These words have been so overused; they’ll be invisible to your viewers.

 

Instead, use the precious space on your CTA button to tell your readers why they should take action.

Some example are:

  • Download My [Freebie]
  • Download Now
  • Free Instant Access
  • Get Access
  • Get the [Freebie]
  • Grab My [Freebie]
  • Instant Download
  • Let Me In
  • Send Me the [Freebie]
  • Send Me Everything
  • Start Now
  • Start Your Journey Now
  • Strike now
  • Yes, I Want It!

2. Color 

 

Choose a color that stands out from the page.

 

Generally speaking, green, orange and yellow buttons tend to perform best. 

 

But the right color for you will depend on the overall opt-in form and site design.

 

An easier metric to make sure your opt-in button pops is color contrast.

 

Choose a color that has a high contrast from your overall design to make sure that your button stands out.

 

3. Font Size

 

Make sure your text is large enough to draw attention and read quickly. But be careful not to make it too large that it completely overwhelms the rest of your form.

9. Include a Pre-Headline

Pre-Headlines are very brief copies that help your audience know what you have to offer and that they are in the right place. 

Pre-headlines are essential to opt-ins because it lets them know what you have to offer is relevant to them straight away.

Some common pre-headlines are “Download Your Freebie,” “Yours Free,” and “Free [Name of Offer].”

Or a welcome statement to make your audience feel at home like this:

 
email-opt-in-samaple

10. Encourage Readers to Take Action on Your Thank You Page

Once your readers enter their email and click the submit button, they will be re-directed to a confirmation page.

This page is where you thank them for subscribing and provide them with further instructions.

Sadly, many underestimate the importance of this page in their email campaigns.

After all, they’ve already converted their reader, right?

Wrong.

Your confirmation or thank you page is a critical part of your opt-in process.

If you’re using a double opt-in signup process, getting this page wrong could mean losing your hard-earned subscriber.

They may have given you their email, but what makes you sure that they will open your confirmation link?

To motivate your readers to open their emails immediately, use language that creates a sense of urgency.

Here’s an example:

If you’re using a single opt-in process, you’re not off the hook either. 

Your confirmation page is the perfect place to ask your new subscriber to take action–whether that’s telling their friends about you or checking out your latest product.

Why? Because they’ve already made a small commitment by giving you their information. 

Psychology dictates that it’s at this time that your readers are most willing to make another.

Do not waste this opportunity. Use your confirmation page wisely.

If you want to learn more about high converting thank you pages, check out this article by Sleeknote.

11. Include Opt-Out, Terms and conditions, Privacy Statement in your footer

It’s good practice to explicitly tell your audience in your form that they can opt-out any time after subscribing.

Not only is this required by law, but it also creates a more positive experience with your audience. 

We all know that feeling when you sign up for a newsletter and next thing you know, your email is being flooded with spam. 

Don’t let this fear discourage your readers from subscribing. By clearly stating the option to unsubscribe in your form, you increase your chances of earning their trust and engagement. 

If a subscriber decides to unsubscribe from your list, send an email and ask why they did so. This feedback can help you improve your future email strategy to meet your customer’s needs.

It’s also good practice to add terms and conditions and privacy statements in your forms’ footer.

Conclusion

There you have it. Our top ten ways you create high converting email opt-ins! 

Now you have all the information you need to increase your conversions with these small, easy tweaks.

We can’t wait for you to apply them and watch your conversion rate skyrocket!