How to Create Better Email Opt-In Forms

Today, I bring you a guest post from Diane Vukovic.

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You can have stellar subject lines and interesting content for your email marketing campaign, but it is going to be pointless if you don’t have anyone to send emails to!
  That is why the most important part of any successful email marketing campaign is list building.

There are a lot of email marketing tips which generalize list building as something that only involves:

• Putting signup buttons on all your webpages
• Offering freebies in exchange for email addresses (read more about this here)
• Ask subscribers to refer a friend
• Use eye-catching opt-in forms

While all of these email marketing tips for list building are on point, they are too basic to do you much good.
 So, here we will take a deeper look at how to make the most out of your opt-in forms.

Customize Opt-In Forms

If you are going to start an email marketing campaign, you will need email marketing software to help you out.
  The software makes it possible to manage all aspects of your campaign, such as by giving you vital metrics so you know which areas need improvement.
  A good email marketing software provider should also give you customizable opt-in forms.

You don’t have to be a web designer to make a stunning opt-in form for email marketing. However, you do have to be at least a bit marketing savvy.
  Do NOT just use the basic opt-in form.

Instead, customize the opt-in form so it would appeal to your target demographic. For example, if you’ve got an uber serious blog about financial news, then use stark designs with Times New Roman font.
  If you’ve got a blog about yoga, then get mother-earthy with your color choices and use a whimsical font like Gabriola.

Give Them a Reason to Subscribe

Even more important than the design of your opt-in form is this: you need to give visitors a reason to subscribe.
  This is as simple as adding a single line of text above the email box saying what the benefits are for signing up.

For example:

For special offers available only to our email subscribers, sign up now!

Use Social Signals

Nothing is as powerful as peer pressure when it comes to getting people to take action.
  So, why not include some social proof in you opt-in form? Again, this can be very simple to do.
  Take a look at how Copyblogger does it in their opt-in form:

Less Information Requested = More Subscribers

The less information you request at sign up, the more subscribers you will get.
 So, keep your opt-in forms very simple (name and email address is enough).

But here is the problem: To run an effective email marketing campaign, you should segment subscribers into groups based on their personal characteristics.
  Information collected at signup can be very helpful for list segmentation.

Here are two email marketing tips to help you with this problem:

1. First collect the email with a very basic opt-in form.
  Once this step is complete, have another form popup which requests additional optional information.
  This way, even if the subscriber is put off by the info request, you already have his/her email.

2. Get creative with questions. Instead of opt-in form questions like this:

• How many cars are in your household?
• What is your income?
• M/F?
• What industry do you work in?

Use opt-in form questions like these:

• Which phrase best describes you?
• __ I am nuts for cars!
• __ I think cars are just for transportation.
• __ I don’t know much about cars but want to learn more.

Here is why the questions in the second opt-in form are better:

• It is more interesting so people are more likely to fill it out.
• It gives you more characteristic information about the subscribers (as opposed to just demographic information).

For example, if someone checked the “I think cars are just for transportation” box, then you could send emails with oil change reminders or tips for saving gas. The people who checked the first option would get a wide range of industry news, such as cool new automobile technology or even articles like “most expensive cars in the world.” Subscribers who checked the last option could get info like DIY car maintenance advice.
  You couldn’t do this level of targeting just by asking questions about gender or income.

Do you customize your email marketing opt-in forms? What has worked for you?

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Diane Vukovic is a long-time blogger who tackles online marketing from a humanistic, not algorithmic, approach. When she’s not writing for EmailMarketingServices.org or Local-Internet-Marketing.net, she’s making delicious vegetarian food.