An optin page is vitally important because you’ll use it to generate new subscribers and build your list.
Remember your goal is to keep growing your list. That is your audience.
Give them value on a regular basis so you become their trusted advisor. People buy from people they know, like and trust!
So in this guide, you’ll discover how to build a high-converting optin page.
And here’s a handy table of contents…Table of Contents
Our goal is to build an optin page with about a 25% conversion rate. That means we’ll get 25 leads from every 100 visitors.
That’s fairly easy to accomplish if you apply the techniques on this page. You can do that even with beginner level copywriting skills.
We can increase that conversion rate further on by writing better copy or offering a better lead magnet.Terms… Another word for optin page is a squeeze page because the job of the optin page is to “squeeze” the name and email address from the visitor.
The optin page is also referred to as the lead magnet page because the free product you give away on this page is known as a lead magnet.
Tools To Build Your Optin Page
Any good page building tool should allow you to easily build your optin page with all the required elements. I personally use Elementor (after trying maybe 6 different tools), but Thrive Architect is another very good one.
To build the 2-step optin box (the “popup” that captures the visitor’s name/email) you need an additional plugin. You’ll see actual examples of this below…
If you use Thrive Architect you can use Thrive Leads.
If you use Elementor you can use Layered Popups (the one I use) and Popup Domination is another good one. There may be others. These two also work with Thrive Architect.
Basic Page Design
The best part is that your optin page should be super simple! In fact, it should look like the following optin pages. You may notice a common theme.
Optin Page Example #1
Optin Page Example #2
As you can see these pages are pretty basic. The only thing missing in these screenshots is the footer section where you have links to Terms of Service, etc., but that’s pretty basic stuff.
I highly recommend you use this style for your optin page. Model those examples. As your skill improve you can split test and/or experiment with other variations.
The elements on this optin page are as follows:
- Headline
- 3 Bullet Points
- Lead Magnet eCover
- Button
So now let’s examine those elements, one by one…
How To Build Your Optin Page
What’s important is that every element that you see in those optin pages (the headline, bullet points, image, and button) are visible without the need to scroll down.
So the user can see the whole optin page and click the button to subscribe, without having to scroll down. Very convenient.
Less work for the visitors which will always make them happier. It’s a simple “trick” but it can make a difference in your conversion rate.
The section that a visitor sees without the need to scroll down is called the ‘Above The Fold’ section.
The Headline
I suggest 3 main ways to improve your headline writing skills.
1 – Use a swipe file
This makes writing a headline so much easy. Some swipe files contain fill in the blank templates. They’re perfect for beginners, you just fill in the blanks.
If you don’t have a headline swipe file you can use the free resource below:
A swipe file is just a file containing headlines written by professional copywriters. You can model the headlines in your swipe file.
2 – Read more headlines
The more headlines you see and read the easier it will be to come up with new headline ideas. You’ll start to understand intuitively if your headline is good or bad.
Writing down great headlines using pen and paper is also a great exercise. Over time you’ll start to get a feel for writing good headlines.
I used to write entire sales letters by hand as well, but this exercise is optional.
3 – Write Headlines
Last but not least through practice your headline writing skill, just like any other skill will improve.
Now here are two easy templates to help you write great headlines.
Template #1: Free Course/Video/Mp3 Reveals The Secret To [prospect’s desired end result]!
Examples:
FREE Video Reveals The
Secret To Sing Like the Pros
Free Video Reveals The #1 Secret
To Read And Write Music
Free Video Reveals The Unusual
SECRET To Develop Your Intuition &
Receive Direct Angelic Guidance
FREE Case Study Reveals The Secret
To Build Successful Apps
Template #2: Specific Headlines
Use specific numbers, a specific amount of time or specific results. People love specifics.
Examples:
How To Lose 14 Pounds In 10 Days
How To Get 12 Hours Out
Of An 8 Hour Day
Free Book Tells You 17
Secrets Of Prize Roses
What The Travel Agent Won’t Tell
You That Can Save You 50%-70%
On Your Cruise Vacation
Scientists Discover The Secret Scent
That Drives 3 out of 4 Women Wild
How To Look And Feel Great In Just
12 Minutes A Day With Gym-In-A-Can!
In my copywriting guide, there’s a useful headline writing checklist with more headline writing techniques.
Now let’s look at how to write the bullet points.
Bullet Points
The optin page template also contains 3 bullet points.
These bullet points should entice your visitors. They are short, just 1-2 sentences. Their objective is to make your lead magnet desirable.
A common way to write bullet points is to write about a specific benefit they’ll get from the lead magnet.
You know your audience and the ins and outs of your lead magnet. So you should know how it will help them, what benefits it provides and what problems it solves. You can write bullet points about those things.
You can use a bullet point swipe file too. CashCopyInSeconds™ contains a swipe file with 699 fill-in-the-blanks bullet points.
Here are some templates:
Template #1: Problem/solution template
In the bullet point, you first mention the problem and then your solution.
Examples:
- Are you tired of your [their biggest problem]? This Free report will teach you how to _____
- Are You Struggling to [their biggest problem]? This Free case study will show you how to _____
Template #2: So You Can…
This technique works by telling the visitor “what’s in it for them”. Everyone wants to know that, it’s the benefits they’ll get.
Examples:
Instead of only saying “A free preloaded Mp3 player”, tell them what benefit will they get with this Mp3 player, what’s in it for them?
Examples:
- Free preloaded Mp3 player so you can…[benefit]
- How to supercharge and restore your immune system, so you can FIGHT any illness like a SUPERHERO!”
Template #3: Answer Objections
Make a list of all (or the top) issues, problems, and objections that your lead magnet solves. Then write a bullet point around one of them.
Examples:
Issue: It’s hard to write sales letter headlines from scratch…
- Easily write sales letter headlines just by filling in the blanks!
Issue: Need to eliminate back pain fast without pain killers…
- Reduce your pain in seven days without painkillers.
Template #4: Pluck Interesting Things
Another good method to write bullet points is to pluck out some really interesting things from your lead magnet and feature them in a bullet point!
Perhaps your lead magnet features the 7 Key Elements of striking photography… Pluck 1 of those elements, the best or most interesting one and use it as a bullet point.
Example:
- A simple photo editing trick that will turn boring photos into eye-popping images!
It’s not really a big deal to write a bullet point. However, you do need to spend some time on it.
Put some thought when writing bullet points. Think of what you can say that will really appeal to your audience.
Something that will grab their attention. Use your swipe file for ideas.
You may have to rewrite your bullet point several times before you write a really good one. Some professional copywriters spend 30 mins to write a single bullet point.
In my sales letter guide, there’s a section on how to write “killer” bullet points with more good ideas.
Once again with practice, it becomes easier to write bullet points.
Image
You can use Fiverr to find a freelancer to design your ecover. It’s not expensive but make sure you hire someone that has nice images in their portfolio and hundreds of positive ratings.
The image should represent the lead magnet you’re giving away.
You can search Google for ecover examples that you like and then tell your designer to make something like them.
For example, if your lead magnet is a checklist you can search for “checklist ecover” for several actual examples.
Remember as I’ve said in the Sales Funnel Strategy Guide the best converting lead magnets are usually checklists, swipe files, quick video or audio, templates and other quick to consume products.
So for your first lead magnet, you may want to consider one of those formats.
Also, you should choose a color for your business. My color is green, specifically this one: #008000. You can use your chosen color in your ecover.
The more often you use it the better, prospects will start to associate the color with you. It’s branding.
The title of your ecover should be short.
Ideally (but not necessarily) you want to include the words checklist, swipe file, cheat sheet, recipe or whatever it happens to be in the actual name of the lead magnet.
So it becomes an actual thing that they get if they put in their email address.
Example:
Super Simple 20-Step Wedding Planning Checklist
Coming up with a title for your lead magnet is like writing a headline. In fact, you can use a headline swipe file to write your title.
You can also look at a lot of good lead magnet title examples in and/or outside of your own niche.
That should help you understand better how to write a good lead magnet title. Whenever I come across an optin page with a good lead magnet I bookmark it.
And you can also model their lead magnet titles. Transform the title into a fill in the blank template.
Example:
Potty Training Made Easy
Template: ______ Made Easy
If my lead magnet was a free guide to write headlines, the lead magnet title could be Headline Writing Made Easy
Here are some good lead magnet titles, and their corresponding template:
The Ultimate Social Media Swipe File
The Ultimate _______ Swipe File
7-day Meal Plan For Ultimate Pain Relief
__-day _______ For Ultimate _______
The Easy Way To An Obedient Dog
The Easy Way To _______
11 Point Perfect Sales Funnel Checklist
__ Point _______ Checklist
The Dos & Don’ts Of Facebook Ads
The Dos & Don’ts Of _______
The Ultimate Checklist For Productive Meetings
The Ultimate Checklist For _______
Button
The button should open a “popup” that asks the visitor for their name and email address.
This is known as a 2-step optin box. It’s proven to work better than if you put the name/email boxes directly on the optin page.
For the color of button don’t use black or the same color you use for the headline.
You want to use a contrast color so the button stands out and is easily seen. For example, I use a blue button with my green headlines.
You can also make a nice hover effect on the button. So when a user puts their mouse on the button they can see a slight change in color brightness, see examples below.
For the color of mouse hover (that’s when a user places their mouse on the button without clicking) use the same button color but make it slightly dimmer. It will give it a nice effect.
The text in the button should tell your visitors what to do, ask them to take action. The ideal text color is white (bold).
Examples:
Click Here to Download Your Case Study Now!
Click Here to Get Your Free Video Now!
Click Here for Free Instant Access!
Send Me The Checklist!
Get My Free Guide >>
Click Here to Download Your ______!
Give Me The FREE ______!
Get Your ______ Now!
2 Step Optin Box
When they click the button this “popup” box opens. Just tell them something straightforward like this…
“Enter Your Name And Email To Receive _____”
Example:
They clicked the button with the intention to optin, so they are already sold on the idea to optin, you don’t have to do anything. Just tell them what to do…
I suggest you put an asterisk (just like the above example) and tell them they’re going to get your ecourse / newsletter / follow up emails too.
This is important to comply with the new GDPR optin-rules. You basically have to tell them you’ll also going to send them follow up emails (not just the lead magnet).
Remember to be consistent with the choice of colors. The button color of this “popup” should be just like the button on the optin page.
Conclusion
That’s all it takes to create a high converting optin page. Luckily for us, a basic and simple design just as I’ve outlined on this page works best. We don’t have to overcomplicate it.
Of course, the actual lead magnet you’re offering makes a big difference in your conversion rates. You have to make sure you’re giving your audience something they actually want.
So is there any aspect of optin page design that you find challenging? Leave your answer in the comments.