Your opt-in page is important. It helps people decide whether (or not) what you’re promising them is valuable enough for them to give you their email address. 

But, like most things related to marketing, if you ignore best practices when you’re building your landing page, you’re going to struggle. In fact, you can have an amazing freebie, but if your page doesn’t make people want to sign up, no one is even gonna see your freebie. 

Obviously, this is NOT what you want, so let’s look at what you can do to create an opt-in page that converts.

Follow the Single-Purpose Rule

Your opt-in page has one purpose and one purpose only: to get people to sign up for your email list. 

This is so important. The only thing you’re doing is giving your audience a single choice: do they want to download your freebie. 

Your opt-in page should be set up in a way that the only thing people can do is choose to sign up or leave. There should be no other stuff on your page. Fewer distractions mean higher conversions.

Your opt-in page shouldn’t have a navigation bar. This means no home, contact, or “work with us” button. This prevents distractions that may take away people from signing up for your email list. If you have a navigation bar, they may end up viewing other pages and eventually forget that they were here to sign up. It will lead to a missed opportunity.

Also, don’t add any social media links to your opt-in page, whether it’s a link to your Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook account. These links will distract people. When you give them other choices, they’ll eventually end up on a different page, get distracted, and forget about your sign-up form.

Avoid giving out multiple freebies and don’t create different opt-ins that people can choose from on a page. Each opt-in page should be dedicated to a single freebie.

Optimize Your Opt-in Page

When it comes to designing your page, you should focus on following the KISS rule for the layout, you know, “Keep It Simple, Stupid.” 

Your opt-in page should be short, sweet, and to the point. Most people have a short attention span, which means overwhelming them with information won’t do you any good. That’s why your opt-in page should help visitors make decisions quickly.

When it comes to styling your opt-in page, less is more. Avoid using any kind of handwritten script fonts that may be hard to read. Use clear fonts and design elements. Don’t place fonts on top of images that would make them hard to read. Instead, choose a solid or gradient background.

You should also think about the layout of your opt-in page when viewed using mobile devices. That might mean you need to create two versions of your opt-in page, one for people who are visiting using their computer and a second one for those who view your page using their mobile phone.

With both mobile and desktop, you only have a few seconds to capture attention, so you’ll want to arrange the elements on your page so the most important information always appears at the top.

Above the Fold

Above the fold refers to what people see on the page before they have to scroll. Basically, it’s the stuff that your audience will see when they get to your page. All the important details should be located above the fold.

Don’t design a page where people have to scroll to figure out the benefit of your freebie or enter their information. This should find all these above the fold. 

• Headline. This should state the value proposition or what your audience will get. This is what will draw people’s attention when they land on your page. You should use larger and heavier-weight fonts that are clear and easy to read.
• Sign-up Form. Avoid the two-step approach where people need to click a button to get to the form and click another button to sign up. It’s easier if people don’t have to click twice. When they get to your opt-in page, they should see the form right away. Your call to action button should also stand out, so choose a color that will catch people’s attention.

In general, the opt-in page for mobile devices should include the headline and the form. Ideally, you want people to be able to fill out the form without scrolling.

Meanwhile, opt-in pages that are designed for computer screens have other components aside from the headline and sign-up form. This could include a description, image, or video.

The description offers people an idea of what they’ll get. Your copy should focus on the benefits of signing up and tell them how their life will be better if they download your freebie. You can do this in paragraph form or as bullets.

You could also include an image or video at the end that will give people an idea of what the freebie looks like. It can be a mockup of pages if you’re offering a freebie in PDF form or perhaps screenshots of what they’ll see in your mini-course.

Below the Fold

People don’t have to do anything once they get below the fold on your opt-in page. All the information you provide in that part of your opt-in page will be for building social proof. You may include a brief bio section or podcasts or articles where you’ve been featured. 

If you’re thinking of adding a bio section, make sure to add a professional-looking and inviting photo of yourself next to your bio.

You can also include testimonials below the fold. If you have people who have given testimonials about how great the freebie is, include them. Those can be powerful.

Create Stellar Content for your Opt-in Page

Let’s talk about the copy you’ll want to include on your opt-in page. Since the above-the-fold headline does 95% of the work, you’ll want to spend the most time on that. It’s also where you’re going to get the most bang for the buck. 

Headline

The headline of your opt-in page must address the result. It should help people understand how their life will improve once they get your freebie. Your headline is giving your audience a promise.

You should include a subheading. If your heading says “Grow your email list,” you can add a subheading that says “without spending money on ads.” As you can see, you first made a promise of what they’ll get and then you say they don’t have to do anything.

Now, if your freebie includes a number of steps, then your headline won’t start with a verb but with a number. You’ll say “Five steps to…” or something like that. It makes clear to people what they can expect to get.

Bullets

If you use bullets, you should focus on the results that people will get. The point of bullets is to give a bit more detail. Don’t focus on the features, like how many pages your PDF contains. If you have to talk about a feature, turn it into a benefit. Talk about how easy, simple, and helpful your freebie will be once they download it. Tell people what it comes with and what benefits they’ll get.

Time To Take Action

These are the points you need to remember when you’re creating an opt-in page. If done right, you’ll have an opt-in page that converts. The key is to build the page and start sharing it everywhere so you can get feedback.

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