Per estimates, around 78% of businesses use email marketing as their first port of call when it comes to generating leads.
But the frustration gets real when your subscriber growth stagnates despite having high-quality content. That is why opt-in forms matter—they are like doorways to your email funnel, turning website traffic into loyal subscribers.
There’s a caveat, though. Even the most compelling, value-packed content will not grow your email list if your opt-in forms are not optimized to convert.
This article is packed with unique opt-in form examples, ready-made templates, and actionable tips for growing your email list. Follow these tips to witness your subscriber numbers grow.
An opt-in form is a tool used on websites to gather visitor information in exchange for something of value. This could be discount codes, pieces of content like an eBook, a newsletter or access to exclusive services.
Opt-in forms usually include 2–5 fields for visitors to fill out and a submit button. There's also a checkbox for consent to receive additional emails (yes, they have to actively ‘opt-in) and text that assures visitors their information is secure. This nurtures a relationship that turns warm leads into raving fans.
For example, a design agency might offer a free guide on how to improve their design in exchange for a visitor's email address.
Want to create opt-in and lead forms that convert? Visme is an all-in-one content creation tool that features an online form builder. With animated characters, interactivity and engaging designs, it can help you design persuasive forms. Using Visme forms can increase conversion rates by 207% and reduce abandonment rates by 67%!
Customize this template and make it your own! Edit and DownloadAt their core, opt-in forms serve an intrinsic purpose: they bridge the gap between businesses and potential customers.
Let’s examine the key reasons why opt-in forms are a must-have.
Opt-in forms are a part of ethical marketing as they represent a user's agreement to receive communication from your brand.
Consent is crucial, especially in an era where data-handling practices are under the radar.
No one likes unsolicited emails or intrusive promotional messages. Obtaining their voluntary ‘opt-in’ allows further interactions, creating room for consent-driven relationships.
Through opt-in forms, brands can tailor their communication based on user interests and preferences, enhancing engagement and conversion rates. Personalized messages build a positive customer experience and strengthen brand advocacy.
Opt-in forms can also be sent via SMS, also known as text message opt in form. There are three methods for SMS opt-in: single opt-in, double opt-in, and soft opt-in. These are great for marketing messages, reminders, and alerts.
Converting anonymous website visitors into known leads allows companies to nurture these potential customers through the sales funnel.
This transforms first-time visitors into recurring users who have shown interest in your products or services and provides valuable insights for targeted marketing campaigns.
With every opt-in, you reinforce the relationship with existing customers. They get to receive regular updates and promotional discounts from your brand.
For example, providing exclusive sneak peeks or rewards through the email list can create anticipation and customer loyalty.
Opt-in forms are also valuable tools for tracking user engagement and determining the effectiveness of marketing strategies.
Using the data from these forms, businesses can fine-tune their approach by analyzing patterns such as what design, content, and CTA combination generates the most sign-ups.
Visme’s analytics tool helps you track form performance across mobile, computer and all devices—all in a centralized, intuitive dashboard. Get insights into key metrics such as views, starts, forms submitted, completion time and average time.
Opt-in forms come in different varieties, each with a unique design and function to engage site visitors and encourage subscriptions.
Let's take a look at them!
Popup forms are small windows that appear on top of webpage content. They can be triggered by various events, such as page entrance, exit intent, or after a set amount of time spent on the site. They work well because they grab immediate attention.
Examples include full-screen takeovers that cover the whole page or floating boxes appearing anywhere on the site.
Visme offers dozens of pre-made pop form templates that can be customized from scratch—from logos to headings.
Customize this template and make it your own! Edit and DownloadAfter designing your forms, you'll find different settings for how and when you want your pop to appear to your visitors.
For example, you can set it to appear immediately after the page loads and how many seconds before it appears. There's also an SEO-friendly option where your form shows up after:
As the name suggests, exit-intent forms detect when a user is about to leave your page and present them with a form to capture their email before they go. These forms are especially powerful in e-commerce environments and can potentially recover otherwise lost conversions.
It's a last attempt to engage visitors, giving them a reason to stay connected to your brand, and is often complimented with special offers or reminders of incomplete actions, like an abandoned shopping cart.
As mentioned before, you can set your Visme-created form to pop up when visitors attempt to leave your page.
These are common on blog sites and information-heavy pages. Since they do not disrupt the user's website journey, they offer an excellent opportunity for visitor conversion.
Visme lets you choose a sidebar embed style. All you need to do is copy the embed code and add it to your website.
These forms are integrated directly into your website content and are essentially non-disruptive while maintaining high visibility. They're excellent for blog posts.
These forms subtly ‘slide in’ and position themselves at the corner or edge of the webpage. They create less disturbance and are perfect if you do not want to be too intrusive.
Sticky forms (floating bars) remain fixed in a specific position as the user scrolls down the page, ensuring they are always visible and within reach when a user decides to subscribe. They are often found at the top or bottom of the website.
These forms cover the entire screen when a user first visits a website and prompt the user to enter their email address before accessing the content. They are used to draw attention to important information,
Ready to create high-converting popup forms? Visme offers a powerful online form builder that simplifies form creation. You can choose from a vast collection of professionally designed forms and survey templates across multiple categories, such as:
The best part? These forms also connect with your favorite apps to connect and send your data like Mailchimp, HubSpot, and Zapier.
Visme also offers a versatile content authoring and creation tool to hep you streamline your lead gen effort. Access thousands of templates to easily create lead magnets and other content types for every stage of the buying journey.
Let's take a look at some amazing real-life opt-in form examples and why they work.
ConvertFlow’s pop-up form, which reveals a free mini-guide about 100k campaigns studied, is a perfect example of a persuasive opt-in form.
This free shipping offer on the first order makes Wayfair's opt-in form an attractive option for many first-time site visitors.
This opt-in form targets marketers who want more SEO traffic. It is unique because it incentivizes the visitor from the get-go, asking them five questions to get a personalized SEO plan.
‘Spin the wheel for a surprise offer of up to 50%’ makes West and Willow's gamified opt-in form a compelling and fun activity. The fun, surprise and unpredictability create intrigue and encourage visitors to share their email addresses so they can play.
This free training by WP Beginner targets individuals who want to get better at WordPress. Its purpose is to share tips and tricks on WordPress to increase traffic conversions and revenue.
James Clear’s 3-2-1 Newsletter captivates with its uniqueness, offering three short and insightful points every Thursday.
Now let's take a look at some ready-to-use opt in form templates that you can customize according to your needs and preferences.
Whether you have a content-driven blog, website or landing page, this template is your ally.
This template is designed to help you easily collect email addresses from visitors. With a simple yet engaging design, it's perfect for marketers who want to ramp up their email marketing or brands looking to keep their current followers updated.
You can customize the template with Visme’s Form Builder to fit your email marketing goals.
For example, Visme’s brand wizard lets you quickly add your brand elements (like colors, logo and typography) so that you don’t have to edit them manually. Just input your website link and Visme will extract these elements in two minutes.
Pro Tip: Ensure your CTA is assertive and promises value, like exclusive content or industry insights. For example, ‘Get 6 Free Tools Weekly' can propel visitors to take action. Remember to address the visitor’s most pressing pain point.
RELATED: How to Make Your Newsletter Signup Form Stand Out From the RestLead magnets, such as free reports, checklists and ebooks, are a great way to establish credibility and deliver immense value to your target audience.
This fully editable 3D digitization report paired with an interactive, dynamic form can help capture your visitors’ interest. You can add text blocks and include details about the lead magnet, like the top three takeaways in this case, to pique interest and set expectations.
Visme’s collaborate feature ensures that all your team members—from design to marketing teams—can work together on preparing the form. This saves time and ensures alignment.
To maximize the likelihood of downloads, minimize the number of fields required. If you collect more information, turn it into a multi-step form that’s easy to complete.
Visme also lets you add a number of animated characters to add more interactivity to your forms. In fact, including animated interactive characters in lead magnet form can increase lead conversion rates by up to 40%.
Not sure how to create a lead magnet? Tap into our extensive library of lead magnet templates tailored for various niches and use cases. Add animation and interactive elements, icons, stock photos and videos to spice up your lead magnets.
Blog contact forms provide a direct line of communication between you and your audience, encouraging comments, suggestions and discussions. With this attractive form template, you can turn your blog into an effective lead generation engine.
Edit this template to add multiple-choice questions like rating fields, checkboxes, or short answer sections to gather more specific feedback or visitor data that fits your needs. This not only helps you understand your audience better but also optimizes user interaction.
A clear CTA, such as ‘Send Me Blog Updates,’ will specify what users can expect after filling out and submitting the form. Access pre-made 3D animated characters to make your form super engaging or create your own from scratch. You also have the option to choose entry, waiting and ending poses for your chosen character.
Webinars are excellent for educating your audience, networking or promoting your services and products. This modern-looking Visme template can easily be customized to match the theme of your event.
Include information about the value attendees will gain, such as exclusive insights from industry experts and free ebooks or personalized demos if you are a B2B brand. Ensure that any guest speakers or special topics are highlighted.
Remember to add the date, time, and location details to ensure attendees can schedule it in their calendars. Finalize it with a clear and concise CTA, like 'Reserve Your Spot Today,' to make the visitor act immediately.
Strapped for time? Use Visme’s AI writer to write a copy to give a sneak peek of what’s included. It enables you to produce a first draft of any text or copy, discover creative ideas, or overcome writer's block. Additionally, you can choose the tone of voice—informal, creative, formal, simple, confident or business.
Incentivize first-time visitors and turn them into loyal subscribers with this sleek-looking and customizable email opt-in form template.
Motivate them with incentives like discount codes, exclusive community invites or early content access.
To ensure maximum engagement, it's vital to communicate these offers clearly in your call to action. For instance, CTAs like 'Join Now and Save 20%' can be very attractive.
Don't ask for too much information right off the bat. It's important to keep form fields to a minimum to prevent potential subscribers from feeling overwhelmed. Including the essential details such as name and email will suffice for most situations.
Now, let's take a look at some tried and tested strategies to boost your opt-in conversion rates.
You have less than a minute to capture a visitor's attention, so make the opt-in process straightforward.
Start with minimizing the information you require. In many cases, obtaining just their email address works fine.
Your CTA should provide instant value. Consider giving away a free ebook or a discount code.
Incorporating whitespace designs eases readability and decreases strain on the eyes—they are also known to improve conversion rates.
Test your opt-in form in various placements, such as pop-ups, sidebar widgets or embedded forms in posts; they all have different outcomes.
Remember, simplicity is key. The fewer the barriers, the better the conversion.
Ensure your opt-in forms align with your brand aesthetics. Coherency builds trust and supports recognition.
The form's design—colors, fonts, imagery—should mirror your site or campaign's general aesthetic.
Visme Forms lets you customize every aspect of the form's content and style. You can select from premade form designs, styles, and characters or create one from scratch.
A good opt in form ensures every word serves a function and adds to the overall message's effectiveness.
Brevity and clarity should guide your choice of language. Overwordiness can dilute your primary message, while ambiguous terms may confuse readers. Therefore, be clear and concise—say what’s needed using as few words as possible.
Aim to communicate the benefit the user will gain by subscribing. For instance, a CTA like 'Subscribe for exclusive deals or promotions' is more specific than a simple 'Subscribe now'.
When someone subscribes to your newsletter or signs up for your event, it’s courteous and affirmative to direct them to a dedicated 'Thank you' page.
Visme also lets you add branded Thank You pages. You can add headings, logos, text, a footer, form icons, and URLs and set a timer for when the Thank You page should pop up.
This page should not only confirm their successful registration but also provide information on the next steps they can expect.
For example, ‘Thanks for confirming your email address! If you’d like to change your subscription, you can update your preferences using the link below.’
You might also include a teaser of upcoming content or links to resources and past events—engaging them right from the start.
Providing them with options and control over their subscription can increase their satisfaction and potentially lower unsubscribe rates. It’s also an excellent opportunity to share your brands' social media profiles, encouraging them to like or follow your pages for further updates.
Here, we answer a few common questions about the use of opt-in forms.
Single opt-in refers to a model where users are directly enrolled in your email database after entering their email addresses in your form.
On the contrary, the double opt-in model requires a subsequent confirmation by users to be added to your list. After filling in their email address, they receive a confirmation email in which they need to affirm their intent to subscribe.
While single opt-in ensures a higher sign-up rate, double opt-in presents a cleaner list as it validates the email addresses.
The opt-in process is a method websites and marketers use to obtain permission from visitors to send them further information, promotional content or newsletters.
It is a gateway for companies to build a mailing list of individuals who have actively indicated interest in their brand or services. This process filters out genuinely interested leads from those who are not, providing a more focused audience for engagement.
No, a landing page and an opt-in page differ.
While a landing page promotes a specific product or campaign and encourages visitors to take action (usually making a purchase or signing up for a mailing list), an opt-in page focuses on capturing visitors' email addresses.
The larger goal of the opt-in page is typically to grow the audience base or customer list for a business or offer.
Opt-in consent guidelines are regulated by regulatory frameworks such as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and other data protection laws. They should include details like a privacy policy and a marketing agreement. Whether it is a Visme opt in form or WordPress opt in form, this is a must.
Remember: Consent must be knowledgeable, explicit and voluntary, suggesting users fully understand what they consent to. Pre-checked checkboxes are not valid.
Opt-in forms are excellent tools for turning casual site visitors into engaged subscribers or loyal customers who engage in repeat purchases.
To create high-converting forms, ensure they are clear, inviting, and packed with a strong value proposition that is hard to miss.
With more than 60+ form templates at your disposal, you too can create branded opt-in forms with Visme. Take inspiration from the examples and tips mentioned above for maximum impact.
Visme also comes packed with an intuitive form builder, tools like workflow and collaboration, AI writer and integrations with dozens of apps, so designing persuasive opt-in forms is a breeze. All data is accessible through a user-friendly dashboard, allowing you to measure your campaign's metrics in real time.
Sign up for a free account and start creating your opt-in form!
