Best opt-in form locations

Now that you have a lead magnet the next step is adding it to your blog or website.

You can't expect to add one opt-in form at the end of your blog posts or one in the sidebar and expect to get a lot of subscribers.

If you want to 10x your list growth you're going to have to be more aggressive.

While you don't want to be annoying, you do need to make it clear to the reader what you want them to do.

Step 1. Click on your headline and land on your blog post

Step 2. See your offer and join your email list

Step 3. Receive your email series

Step 4. Become your customer

Looking at this customer journey, your system (and sole job) is to:

1. Build a funnel (content > email list > product) and

2. Get people into the funnel (marketing your content)

Your email list is such an important part of the system that I want you to turn your website into a lead generation factory.

This means adding forms strategically to attain the highest conversion rates.

Here are the highest-converting locations for your opt-in forms:

Welcome mats are effective only when your offer is so compelling it could make someone sign up even before seeing your content.

If you your offer isn't enticing enough on its own, you should avoid welcome mats altogether.

The header is the best location for an opt-in form on your website.

Many don't want to add a form at the top of their blog post because they feel like it takes attention away from the content.

But you need to remember that the point of writing content is solely to get visitors to take the next step in your sales funnel.

With that said, be sure not to take up the entire vertical space of the screen. The reader still needs to see the beginning of the content above the fold.

Example #1:

Example #2:

A generic opt-in within the content may get you a 1% conversion rate, but an opt-in that closely relates your blog post easily gets you double the conversion rate.

This is why I recommend creating a targeted lead magnet for every major category of your blog.

To double your conversion rate again you can use a content upgrade opt-in that is specific to the blog post.

The best spot for your in-content form is once in the middle and once again at the end of your blog post.

Example #1:

Example #2:

Example #3:

I don't like hitting users with any other intrusion other than a welcome mat.

That's why I don't use timed-popups or popups that appear at a certain scroll-depth. I also don't use ribbons (opt-ins that stay at the top) or slide-in forms either.

But an exit-intent popup is different as it only comes up if the user already has the intent to leave the page.

Footer 0.3% - 0.5% conversion rate

The footer will get you the lowest conversion rate of all. However, every page should still have a small opt-in form in the footer.