If youβre reading this, chances are youβre already well aware of the power of email marketing. Itβs hard to argue with the numbers. Emails areΒ 6X more likelyΒ to get clicked on than social media posts. For every three subscribers on your list,Β at least oneΒ is likely to make a purchase at some point. The thing is, you need toΒ build a substantial list of subscribersΒ if you want to unlock the full benefits of email marketing. Every single one of those subscribers needs to go through an opt-in, which means yours need to be perfect. Letβs talk about how that works.
Opt-in email examples that use language creatively
A lot of digital marketers complain they canβt grow their email lists fast enough. The thing is, once you look closely at some of the most common types of opt-in forms, itβs not a surprise that customers donβt want to click on them. If you have a sign-up form that just says, βSign up!β or βEnter your email here!β, you bet youβre not going to get enough clicks. For the best results, you need to use opt-in language that catches your visitorβs attention. Hereβs how some of the best players in the field are doing it.
1. The in-depth value proposition
Source:Β BigCommerce Letβs get real. In most cases, you sign up to an email list because it promises you some specific value. It can be an eBook, special offers, or anything else you can imagine. For it to work, the offer needs to be crystal clear. BigCommerce understands that, and they hit you with an opt-in form that breaks down the exact benefits of joining their list. Here are the points it manages to cover in only a handful of sentences:
- Their mission statement
- Who their intended audience is
- How joining can benefit you
Usually, opt-ins tend to be very brief affairs. They promise you something and then hope thatβs enough to get you to type your email. Nowadays, though, it doesnβt hurt to be a bit more descriptive when it comes to the value you offer. No one is counting the words you use in your forms, so why not experiment with a longer, better-targeted message?
2. The βbetter than the competitionβ sales pitch
Source:Β Neil Patel If thereβs one goal all businesses share, itβs they want to do better than their competitors. When it comes to marketing, few people are as well known as Neil. It shouldnβt come as a surprise his siteβs opt-in form hits all the right notes. Here are the main takeaways:
- The use of aggressive language such as βregurgitatedβ and βcompetitionβ
- The adjectives he uses to refer to his content, including βproven,β βfresh,β and βnewβ
If youβre an authority on a subject, people are more likely to listen to you or in this case, to sign up to your newsletter. Just be sure you can back up all that assertive language with expert-level content, of course.
3. Email marketing opt-ins can be fun
Source:Β Upworthy If you spend much time online, youβve probably come across Upworthy. Their goal is to compile and share the most viral news on the web. On top of their website, they also use emails to keep their subscribers in the loop about whatβs up. Upworthy is renowned for its casual language, and their opt-in form is a clear reflection of that. Just like the BigCommerce example we discussed earlier, Upworthy isnβt scared to hit you with an entire paragraph of why you should opt-in to their email list. The tone here is very different, though, and we like it for two simple reasons:
- Instead of mentioning email right away, it simply asks you whether you want more Upworthy.
- Their pitch is very friendly, and they make a promise to deliver highly curated content.
If you get past the βWant More Upworthy?β message and say yes to yourself, then youβre more likely to want to leave your email. Itβs a simple pitch, but it works.
4. Itβs all about the free perks
Source:Β WPBeginner Offering a freebie is a great way to catch peopleβs attention. Once again, it all comes down to value, which becomes clear when you go over WPBeginnerβs opt-in language:
- Just like Upworthy, they launch into their spiel with a question that reaffirms your desire
- They break down the value of their newsletter in general
- The inclusion of the words βBonusβ and βFreeβ are always a nice touch
- βYes, give me the FREE resourcesβ is a masterful call-to-action (CTA)
You have to offer a lot of value through your emails, and WPBeginner chooses their words carefully to make sure their audience is clear on what they bring to the table.
5. Use opt-in forms to personalize your emails
Source:Β TED Youβre probably already familiar with email personalization. Up to 72% of consumers will engage with only personalized messages, making personalization perhaps the most critical trend for the upcoming years. Luckily, personalization is easy to see, and it helps transform emails into a more intimate experience. When itβs well done, personalization can feel like youβre getting recommendations from a friend and thatβs something TED nailed with their TED Recommends newsletter. That image we just showed you is only the first step of their opt-in process. Hereβs the second part of it: Source:Β TED Once you make it past those two steps, you get to a straightforward opt-in form but by that point, youβre already hooked. The process feels more like filling out a survey than signing up for an email newsletter. The language here is key. By asking what your interests are, TED Recommends can provide a level of personalization that most marketers can only dream of. If you look closely at each of the options, youβll notice almost all of them have to do with self-improvement and learning in one way or another. Their copy works well, too. For instance, when they ask βNow, tell us what youβre looking for,β some of the answers include:
- A sense of hope
- A glimpse into the future
- A new perspective
Inspirational language can help your customers reaffirm the reasons why they want to sign up for your email list and help them make that final commitment. It all comes to narrowing down what they want and using language that helps them understand you can deliver it.
6. Use opt-in forms to personalize your emails
Source: Landbot You probably didnβt expect to read about chatbots in an article about email marketing. The thing is, chatbots are everywhere these days. Experts predict that by 2020,Β 80%Β of brands will be using chatbots. Weβre still a long way away from true AI, but that hasnβt stopped businesses from using chatbots to take care of simple customer support tasks. With the right inputs, chatbots can even help you create unique and highly compelling email opt-in forms. Thatβs a chatbot that Landbot.io uses on their blog to survey readers once they reach the bottom of an article. Imagine if you could have a chat with every single visitor to your website to convince them to opt-in to your email list. With chatbots, you can do just that, and the whole process sounds like a casual conversation, from the use of emojis to the back and forth, and the prompt for a rating. If implementing a chatbot on your website is too much work, at the very least, you can try doing away with the stiff language for your opt-ins. Try treating them as a conversation between you and your visitors, and your sign-ups might get a boost.
Wrap up
One mistake weβve all fallen for is focusing too much on creating eye-catching email marketing opt-ins. We spend too much time thinking about opt-in placement, designing CTAs that pop, and more. However, sometimes, the simplest changes can have the most impact. If you want to improve your opt-in conversions, maybe itβs time to try some new language. Test different opt-in forms throughout your website and see what works best. Itβs just a different type ofΒ A/B test. With Delivra, you get access to tools that can help you create any type of email opt-ins you want, from classic text forms to pop-ups.