[Infographic] 3 Keys for Crafting A Hot Opt-in Page That Converts

Let’s start from the very beginning with the definition of an opt-in page.

An opt in page is a page that, in exchange for a person’s contact information (typically an email address), gives access to some sort of gift or freebie.

Why would you give something away for free? To build your subscriber email list—because having a list of ideal prospects you can email anytime can make growing a successful, profitable business a lot easier.

If you have an online business, you likely already have a variety of free gifts and a variety of opt-in pages to go with those gifts.

And, the higher your opt-in page converts (conversion refers to the percentage of people  who see the page versus the percentage who opt in and give you their email — so, for instance, if 70 out of 100 people opt in, you have a 70% conversion rate), the more subscribers you end up with on your email list.

Which is why spending a little time creating a hot opt-in page makes a lot of sense.

So, there are lots of things that affect conversions, including:

• How warm or cold the people are who show up on your page. (Cold traffic or leads, which are people who have never heard of you before but clicked on an ad, tends to convert at a lower level than warmer traffic or leads—people who have heard you speak or listened to a podcast or have been introduced to you by a joint venture partner.)
• How desirable the free gift is.
• The copy and layout of your opt-in page—which is what I’m going to walk you through today.

Most opt-in pages consist of three main elements:

* Headline

* Graphic

* Bullet points

The Headline

I often use the title of the free gift as the headline. In fact, I believe the title of your free gift should be so powerful, you should WANT to use it as a headline.

If you’ve created the right free gift, it should be something that resonates with your ideal clients and what they want to have. So, use the title.

So, how do you create the right title?

In a nutshell, the more specific you are, the better.

If you can clearly and specifically communicate something that’s keeping your ideal client up at night, you likely have a winner.

So, for instance, if your ideal clients are saying something like, “Where do I find more clients?” having a free gift title like “50 Places to Find New Clients” would be super enticing.

What you don’t want to do is focus on your specific solution or the how. So, for instance, if you’re an abundance coach, a free gift such as “How to Use the Power of Gratitude to Make More Money” might be a mistake.

Gratitude is your how. It’s how you’re going to teach someone to make more money.

Which doesn’t work, because wondering how to use gratitude to make more money is keeping very few people up at night.

A better title would be “A 10-Second Ritual Guaranteed to Help You Manifest Money.”

See how that one doesn’t reveal the how?

Plus, your ideal prospects can now focus on other parts of the headline, such as the 10 seconds (who wouldn’t like something that only takes 10 seconds?) and the manifest money part.

The Graphic

Having a graphic of your free gift on your opt-in page nearly always improves conversion.

But, especially now that graphics and pictures dominate the Internet (there’s even two social networking platforms—Instagram and Pinterest—that lead with graphics), having a graphic is a must.

A picture of your free gift makes it real in a way that words alone can’t. It grounds it.

The Bullet Points

I’ve found that, if your title is descriptive enough, you don’t necessarily even need any bullet points.

In this case, a short opt-in page, (basically a graphic, title/headline, and an opt-in box) may be fine.

For instance, one of my high-performing opt-in pages is for a free Love-Based Copy Template. The opt-in page is basically a graphic, the words “Free Template” above the title, and the words “Just enter your name and email address for instant access.”

That’s it.

Now, sometimes you may want a little more copy, so you may want to add a few bullet points. If you’re planning on sending cold traffic (for instance, maybe you’re planning on using Facebook ads to send traffic to your freebie), some bullet points would likely help your conversion.

Also, if it’s an opt-in page for a webinar or some sort of live training, I would add a few bullets because in that case, you’re not only asking for an email, but you’re asking people to invest their time. So a little more information would likely be better.

Crafting compelling bullet points is definitely an art form, and I have more resources here and here to help.

In addition, brushing up on your copy skills can definitely improve your opt-in conversions. My love-based copywriting books may be the perfect next step for you.