If there’s one thing that deserves some attention it’s the opt-in page.  The sole purpose of an opt-in page is to gather subscribers’ information and automatically add it to your autoresponder.

In essence, an opt-in page is a single webpage with nothing more to do on it than opt-in.  No other links or navigation bars.  And while publishing a page like this is fairly simple, getting as many subscribers as possible with this page is not something to be left to chance.

A Surprising Truth about Opt-In Pages

There is a secret to opt-in pages, well maybe not a secret necessarily, but something to keep in mind as you are painstakingly testing your page –

A well converting opt-in page can mean the difference between hundreds and thousands of subscribers joining your email list.

Did that make sense?

From hundreds to thousands!

While conversions are the bread and butter of any marketing campaign, there is only one way to know what works and what doesn’t.  And that is by testing.

Testing your Opt-In Page

But what should you test and how do you test it?

Those are the questions we will dive into right now…

Here are the top 10 things to test out on your opt-in pages:

1. The headline.  This is the first place to start.  Try another completely different headline and see what response it gets.  For some ideas on headlines, check out my list of 20 headlines.
2. The images or images.  If you have an image on it already, try taking it off.  If you don’t have one, try adding one.  Sometimes images are tricky – a product image can increase or decrease conversions.
3. Video vs. text.  Video converts better than plain text in most cases.  But video also takes some careful production – try adding or removing it and seeing what the numbers do.
4. The layout.  Assuming your opt-in form is on the right side, above the fold, try adding another form in the middle, below the fold.  Change the width of the page, move your text around.
5. The colors.  Going from blue to red might be the thing to increase your bottom line.  Even adding some highlighting or underlining can sometimes make a difference.
6. The text on the page.  Opt-in pages have one goal in mind and that is to capture the readers information – too much text turns it into a blog post rather than an opt-in page.  100 words or less is the norm, but your readers may benefit from less or more.  Ideally, the simpler, the better.
7. The opt-in form itself.  Setting up your web form is done through your autoresponder service, but there are several things that you can change on it.  Try asking for only one piece of information from the reader – email vs. name and email.
8. The Submit button.  Changing the wording of this button is quick and easy and worth testing several variations.  You can even change the image of the button itself to something completely different.
9. A signature.  Adding your name, signature-style is a little known tip that has worked for me.
10. Your picture.  This is worth testing once you’ve tested everything else – a small image of you can be very effective at increasing conversions.

A Final Tip on Testing

Thinking back to the statement about increasing your subscriber rates from hundreds to potentially thousands, there is also the possibility of getting too “test happy.”

While testing your opt-in page is crucial and an important part of running a business, it is a good idea to start small.

In other words, start at the top and work your way down, testing one thing at a time.

Run a test on one aspect of your page, choose a winner and then move on to another aspect.

But always keep testing.

What are your thoughts – what else do you test on your pages?

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