How to Create Opt-In Pages That Convert Like ATMs

You want to create opt-in pages for your courses. But creating opt-in pages that convert like ATMs? That’s a darn clickbait. No. Let me prove it and come out clean in just a minute. And after that, I will show you exactly how to create opt-in pages that pull people with money into your email list.

Why “convert like ATMs” is not clickbait?

We all know what an ATM is. You key in the amount of money you want, and it spits out cash. And that’s exactly what a good opt-in page should do too. You type some words on a page and get emails or phone numbers of people with money into your list.

In fact, good opt-in pages are much better than ATMs–you write the page once and get an endless flow of emails into your list. And now that we have this analogy sorted, it’s time to look at the “how.” But there’s one problem…

How do you know an opt-in page is good?

What Is A Bad Opt-In Page?

The key to creating something good is to know what good means. It’s the ability to differentiate between the good and the bad. So what is a bad opt-in page? How do you identify one? Let’s look at three of the obviously bad opt-in indicators first.

1. Not Targeted Towards A Specific Buyer

As a popular one-liner goes, if your offer is for everybody, it’s for nobody. And that’s what many opt-in pages do–I did this too.

When I created my first podcasting course, my opt-in page promised a “podcast cheat sheet.” It really didn’t qualify who it was for. That’s because I was afraid I’d have nobody signing up. But in reality, my email list got littered with a lot of freebie-hunters!

2. No Specific Promise

One of the biggest reasons opt-in pages fail is when they fail to make a clear and specific promise.

A good example here is opt-in pages for newsletters. “Subscribe to my newsletter and join 5000 others…” isn’t a good promise. Even if you’re a celebrity, that opt-in page will not bring you quality subscribers.

3. Weak Value Proposition

“What do I get in exchange for my email address?” That’s the question subscribers ask when they are on an opt-in page. And that’s where most opt-in pages fail–focusing on features instead of benefits.

Now that we looked at the three reasons opt-in pages fail let’s turn our attention to what makes opt-in pages a hit.

Five Elements To Create Opt-In Pages That Convert

In this section, let’s look at what makes opt-in pages convert like an ATM machine. The first three elements correspond to the mistakes in the previous section. And they’ll help in maximizing conversions on your opt-in page. But the remaining two are deeper–they help find profitable leads. Here are the five elements:

1. Target A Specific Buyer
2. Make A Specific Offer or Promise
3. Create A Strong Value Proposition
4. Position The Offer Strongly
5. Align To A Clear Paid Offer

Let’s now take a closer look at these five elements.

1. Target A Specific Buyer

Get specific with your targeting. If your audience is segmented, identify the segment you want to target with the opt-in page. If not, segment your audience. Once you have picked a specific audience segment, call them out in your copy. Here are some ways to call out your audience on your opt-in page:

1. Use their name. Examples: doctors, homemakers, dentists, small business owners, and course creators.
2. Call out a specific problem they are experiencing. Examples: unable to spend time with family, feeling like you’re always “hunting” for new clients, etc.
3. Call out a competitor or an alternative. Examples: tired of using Microsoft Excel, frustrated using an electric chopper.., etc.
4. Use a combination of any or all of the above.

2. Make A Specific Offer or Promise

Work on creating a specific promise by getting specific about the outcome. Here are two ways you can be specific about your promise:

1. Time specificity: Promise something that your subscribers will get within a specific time.
2. Result specificity: You can promise a specific result.

You can also consider combining time and result specificities to make your promise more compelling.

3. Create A Strong Value Proposition

Work on articulating a strong statement of benefit. State the benefits of opting in by articulating the features and benefits of every element of your lead magnet. Can your value proposition be tested? Are they tangible? Can your subscribers feel the result or transformation? Those are the questions you want to ask yourself as you write the value proposition.

4. Position The Offer Strongly

Positioning your lead magnet as something “free” reduces your offer’s value. Instead, Your opt-in page must position the lead magnet as a priceless resource. Promising to share a priceless resource in exchange for your buyers’ email addresses automatically positions your lead magnet as a step toward your paid offer.

5. Align To A Clear Paid Offer

When your lead magnet aligns with your paid offer positioning, you have a winner. While this may not impact your opt-in page conversions, it will certainly impact the kind of people you attract to your email list. So how do you do it?

As soon as you have an idea for a lead magnet, ask yourself a simple question: “How does the result someone gets using this lead magnet help them get the ultimate result that they will get from purchasing my paid course?”

If using the lead magnet helps them reach their ultimate goal, then your opt-in page is a winner.

Create Your Opt-in Page

It’s time to create your opt-in page. What does it look like? Type your opt-in page copy in the comments. And if you enjoy reading these blog posts, consider subscribing to the Paid Course Creator newsletter to get tips, tricks, and strategies to help you sell more and make more profit.

To your prosperity,

Kartvee