Setting up the official opt in box for subscribers to use in order to get on your list seems very intimidating to those new to email marketing, but it’s not that difficult to do. You may have a slightly different experience, depending on which company you use, but the basic steps are pretty much the same.
You’ll want to start by having your web page editor open and ready for when you want to insert the code into your site. You can use an editor like Microsoft FrontPage, for example.
Make sure you toggle from the Normal tab to the HTML tab before you paste the code you’re about to produce, or the opt in box won’t show up. Go ahead and figure out where you’ll want to put your code. Usually, it’s below the main headline and sub-headline, and possibly next to a set of bullet point benefits your visitor will see on why they should sign up.
Now minimize that while you open your browser and log into your email autoresponder system. We’ll use Aweber as our example, since it’s one of the most popular email marketing systems.
You should land on the main user control panel. You want to click on a tab or link that says Web Forms or something similar. Make sure if you have more than one list, that you’ve selected the list you want to create code for in the drop down menu, if applicable.
Click on Create a New Web Form and choose the design for your opt in box. They have a set of templates with a wide variety of niche images on them. For example, you might choose a box with fruits and vegetables surrounding it for a health or diet niche site.
Choose which type of opt in box you want. An In-Line box appears static on the page. A pop-over hovers in the web page. A lightbox is a pop-over that shows up while the rest of your site is darkened until the visitor takes action. And a pop-up open a new window.
You can adjust the width of the opt in box, either by manually dragging the sides or by typing in the specific dimensions you want to use. Choose which fields of information that you want the opt in box to collect.
You can go with the default of just name and email address, or add on a physical complete address or any other information with a ‘create a new field’ button that you name yourself.
Click on the various sections of the box to do any editing you feel is necessary. For example, if you don’t want the button to say “submit” then change it to something else such as, “Send Me That Report!”
Save the web form and name it and then go to the Publishing section. It will ask if you’re going to publish or install it yourself, or if you’ll be having someone else do it for you. You can even host it right on the system, but this isn’t recommended.
Click “I Will Install My Form” and then choose the raw HTML version. Copy the long, complex code and paste it where you want it to go in your HTML editor. After pasting the code, publish the page and test out the system to ensure it works properly. You want to be signed up to your own email autoresponder so that you’ll see exactly what your customers are seeing whenever they get a message from you.