OK, you’ve decided that you want to build an email list — but it seems like a lot of work and the email opt-in forms you’ve got, just aren’t cutting it.
You want pretty email opt-in forms that put you and your product in the best light.
You want email opt-in forms that display your offer in a way that gets your website visitors excited about what you’re selling.
And, you want it to be affordable, simple, and not require any coding.
Well, then check out OptinMonster.
WHAT IS OPTINMONSTER
OptinMonster is a stand-alone email list-building tool that can transform newbie email marketers and busy business owners into email marketing pros.
Here are just a few things you can do with OptinMonster to build your email list:
- Create gorgeous professionally designed email opt-in forms without knowing how to code!
- Connect those forms to your favorite email marketing service
- Trigger those forms to display based on actions your visitor takes (such as clicking out to leave)
- View analytics and A/B test your forms to improve them
And those are just the basics. The more proficient you get at email marketing, the more you’re going to love OptinMonster.
OPTINMONSTER PRICING
Which plan you choose will depend on your business and how many bells and whistles you want to reach your goals.
As you look through each set of features, focus on how many websites you will be managing, and the level of traffic each of those sites gets because those are the elements that are most likely to push you into a higher plan.
If you haven’t done a lot of email marketing, have a single website and just want the basics, you’ll be fine with the basic plan.
If you are considering OptinMonster because you’re looking for more advanced features such as retargeting, custom branding or adlock protection, or advanced integration, you’ll need to look at the Plus, Pro or Growth plans.
OPTINMONSTER IS IDEAL FOR YOUR BUSINESS IF:
- You’re running an eCommerce business. You’ll want the higher-level plans because of their amazing onsite retargeting features such as retargeting or cart abandonment or referral detection.
- You’re a consultant, author, or coach. If you’re selling training products or books, you’ll love the campaign scheduling features so that you can set and forget any launches or product specials that you’re doing.
- You’re an online publisher. As an online publisher. it’s all about getting and keeping people on your site and engaged with your content. You’re going to love features such as “smart success”. Smart Success will recognize subscribers who have already received one promotion and will offer them another, unique promotion — so they aren’t always seeing the same thing. For example, you can give them the opportunity to follow you on social media, or play a useful or recent video.
- You’re a local business. Even if you run a local business that depends on local traffic, your customers are coming to your website — even if it’s to grab an address or phone number. You’ll love the geotargeting feature that allows you to show one offer to your local audience and another one to folks that are further away.
WHY USE OPTINMONSTER FOR BUILDING AN EMAIL LIST
Email marketing platforms like MailChimp, Constant Contact, AWeber, and others are focused on delivering emails and not on collecting emails. These platforms have email opt-in forms, but — how do I say this nicely — they are clumsy, ugly, and nearly impossible to customize unless you know how to code. In fact, even powerful marketing automation tools such as Active Campaign and InfusionSoft have a similar problem.
To build your email list, you’re going to want your email forms to look professional and feature your offer in the best light possible. You’re going to want “smart” email opt-in forms that don’t piss off your website visitors and create the best user experience so that they stay on your site and ultimately convert to customers.
WHAT ARE OPTINMONSTER ALTERNATIVES?
When you search the web, you’ll see a few common OptinMonster alternatives such as; Sumo, LeadPages, Bloom, etc. If you aren’t familiar with all of these, it’s going to be tough to compare, so I’m going to show you how to compare.
Your first step should be to focus on your email marketing goals. What are you selling? What do you want to offer your email list? How will you promote your offers?
Today, email marketing platforms have each expanded beyond their core service and they overlap to the point that it’s difficult to choose unless you know what their core strength is.
OptinMonster started as an email opt-in form platform and they have stayed focused on their core strength by expanding the look, form, and function of email opt-in forms. So, if the core of your business is eCommerce and content marketing that lives on your WordPress site and you’re using any common email marketing or marketing automation platform — this is your best choice.
Don’t be swayed by the price — you get what you pay for.
If your WordPress Website is on Thrive Themes and you’re creating landing pages, then you should stick with Thrive. It’s cheaper for the basic features and is much more flexible when it comes to customizing your forms. However, it’s not going to have the sophisticated campaign and timing features of OptinMonster.
If you’re on a Divi WordPress theme, then you already have Bloom. This is what I have and while the forms are ok — they aren’t even close to what OptinMonster offers. They have customizable templates, but they are very limited. They have very basic analytics. Again, if you want any sort of control or targeting, Bloom won’t cut it.
In most online comparisons, people have been listing LeadPages as an alternative to OptinMonster. I don’t understand this as LeadPages (along with Unbounce) are primarily landing page platforms. Their email opt-in forms are on landing pages and not inside your blog or blog content. Think of it this way — you can use OptinMonster on any landing page, but you cannot use LeadPages opt-in forms on your website.
THE PROS AND CONS OF OPTINMONSTER
PROS OF USING OPTINMONSTER
- It’s an email list-building platform optimized for increasing email opt-ins.
- There is a segmentation feature that makes grouping subscribers by area of interest a breeze – and then targeting offers to them even easier.
- Has dozens of templates optimized for high conversions.
- Doesn’t require any coding – simply replace their text with your own.
- Integrations with all major platforms and an HTML integration for any platforms not directly integrated.
- You can use it on multiple websites (including client sites). This way all of your form analytics are on one page.
- Sophisticated email opt-in form features that include retargeting, referral detection, site abandonment, site exit pop-ups, and more.
- Doesn’t require a WordPress plugin. Everything happens on the OptinMonster platform so you don’t have to worry about plugins slowing your site down or needing updates.
CONS OF USING OPTINMONSTER
- It’s a little pricier than other simple email opt-in form platforms.
- The A/B split test feature doesn’t automatically pick a winner.
- To see your stats, you have to connect Google Analytics
- It’s hard to choose a plan if you have to upgrade to get a single feature that’s important to you.
IS OPTINMONSTER WORTH THE MONEY?
Yes!
Every email you collect is an asset that you own. And, building an email list is a critical component of every single marketing strategy.
- If you’re a content marketer who spends a lot of time on social media, you need to convert and move your online relationships.
- If you’re using paid advertising to drive traffic to specific products or services, converting visitors to subscribers is critical to nurturing those relationships and getting a good return on your advertising investment.
- If you’re using direct marketing, email is returning $44 for every dollar you spend.
HOW TO GET ROI ON YOUR EMAIL MARKETING
Let’s take a minute to talk about the insane returns that email marketing is getting. $44 for every dollar spent.
Chances are that you’re currently getting about 1% of your visitors opting into any email list that you have. And, if your email opt-in forms are annoying, or poorly designed, you may be getting less than that.
For you to get that $44 return on every dollar spent, you will have to become a smarter email marketer and right now, OptinMonster is your best bet.
