How to Use 2-Step Optin to Convert Visitors to Leads

The Two-step Opt-in has been around for some time now and marketers who have taken advantage of them have seen an exponential increase in website traffic conversion.

Email marketing is a valuable aspect of marketing and one of the best ways to build your email list is by getting your website visitors to subscribe to your email list. If this has not been working out for you, you should look into how well you are using the 2-step opt-in.

In this article, We will cover how 2-step optin increases lead generation, ways to optimize it and how to make a 2-step optin form in WordPress.

What is 2-Step Opt-In

A 2-step opt-in is a process that requires a user to take action before they see an optin form and then, to take a second action of giving their information to get an offer.

This looks like what you have below:

It is absolutely normal to think that giving your website visitors more activity would reduce their interaction with you and consequently ruin your chances of getting their information, but interestingly that is not the case.

Dr Robert Cialidini, Famous Author of the “Psychology of Persuasion” calls this “Commitment and consistency”. It is also called The Foot-in-door Tactic. It states that if you can get people to do small requests, they are more likely to complete the next bigger request you have for them in a way of feeling committed and consistent. This tactic is implemented when you set up the 2-step opt-in process in your mail optin form.

When most people see a traditional opt-in form, they start the mental process of deciding between giving out their data or not. But breaking the process only lets them think of getting your proposed offer, this makes them take the action of making a click, after which they see a pop-up. This makes it more attractive to give-in the data at that point because the next thought process becomes a commitment to finish what they started, in order to get what they want.

Below are the best ways you can implement this process to get the best of it.

Make your Form Precise

This process works best when the next task is not exactly much larger than the previous task given.

source: theunboundedspirit.com

If the task is too difficult in relation to the first task, this might put-off your potential lead. This means that your form should be simple, requiring only basic information. If you have to get more information, you can use progressive profiling tactics to get more information over time.

Offer a Content Upgrade

One of the best ways to use a two-step opt-in is with a content upgrade strategy. A content upgrade offer is a more updated and valued content that is closely related to the post that a visitor has just finished reading.

It can be placed within the post using a lightbox or pop-up and slide-ins. For best results, you should only create a content upgrade for your blog posts or pages with high traffic volume.

Use Testimonials and Validation on Your 2-step Opt-In

Depending what your offer might be, you can show visitors the benefits of getting your offer on your 2-step opt-in form by showing them some testimonials from previous subscribers or you can show how many people have subscribed as a validation.

Show a Preview of the Content

Showing a preview of your content on your 2-step form is a great way to give your potential lead a peek of what they should be expecting to get. You can give bullet points of what they should expect or an attention-grabbing blurb.

Design a Landing Page

Using a 2-step opt-in also works well if you are designing a landing page. A 2-step process eliminates the need for potential leads to form a defence system about giving away their information when they are looking at the offers you are pitching them. That way there are no competing thoughts on their mind. They can either make the decision to say yes or no to your offer, without worrying about what they would give away.

With a Landing Page, You can provide more content that sells your offer and place less emphasis on giving away their data with the help of a 2-step opt-in form. Learn how to achieve this with MailOptin.

Wrapping Up

2-step email opt-in is an effective way to capture leads as opposed to the traditional method of using opt-in forms.

You can use the implementation strategies above to increase the efficiency of this process to get the best lead generation results.

It is also important to set up your display rules correctly for how you want your website visitors to view the offers you have created.

Whether you are using landing pages or pop-pops, you can successfully take advantage of the psychology behind this technology to maximize lead generation for effective marketing.