One thing that most beginner bloggers overlook when they’re first starting their own website or blog is the importance of having opt-in forms.
You want to be able to connect with your clients and viewers even when they’re not on your platform.
And one of the best ways to do that is to have the possibility for them to subscribe to your e-mail list.
Now don’t get scared just because I said “e-mail list.”
E-mail marketing is something that scares and intimidates a lot of beginners.
But it really is a very simple process of allowing people to connect with you via e-mail. This is a great way to build affinity with your viewers.
But when you look at the price tag of how much some of these e-mail marketing systems can cost you, you may want to run away.
So why not get your first start in e-mail marketing and opt-in forms completely for free?
In today’s article, I’m going to give you 7 platforms that you can use to get free opt-in forms on your website or blog.
You will not have to pay a dime and you’ll be able to generate more leads and start building your e-mail list.
What are Opt-In Forms?
Your first question may be what are opt-in forms?
If you’ve ever been to a website and you get one of those pop-up forms that tell you to subscribe to someone’s e-mail list or download one of their free ebooks or guides, then you’ve seen an opt-in form.
Matter of fact, it is very hard to find any website nowadays that doesn’t have opt-in forms.
These are simply small boxes or pop-up windows that are on websites and blogs that give you the option of signing up for someone’s e-mail list.
As soon as the person enters their e-mail and validates it, that e-mail will now be added to the owner’s contact list.
Now the owner will be able to send this person emails, newsletters, and other updates that may be important for their business and grow a relationship with that customer or viewer.
This is how bloggers and website owners are able to build their e-mail list by getting people to just subscribe to it.
Usually, there is some form of incentive or freebie that is provided to the viewer or subscriber to get them to subscribe to their e-mail list.
Why Is Building An Email List Important?
I have talked about email marketing and email lists several times on this blog. And that is because I understand how important and valuable having your own email list can be.
Not only is it a great way to get to know your subscribers better and to grow a great relationship with them.
But if you’re looking to make some extra cash, then having an e-mail list is going to be more valuable than gold to you.
Matter of fact, I personally know people who make 10s of thousands if not hundreds of thousands of dollars only from having a well-established email list.
But something that’s even more important when it comes to having an email list is that it is something that no one can take away from you.
A YouTube channel can be restricted and a website can have downtime. But an email list is there to stay. It is 100% yours and your property alone.
No matter what provider you work with, no one can ever take it away from you.
Nor will they ever have access to your email list unless you want them to.
This makes having an email one of the most safest and secure ways to build a community.
If, for example, your Instagram page gets taken down or something’s wrong with your website, you can simply send an email to everyone on your list and let them know what is happening.
Find the people who actually go and subscribe to your email list are your VIPs. So they should always be treated as such.
How Can You Get Free Opt-In Forms?
There are three main ways that you can get free opt-in forms.
The first way is by signing up with an email marketing system that allows you to have opt-in forms and landing pages in the same place.
The second way is to sign up with a third-party platform that will give you the landing pages and opt-in forms. These will then connect to your e-mail marketing system and add those emails to your list.
And the third way is to download and use plugins that will be able to connect directly to places like WordPress that also give you opt-in forms. These plugins also require that you connect them to your actual email marketing system if you want to collect the emails.
Today, I will be giving you all three options so that you’ll be able to see which one fits you best.
7 Places You Can Get Opt-In Forms Completely For Free
It may sound too good to be true, but there are so many ways nowadays to get free opt-in forms that you’re able to start with as a new creator.
So in this article, I’m going to give you seven amazing platforms that will allow you to start building your email list and use their opt-in forms completely for free.
There is no credit card needed and they’re all very beginner friendly.
I have personally used each and every one of these so I do have some first-hand experience.
I will say, however, that #5 is one of my personal favorites and I use it across all of my blogging platforms.
So let’s take a look at them.
1 – Mailchimp
MailChimp is one of the most well-known and reliable email marketing platforms out there. It’s very simple and easy to use and great for both beginners and experts.
You’ll find that a lot of major companies and platforms use MailChimp as their email marketing provider. And that is because it is simply one of the most secure and reliable platforms out there.
But what’s even better is that MailChimp even thinks about the little guys.
Being one of the first platforms to provide a free plan for people with an email list of fewer than 1000 contacts.
This means that as a beginner, you’ll be able to sign up with MailChimp and use your e-mail marketing platform for free if you have less than 1000 people on your e-mail list.
With this free plan, you’ll get access to free opt-in forms, free landing pages, and free templates.
And because MailChimp is a fully integrated system, anyone who signs up via their forms will go automatically onto your e-mail list.
The only downside to MailChimp’s opt-in forms is that they are not the most esthetically pleasing compared to it’s counterparts.
They’re not terrible, but they just need a little bit of revamping. So if you have a really clear aesthetic, especially if you cater more to the female audience, then you may have to work on them a bit.
Other than that, this is a very beginner-friendly and reliable way to start building your e-mail list and use opt-in forms.
I highly suggest you read this article here if you want to learn more about MailChimp and how to get started.
2 – ConvertFlow
Next, we have ConvertFlow.
ConvertFlow is a third-party application that you can use to build opt-in forms landing pages, quizzes, pop-ups and so much more.
They have over 100 templates that you can use to get started.
They are very simple to build and easy to adjust and you can customize them to your liking.
Getting started is very simple because they have a completely free plan that you don’t have to pay to use.
Meaning you can pretty much build unlimited opt-in forms and landing pages to get started.
But there is a bit of a downside.
ConvertFlow gives you this for free for up to 250 unique conversions.
This means that it’s only free for the first 250 people that you get on your e-mail list via ConvertFlow.
It may not sound like much, but for a beginner, you could probably go 6 months to a year before you get 200 subscribers on your e-mail list.
This should give you more than enough time to be able to build up your platform before you have to start paying for the forms.
Since this is also a third-party platform, you do have to connect it to an e-mail service provider.
For example, when I was using this platform, I also had a MailChimp account that I connected to ConvertFlow.
So as soon as I got a subscriber on ConvertFlow, it would automatically be added to my MailChimp e-mail list.
It is a simple integration that only takes you a couple of clicks but it is definitely worth it for the beautiful forms that you get.
3 – Groove.cm
Groove is also a platform that I’ve talked about several times on this blog.
I even did a full review so that you can read all about my Groove.cm review about here.
Groove is so much more than just an opt-in form or landing page platform.
It really is an all-in-one platform that gives you everything you need from web hosting to video hosting, to sign-up forms.
I first signed up with Groove.cm over five years ago. At that time it used to be called the Groove Funnels.
It was mainly known for allowing people to make sales funnels and grow their marketing platforms.
However, over the years it really has grown into an all-in-one platform that allows you to do so much more.
But the real icing on the cake with Groove is that it allows you to start completely for free.
If you have an e-mail list of fewer than 500 contacts, Groove.cm will allow you to subscribe to their platform and use three opt-in forms and three landing pages completely for free.
You may think that three is a small number, but it is more than enough if you are just getting started.
If you have a blog, you can use one form for your general subscription opt-in. Then you can create another form to give some freebie or incentive to get your readers to subscribe.
That’ll give you one more form that you can use for whatever you’d like.
This is really all you need to get started and to start building your e-mail list when you’re just beginning.
The forms on Groove.cm are actually very nice and the templates are super easy to use. One of the things that I like most is that they have different templates depending on the niches that you’re in.
So they have fashion templates just like they have regular marketing templates.
So whatever niche you’re in, you’ll probably be able to find something for you.
If you want, you can also choose to connect Groove to another e-mail marketing platform if you want your subscribers to go on to that list.
Easy integration that you can do in just a few clicks.
4 – GetResponse
Next on the list is GetResponse
I started using GetResponse a couple of years ago and it really was a great experience.
GetResponse is very similar to MailChimp. It is a fully integrated e-mail marketing system in and of itself. Which also provides you with landing pages and sign-up forms that you can use completely for free when you sign up.
If you have an email list with less than 500 contacts, you can also sign up completely for free.
With this free plan, you will get unlimited landing pages and opt-in forms.
You can even get a 30-day free trial if you want to test out the full features.
One major advantage of using get response is that it has some of the most beautiful opt-in forms and landing pages that you will find on the market.
Not only are they stunning, but they also have hundreds of templates that you can use and customize to your liking.
Also, with GetResponse you can choose to integrate another e-mail marketing system instead if you don’t want to use their own platform.
So for example when I used GetResponse also had it connected to my MailChimp account. I simply used their forms and integrate them with MailChimp so that anyone that signed up would go automatically to my MailChimp e-mail list.
Just keep in mind that once you pass that 500 subscriber mark, you will have to start paying for the platform.
I did a full review of the GetResponse platform that you can read about here. I also wrote all about their free plan and you can read more about that in this article.
5 – OptinMonster
Now on to one of my favorites, OptinMonster.
OptinMonster is an incredible third-party plugin that you can download on WordPress.
It is completely free to download and to get started with.
Not only does it come with great and beautiful forms and landing pages. But it also allows you to create campaigns and have full control of how you want them to be set up on your website.
I especially love all the statistics and analytics that you can get from the OptinMonster plugin.
Their opt-in forms are really easy to customize, and their templates are beautiful.
For a free plugin, you definitely get a lot of value.
However, like in most cases, there is a downside.
One is that you only get 2 free forms that you’re able to use.
The second one is that you do have a limit on how much traffic you can get to each of those forms.
Basically, if you get more than 300 clicks to your page, and you have the free plan, The forms will no longer show up on your page.
That is because there is a traffic limit of 300 viewers with the free OptinMonster plan.
And because it is a third-party plugin, you will need to integrate it with an e-mail service like MailChimp or GetResponse.
But for the quality that you get with OptinMonster, it really is worth it. The value is out of this world and it really will give you a lot of insight as to what works on your platform and what doesn’t.
I recommend that you read this article right here if you want to know more about OptinMonster.
6 – ConvertKit
ConvertKit is another e-mail marketing platform quite similar to MailChimp and GetResponse.
ConvertKit is actually one of the blogger favorites, as you’ll find that a lot of beginner bloggers use it.
Quite similar to MailChimp and GetResponse, ConvertKit will also give you access to their platform completely for free if you have less than 500 contacts.
But one of the main reasons that ConvertKit is so popular is because of its beautiful opt-in and landing pages.
I use ConvertKit for one of my niche websites and YouTube channels and I personally have to say that they have some of the most beautiful sign-up forms that I have ever seen.
However, I will also say that the aesthetic does not fit all niches. So it is definitely something to look into before you sign up.
For my niches, they worked extremely well, giving me about 10 new subscribers the very first day that I signed up.
The templates are easy to use and easy to customize to your liking.
You also get great access to analytics which can be very important to see how your forms are performing.
This is great if you want to do A/B testing to remove any forms that are underperforming.
You can read more about ConvertKit and how it works in this article.
7 – WPforms
Last but not least, we have WPforms.
WPForms is a WordPress plugin that allows you to create drag-and-drop forms for your website.
WPforms is known as being the most beginner friendly form builder for WordPress. It is a plugin that is completely free to download and very easy to use.
You can create extremely smart forms in a matter of minutes with no need to use any coding whatsoever.
You can also easily integrate these with any e-mail marketing service provider that you’re using.
However, one of the downsides is that the forms are very basic. Quite similar to MailChimp, they are not the most aesthetically pleasing forms.
But what they lack in aesthetics, they make up for in ease, speed, and SEO friendliness.
In all my years of blogging, I’ve yet to come across a fully negative review of WP Forms. It really is a great place to start if you’re looking to build some opt-in forms for your website.
If you want to learn more about how to build the forms and how to download the plugin, you can read this article here.
Final Thoughts
When I first started blogging, I wish I had someone to tell me how important building opt-in forms and starting an e-mail list would be for my business.
It’s something that a lot of beginners overlook and also feel intimidated by.
And to be honest, when I first started out 10 years ago, the idea of starting an e-mail marketing system really was quite intimidating.
Not only that but there was usually a hefty price tag on all of the platforms.
Today it is a lot easier and a lot cheaper to get started.
With any of the seven platforms I mentioned above, you do not eat need any credit card information to sign up.
You simply enter your e-mail address and some quick information and you’re settled!
The process is quick and easy, and all these platforms are very beginner-friendly and easy to use.
You can even add your old contacts to these platforms (if you already had some).
So set yourself up for success and start building your e-mail list today completely for free.
