An opt-in form is the way you collect email subscribers from your website, blog, online store, Instagram—or wherever your ideal customers are hanging out.
We created a couple of different types of forms you can choose from depending on where you’d like your form to show up on your website. And if you don’t have a website yet, don’t worry, we’ve got you covered.
The four form types are:
Popup form: These are the kinds of forms you see when you visit a website. It appears over your website content, grabbing your visitor’s attention so you can offer them a freebie download, a discount or newsletter resources in exchange for their email.
You can even create interactive popups with a spin wheel. Learn more about it here.
Inline form: This type of form embeds directly into your website and can be placed wherever you want it to show up. These are great to add all over your website and blog to encourage visitors to subscribe as they browse your website.
Full page form: The full page form is exclusive to Flodesk and is perfect for you if you:
Don’t have a website
Don’t want to worry about embedding form code into your website’s HTML
Want to create a quick landing page without spending a ton of time
The full-page form publishes directly to the web without needing to paste in any code. Just copy and paste the link and share it wherever you want. You can even even create full page forms with spin wheels or with countdown timers!
Link in bio: Link in bio forms are exclusive to Flodesk and are unique, standalone, shareable forms which enable you to own the audience you’re building on social media by capturing their email addresses for email marketing.
But beyond capturing subscriber email addresses, a Link in bio Form offers even more customization to create a link in bio landing page showcasing your unique brand, includingLogo block
Preferences
Image block
Link list
Bio block
Social icons
Now that you’re all caught up on the different types of forms you can choose from, we’ll walk you through how to create your first one.
Please note: if you’re on the free plan, your form can only collect subscriber data and move this data into a segment you specify in Flodesk.
In order to trigger a freebie email send or a welcome sequence once your subscribers are moved into the segment connected to your form, you'll need to upgrade to the Email marketing or Everything bundle which includes unlimited workflows.
To create an opt-in form:
Step 1. Go to Forms on the top menu in your Flodesk account
Step 2. Click on + New form to start a new form
Step 3. Select between a Popup (appears over your website content when visitors land on your website), an Inline form (appears inside a blog post, page, or article), a Full page form (no embed codes, no website needed) or a Link in bio form (your go-to link in bio solution).
Step 4. Hover over the form template you want to start working with, then click on Customize it to start making it your own.
Step 5. Important: Select an existing segment(s) or create a new segment(s) for your form.
Why is it important to choose a segment?
Your new subscribers will be automatically added to this main form segment when they opt in.
You will need this information to automate workflows—available on the Email and Everything plans. (Learn more about how this works for sending automated emails here.)
You can later pull reports and insights on this segment's behavior to determine the success of your opt-in form.
This is how you keep your subscribers organized—we strongly recommend one main segment per form you create.
Step 6. Click anywhere on your form to start editing.
Step 7. To add a photo to the form, click on the image placeholder and then you can:
Upload a photo from your computer via the Upload image box
Pull in a photo from Unsplash via the Add a photo from Unsplash button, or
Add a GIF from Giphy
Step 8. To add additional fields to your form, click into a form field on the main screen to access the 'Fields' tab on the right sidebar.
Next, click on the + Add field button and add any of the default fields—like First name and Last name—or choose the Custom field option.
To learn more about how to use Custom fields, read our article on Can I add a custom field to a form?
You can customize your form fields design under the Style tab, and select from various options including no border and underline.
Step 9. If you want the form image to show up on mobile devices, click on the background area somewhere below the desktop and mobile preview icons and on the right sidebar under the Form tab, turn on the Image on mobile option.
Step 10. To let your subscribers opt-in to additional segments, turn on the Preferences on your form.
To learn more about Preferences, read our detailed guide on How to use Preferences on forms.
Beyond the standard checkbox style, you can also select a circle or even heart shaped checkbox.
Step 11. Don't forget to customize your success message. This is the text displayed after someone subscribes to your form.
To learn more about customizing the success message, read our detailed guide on How to change the success message font color in your opt-in form.
Step 12. Click the Settings button on the top right side of your screen to continue to the form customization options. Here you'll be able to
Turn on the double opt-in for your form
Choose when this popup form should be displayed
Toggle on/off to show the popup to return visitors who already subscribed
Turn on notifications when subscribers opt in to this form
Choose a main segment for the form
Step 13. Click over to the Embed tab, and grab the HTML code to embed on your website—applicable for pop up forms and inline forms. After you paste these into the appropriate places on your website, your form will be ready to go!
For a step-by-step guide on how to embed the code snippets in the most common website builders, check out the following collection of guides:
Summary
An opt-in form is a form that allows people to opt into your email list so you can grow your subscribers.
Based on how you want the form to appear, you can choose from four form types:
A Popup form that appears over your content when someone lands on your website
An Inline form that shows up inside your webpage or blog post
A Full page form that acts as a landing page with its own URL (no website required)
A Link in bio form that acts as subscriber opt-in form with additional customization blocks for your social media link in bios, It comes with its own URL (no website required)
Customizing your form’s look and feel is a snap, including
Uploading an image
Changing fonts and colors
Adding custom fields
Adding form preferences
Setting when the form is displayed and more.
After you’ve created your Popup or Inline form, grab the HTML code snippets and paste them into the appropriate places on your website.
And if you create a Full page form or a Link in bio form, customize the form link and share it wherever you want!