OptinMonster review: Lead generation software for websites

Optin forms are used on websites that don’t let users register a new account. If the visitor enters his email ID in the opt-in form and clicks the submit button, you can send newsletters, offers to the user’s email address. The free opt-in plugins available in the WordPress repository or by popular free newsletter service providers offer basic features. If you’re looking for a powerful opt-in plugin that works on all types of websites and is compatible with the various email marketing apps, you can use OptinMonster.

Review

Launched in 2013, OptinMonster is one of the most popular opt-in form plugins and lead generation software. The plugin has over 700K users. It is used on small, medium, as well as high traffic websites. Some of the companies using OptinMonster are Pinterest, TripAdvisor, Capterra, etc.

Features of OptinMonster:

Drag and drop

OptinMonster provides a drag and drop form builder tool with which you can design opt-in forms. This interface displays a canvas and a list of elements. You must drag the element on the canvas. When you do so, OptinMonster automatically generates its valid HTML code. Then, it adds the code between the <form></form> HTML tags of the form. The plugin enables you to add the following elements to the forms:

• Countdown timer, button.
• Images, dividers, icons, custom HTML code,
• Select box,etc.

In addition to the above elements, OptinMonster also lets you embed a video in the form.

Triggers

The plugin enables users to set up smart triggers. For example, you can configure OptinMonster to accept email addresses or names before a specific date by setting an end date and time. The start date is the time on which the form will go live on your website.

Get your copy of OptinMonster here

Customization

Each element supported by the plugin is customizable. You can change the color of the button, set a background color for the form, change the font/color of the text, etc.

Custom messages

OptinMonster supports custom text messages. When a user signs up for the newsletter or enters his/her email address in the form for accessing a special document, it can send a success message containing the text of your choice.

Targeting

The plugin lets you target a specific audience. For instance, OptinMonster lets you set up a marketing campaign for the users visiting your website from a specific search engine, app, country, device, etc, or visiting a specific page on your website.

Get your copy of OptinMonster here

Types of Opt-ins supported by OptinMonster

Lightbox Popups: The popups generated by the plugin are SEO and mobile-friendly. According to the developers of the OptinMonster plugin, the conversion rate increases by over 500% when you use Lightbox pop-ups.

Floating bar: Want to keep an opt-in form right in front of the visitor when he/she scrolls down/up the page? Use the Floating Bar feature of the plugin.

Sidebar forms: The sidebar is an important part of a website. You can add the forms you design with OptinMonter to the sidebar.

Coupon Wheels: Coupon Wheel is the latest design in the world on opt-in forms. You can design a Coupon Wheel that offers different discounts/offers to the users who spin the wheel.

Other supported styles:

• Slide-in scroll box.
• Full-screen welcome matt.
• Content locker.
• Inline forms.

Scroll Trigger, Inactivity sensor, Exit Intent, Smart Subscription

OptinMonster can detect if the user is interacting with the page or not. If the user is not interacting, it can trigger a popup box to get back the user’s attention. Another cool feature of the plugin is Exit Intent. When this feature is active, OptinMonster will display a pop-up when the user moves the cursor of his/her laptop’s/computer’s keyboard on the back button of the web browser.

If you want to display an opt-in form in a light-box pop-up, you can use the Scroll Trigger feature of the OptinMonster to show the pop-up box when the user scrolls down the page. One more interesting feature of OptinMonster is that it can show a different opt-in form to the users who have already subscribed to the updates on your website by entering their details in an opt-in form. This feature unlocks new lead opportunities on a website.

The four features I’ve shared above support mobile devices as well as desktops. In addition to the Inactivity sensor, Scroll Trigger, Smart Subscription, and Exit Intent, the OptinMonster plugin provides 14 other mobile-friendly display rules.

Get your copy of OptinMonster here

Analytics

The plugin lets you see the clicks the CTA button in the form has received and the page on which the user interacted with the form. OptinMonster displays the number of leads a form has generated. You can use the Analytics Data to check if an opt-in form designed by you is generating leads or yielding results as per your expectations or not.

Cross-platform

The OptinMonster plugin supports Shopify, Magento, BigCommerce, WordPress, and many other web apps. According to the developers, it can be used on any type of website. OptinMonster is compatible with the following email marketing apps:

• ActiveCampaign, Constant Contact.
• ConvertKit, Conversio, Aweber.
• Drip, Emma, FeedBurner.
• GetResponse, HubSpot, MailChimp,
• Zapier, TotalSend, WebHook, and several other services.

Effects

The plugin lets you apply 26 cool effects to the opt-in forms and popups. The effects may help in getting the attention of the users.

Pricing

OptinMonster is a premium WordPress plugin. It offers four subscription plans – Basic, Plus, Pro, and Growth. The Basic plan costs $19 per month. It is ideal for a single website receiving up to 5000 page views per month. The next plan i.e. Plus plan is priced at $39. It supports 2 websites and up to 15000 page views. The Plus and Growth plan support 3 to 5 websites having up to 50000 and 250000 page views respectively. They cost $59 and $99.

Get a 50% discount on the four subscription plans of OptinMonster here

Support, Documentation, Money back guarantee

The developers of the OptinMonster plugin offer ticket-based and live-chat support to the users. You can also ask a general/basic question before buying a plan by filling the pre-sales support form on the official OptinMonster website. The official website of the plugin gives you access to 200+ tutorials and tips that covers basic as well as advanced topics. What you’ll learn from the documentation?

• Creating new campaigns.
• Integrating third-party services with the opt-in forms you’ve designed.
• Adding a custom message.
• Customizing the form, etc

OptinMonster has a 14-day refund policy. Thus, in case you’re not  happy with the performance of the plugin or the results, you can apply for the refund

Pros

Feature-rich: OptinMonster provides many innovative features to the users.

Responsive design and search engine friendly: The forms you design/create with the plugin are SEO friendly as well as responsive.

Cons

Pageview limitations: Although OptinMonster is a great plugin, it has a pageview limitation on each plan.

Get a 50% discount on the four subscription plans of OptinMonster here

Final thoughts

OptinMonster is a powerful opt-in form plugin. The opt-in forms created with it can increase the conversion rate greatly.