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Top 16 Opt-In Email Examples (Winning Opt-In Forms & Email Campaigns)
Breaking Down the Best Opt-In Forms & Opt-In Emails on the Internet
Brandon Storey
January 31st, 2024
Table of Contents
Are you having a tough time growing your email list?
Your opt-in page and opt-in email campaigns could be the reason.
Getting random strangers on the internet to share their contact information is no easy task. But, if you want to grow your newsletter or expand your business, you need to find a way to gain more subscribers.
That’s why you need to have an email opt-in strategy in place.
In this article, we will show you eight email opt-in form examples and eight opt-in email campaign examples. In each example, I share specific insights into what makes them so effective (so you can craft your own winning opt-ins).
Examples of Successful Email Opt-In Forms
Here are eight examples of some of the best email opt-in forms on the internet.
Once you’re done going through these opt-in form examples, don’t forget to check out the opt-in email campaign examples right after this section!
Why Listen to Me? I’ve managed two email newsletters over the years including one with 100,000 subscribers and one with 30,000. I currently run a digital media business, Hockey Question, that gets over 50,000 visits per month.
Why It Works:
Are you designing an email opt-in form for your newsletter? Look no further than Morning Brew. Their opt-in landing page is simple, sophisticated, and eye-catching.
Most importantly, it’s a proven winner. They take the cake when it comes to creating something that’s not too complicated yet visually appealing that draws readers in. Their single form field for an email address ensures there’s as little friction as possible to get right to the point that they’re after your email.
Their smartphone mockup with an example newsletter is a perfect way to get visitors to visualize reading their newsletter so they know what they’re getting themselves into.
Morning Brew takes their opt-in process to the next level with the page that shows up after you subscribe. While they only had a single field to fill out in the main form, this page allows them to gather a ton of data from their new subscribers which they’re more likely to fill out now that they’ve already subscribed.
2. BOOM! by Cindy Joseph
Why It Works:
BOOM! by Cindy Joseph is a leading cosmetics and skincare company targeted towards Baby Boomers. This brand is sneaky-good at using engaging and valuable informational content to generate traffic and then using different conversion tactics to either make a sale or get an email address.
In this example, they put a call to action right in the middle of their blog post to “JOIN THE BOOM CLUB” for “new videos, discount codes, and more!”
Once the visitor clicks the button to join the BOOM Club, they’re taken to an email opt-in landing page with 75% of the page taken up by friendly smiles from people in the target audience’s demographics.
Rather than just saying, “Sign up to our email list,” something BOOM! does well is positioning its email newsletter as a special VIP club to make the reader understand they’re joining a welcoming community.
3. Young Money by Jack Raines Newsletter
Why It Works:
Young Money by Jack Raines is a Gen-Z-targeted finance newsletter that’s engaging and driven by humor and storytelling. Jack makes that clear right from the get-go with his witty call to action: “The best finance blog you’ve never heard of. 10/10 stories, 5/10 art.”
As a beehiiv user, Jack leverages the platform’s customizable home pages feature to craft an effective opt-in experience. Something Jack does well is putting reviews at the forefront to draw on social proof to convert more visitors into subscribers.
To learn how you can create your own email opt-in form with beehiiv’s customizable home page, check out this video below:
Embed beehiiv Home pages video here
4. Avada
Why It Works:
Avada is a marketing automation platform focused on e-commerce companies. Their opt-in form immediately grabs your attention thanks to the human element. A proven tactic to generate more conversions on a web page is to have a photo of a human looking or pointing towards a call to action with their finger. Avada knows this and uses this image to their advantage.
Their headline also does a great job of capturing the reader’s attention with “Please don’t go!” in big, bold letters.
The final thing Avada does well here is offering a unique incentive to sign up. Rather than a typical “10% off discount code”, they offer a “gift” which draws on the visitor's curiosity.
The one mistake they made with their opt-in is in the spelling department as they have a “speacial” offer for the reader.
Why It Works:
The Hustle is one of the biggest business newsletters in the world. Their call to action gets straight to the point in the value proposition department. “Get Smarter on Business and Tech,” tells the reader the exact value that they will get out of subscribing.
One unique aspect of this email opt-in page is the visual on the top right of the smartphone. While this is a nice design that many newsletter publishers include in their opt-in form, The Hustle uses a GIF here enabling them to show off three different newsletter examples rather than one.
The Hustle offers two separate newsletters to their audience, a daily and a weekly issue. They succeed in making it very clear that you’re going to get a totally different issue on Sundays. They also effectively showcase different businesses and founder stories.
6. I Will Teach You To Be Rich
Why It Works:
Most people use the same two types of opt-in incentives: sign up to our email list to receive valuable content. Or sign up to our email list and you’ll get a discount.
Ramit Sethi and the I Will Teach You To Be Rich team tried something different which happened to convert extremely well for them: they tried a quiz instead.
This is a unique way to get people to engage with your content, building on curiosity and intrigue. And, in order to get the results of the quiz, the user has to enter their email address.
This is also a great way for the website owner to gather key data on their new subscribers that they can use to segment them into different groups for relevant content or product offerings.
Why It Works:
Milk Road is one of the largest newsletters on cryptocurrencies in the world. Built (and acquired) on beehiiv, this newsletter publication has a memorable, eye-catching opt-in page that cuts to the chase with a clear value proposition.
The best part about this landing page isn’t the visuals or the copy. It’s actually the placement. This isn’t just a random landing page. Rather, it’s Milk Road’s home page.
They do an excellent job of making their opt-in front and center in order to drive newsletter growth.
Remember that conversion trick I mentioned earlier about using a photo of a human looking or pointing at the call to action? Look at The MilkMan (yes, that’s the mascot’s name) and track what his eyes are looking at.
This is Milk Road’s dedicated landing page to opt-in to their newsletter. It has a similar feel to Morning Brew’s opt-in page with a mockup smartphone showing off an example newsletter. Something they do well here is showing off some social proof at the bottom: “Read by top executives from” followed by logos of well-known crypto companies.
8. OLIPOP
Why It Works:
Let’s face it… OLIPOP is cool. I don’t even drink it— but I want to.
Their branding is so distinctive. Is it vintage or is it the future? I don’t know, but it works.
Apart from the clean design of their opt-in page, something they do well is their copywriting. They do a great job of integrating brand-specific wording to draw you into their brand experience like “Refreshing News” and “flavor drops.”
OLIPOP’s opt-in prowess doesn’t end there. They have a trigger-based opt-in pop-up that shows up if you start to scroll your mouse away from the browser window. This is called an “exit intent” pop-up.
In the pop-up, they offer a 10% discount on your first order by signing up to their email list. You can learn more about some of our favorite pop-up examples here.
The final opt-in tactic OLIPOP employs is what’s known as a two-step opt-in. Once someone subscribes to their email list, a new pop-up appears that then asks for them to join their SMS list. This is a great strategy to draw subscribers deeper into their engagement circle to ensure they don’t miss any marketing messages.
Examples of Successful Opt-In Email Campaigns
Now that we’ve covered some of the best email opt-in forms, it’s time to look at some opt-in email campaigns. As mentioned above, an opt-in email is also referred to as a double opt-in or a subscription confirmation email.
Here are some great examples you can use to inspire your own double opt-in email campaign:
Why It Works:
The Hustle is back on the example board with their brilliant double opt-in. While this list of opt-ins is specifically about email, their double opt-in isn’t actually an email. Instead, it’s a page that someone is taken to as soon as they subscribe to The Hustle’s newsletter.
Many people give fake email addresses when signing up to an email list just so they can get an incentive like a gift, discount, or other offer. Bots are another issue. They can join your email list as a way to scrape data or gather incentives automatically. The Hustle solves these two issues by offering this second opt-in.
And, if you look closely at their copy, they let the reader know that they’re going to receive another confirmation email where they will ask the subscriber to verify their identity. In this scenario, The Hustle technically has a triple opt-in in order to subscribe to their newsletter.
While they will see a lower subscriber count overall because of this, this ensures that the emails on their list truly are real subscribers who want to receive their email, thus boosting engagement metrics and improving deliverability.
2. Leica News
Why It Works:
It’s clean. It’s branded. It’s simple. And, it highlights the call to action really well.
Leica isn’t messing around with their opt-in email campaign. Three different times, they write “confirm your subscription” followed by a bold, red call to action at the bottom to “Subscribe me to Leica News”
3. Demand Curve
Why It Works:
Demand Curve does something different with their opt-in email. Rather than asking their new subscribers to click a confirmation button to confirm their subscription, Julian Shapiro asks for something else: a reply.
He asks subscribers to reply “Yes” or they “won’t be subscribed.”
This is a great tactic to ensure Demand Curve improves its sender reputation while keeping spam scores down.
Why It Works:
Morning Brew also takes its place on the second example list.
In this opt-in email, Morning Brew offers a clean, simple message followed by a bold blue call to action to confirm their subscription.
That’s it. It’s simple and it works.
5. We Work Remotely
Why It Works:
This is another case of simple, yet effective. They make sure to get the point across that the reader won’t be on their list until they click the hyperlinked text “Click here”.
We Work Remotely ensures that while they’re keeping it simple, they still have room to place their logo on top to maintain brand consistency.
6. Seth Godin
Why It Works:
Seth Godin is different. He’s a brilliant marketer and he uses this opt-in email to ensure he sets himself apart.
At first glance, this opt-in email looks a bit cluttered. However, since there are two separate email lists you can sign up for, Seth and his team use this email to clarify some important details so you make sure you’re signed up for both.
The permission marketer also puts his own marketing philosophies to the test by ensuring the reader knows they can change their subscription preferences at any time and how to do that.
7. Greats
Why It Works:
Greats does a nice job of placing their confirmation button right at the top of the email with a bold blue button.
However, something unique they do is offer a few sneak peeks at their social media at the bottom of the email. This is a good tactic to ensure they convert a percentage of their news subscribers into social media followers.
8. Christmas Tree Shops
Why It Works:
Christmas Tree Shops does a wonderful job with their opt-in email.
The reason?
Rather than getting the subscriber focused on the fact that they need to click a button in order to officially become a subscriber, they get them excited about their coupon.
They brilliantly focus on the fact that the subscriber is probably bored with the chore of having to click yet another thing to receive the emails, giving them another chance to just give up entirely. Instead, the coupon is highlighted with the bold headline, “You’re One Click Away From Your Welcome Coupon.”
With beehiiv, Turn More Visitors Into Subscribers
Ready to create your own opt-in form and email opt-in campaign?
With beehiiv, you can craft your own custom landing page, signup forms, and as of recently, you can design your own custom home page with an integrated opt-in form.
Built by the same team who built and grew Morning Brew to millions of subscribers, beehiiv is the newsletter platform built for growth. Get started with beehiiv for free today!
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