OptinMonster Review: The Best Lead Generation Tool for Bloggers

The OptinMonster review will answer all your questions about whether or not this is the right fit for you.

You’ve probably heard of the lead generation tool for bloggers called OptinMonster. 

It has been very popular in the industry because it can convert tons of visitors into subscribers who were becoming customers eventually.

An interesting thing has happened to people who use OptinMonster. They’ve reported a 500% increase in their conversions and that’s just scratching the surface. 

With powerful features like Exit-Intent popups, Yes/No forms with drag & drop interface for easy customization of fields on any page or post you want them on.

There is no limit as far as what this plugin can do for your business because every aspect imaginable has been built into one sleek package.

You’ll get seamless integrations so getting your leads into an automated nurture flow won’t take long at all. 

A lot of people are talking about OptinMonster, but is it really worth the hype? Does this tool live up to all its claims? 

In this OptinMonster review, we would like to answer all these questions and more.  So, read with the hope of getting the answers.

Broadly divided into 5 categories

1.  Why Would You Need Lead Generation?
2.  5 Effective Ways to Use OptinMonster for Your Blog
3. OptinMonster Pros & Cons
4. OptinMonster Pricing and Support
5.  Is OptinMonster worth Your Blog?

1. Why would you need a Lead Generation Tool?

Do you ask yourself why you need a lead generation tool?

You need a lead generation tool to:

• Convert visitors into subscribers and leads, but what’s more important is: 
• Turning one-time visitors of your site into repeat visitors and eventually to customers.

Sounds great, right? But how to do it effectively? Nurture your leads, they’ll be more likely to come back for the goodies.

The best way to nurture leads and encourage them to return is with email marketing campaigns. With this strategy, one can build loyal relationships while promoting their blog posts or products that are sold on the site.

But before you begin anything else, first, you need to get your visitors’ email addresses, right? 

That’s when a lead generation tool like OptinMonster comes in handy and can help with the process by providing an easy way for them to sign up.

You’ll hardly miss a lead with OptinMonster. It’s one of the best pop-up WordPress plugins on the market that lets you create visually appealing email lists and turn visitors into subscribers.

Some may think popups are cheesy and considered spammy, but they actually generate more engagement than basic signup forms. 

Popups are more engaging than signup forms because they stick out like a sore thumb. 

Your audience will be forced to stop what they’re doing and take notice of the popup, which eventually led them to sign up.

Now that you know what a lead generation tool is and why it’s important. Then, let’s talk about the various ways OptinMonster can help.

#2. Five Useful Ways to Use OptinMonster

We’ll discuss the various ways OptinMonster can help your business in this particular section. 

Irrespective of whether you are running an eCommerce or online store or a publisher on a WordPress site- they’ve got everything covered for both.

Let’s see some examples.

1. Grow your Email List

You can’t grow your email list if you don’t use the right tool. If that sounds like something of interest to get started with, look no further than OptinMonster. 

It has everything needed for successful popups and will help even an amateur create awesome email popups in no time flat while engaging visitors on multiple levels at once.

This program is a godsend for any business with an online presence. 

With so many potential customers browsing the internet, you need something that will get their attention quickly and bring them back to your site – OptinMonster does just this. 

You can set up popups at exactly when people are about to leave or after a certain amount of time spent on specific pages in order to encourage conversions from these visitors. 

OptInMonsters allow marketers to utilize this software tool with customizable options. It means, you basically have the freedom to set up the timing as per your choice or convenience.

The pop-up window lets you tailor your message, so it only shows up to people who are most interested in what the popup is about.

To cite an example, create a lead magnet like an e-guidebook or pdf and show it to visitors through your site’s email popup as they’re reading a relevant blog post.

There are a lot of ways to get more subscribers with popups and the above example is just one…

You can target visitors based on their behavior, location, and what they do online.

2. How to increase your Pageviews

With the help of OptinMonster’s Yes/No campaign, you can easily increase your pageviews by ten folds. 

You just have to redirect users from one specific webpage on your blog and they will be automatically taken to another part or even outside the website.

Here’s an example:

Google has announced that Pageviews are directly responsible for ranking your blog higher in search engine results. 

The more time spent by visitors on the site, the better chances they’ll have of improving their rankings and increasing visibility online.

This blog post is the perfect place to start for anyone who wants more information on how they can get started with Yes/No campaigns. 

A carefully crafted Yes/No campaign will help encourage visitors to read your other articles.

So, it’s worth taking some time out of each day (or week) specifically dedicated to creating content that ties into this type of marketing strategy.

3. How to Boost Your Affiliate Income

So you want to boost your affiliate income? Or Are you struggling to make your affiliate marketing campaigns more effective?

If so, then this case study might be for you. In it, they’ll show how Top 6 Digital increased clicks on their links by 30% through exit-intent opt-in popups. Here is an example of the popup:

This is a great way to increase your affiliate income. You’ll get more views on your affiliate links, which in turn increases their chance of being clicked. A higher number of clicks means a higher commission rate for you.

4. How to Prevent Site Abandonment

Site Abandonment is a huge problem for many businesses, which can result in lost customers. 

This may be due to the fact that visitors are not confronted with compelling content or advertising when they’re about to leave your site. But luckily there’s an easy solution. 

OptinMonster has one of those features where only popups show up on exit-intent pages – named “Exit-Intent popups”. These are only visible when the visitor is about to leave your blog.

With this, you hardly lose any potential leads from abandoning their browser without converter action first.

The exit popups feature also enables you to show your users targeted messages at just the right time when they are about to leave. 

This way their journey isn’t wasted and they will come back again soon because of how personalized this platform is.

People often abandon their browsers without looking at the site’s content. But with their exit-intent popups, you can turn these visitors into subscribers by getting them to take a specific action on your website.

5. Reduce Cart Abandonment

In a world where shoppers are bombarded with ads and offers on their phones every day, it’s no wonder that people have become wary of online stores. 

One way you can reduce cart abandonment: 

Showing up as an exit-intent popup while they’re leaving the site without buying. You could create these popups in order to provide value-added content or product information.

Try using OptinMonster Exit-Intent popups. These will show up as a way to leave without buying, and they’re usually what people want.

One effective way to increase the chance of making a sale is by offering a discount or coupon code in your popup.

Reducing cart abandonment is a pretty big deal, but fortunately, abandoned carts are a thing of the past with Optin Monster. 

They can be targeted based on what you have in your cart, how many items are left, and more.

#3. OptinMonster Review: Pros and Cons

In this section of our OptinMonster review, we’ll discuss the pros as well as the cons that you need to know. 

So let’s get started! 

The Pros of OptinMonster 

1. Drag & Drop Builder

OptinMonster is an easy-to-use popup builder that allows you to create popups in minutes. Their drag & drop interface makes creating professional-looking popups quick and simple.

With their easy-to-use popup builder, you can create popups in no time. There are so many different templates and design options available and it is hard for bloggers not to be creative.

They also make it easy for everyone – no matter their technical skillset. You can customize images, fonts, text, and layouts to suit your unique taste or branding needs.

Give your marketing a boost with one of these pre-built templates. 

You’ll have the satisfaction of knowing you saved time and effort on creating an opt-in campaign that converts quickly, too.

Not only are they mobile optimized, but these popups are also looked good on desktops as well as laptops.

There are so many features to mention here, but I think MonsterEffects™ also deserves some special attention. 

The animated effects and sounds on this app are worth checking out. These effects help you grab more attention through animations and sound fx that really draw the eye in.

If you want something more subtle they have an option for that too. Below is a picture that shows what MonsterEffects™ looks like in action:

There are over 26 intriguing and surprising effects to grab the attention of disengaged visitors that can likely turn them into subscribers.

2. Campaign Types

You can capture more leads with OptinMonster. They offer a variety of different campaign types that will grab your audience’s attention and drive them into taking action, such as: 

• Floating Bar
• Full Screen Welcome Mat
• Lightbox Popups
• Slide-In Scroll Box

We know you might be interested in how they work and what your options are as well.

You can check out the rest of OptinMonster’s features on their site, but let’s briefly explain these campaign types below: 

(a) Floating Bar

Floating bars are a great way to get your visitor’s attention. You can place them at the bottom or top of any given web page, and they will remain visible no matter how far down they scroll.

Whenever you’re looking for a creative way to promote your business, countdown timers are what we recommend. 

This is because they can help increase customer engagement and remind them about the time left before an offer expires or another promotion begins.

Pairing it with seasonal offers like holidays is also a good strategy because this will make sure people don’t miss out on any of these great deals during their favorite season.

So, set it up with countdown timers to showcase seasonal offers, highlight sales, and promote time-sensitive deals. 

Here’s one example:

(b) Fullscreen Welcome Mat

A fullscreen welcome mat is a large, attention-grabbing optin form that takes up the entire screen when it appears. It’s like an instant, one-way ticket for your message. 

This way your message can easily get across to visitors who might otherwise be distracted by other things on the site and leave without submitting their information.

With it, you can grab the attention of all newcomers and give them what they want – information.

 It displays as soon as visitors land on your site which makes it easy for them and you can both communicate in one go.

Below is one such example:

Image source: OptinMonster

(c) Lightbox Popups

Lightboxes were first introduced back in 2006. But didn’t really gain popularity until 2009 when Apple started using them heavily within their software applications.

These popups are a type of opt-in form that appears in front of the screen you’re viewing. 

Whenever it shows, its background is dulled so as not to interfere with what’s on your monitor or mobile device. Thus it stands out from other content on your site so you see it clearly.

An example is shown below:

Image Source: OptinMonster

Lightbox popups are a great way to make your email list grow, boost social followers and increase sales. 

The other content on the page fades into the background which makes users more likely to convert as they’re drawn in by what’s happening right now.

So, you need a lightbox popup that can help you achieve growth. OptinMonster have you covered with these easy-to-use templates. 

Their popups are built to show off all of those beautiful products so visitors can’t help but click through.

(d) Slide-In Scroll Box

“The best kind of popups are the ones that scroll with you,” say blogging professionals. Slide-in Scroll opt-in does just this, appearing on your screen as visitors start scrolling down.

They are also considered the least invasive kind of popup. 

Slide-in scroll opt-in appears on the bottom right corner of your screen as you start scrolling down a blog post, without blocking any content or taking up too much room. 

The advantage of this type of popup is that it doesn’t distract visitors from what’s going on within the website pages. 

So, they’re very effective at converting visitors into customers.

A slide-in scroll opt-in is an excellent way to highlight related content or products, and collect feedback from your visitors while they are scrolling through the page.

It also helps reduce cart abandonment rates.

(3) Campaign Triggers

Let’s face it. You can only get one chance to make a first impression, and you need to take advantage of that moment if your goal is maximizing conversions. 

That means showing people the right message at exactly the right time.

With OptinMonster’s campaign triggers, they can see targeted messages like an ad when they’re most likely looking for information or inspiration.

So, you can easily increase your conversion rate. Now that you know what makes OptinMonster the best, let’s discuss how this powerful campaign triggers works. 

(a) What is Exit-Intent® Technology?

Have you ever heard of Exit-intent® technology? Well, it is behavioral analytics that tracks and monitors the movements of all your website visitors.

It detects when they’re going to leave without making a purchase or leaving their information. 

It’s designed with two goals in mind:

• Reducing cart abandonment rates by capturing more leads; 
• Increasing brand awareness.

OptinMonster’s exit-intent technology gives you the chance to show your visitors a popup with a targeted marketing message just before they leave forever.

Always remember that over 70% of your website visitors will leave and never return if you’re not optimizing your website for conversion.

In most cases, this means that 95-98% of marketing efforts are going to waste with no benefits from new customers whatsoever.

But, you can easily convert an additional 2 – 4% of your website visitors into email subscribers by using this technology. If you’re lucky, those subscribers may probably turn into paying customers.

(b) For an e-Commerce Store

If you use OptinMonster’s exit-intent technology, then your website can show targeted campaigns to the user like:

• An invitation to chat with a support agent  
• A discount offer or some other type of incentive so that they’ll stop scrolling and make an on-the-spot purchase.
• Special invitation to download a free gift by joining your email list.

It’s been scientifically proven that exit-intent popups reduce cart abandonment and increase conversion rate dramatically. Check out their case studies to see how.

The below example has a 50% conversion.

(c) Scroll Triggers

When you want to make your website more interactive and engaging, a scroll trigger popup can be a perfect way. 

You might think that these popups are only for e-commerce sites but they’re actually used all over social media as well. 

With OptinMonster, you can set it up so that it only shows after they reach some lines or hit near the bottom.

These scroll trigger popups are generally used for the following purpose: 

• Building an email list
• Increasing page views
• Providing a targeted call to action (CTA)
• Directing visitors to your contact page

A successful popup relies on the visitor’s interest in reading your content. If they have scrolled through, then there is more of a chance that you will convert them.

These popups tend to work because if a visitor has shown interest in reading your content by scrolling through, then they are more likely to convert.

(d) MonsterLinks™ 2-Step Optins

MonsterLinks is a site that uses the power of human creativity to create unique offers for visitors.

The concept behind this innovative idea seems simple, if you click on something with specific text in it then you’ll be shown a popup with a relevant offer.

Are you struggling to generate the right number of leads and conversions? If so, use OptinMonster’s MonsterLinks™ 2-step opt-in technology. Your website could possibly be turned into a lead generation machine.

MonsterLinks is one of the most useful campaign types for getting people to convert. Two times more likely than other campaigns, you can give it a try.

It turns any image or link into an engaging 2-step opt-in campaign. It doesn’t require any coding.

When visitors click on the image/link, there’s a popup asking them if they would like to subscribe or buy something.

The Zeigarnik effect is a psychological principle that says “when people start something, they’re more likely to finish it.” 

This multi-step opt-in technology literally psychs your visitors into subscribing by using this psychological phenomenon. That’s what you get with this clever little hack. Great!

Therefore, with these Monsterlinks, when visitors click a link or button, then they’re likely to finish the process and subscribe.

It’s not enough?

Using this technology also eliminates the natural dropoff that happens when visitors have to visit another page in order to complete an action such as subscribing.

Instead, they can take immediate actions on any site where you use this link system for lead generation.

Since OptinMonster has no compatibility issue with any platform, it will work no matter what CMS you use. There is no need for an extra 2-step optin WordPress plugin to use it.

(4) Targeted Campaigns

When you want to get the most out of your marketing campaign, there’s no better choice than OptinMonster. 

With features like creating targeted campaigns based on the devices, traffic source, and visitor location, OptinMonster helps bring more customers into your business.

OptinMonster is so advanced that it can tell where you are coming from. That’s why you can tailor your marketing campaigns for specific audiences. 

For example, if someone is coming from search engines then you can show them a popup that says “Get this free ebook!” Or

If they come from social media or other online sources, you can show them a different message depending on what kind of promotion could work.

You should keep a running list of your top-performing channels so that you can spend more time on the ones bringing in the most leads.

OptinMonster also lets you target visitors through the following ways:

• Onsite Retargeting®: 
  • This feature is key for keeping your repeat customers engaged. It helps you show new promotions and offers without annoying them by showing a different popup every time they visit.
• Page-Level Targeting: 
  • Your marketing campaigns are now more personal than ever with the ability to customize them based on what blog page or specific section of your website visitors are viewing. 
  • For example, if someone on your site is reading an article about the best WordPress plugins on your site, show them a popup offer specific to that topic.
• Geo-Location Targeting: 
  • It is an excellent way to target your site visitors based on their geographical location. You can translate email popups for specific countries and regions so they’re more appropriate in that locale or language version of the site.
• Device-Based Targeting: 
  • Target the right audience with device-based targeting. Customize your campaigns based on their browser type, and you can show different popups for desktop or mobile users.

There are still a lot of other amazing targeted email campaigns offered by OptinMonster. We discussed only a few of them.

OptinMonster will help you increase your conversions significantly as there are lots of different triggers and targeted campaigns available out there.

(5) Seamless Integration 

Integration is key to growing your email list and expanding the reach of any campaign. The OptinMonster team’s lead generation software is the most complete and easy-to-use solution on the market. 

It integrates seamlessly with all major email marketing services or platforms, which means you can collect leads from more than one source at once.

And, since they’re ahead of their competitors when it comes to capabilities, you may find it hard to find another company that offers what OptinMonster does. 

Below are a few of the email marketing services which you can pair up with:

• GetResponse
• Aweber
• SendPulse
• EmailOctopus

And much more

Additionally, you can’t simply think of OptinMonster as a WordPress plugin alone. It works with many different websites and eCommerce platforms like Blogger, Shopify, Bigcommerce, etcetera.

(6) Actionable Insights

Optimize your marketing with OptinMonster’s dashboard. You’ll have all the knowledge and insights you need to improve your lead generation strategy. 

You can also monitor your A/B test results, view live stats, track results from A/B tests in real-time, etc. – they’ve got you covered.

There is also an interesting feature that captures bloggers’ attention -the TruLead™ functionality. 

You can boost your conversions and cut down on fake leads with this AI-powered TruLead™. 

It’s an online lead verification service that validates addresses before they’re entered into optin forms, making sure you only get real customers.

This filter works like a charm to keep your inbox clean. With The TruLead™, you can block:

• Free email addresses
• Specific IP addresses
• Temporary email addresses
• Characters, strings, or patterns in an email address
• Role-based emails such as contact@ help@, support@, etc.

Image source: OptinMonster

That’s why OptinMonster’s unique Lead Verification system TruLead™ is the fastest and most efficient way to optimize lead generation strategy.

Further, Verifying your leads is the key to saving money and protecting your email IP reputation. 

You can also drive more revenue through an email campaign with a verified address. Start using TruLead™ risk-free for 30 days.

Sign up for OptinMonster 

That’s the end of the Pro section. The next part of our OptinMonster review has to do with the cons.

Let’s get started!

#4. Cons of OptinMonster

We had to look long and hard for the cons of OptinMonster, but we couldn’t find many. 

We’ve listed below what is considered by most people as their only con with this tool and wanted to make sure you knew about it before making your decision:

OptinMonster has No Free Plans

There are some bloggers who have an issue with OptinMonster, that’s the non-availability of a free plan. 

This is bad news, especially for beginners who still want to explore more about the tool for free.

So, if you’re a newbie or on a budget, then OptinMonster may not be the right choice for you yet.

When compared to other lead generation tools like Thrive Leads you will see that it is still the most affordable sophisticated tool currently available on market.

But, as a beginner, if you really want email capture tools or lead generation for free, you can use:

1. Sumo
2. HubSpot
3. Hellobar

#5. Pricing and Support

(a) Pricing Plan

The pricing plans of OptinMonster have been divided into the following four categories:

(i) Basic Plan: 

This Plan starts at $9 per month. It gives you access to just a single site license with basic features. So if this is what you need then by all means get started today.

(ii) Plus Plan: 

This plan is perfect for those who want a little more than the basic version with all of its limitations. The Plus plan will cost you $19 per month. It also includes features like content locking, an activity sensor, and others that give you peace of mind.

(iii) Pro Plan:

This plan will cost you $29 per month. With extra features like yes/no forms, Exit-Intent technology, MonsterLinks, etc. It is the most popular plan among all.

(iv) Growth Plan: 

Priced at $49 per month. The Growth Plan is more expensive than any of the other plans offered by OptinMonster. But it makes up for this cost with features like follow-up campaigns, OnSite Retargeting, and Geolocation targeting that will help you get the most out of your money.

Don’t get caught with the plan. The above pricing plans are offered if billed annually only, otherwise, the cost is higher than listed here. Check out all the features of each plan on its pricing page.

(b) Support

With a highly responsive support team, you can count on OptinMonster to fix any problems that might arise.

Their support team is always on point and knows how to get things done. You can create a ticket from the dashboard or their website’s support page, which will ensure that your issue gets handled fast.

Don’t worry, OptinMonster has got you covered. The documentation is very detailed and full of helpful guides and tutorials.

Is OptinMonster Worth for Your Blog?

Since the pros of OptinMonster outweigh the cons by such an overwhelming margin that it should come as no surprise to anyone who’s considering using them for their business needs. 

The amount and wide variety in features make this tool one-of-a-kind among competitors while still being affordable. 

It’s easy for marketers like yourself who are looking into lead generation tools without spending too much money.

You can create any type of design without touching code at all. This also saves both money and frustration in this day where every inch counts when dealing with online marketing.

As a blogger, you may be looking to improve your conversions and increase the number of visitors who sign up for newsletters. 

Further, OptinMonster is not just for bloggers. It’s also the perfect tool for B2B businesses, online stores, designers, etc., to get more customers with their marketing campaigns.

If you find our OptinMonster review interesting, then also check out our other article on The Top 10 Free Email Capture Tools.

What do you think about our review? Please share your thoughts in the comment section on the topic we have discussed today.

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