Feature your email capture form on a sticky bar

. . . others are more attention-grabbing and will stand out even on a very busy website 👇

It’s easy to see why this format receives so much love from bloggers and ecommerce store owners:

• Sticky bars remain in sight when a website visitor goes to another page or scrolls down
• Visitors don’t rush to close them, as it often happens to modal popups
• It’s a great way to capture emails on mobile without interrupting the user experience

If you want to use a sticky bar to feature your email capture form, in the following sections, we’ll show you how to do that using Getsitecontrol.

How to create a floating email capture form in Getsitecontrol

Step 1. Select a template

Getsitecontrol makes it easy to get started with a large gallery of templates. Open the gallery, and once you select a template to your taste, just follow the prompts to add it to your Getsitecontrol dashboard.

Step 2. Change the copy

Once in the dashboard, click on the piece of text you want to change – including the text on the button – and start typing. The process is very straightforward, and you’ll see the result in the preview window right away.

Once your website visitors fill out the form, they’ll see a brief “thank you for subscribing” note: it’s called a submission success message. Most templates already contain a default submission success message, but you can edit it as well. In your dashboard, it’s located on Page 2.

In addition to the text, you can add links and buttons to encourage new subscribers to explore other pages on your website.

Step 3. Adjust the design

On the same screen, you can change the design of your email capture form. Open the Theme menu to switch to the dark mode or select the color theme manually.

You can also change the position of the sticky bar and place it at the top of the page, for example. To do this, use the Position menu right next to the Theme button.

Step 4. Connect your email marketing app

By default, all the emails collected through the form will be stored in your Getsitecontrol account. You can access them at any point through the Statistics report. However, if you already have an email marketing app, you can connect it using the Integrations tab, so that new subscribers go directly to your email list.

At this point, your form is ready. If you save and activate it, it will be displayed on every page of your website, unless you want to add it to selected pages only. In this case, open the Targeting tab and paste the URLs of these pages.

How to optimize your email capture form

Let’s face it: consumers are getting more and more reluctant to subscribe to email newsletters.

If you want to attract more subscribers, the first thing you should do is avoid the bland “Subscribe to our newsletter” phrase.

Below are 5 easy recommendations to help you turn more visitors into subscribers and make the most of your email capture form.

1. Provide an incentive to subscribe

Most people coming to your website probably hear about your business for the first time. It’s safe to assume they won’t feel urged to subscribe to your “news and updates.”

That said, capturing their emails during the first visit is crucial because the second one might never happen.

Be generous to your first-time visitors and offer a little extra something in exchange for an email address. For example:

• a discount or free shipping
• access to a webinar or a course
• an ebook or a checklist 👇

Such incentives are called “lead magnets” because, well, they help you attract more leads. If you want to learn more, you can read our detailed guide to using lead magnets on a website.

2. Be clear about what new subscribers are signing up for

Even if the value you’re offering to new subscribers doesn’t fall into any of the lead magnet categories, the more specific your copy is, the better.

Think of it this way. You’re asking website visitors to sign up for a newsletter. But how often will you be sending it? What exactly will it contain? Why should they subscribe?

Nobody wants to open their inbox to yet another daily newsletter where half of the content might be irrelevant to them. Clear copy helps overcome this fear and sets the right expectations.

3. Add a powerful call to action

A powerful CTA can contribute greatly to the number of subscriptions you receive, yet this short piece of copy is often overlooked.

How do you choose the right CTA for your email capture form? Think of the words that would fill you with excitement and the perception of accomplishment. In most cases, “Subscribe” or “Sign up” won’t make it to your list, will they? Here is a couple of ideas for you to start off:

• “Join the tribe”
• “I want a discount!”
• “Let’s do this”

If you need more inspiration, check out the roundup of the best-converting CTAs to use on your signup forms.

4. Run an A/B test

You may be wondering if a different color or call to action would convince more people to subscribe. But guesswork is rarely effective when it comes to conversion optimization. That’s why we encourage you to try split testing and rely on statistics instead.

Getsitecontrol allows you to build several versions of the same email capture form and run them simultaneously to see which one brings more subscribers.

All you need to do is duplicate the form you’ve created using the ‘Clone’ button, add the change you expect to make a difference in results, and start the experiment.

Running an A/B test is a no-brainer even if you’re a complete non-techie. Meanwhile, the potential benefit from finding the winning combination, even if it converts 1% better than others, can be tremendous in the long run.

What to test?

• Your copy
• Call to action
• Color theme
• Sticky bar position
• The incentive

💡 To keep the experiment clean, make sure you only have one variable at a time and give the app enough time to collect sufficient data.

5. Activate the Autoresponder

Autoresponder allows you to send an automated message to your new subscribers. It’s a good practice to thank them for joining your list, send them a lead magnet, or suggest following you on social media.

An automated message is an easy way to produce a good first impression on your new subscribers and stay on top of their heads.

The best part about the autoresponder tool in Getsitecontrol is that you can use it without connecting your email marketing software. The Autoresponder feature is located in the Notifications tab, and if you want to find out how it works, read our guide to using the Autoresponder.

Wrapping up

Having an email capture form is essential for growing your email list. However, many website owners place it at the very bottom of a page where few visitors are likely to scroll to. Having a floating opt-in form that is always in sight is a far more efficient tactic.

Go ahead and try it for yourself. Register a Getsitecontrol account and start collecting emails today.