But in case you’ve never heard of it, Social Media Examiner is the world\u2019s largest social media marketing resource on the web. They help millions of businesses discover how to best use social media to connect with customers, drive traffic, generate awareness and increase sales.<\/p>\n
They are the host of the industry\u2019s leading conference, Social Media Marketing World<\/a> and the Social Media Marketing Podcast<\/a>.<\/p>\n He was kind enough to sit down with us and share how his team is increasing subscribers using OptinMonster so everyone in our community can learn from their experience.<\/p>\n Prior to 2014, Social Media Examiner was using a default lightbox popup offered by AWeber to display an optin form. This popup was shown to all website visitors shortly after arriving\u00a0on their website.<\/p>\n This single lightbox along with a subscription box in the sidebar allowed them to collect nearly 600 subscribers per day.<\/p>\n However, Michael was not satisfied with the experience of creating a lightbox in AWeber or the lightbox itself.<\/p>\n Due to the lack of customization options and missing conversion features like split-testing, Michael started searching for alternatives.<\/p>\n He chose OptinMonster because it met all of the criteria he was looking for:<\/p>\n Michael’s goal was simple: Convert more website visitors into email subscribers.<\/p>\n Social Media Examiner started using OptinMonster in 2014. Michael started\u00a0by adding an exit-intent popup<\/a> and immediately saw a huge boost in conversions.<\/p>\n After enough testing and verification, he removed the default AWeber welcome popup and replaced it with an OptinMonster lightbox popup<\/a>. This again boosted his subscribers.<\/p>\n So Michel started experimenting with multiple optin types and split-tests.<\/p>\n Today, Social Media Examiner uses four OptinMonster optins:<\/p>\n Before using OptinMonster, Social Media Examiner\u00a0gained about 600 subscribers per day. Since switching to OptinMonster, they’re gaining about 1000 subscribers a day. That’s a 66% increase!<\/p>\n In the first year Social Media Examiner used OptinMonster, they added 62,000 subscribers to their list. Last year, they added nearly 118,000. As of July 2016, they’ve added almost 70,000!<\/p>\n Social Media Examiner has added more than 250,000 subscribers since they began using OptinMonster.<\/strong><\/p>\n Michael also shared an important tip for those looking to grow their lists.\u00a0He said,<\/p>\n “There are two ways to grow a list: by increasing subscribers or decreasing unsubscribes.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Earlier this year, Social Media Examiner\u00a0decreased the number of days per week they send email from six to just three. Since then, they’ve seen their unsubscribe rates drop dramatically.<\/p>\n By increasing growth using OptinMonster, while at the same time\u00a0decreasing unsubscribes, they’re adding 12,000 NET subscribers per month.<\/p>\n Michael was quick to praise OptinMonster’s split testing as a driver of the additional subscribers.<\/p>\n “The thing I thought was so awesome about OptinMonster was the split-testing. You make it so easy to very quickly run variations on different types of forms to see which ones perform the best. That is something we were just never able to do before OptinMonster. It was always intuition. I think this is going to work.<\/i> But there was always this fear to not try something new for fear of going backwards. Now, there’s no limit to what you can test. We are constantly tweaking.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n What is split testing?<\/strong><\/p>\n Split testing is a way of comparing multiple versions of a web page or optin to find out which one converts best. When the test is run, traffic to the page is split among the different versions and their performance is tracked separately.<\/p>\n OptinMonster\u2019s easy A\/B split testing module helps you eliminate the guess work and make data-driven decisions on what works best.<\/p>\n You can try different content, headlines, layouts, styles, and opt-in triggers, to see what converts best.<\/p>\n Simply\u00a0click on the split test button, and OptinMonster\u00a0creates a replica of your existing optin. From there, you can make any changes and tweaks by using our easy optin\u00a0builder.<\/p>\n After that, OptinMonster does the rest for you. It randomly serves each variation to see which one has the best conversion.<\/p>\n Our conversion analytics track impressions, conversions, and the landing page where the conversion happens. These numbers will clearly indicate which optin has the highest conversion for you.<\/p>\n You can use these insights to make data-driven decisions and increase your overall conversions.<\/p>\n Related: 8 A\/B Tests to Run on Your Popups to Get More Email Subscribers<\/a>.<\/p>\n The team at Social Media Examiner has seen great\u00a0results from their split tests.<\/p>\n Below is the first mobile\u00a0optin Michael tested. This is a simple yet proven optin design with a headline, copy and optin form.\u00a0It converted at 1.24%.<\/p>\n Next, they created a variation using bullets for the copy rather than a paragraph. They also increased the headline font size.<\/p>\n This optin beat the original, converting at 1.86%.<\/strong><\/p>\n Two-step optins<\/a> like the Yes\/No optin above require the user to select one of two options.<\/p>\n Clicking “Yes, I Want Access” will cause the optin form to appear. Having confirmed the desire to receive the lead magnet<\/a> (Step One), the user is more likely to follow through and subscribe (Step Two).<\/p>\n Choosing “No Thanks” simply closes the optin.<\/p>\n Another reason why Two-step optins convert so well is because they leverage the Fear of Missing Out (FOMO) phenomena.<\/p>\n Interestingly, Michael was extremely skeptical of the two-step\u00a0process.<\/strong><\/p>\n “I was always under the impression that if you just put the form there, people would have less friction, therefore more results. It wasn’t until I started split testing the yes\/no optins that I began to see monstrous improvements at certain points in the process. It doesn’t work everywhere but where it does work, it works really, really well.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Michael tested the two-step option on every optin type.\u00a0He now uses it for every optin type\u00a0except the exit-intent optin<\/em>. He\u00a0found that the two-step optin\u00a0simply didn’t convert\u00a0on exit as well as presenting the form itself.<\/p>\n “We could have assumed, but I don’t want to assume. I want to be sure,” he said.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Want to use a two-step optin on your site? Here are\u00a06 Creative Ways to Use Yes\/No Optin Forms<\/a>.<\/p>\n One of the tips that Michael shared from his experiments is that:<\/p>\n It’s not always the obvious variations that win a split-test, either.<\/strong><\/p>\n We all know that adding social proof improves conversion<\/a>.<\/p>\n Michael wondered if the placement of the social proof could increase conversions as much as the mere presence of the social proof. He split-tested it to find out.<\/p>\n In the original optin, the social proof “Join 500,000 of your peers!” was below the copy of the optin. This optin converted at 1.65%<\/strong>. In the variation, it was moved above the copy.<\/p>\n This optin converted at 1.71%.<\/strong><\/p>\n In another split-test, the Social Media Examiner team tested both the templates and the color of the templates.<\/p>\n Below was the original exit-intent lightbox\u00a0which converted at 0.34%.<\/p>\n Next, Michael\u00a0created a blue variation which converted at 0.66%.<\/p>\n Then, he\u00a0created a green variation which crushed the previous two optins, converting at 0.77%.<\/strong><\/p>\n Testing the templates, copy, and colors can produce dramatically different conversion rates. Testing the images used in an optin can too.<\/p>\n Michael wanted to test how the use of images impact conversion rate.<\/p>\n The original optin included an image of the e-book offered to subscribers. This optin converted at 1.98%.<\/p>\n Next, he tested the same optin with no image at all. This variation lost to the\u00a0original optin, converting at just 1.72%.<\/p>\n Last, Michael tested an “ugly illustration,” as he described it. The image was not directly relevant to the lead magnet but hinted that it included data of some sort.<\/p>\n![\"Michael](\"https:\/\/optinmonster.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/Michael_Stelzner.jpg\")
Michael Stelzner is the CEO of Social Media Examiner and an old friend of OptinMonster.<\/p>\nA Little Background<\/h3>\n
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How Social Media Examiner Uses OptinMonster<\/h3>\n
![\"Example](\"https:\/\/optinmonster.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/SocialMediaExaminer_OptinMonster_exioptin.gif\")
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Results of Using OptinMonster<\/h3>\n
Split-Testing to Improve Conversions<\/h3>\n
![\"Select](\"https:\/\/optinmonster.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/create-split-test-button.jpg\" "\\"Create")
<\/p>\nExamples of Social Media Examiner’s Split Tests<\/h3>\n
![\"Mobile](\"https:\/\/optinmonster.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/SME_Mobile_1-1.png\" "\\"A")
<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/optinmonster.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/SME_Mobile_2-2.png\" "\\"A")
<\/p>\nSplit Testing Lesson: Obvious Doesn’t Always Win<\/h3>\n
![\"The](\"https:\/\/optinmonster.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/SME_Mobile_3_.png\" "\\"The")
<\/p>\n![\"The](\"https:\/\/optinmonster.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/SME_Mobile_4_.png\")
<\/p>\nSplit Testing Tip: Try Different OptinMonster Templates<\/h3>\n
![\"The](\"https:\/\/optinmonster.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/ExitPop_Green_Original_.png\")
<\/p>\n![\"The](\"https:\/\/optinmonster.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/ExitPop_Green_Blue_.png\" "\\"The")
<\/p>\n![\"The](\"https:\/\/optinmonster.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/ExitPop_Green_Winner_.png\" "\\"The")
<\/p>\nSplit Testing Lesson: Image vs No Image<\/h3>\n
![\"The](\"https:\/\/optinmonster.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/Lightbox_ReportStyle_.png\" "\\"The")
<\/p>\n![\"The](\"https:\/\/optinmonster.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/Lightbox_NoWords_.png\" "\\"The")
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![\"The](\"https:\/\/optinmonster.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/Lightbox_Illustration_.png\" "\\"The")
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