opt-in form on WordPress site

Putting an Opt-in Form

On Your WordPress Site

. . . is easier than you may think if you follow these steps:

♦ You will be placing the form in your sidebar so keep it simple and in proportion to the space.

♦ First, create the form in your autoresponder. You can view a tutorial on how to create an opt-in form here.

♦ Once you’re satisfied with the way your form looks, copy all of the HTML code to your Notepad. To find Notepad, click on the ‘Start Button’ and point to All Programs, then point to Accessories, and click on Notepad.

♦ The method you will use to publish your opt-in form depends on a couple of things:
…You must be running a current version of WordPress – at least version 2.2, and
…Your WordPress theme must support widgets.

♦ Depending on these factors, you will have two choices:
…Publish your form using “widgets”, or
…Modify the HTML in the sidebar.

Fortunately, my WordPress theme does support widgets so that is the process I used. It is also the easier way – and, given the choice, I’ll take easy every time!

How to Publish an Opt-in Form Using Widgets

♦ Now you are ready to publish the form to your website, so go ahead and open up your WordPress Dashboard. Once you do, look for “Appearance” in the left column and click on the dropdown arrow beside it. Then click on “Widgets” in the sub-menu.

♦ On the “Widgets” page, scroll down and locate the box with a label of “Text”. Click and drag the “Text” box into the “Sidebar” box in the right column. Drop it in the “Sidebar” box.

♦ You can change the order of the widgets in the Sidebar box by clicking and dragging them. I would suggest placing this Text widget in first position so that your opt-in form will appear above the fold on your website.

♦ Click on the dropdown arrow on the Text widget. A pop up with two input boxes will appear.

♦ In the first box, enter a title for the form. I used FREE Report! for mine. You can always come back later and change this.

♦ Now go to your Notepad, copy all of the HTML code that you placed on it earlier, and paste the HTML into the second box.

♦ Leave the box “Automatically add paragraphs” unchecked.

♦ Click the “Save” button and close.