WordPress lead generation or conversion plugins are not typically my type of thing. In fact, I’ve hated every instance I’ve ever seen of them. But Syed Balkhi and Thomas Griffin have created OptinMonster, their take on a WordPress conversion plugin that I don’t hate.
That’s a strong compliment for this kind of plugin from me.
Syed is the founder of WP Beginner, and Thomas created Soliloquy. I’ve met these two guys and I like them. They do good work, and they excel in their respective crafts. You should learn more about Syed and Thomas in their interviews on the Matt Report. When I sat down with Syed in Birmingham a couple of months ago, I tried to poke holes in his product, calling out all the things that bother me about lead generation plugins. And he shot down my critically assuming questions one by one.
OptinMonster lets users control when and how the opt-in is triggered. The opt-in can be limited to specific post IDs, pages, categories, or archives. It also has an option to use a built-in algorithm that attempts to detect a user toward the end of their visit, so as to trigger the opt-in as they are leaving versus interrupting their experience on the page.
They offer options to use a pop-up, a sticky footer bar, or a corner slide-in mechanism. While I don’t think I could ever be convinced to do a pop-up, I think a sticky footer bar or corner slide-in could be done gracefully.
OptinMonster also has built in A/B testing options, conversion reports, a visual design builder, and compatibility with most email providers.
OptinMonster currently runs from $49 per year to $199 per year, or you can purchase a lifetime option for $349. They also have a 20% affiliate program, a likely key for helping market this product in the marketing industry.
These lead generation plugins, in general, suck. But Thomas and Syed write great code as well as understand marketing best practices. Their plugin works, and they know it because they use it on their own sites. There is something to be said for eating your own dog food.
You can see a full walk-through of setting up OptinMonster on WP Beginner.
So, while my mostly purist mentality prevents me from turning on OptinMonster here right now, I certainly know the plugin I’d recommend to someone that was serious about looking for one.
I’ve purchased Popup Domination before by Michael Dunlop and wasn’t impressed with many things including the hassle at uploading plugin…you had to upload two different files before it could work (not user friendly for a non techie person). I complained about that and never received any feedback.
I then purchased OptinSkin by Glen Allsopp which I find much better, though poor when it comes to conversion.
I’ve not used OptinMonster, but promises to offer better results reading through your review Brain.
Interesting name, I’m sure OptinSkin had a huge influence…
Nope OptinSkin had no influence on our name. Optin is a pretty standard industry term.
Thanks for the article Brian. We’ve some other great stuff coming on the way within OptinMonster. I’m sure sooner than later I will probably convince you to use it.
No problem, Syed. Thanks for giving me the preview, and I look forward to seeing what you come up with!
I would still say that its way too expensive for a plugin from a medium non-content marketing blog point of view.
Abhishek,
But you can buy for license for a single website which costs less & also Syed will give extra discount if you subscribed for their email list.
Which list? 🙂
I agree that the pricing seems a bit too high, considering all the other options out there. I don’t know why you have so many versions of the plugin. Just let me have the fully functional plugin for one price and have it be under $100. I would have bought that in a heartbeat. All the different versions and pricing seems unnecessary.