Building a High-Converting Opt-In Page

Your opt-in page is the gateway to your entire funnel. If it doesn’t convert, nothing after it matters.

For the principles behind high-converting opt-in pages — headline formulas, benefit bullets, what to cut, mobile layout — see Opt-In Pages That Convert in the Email Marketing course. This lesson covers the GHL build.

Setting Up Your Opt-In Page in GHL

In GHL’s funnel builder, create a new funnel step of type Landing Page. Choose a blank template or a lead generation template as your starting point.

The Opt-In Form

Add a Form element to your page. Configure it to:

• Collect: Email (required), First name (optional but recommended)
• Action on submit: Redirect to thank-you page (your tripwire offer page — see Your Tripwire Funnel)
• Contact creation: Enable — every submission creates a CRM contact
• Tag: Auto-add a tag like “lead-magnet-opted-in” (this triggers your welcome sequence workflow)
• Double opt-in: Optional — some countries require it, but single opt-in converts better

The CTA Button

Make the button:

• Action-oriented: Describe what happens when they click (“Send Me the Free Guide” not “Submit”)
• Contrasting color: It should stand out from everything else on the page
• Large enough to tap on mobile

Removing Distractions

Strip the page down to one job: capture the email.

• Remove the navigation menu
• Remove sidebar elements
• Minimize footer links (privacy policy and terms only)
• Remove social media icons — you worked hard to get them here, don’t send them away

In the page settings, toggle off the header and footer if your theme includes them by default.

Mobile Optimization

Over 60% of your traffic will come from phones. After building on desktop, toggle to mobile view in the GHL editor and check:

• Is the headline readable without zooming?
• Is the form easy to fill out on a small screen?
• Is the CTA button large enough to tap?
• Does the page load quickly? (Large images are the usual culprit)

GHL’s editor shows mobile and desktop side by side. Fix mobile first — you can always refine desktop later.

A/B Testing Your Opt-In Page

GHL supports A/B testing on funnel pages. The most impactful things to test:

Element	What to Test
Headline	Different formulas, different pain points
CTA button color	Your brand color vs contrasting color
CTA button copy	Action verb vs benefit statement
Form fields	Email only vs email + first name
Hero image	Your photo vs a resource mockup vs no image

Test one thing at a time. If you change the headline, button, and image all at once, you won’t know which change caused the improvement.

Run each test for at least 100 visitors before calling it. Small sample sizes give unreliable results.

Connecting the Form to Your Workflow

When someone submits the opt-in form, GHL can automatically:

1. Create a contact in your CRM
2. Add a tag (e.g., “lead-magnet-opted-in”)
3. Trigger a welcome sequence workflow
4. Redirect to your tripwire thank-you page

Set up the redirect in the form settings. Set up the workflow trigger based on the tag. This creates a seamless flow: visitor opts in → receives lead magnet via email → sees tripwire offer on the thank-you page → enters welcome sequence.

Common Setup Mistakes

• No redirect set — the form submits but the visitor sees a generic “thank you” instead of your tripwire offer
• No tag applied — the contact enters your CRM but never triggers the welcome sequence
• Asking for too much — name, email, phone, company, job title… each field costs you conversions
• Forgot mobile — a beautiful desktop page that’s unusable on a phone wastes most of your traffic

With a working opt-in page in place, let’s build the funnel that surrounds your sales page.