OptinMonster is one of the top lead generation tools on the market. It provides some of the most comprehensive features offered by any conversion optimization tool. But is OptinMonster right for you and your business? In this independent OptinMonster Review, we take this snazzy tool for a test drive!
You agree with me when say that getting more leads and sales is the dream and goal of every affiliate marketer.
And besides the skill you obviously need, you also require tools to get the job done.
OptinMonster is one such tool.
In this unbiased and in-depth OptinMonster review, I breakdown this tool to pieces. I then reassemble it into my honest recommendation on whether or not OptinMonster can help you and your business.
You’ll be surprised!
But first…
What is OptinMonster and why all the fuss?
Editor’s Note
To make the most of this review of OptinMonster, you will need the following:
Any of the OptinMonster price plans. (They all come with a rock solid 14 day money back guarantee). And for a limited you can get any of the OptinMonster price plans at a great discount.
Quick Navigation
What Exactly is OptinMonster?
OptinMonster is a powerful lead generation app that both small time bloggers and huge SEO agencies use to get more leads for their business.
Started as a simple plugin in 2013, today OptinMonster has become a SaaS service that can help anyone and on any and all platforms.
But can it help you?
Continue reading my review to find out!
3 Ways OptinMonster Can Help You Build Your Online Business Faster
Versatile as it is OptinMonster can help your business grow in more ways than just 3.
But these select few reasons below will be more than enough to show you the powerful effect OptinMonster could have on your business if you decide to buy it.
#1- More Leads
Just like traffic is a website’s bloodline and your site cannot live without it, so are leads the nutrients that feed the body and make it go on stronger than before.
To remove the analogy, OptinMonster can significantly speed up the process your online business acquires new leads, which will directly affect your bottom line.
#2- More Money
This is simple to understand.
Having more leads will lead to having more customers which will then lead to you having more money in your bank account.
Got it?
And even more directly, you can promote affiliate marketing offers via popups for direct clicks to your merchant and many new potential sales.
#3- Better SEO
It’s true and I bet you never expected to hear that OptinMonster can help with SEO.
So hear me out before passing premature judgement that it’s all baloney.
OptinMonster can help you build your email list fast and email lists are valuable assets for SEO.
How? Why?
Because they help you boost the UX signals Google pays so much attention to.
For example, when I published my superb guide to on-page SEO, I made sure to send the link to that post to my email list.
A percentage of my subscribers clicked, and a percentage of them stayed on the page, read it, commented on it, shared it…
Google noticed that my new post got immediate traffic and traction and what’s more, that traffic sent out a host of very positive user experience signals.
They obviously liked what they saw and Google’s thinking was “if these people like this new post so much, let’s test it by ranking it quickly for some queries to see how our traffic responds”.
And then my page got ranked overnight for some queries, I got early organic traffic and Google monitored closely the experience these new visitors have.
Since my page passed the test with flying grades, it got and kept a permanent rankings boost.
Remember, Google doesn’t care about the age of your page. If your have the best page on the internet for topic X, Google’s interest is to rank it number #1 even if your page is published today.
But, it’s your job to send that initial set of user signals and email lists (built with the help of OptinMonster) can help with that.
Another way having a list helps with SEO is that some of your subscribers will have blogs and will be able to link to your content if impressed.
And we definitely know links are a major ranking factor for Google.
Specially Selected For You:
Our amazing resource “How To Use OptinMonster – A Step By Step Tutorial”
OptinMonster Plans and Pricing- A Simple Breakdown
OptinMonster offer 4 different price plans:
These are:
- Basic;
- Plus;
- Pro;
- Growth.
See below the features you get with each.
#1- Basic
You can hook up OptinMonster Basic with 1 site and you can run up to 3 simultaneous campaigns with it.
5000 pageviews is the limit and you also get important features like lightbox popups, list segmentation, page level targeting, simple reporting, basic integrations, and subscribers recognition.
You also have free access to OptinMonster University (which is a premium product by the way) where you can learn how to use OptinMonster to its fullest.
Basic is an excellent plan for small sites who’re just getting into list building and generating leads.
Price is $14/mo, paid yearly. There are no monthly plans.
Get Basic today!
14-day refund guarantee available!
#2- Plus
You can hook up OptinMonster Plus with 2 properties/websites.
15 000 pageviews is the limit for this plan and besides getting access to all features from the previous plan, you also get some new ones which include: Floating Bars and Unlimited Campaigns (as opposed to just 3 on the Basic plan), Monster Effects, Monster Sounds, Content Locking, Device Sensor, Inactivity Sensor, Inline Forms.
OptinMonster Plus plan is feature-wise a significant improvement over Basic, you also get 3x higher pageview allowance and the price is not that much higher.
OptinMonster Plus costs $19/mo, paid yearly. There are no monthly plans.
Get Plus today!
14-day refund guarantee available!
#3- Pro
You can use the OptinMonster Pro plan on 3 websites and the pageview limit is boosted up to 50 000.
This plan gives you everything for the previous 2 plans plus a whole lot more, including Smart Tags, Branding Removal, Cart and Form Abandonment, 2 Sub Accounts, Attention Activation, Referrer Detection, Priority Support;
You also get:
- Exit-intent technology (very important);
- UTM Targeting;
- Yes/No Forms;
- Full-Scree Overlay;
- Slide-in Scroll Box;
- Mobile Optimized Forms;
- Monster Links;
- Countdown Timer;
OptinMonster Pro plan is a significant boost over the previous plan and is best suited for people with highly trafficked websites who want to unlock the full power of OptinMonster.
Pricing is $29/mo paid yearly, and there are no monthly plans.
Get Pro today!
14-day refund guarantee available!
#4- Growth
You can hook up OptinMonster Growth with 5 websites and the pageview limit is increased all the way to 250 000/mo.
With Growth you get all features from previous plans + Follow-up-Campaigns; Unlimited Sub-Accounts, Behaviour Automation, Advanced Reporting, ManyChat Integration, Custom Branding, Activity Logging; OnSite Retargeting, AdBlock Detection, Coupon Wheel Campaigns, Geolocation Targeting, Success Scripts, Real-Time Personalization.
OptinMonster Growth is perfect for those who want to use this service on several high-trafficked websites as the monthly pageview limit is pretty generous.
Pricing is increased to $49/mo paid yearly, and there are no mostly plans.
Get Growth today!
14-day refund guarantee available!
OptinMonster Pricing Explained
A quick recap before we go on with this OptinMonster review.
OptinMonster plans are:
- Basic- 9/mo;
- Plus- $19/mo;
- Pro- $29/mo;
- Growth- $49.
As you’ve seen, OptinMonster subscribes to the so called SaaS billing, meaning there are no monthly plans.
That’s a total drag, especially for people who might need OptinMonster for a few months only and don’t want to pay for the whole year, most of which will go by unused.
Also worth noting is that there’s no free trial. You need to buy OptinMonster to use it and then if you’re not happy with it, you can get a refund, but only in the first 14 days.
OptinMonster Features- These 9 Makes it Stand Out From the Pack
I could write about OptinMonster features all day long and still not go through all of their snazzy features. But I won’t. I want to be respectful of your time.
So my OptinMonster review will show you the very best features this tool boasts, but except to find even more when you buy.
#1- Intuitive Dashboard
The OptinMonster campaign builder interface is extremely well done with the strong focus on simplicity.
Every option you have and everything you can do is arranged in tabs which you can access easily without having to constantly load and reload your page.
This is a breath of fresh air compared to most other option builder plugins which force you to juggle between 10 different screens when making a single optin.
OptinMonster is much simpler and streamlined service.
#2- Different Campaign Types (+Templates)
OptinMonster lets you build 9 different campaign types, meaning you have 9 different ways to target your site’s visitors
These are:
- Lightbox popupus- the most popular and standard way of email list building.
- Floating bars– sticky header bars which promote page-specific offers and never leave your visitor’s sight.
- Fullscreen Mat– unavoidable and very effective if your offer is enticing enough (works on mobile too).
- Inline optins– these still work when designed properly and paired with an excellent offer.
- Slide-in Scroll Boxes– hti those who’re interested and have scrolled down with a relevant offer and watch your subscriber count grow predictably.
- Sidebar optins- Sidebar optins when done right still work
- Countdown timer- time scarcity works. Use this powerful feature wisely
- Content lockers– lock entire articles, or the best part of one, and let them pay the price for having it. The price being their best email address.
- Coupon Wheel optins– reward them and entice them for playing so they stay and buy.
I suggest you start with just a basic lightbox popup. But, once you get comfortable with this awesome tool you will want to have several campaigns running at the same time, + combine them for maximum result.
#3- Drag and Drop Builder (+Templates)
OptinMonster offer a true drag-and-drop builder that gives you limitless capacity on what you can create.
But if you’re strapped for time or simply have zero artistic flair, feel free to use one of their pre-made templates to launch an effective campaign fast.
Note: these templates are great, but it’s a bit annoying that instead of showing you how the template actually looks, you get these weird graphics which make it hard to see what’s going on.
However, there’s a simple fix. Simply hover over the chosen template and click on ”preview”
This will show you how it’ll look on your site.
Each of the 9 campaign types comes with its own set of templates that are optimized for both desktop and mobile screens.
For example, here’s an example Lightbox optin.
As you can see, this is already 90% done. Next, I’d just need to change the form to match my offer and ofcourse switch up colors to resemble my brand.
But it’s all <10m of work.
#4- Integrations
OptinMonster easily integrates with pretty much all ESP’s (email service providers)
It connects with all of the following:
- Aweber;
- MailChimp;
- Sender;
- MailPoet;
- Moosend;
- ConvertKit;
- Drip;
- MailerLite;
- ActiveCampaign;
- GetResponse;
- Pardot;
- Hubspot;
- Infusionsoft;
- Campaign Monitor;
- Constant Contact;
- FeedBurner;
- TotalSendl;
- Webhooks;
- SharpSpring;
- iContact;
- iPost;
- Klaviyo;
- Mad Mimi;
- Marketo;
- Ontraport;
- Sendloop;
- SendPulse;
- Sendinblue.
As you can see, chances are slim to none that OptinMonster doesn’t connect with your ESP of choice.
What’s more, OptinMonster seamlessly integrates with Zapier, and through it you can create unlimited zaps and hook up OptinMonster with 3000+ apps.
#5- Detailed targeting and Display Rules
OptinMonster is overall an excellent tool, but one area where it beats hands down all of its competitors is their detailed targeting and display rules.
I’ll talk about it in detail when I show you how I created an example campaign with OptinMonster, but all I can say here is that you can combine the targeting rules in a million ways to pretty much capture every visitor in a net.
#6- Dedicate WordPress Plugin Available
OptinMonster is a cloud SaaS tool… that originated from a WordPress plugin.
This means that yes, there’s a plugin available, and yes, you can manage your campaigns perfectly fine right within your WordPress dashboard.
The only thing you’ll need to do within the OptinMonster interface is make and publish those campaigns.
Then the plugin takes it over from there.
#7- A/B Testing Available
A/B testing is a staple of CRO (conversion rate optimization) and something every blogger should be doing. That is, every blogger who cares about increasing their email subscription rate.
The good news is that OptinMonster has A/B testing in-built inside the platform, which means you don’t have to buy a separate dedicated tool.
#8- TruLead
TruLead is a lead verification tool powered by AI that checks the email addresses your visitors enter before they’re added to your email list.
Fake emails, free one-time emails and all other email spam is barred from entering your list.
This keeps your list super clean and in turn holds a tight noose over your deliverability rates, which are crucial for every future campaign you run.
TruLead is a very useful, but premium, OptinMonster feature and add-on.
Learn more about it here!
#9- OptinMonster is a Cloud Tool
Do you have many sites and want to use OptinMonster on all of them?
But are afraid of the hassle of logging into every site individually to manage campaigns?
Worry not!
Because OptinMonster is a cloud based tool, you can log into OptinMonster and manage campaigns for all of them from one central location. Very convenient.
I have only one website but if I had 3-4 they’d all be listed here.
How to Create a Campaign with OptinMonster (Email Optin Example)
Creating a new campaign with OptinMonster is fairly simple.
See exactly how simple it is in my tutorial below. If you get confused remember that images are your friends.
Follow that picturesque trail of breadcrumbs and you won’t ever get lost again:)
Step #1- Create a New Campaign
The first step is pretty obvious. Inside your OptinMonster dashboard, find the “Create New Campaign” button and click it.
Step #2- Pick a Campaign Type
As mentioned above, OptinMonster lets you choose between 9 different campaign types.
For this tutorial, I’ll make a simple Lightbox popup optin because these are pretty standard and every blogger, including your future self uses them.
Pro tip: you can either start with a blank canvas or you can go with a premade template.
For the sake of convenience, I’ll start with a template.
#3- Step #3-Configure Your Form in the Editor
Ok, we’re inside the editor now, and as you can see, the interface is simple, intuitive and easy to use.
On the right there’s your optin in its default state; on the left you see a sidebar replete with options to play with your optin and modify it.
Editing the form is very easy and changes happen live, so you can immediately see the effect without having to reload the page.
Now, let’s go through the sidebar where the real juice of optimization is.
#1- Optin Settings
The Optin Settings tab is where you can tinker with how your future optin form will look.
Things you can configure are:
- Fonts;
- Field colors;
- Custom CSS;
- Form field placeholders;
- And more.
It’s all very intuitive and quite similar to what you can find when, for example optimizing a premium or even a free theme.
It’s a toggle-based system that will not confuse anyone.
#2- Display Rules
Display Rules settings tap into the most powerful OptinMonster feature and one that sets it apart from all of its competitors.
In a nutshell, with Display Rules you can control:
- When your optin should appear;
- To whom it should appear;
- On which pages it should appear.
That is a gross oversimplification, so let’s dig in a bit deeper.
You can set your OptinMonster popup to be triggered by:
- Exit-Intent – this is one of OptinMonster’s most well-known features because they trademarked it.
- Time on page;
- Scroll depth;
- Inactivity sensor;
- Pageviews;
- Referrer;
- Campaign interactions;
- Click (this is for two-step opt-ins);
- Based on user’s local time (e.g. 4:15 PM);
- Geolocation;
- Adblock presence;
- Specific URL anchor/parameter;
- Cookie.
Finally, you can build multiple rulesets for a single campaign, which is a feature other tools lack.
That means you could create one ruleset that tells the campaign to display on page X and not on page Y. Or on page X after 1m, but on page Y after the user has scrolled a third of the page.
Here’s how this helps.
For example, you’ve seen in your Google Analytics that people stay on average 3m on page X. It means you can safely target them with a popup that displays after they’re 1m into the post.
But page Y on your site only gets 15s average dwell time. That’s abysmally low and for that page you need to set your option to appear after 5s.
It’s the only way to target these fleeting visitors and still try and get their email.
See how powerful this is?
#4- Integrations
You need to integrate your lightbox optin with your email service provider. Do it in the “Integrations” tab here.
Note: you can either connect with your chosen ESP (I use ConvertKit) or you use Monster Leads, OptinMonster’s native service.
#5- Analytics
In the “Analytics” tab you can connect your site with Google Analytics so that you get the most accurate data possible.
However, OptinMonster have their own inbuilt analytics which is perfectly fine and accurate.
#6- Yes/No
The Yes/No tab is where you can turn your popup into a 2-step-optin.
That way you qualify your visitors by giving them a chance to either back off or confirm their interest by clicking on the Yes button.
This feature uses the Zeigarnik effect which simply states we humans love to finish what we’ve started.
So people that do click the first time are compelled and much more likely to submit their email and join your email list.
When you turn Yes/No on, visitors will first need to choose from two options before they see the actual opt-in form:
#7- Success
Here you get to decide what happens after they successfully submitted your form.
You can:
- Show them a success message;
- Or end the campaigns on the current page where they subscribed;
- Or redirect them to another page on your site.
#8- Publish
That’s it.
Now all that’s left is for you to publish your campaign as, obviously, if you don’t publish it won’t go live on your website.
You can also save it in draft mode here if you don’t intend to go live right away, but want to have it ready for deployment.
And that’s it!
It took you around 3m to read this OptinMonster campaign creation tutorial and once you get a hang of it it’ll equally take you 3m to make campaigns of your own.
How to View and Manage Your Campaigns
It’s very easy to manage campaigns in OptinMonster
Inside the dashboard click on the “Campaigns” tab in the header.
Next, pick a campaign you want to manage. I’ll go with my SEMrush Free 30 day trial offer.
The way the campaign looks is shown in the right sidebar. And at the top of conversion stats there’s a mini header bar with options to change and modify your campaign.
These are:
- Edit campaign– click here to go into the editor and change your campaign.
- View analytics– view detailed analytics for the campaign.
- Embed code- grab the embed code which you can use instead of a plugin on a WordPress site, or use on CMS’s other than WordPress.
- A/B testing– easily create A/B tests here.
- Create duplicate– duplicate this campaign.
- Add to site– add campaign to a new property.
- Add to folder- add campaign to new folder for example (important campaigns)
- Archive campaign- suspend campaign without deleting it..
- Trash campaign– suspend and delete campaign.
And that’s all there is to it.
Pro tip- take a look at the image below.
Hopefully, you can see that my OptinMonster SEMrush offer boasts a really attractive image. I had it custom made by a designer, but if you can’t afford one, don’t fret.
There are a ton of free online tools that will let you manipulate your photos anyway you want.
So don’t give up on sprucing up your campaigns visually as it’s worth doing.
OptinMonster Pros and Cons Explained
As you can gather from my OptinMonster review, I think this is an awesome tool that can really make a difference for you in both the short and especially the long run.
It’s a tool too good to miss, but it’s not without its fair share of flaws, which are all listed below. I don’t hold back here as it’s important for you to know both sides of the story.
PROS
#1- User Friendly
OptinMonster is a very intuitive tool and their dashboard is super easy to grasp and navigate.
Even if you’re a total noob when it comes to lead generation with optins and forms you’ll have no problems in navigating the interface and making campaigns happen.
As someone who’s used to the clunky interface of other lead generation plugins and software, I’m thoroughly impressed!
#2- Lots of Customization Options
I should’ve said unlimited customization options.
Really, within the OptinMonster editor your imagination is the only thing stopping you from building any type of campaign you want.
Now, just because you can create whatever you want, it doesn’t mean you should.
Good taste as usually come first, and optin creation best practices still apply here.
#3- Templates Galore
OptinMonster has a wide variety of templates for any type of campaign types.
With those handy sidekicks to your imagination you’ll never be at a loss on where to start and your next winning campaign will never be less than 10m away.
#4- Mobile-Friendly and Fast
All campaigns built with OptinMonster are 100% mobile compatible. This means they’ll display perfectly on any device.
What’s more, these pop ups and forms are very lightweight and have a zero to negligible effect on your website’s speed.
Speed is always a plus in the age where Google is cracking more and more on slow websites. link
#5- Integrations
OptinMonster integrates with pretty much any ESP on the market. Even those obscure and new ones.
What’s more, you can connect Zapier with OptinMonster and via Zapier you can easily hook up more than 3000 apps with OptinMonster.
#6- 14-Day Refund Guarantee
14 days is plenty of time for you to see if OptinMonster is the right choice for you.
If it’s not you can request and receive your money back, no questions asked.
#7- Excellent Support
Though their support is not stellar (more on that below), it’s very decent and you can contact them by submitting a ticket via their support page and also via live chat for simpler problems.
CONS
#1- Pricing
OptinMonster is not the cheapest tool of the bunch. Even their most basic plan costs $9/mo (12x$9=$108).
That’s pretty unaffordable for someone with a low budget.
Another con is that there are no monthly plans.
So you have to get a yearly plan which is a total loss for someone who needs OptinMonster for only 3 months yet they have to pay for the whole year in advance.
#2- Limited Plans
Remember all those awesome features I mentioned above?
Yeah… OptinMonster does indeed offer them, but not to every subscriber equally and not on every plan.
OptinMonster price plans differ by features you have available and that to me is it’s biggest flaw.
For example, let’s say you have 1 site and need the Exit Intent feature on mobile phones.
You’d love it the most to buy the Basic plan which supports one site. But the Exit Intent feature is not enabled there, meaning you have to buy the Pro plan for 3 sites in order to use that one feature.
In my opinion that doesn’t make a whole lot of sense and it’s only logical that plans are still capped by maximum pageviews and number of sites they support, but have all features enabled by default.
In the current setup, it seems like it’s built to take advantage of those marketers who really need certain features found only in the more expensive tiers.
#4- Familiar Popups
OptinMonster likes to brag and use as social proof how 1.2 million+ webmasters use their app to get more leads for their businesses.
That’s great… for them. Their business is booming.
For you, it means that your potential lead has probably already seen the template you’re using on some other site and they’re not impressed.
It doesn’t mean you can’t convert them, but it does mean it’ll be harder and it’s only going to get harder as time passes.
#4- Bad Support
I know I praised OptinMonster support previously. I have not had a single problem with them and all my queries were successfully resolved, and fast too.
However, some other people have not had such pleasant experiences, as you can see from these two OptinMonster reviews.
OptinMonster FAQ- All Your Questions Answered!
OptinMonster is a popular tool and Quora, being the most popular Q&A site in the world is brimming with OptinMonster questions.
I dug deep to find the most popular ones to answer here.
You can thank me for my hard work by reading and having your questions answered.
#1- What is OptinMonster?
OptinMonster is one of the best and most popular software for lead generation.
Anyone from small businesses and bloggers to large agencies are using it to get more leads for their businesses, or their client’s businesses.
#2- Is OptinMonster Free? How Much does it Cost? Are There Monthly Plans?
To answer your questions:
- OptinMonster is not free.
- There are 4 plans. Refer to the pricing section of this OptinMonster review to see how much each plan costs.
- There are no OptinMonster monthly plans.
- There’s a 14-day refund guarantee.
#3- How to Use OptinMonster Plugin for WordPress Site?
First, you need to install the plugin as you would any other.
Next, get the API key from your OptinMonster account.
This will unlock the plugin for you.
Learn more here!
#4- Does OptinMonster Work With Shopify?
Shopify users, rejoice!
OptinMonster does work with Shopify.
Note: you need a Growth plan and beyond to use it with your Shopify dropshipping store.
To hook up your OptinMonster account with Shopify, first go and visit the Shopify app store and install their native app.
That’s it.
Learn more here!
#6- Does OptinMonster Work With Other CMS’s?
Yes, OptinMonster works with all CMS’s and even with custom-coded HTML websites.
To use it on other CMS other than WordPress (where there’s a dedicated plugin) simply copy the embed code and put it before the closing </body> tag of your HTML file. Next, save the changes to your file and upload it to your website.
Note: learn more here and also here are detailed instructions on how to connect OptinMonster with popular CMS’s that are not WordPress.
#7- Is There an OptinMonster Coupon I Can Use?
No, at the moment, OptinMonster don’t offer coupon codes and there are no valid coupon codes on this site or any other site. However, for a limited you can get OptinMonster at a great discount.
The OptinMonster Review … Should You Use It?
OptinMonster is not the cheapest way to build your email list. Some of its direct competitors are 2x cheaper.
But, when list building you don’t want the cheapest option, you want what’s best long term.
The best option both short and long term is OptionMonster. And considering the insane ROI that comes with successful email list building, OptinMonster is a worthwhile investment.
It will quickly pay for itself with the leads it generates.
So go for it.
Remember, there isn’t a free trial and there are no monthly plans, but you get a 14-day double refund guarantee which is more than enough time for you to properly see what OptinMonster is all about.
Have questions?
Shoot them in the comment section below!
Disclosure of material connection
Some of the links in this article are “affiliate links” as defined by the FTC. This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, Astute Copy Blogging will receive an affiliate commission, at no additional cost to you. However, please note that we only recommend the best products and services.
Hey Pedro!
Wow, what an incredible review of OptinMonster.
I used them for years and had great experience. It was hands-down my favorite lead capture plugin ever.
That being said, I cancelled my subscription late last year after they decided to triple the price out of nowhere. I’m using Thrive Leads now, but I do miss a lot of the extra functionality that OptinMonster provided!
– James McAllister
Hey James,
Always a delight and an honor to see you here on Astute Copy Blogging. And thank you so much for your kind words about our review.
I’ve only just started using OptinMonster myself, and it is simply amazing. But as you say, it’s quite pricey 🙁
Thanks for stopping by and joining the conversation.
Best,
Pedro
Hey Pedro,
Such detailed review of OptinMonster that clears all my doubt. I haven’t used it but after reading to post, it looks promising.
Although it is a little bit expensive, however I will give try to explore possibilities.
Thanks for sharing 😊
Regards
Archana