"I'm really just not sure where to start. I need to start taking signups for an upcoming workshop, do I start by creating a campaign? Or Automation?"
The very first thing when you start with ActiveCampaign is you need to create a list.
Whether you're importing contacts that you already have, or are starting from scratch and need a place to put a brand new contact, you need to have a list for them to go onto.
Next, you’ll need a form that your prospects can use to opt in with, and then you need to publish the form code on a website or landing page and publish it live.
You don’t need to create multiple lists, but you should have a tag that keeps track of any event that you can reference or "segment" against in the future.
Step 1 - Create a List
- Name Your List
- Specify the Website URL the list is for
- Reminder message for your contacts on why they are on your list and why you're emailing them.
Step 2 - Create a Form
Next, create a form inside of ActiveCampaign.
You can build a form in a third party app like Thrive Leads or ConvertBox, but you can also use the ActiveCampaign form for those tools to reference and save some time, especially if you want to do a double opt in.
You can't do a double opt in via the API connection.
Build the form in ActiveCampaign first and go into the form options and specify that you want the opt in confirmation on (for double opt in). When you're done building out the form, you get an integration code that you can embed on the page where you want prospects to opt in.
If you don’t use the HTML integration code, you won’t be able to specify double opt in. So keep that in mind.
Double opt in is important when it comes to delivery to the inbox and it's one of the very easy ways that you can qualify people coming onto your list. You know right from the get go that if they're not willing to give you a real email address, then chances are they're not going to be interested in buying anything from you either.
Note: If you don't want that pesky ActiveCampaign branding message show up at the bottom of your form, click here to check out this post from a while back.
Step 3 - Embed and Publish
Now that we have a form, the final step is to put that integration code onto a landing page or even onto a widget inside of WordPress and then save it and publish it.
Your form is now published and new contacts can join your list! Mission accomplished!
Is it the prettiest looking form? Not so much...but we're going for speed of execution and functionality here.
If you're looking for a way to style the look of your ActiveCampaign form, stay tuned for an upcoming post on a very easy way to do this.
Step 4 - Pat Yourself on the Back
Now you can start growing your list.
You can use other services like ThriveLeads that integrates with either the HTML code or the API, depending on whether you want single opt in or not. You can start from scratch with ActiveCampaign as long as you have a list and you have a form.
You can’t create a form without specifying a list because ActiveCampaign needs to know where to put those contacts whey
Step 0 - Sign up for the free ActiveCampaign Trial
Before you can do any of the above, you’ll need an ActiveCampaign account. You can sign up for a free two week trial here and give it a whirl for yourself.